Free More Than Rivals by Mary Whitney Page A

like talking when she ran, but she felt like they needed to have some conversation. Otherwise, it could turn into an awkward night. She hopped over a stray branch and said, “So where do you run in San Francisco?”
    “I thought you didn’t like to talk when you ran.”  
    “I normally don’t, but I was curious.”
    “I live in the Marina, so if I’m just going for a regular jog I run along the water and into the Presidio. If I’m at my parents, I run in Golden Gate Park.”
    “Those are some great runs. You’re really lucky. Where do your parents live?”
    “Sea Cliff.”
    “Nice.” She wondered if there was anything else to say when someone declared they were from the ritziest zip code in San Francisco.
    “Where did you grow up?” he asked.
    “San Diego.”
    “And you came up here for school and never left?”
    “Pretty much.”
    Lily waited for the next logical question, the question everyone always asked. Why did she move to Petaluma? Normally she didn’t mind answering it at all, but that night she felt awkward about it. She was happy when he was said, “Okay. You don’t have to talk to me anymore if you don’t want.”
    “This conversation isn’t bad.” She smiled. “It’s not like we’re debating policy. The talking could get difficult then. Too detailed of a conversation.”
    “Why would we debate policy? I bet we agree on most things.”
    “Oh yeah? Let’s talk about bringing more mass transit to Marin.”
    “Well, that’s something that needs to be studied.” He twitched his mouth after he said it and smiled as if he knew he was skirting an issue.
    “Studied? It’s been studied to death. There needs to be a train of some kind.” She laughed and shook her head. “You are totally doing Ethel Nathan’s bidding on this one. I bet she’s against allowing all that ‘riff-raff’ who take trains riding into her county.”
    “She is,” he said with a grin.
    “You grew up in San Francisco. How can you be against mass transit?”
    “Can we go back to not talking now?”  
    “No problem.”
    “We can talk again after I figure out an issue I can nail you on.”
    “Yeah, right.” She said with a playful huff. “You think about that.”
    As they went along the well-worn path alongside the railroad tracks, they continued to have short bursts of conversation and then silence. Midway through the run, she stole a look at his legs and confirmed a suspicion. He was taking shorter steps so she could keep up with him.
    She turned to him and said, “Your legs are almost twice as long as mine. It’s okay if you want to run ahead.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I can tell you’re shortening your stride for my sake. Go on ahead.”
    “But even if I go ahead, you’ll still catch-up and outpace me.”
    “Why?”
    “Women have more endurance.”
    “Really?”
    “They can go longer. That’s been my experience.”
    “In your experience women have more stamina?” she said with a wry look.
    “Yeah.”
    She couldn’t resist the innuendo, and the words flew out of her mouth before she considered them. “So this happens often?   You have to work to hold yourself back because women outlast you?”
    Jack looked at her. “Outlast me?” His eyes widened, and a charming smile appeared. “Are we talking about running?”
    “I am.” She soon succumbed to his sexy grin and returned the smile. “Why? Are you talking about something else?”  
    “No. Absolutely not.”  
    “Of course not…” She laughed.  
    “I’m glad we got that straight.”
    She was so tempted to flirt more. It was fun talking to him, and Lord knows the attention is nice . Remembering her place, she simply smiled and said, “Keep your eyes on the road.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a wink.
    For the rest of the run, they went through spurts of talking and then silence as they caught their breath. When they arrived back at the coffee shop, they chatted for a few minutes standing by his car. He opened the