~5 months later~

"I know!" I laughed, "It's not my fault I had to lock up, and clean up after someone spilled a whole rack of tennis balls." I told my friend Kolby, who I was talking to over the phone.

"Whatever." I could tell she rolled her eyes and was smiling, "When can we get together?"

"Your in another country!" I practically yelled, "When you get back we can go shopping." She had just started her first year at college in the U.S. at NYU. We missed her like crazy, but we were the ones to push her to go in the first place.

"Great! well I have to go. Love ya girl. talk to you later!" She said then the line went dead. I put my phone back in my bag and continued walking down the road. Knowing dad would freak if I wasn't home soon, since it was already ten, I took the short cut through the ally.

I never take this way, because,well...I have my reasons. There are dumpsters all along the dirty brick walls so it smelled like suage. Last time I actually took this way I tripped over a dead possum. You never know what could be lurking in these shadows

I was half way down the ally when I heard a grunting noise. That just made me walk faster. I saw the street lamp at the end and made my way to it but out of no where another body ran in to me. Surprisingly he was the one to fall to the ground.

It was a guy. He had athletic shorts on with black and red Nike running shoes on. They looked brand new, but there was a tiny hole on the inside of his left shoe. His upper half was covered with a black sweatshirt and a hoodie over his head. He was unbelievably tall.

I stumbled back a little bit but caught my balance on a poll while the stranger slumped to the floor with his back to the wall.

"I'm so sorry." I said and crouched down to see if he conscious, "Are you okay? Do you need any help?"

"I'm fine." He said. When he spoke it kind of caught me off guard, but it sent chills all over my body. He had a very deep, raspy voice.

He slowly tried to stand up, but failed by stumbling forward into me.

I caught him with my hands holding his shoulders. I could have sworn I saw blood on his face. This whole time he hung his head and stared at the ground. He never looked up. It made me suspicious that he was in trouble, but i didn't push him any further with my annoying questions. This guy looked to be that kind of guy that everyone tried to ignore on the side walk, I don't think he is the type to be messed with.

"Where are you going? I'll help you get there." I asked. I don't know why I'm offering a stranger help to his house, but it just seemed like the responsible thing to do. I mean, I don't know if he is wasted or really injured but I wouldn't want to see him accidentally stumble into the street and get ran over.

"A block away from here." He responded, short and simple. I nodded and quickly slipped his arm around my shoulders and wrapped my arm around his waist. As we walked we didn't say a word. The only sounds that were made was his coughing. I guess we were almost to his destination, because he finally spoke. "Last house on the left." He said.

"O-okay." I stuttered. We came to a cross walk and I stopped to make sure no cars were coming but evidently he didn't have the same idea, he just waked right out into the street.

We quickly approached the house. When we got to the door, I let go of him and he dug around in his pocket for the keys. "Do you need help inside?" I asked.

He sniffed then coughed, "No."

Once he found the right key he opened the door and practically fell on his face. Luckily I caught him by his upper arms, and may I add he had some rock hard biceps. I looked to my left and saw a couch. I guided him over there. Once he was there he kicked his shoes off and ripped off his hoodie. He was wearing a dark gray muscle shirt as well. He also had a head full of curls.

He slowly limped to the what I'm guessing was the kitchen area, because I heard him start the water.

"You ok now?" I asked.

"I'm fine. You can get out of here now." He said the last sentence kind of harshly. With out another word I walked out the door.

*

I woke up at 7:50 this morning to go on a run then go meet up with Erin and Tiffany. I got down stairs and I saw dad with a suitcase by his feet and making cup of coffee. He told me he got called in at the last minute and that he would be flying Florida, New York, then back home. I gave him a goodbye hug and kiss before continuing on my run. This time I just went around the block because I still had to meet the girls then get to work.

I took a shower, slapped on some make up and my work shirt along with some blue jeans and sneakers. I grabbed my bag and started walking to Karen's Cafe, that where we always meet up, every monday.

"Hey girl." Erin said as she brought her coffee cup to her powder pink gloss covered lips.

"Hey guys whats up?" I smiled as I took a seat.

"Nothing much. Have you heard from Kolby lately?" Tiffany asked. sturring her steaming cup of coffee with her straw.

"She called me last night." I said and went to take a sip from my drink but immediatly regreated it when the scalding liquid touched my tounge.

"What did she want?" Erin chirped.

"She wanted to skype, but I had to stay late because of a kid," I rolled my eyes, "Then she hung up."

Tiffiany pipped in, "Oh, well does anyone know when she is getting home?"

"No." I shrugged.

"She said hopefully 2 and a half weeks from now." Erin smiled.

"Oh." I glanced at my watch and it said 10:30.

"Sorry to say girls, but I have to get moving. Work starts in 15." I smiled.

They both gave a hug and then I started walking to work.

I keep thinking about that guy last night. I dont know if I should tell the girls or not. I decided not to for right now, who knows how they would react. Knowing Tiffany she would freak out tell me how lucky I am that he wasn't a convicted crimanal on the run, but if I mentioned that he looked a little cute, from what I could tell, Erin whould have said something along the lines of that I should have tried to get his number. I have very odd friends. Anyway, it's not that big of a deal, just a random late night run in with a stranger. Nothing more.

I plugged my head phones into my iPod and hit shuffel. I looked up as I was about to turn the corner and I noticed a strange looking white van. I come this way to work every morning so I know what cars are usually parked on the road. And not once have I ever seen this one. I started walking slower so I could intently observe the strange men in the van.

The man in the passenger seat had his hood up,with his back to me, so I couldn't see his face. The man opposite of him had shagy hair and a scar on his forehead and curved around his eyebrow.

As I got closer to the van the mysterious man with his hood up swung to door open, jumped out, and slammed shut. He started walking walking across the street in the same direction I was going. Luckily he started running about half way down the street and right past my work.

I pushed the door open and immediately saw John.

"Hey Cam." He greeted me as he stacked more shoes on the shelves.

"Do I need to put out any new shipments?" I asked and went to put my bag by my check out station.

"Um...I think there is some tape, gloves, and mouth-guards in the back. Can you rack those?" I nodded and went to the back gathering the two small boxes along with the bigger one.

I quickly placed out all the athletic tape, mouth guards and gloves. After throwing the empty boxes in the back dumpster I returned to front of the store, and just as I stepped behind my station a customer walked through the door.

He had a jacket on and his hands were stuffed in the pockets. A pair of black shorts covered his lower half with running shoes on his feet. He was taller than John, at least from where I was standing, and he had a head full of luscious, dark, curly hair. He made his way down the main isle and then round the corner to the shoes.

"Cam, did you put everything away?" I heard John yell over at me. I gave him a sarcastic smile and two thumbs up. Being the immature thirty-two year old he is he stuck his tounge out at me and started racking the new shipment of weights. As far as I knew we only had that one male customer in the store and I was the only clerk there at the moment, since john has failed to hire someone else. I turned around, leaning back against the desk and watching the on going UFC match.

These kind of fights always made me jump. You never know when someone is going the throw a powerful punch, knocking the lights out of his opponent. You never know how much blood shed there is going to be, and unfourtuanatly all the channels that John changes it too as some kind of blood splatter. As I watched the referee grasp the victors arm and hold it high in the air I was shaken from my thoughts what some one dropped a box on the counter.

I turned around and it was him. He had dropped a box of green and black Nike shoes on the counter for purchase. I quickly scanned the barcode and waited for the price to ring up. He started tapping his fingers as his patience started to run out. Damn these slow computers!

"Total is 55.02." I said and made eye contact for the first time. His eyes were a cold empty shade of green that were stareing straight back at me. If we weren't in public I would probably tuck my tail between my legs and cower back from is hard stare but as he moved his eyes away from me and looked down as his wallet I released a deep breath I didn't even know I was holding.

While his attention wasn't focused on me I decided to scan over his facial features. Strong jaw line, long eye lashes. His lips looked plush and soft, but the bottom one was a little swollen with a cut on the right side. As I scanned down his neck I saw a few ink drawings littering his chest and shoulder, at least from what was visible under his shirt and jacket.

He placed fifty dollars on the counter, then a five, but he had to dig around in his pocket for the two cents. Once he found the coins and pulled his hand out of his pocket, the money slipped from his hand and collided with the ground. As he bent down to retrieve the items, I bent over the counter and looked down as well. I felt my heart skid to a stop and I took a sharp breath.

Thoes shoes.

The red and back Nike running shoes. I tilted my head a little to look at the inside of his left shoe, and sure enough there was a tiny hole. He stood to his full height and placed the coin back on the counter waiting or me to tuck it away in the cash register.

"Is that all?" I asked. Although I'm sure if it wasn't that he would have put other things up here in the beggining.

"Yeah." he grunted. He frosty eyes locked with mine as I put the money into the correct slots and slipped the shoe box in the plastic bag. I handed it out to him and he gladly took it.

"Thanks." He huffed.

And just like that he was out the door.