Rich People Problems

xxxvi | ring a bell

KIMBERLY

UNLESS I WAS BEING chased by a rabid animal or serial killer, there was no reason for me to be running this early in the morning.

By Jace's standards, it wasn't early. By my standards, it was the fucking crack of dawn.

My husband had the brilliant idea to help me get sober by trying to do something good for my body. To avoid running, I was ready to pour all my alcohol down the drain to show him that I'd be sober if it meant not running.

But I couldn't go through with this brilliant plan, proving Jace's point further.

As a result, I was forced to endure the cruel and unusual punishment of working out. I wasn't a stranger to keeping my body in shape, but running five miles for no apparent reason was where I drew the line.

The only plus side was the fact that Jace was keeping me company... shirtless.

I would never get tired of seeing that beautiful body of his. Even after knowing how good it felt, I was insatiable, constantly craving more.

My realization from the other day certainly didn't help.

"If you wake up to a pair of hands choking you," I huffed, extremely out of breath, "don't be surprised."

His eyebrows knitted as I rested over the side of the treadmill. Walking over, he tugged on my ponytail. My body was so exhausted, I literally fell over, almost hitting the ground if it weren't for him catching me. "Wow, I'm both impressed and confused."

I gave him a dirty look, scrambling out of his arms. "What do you mean?"

"You normally have more... stamina."

I shrugged, scrunching up my face. "For enjoyable activities, yes."

Weirdly, it was the truth. If I wanted to do something, it was nearly impossible to stop me. The opposite applied: if I didn't want to do something, it was nearly impossible for me to do it. And, I really didn't want to run.

Jace didn't have a moment to respond when the doorbell rang. I bolted out of there, using this distraction as my escape. My legs were aching like crazy, but my mind was overjoyed.

I was so out of it, I didn't even bother looking through the peephole, opening the door for whoever was on the other side.

"Alex?" I opened the door further, inviting him in. "What are you doing here?"

Jace and I saw him a couple of days ago, and he normally wasn't one to drop by unannounced. Was everything okay?

He looked fidgety, constantly checking over my shoulder, and my mind put the pieces together. Someone got the courage...

"Kimmy, how are you, honey?" Alex asked, avoiding my question.

"Your son's trying to murder me, but other than that, I'm fine," I replied. "Did you want to see Jace?"

At the mention of his son, his eyes shot to me, proving the accuracy of my thoughts. He nodded hurriedly, unlike the normally happy-go-lucky guy I knew so well. "Yeah, I was thinking about what you said the other day."

"What?" I happened to say a lot of things every day.

"That if I wanted to talk to him, I should stop beating around the bushes and go for it."

Oh... that.

"Maybe, don't tell him that I said that," I winced. "Since he's trying to murder me and everything. We don't need to give him another motive."