Dottie was entering the forest when Reuben caught up to her.
"Hello."
"Hi."
"I am Reuben."
"Nice to meet you. I am Dottie."
"Nice. I've seen you lots around here."
"Oh. Yes, I come around here most days. It would be everyday, except that some days I go along the river. You know there's a trail down there as well as the park."
"Do you mind if I go with you today?"
"Umm, sure. How far are you jogging?"
"I am jogging as far as the creek. After that, I am planning on wandering down it."
"Sure, I'll go that far. After that, I'll break off."
"That's fine with me."
"Ready?"
"Yes."
At that, the two took off running. It was fun. Dottie had forgotten how just running with another person is different. There was a slight spirit of competitiveness, a slight amount of silliness, and definitely a spirit of urging each other on. They slowed for the wet spot, but took off running back on ground that wouldn't give. Reuben met the creek first, with Dottie coming up a few moments after.
"Thanks for that."
"You're welcome. I have to say, thank you as well. I'd forgotten how fun it is to race."
"Do you mind if I ask if we can do that again?"
"Not every day, but maybe if we meet up again."
"Sounds good."
The two took a breath. Dottie burst out laughing, with Reuben quickly following suit.
"Sorry, that is... that is good. We're basically strangers, yet, we're agreeing to do something together again."
"Do you have an issue with that?" asked Reuben, "I hope I haven't caused you to freak out or anything."
"Not yet, but this is definitely not something I thought I'd be doing this morning."
Reuben snorted causing Dottie to burst out laughing, choked, and laughed again.
"Ha, no. Well this was fun. See you again tomorrow?"
"Depends how my day goes. Otherwise, until next time."
"Thanks. See you next time."
Dottie left the creek grinning as she walked back up the creek bank the way that she came. She walked until the trail that went to the special clearing she liked to sit in. Today, she walked in and sat by the entrance, and leaned against one of the large oaks on the edge today. She told the clearing about her day, relaxed, and watched the clouds through the leaves of the trees. After sitting for a bit, she walked back to her place with a smile on her face.
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It happened again on the weekend. Between then, their schedules just didn't line up for them to run together, though sometimes they saw each other leaving the forest and waved at each other in passing.
"Hey again."
"Hello. Are we running together today?"
"I don't mind."
"You are ready?"
"Yes, sir."
"You first?"
Dottie grinned before taking off down the path, Reuben running behind her and catching up. They ran together for a lot of it again, before he slowly, intentionally crept ahead of her. Dottie noticed, pushing more into it. Reuben pushed more forwards, flashing a grin at her. When they got to the creek, they were both grinning and trying to catch their breath because at some point they had started laughing.
"Good run."
"Thanks. You too, I noticed you can run faster than me."
"No, I'd not be running with you then," stated Reuben.
"Ah."
"See you again?"
"Sure."
Dottie walked back up the creek bank, turning back to look at Reuben briefly as she left, before turning and facing the path. As she headed back, she came to a conclusion that to her was slightly startling.
"I think I like him."
She thought about it. What did they have in common? Forest walks and running. What had they shared? It was a very small amount of information about each other. Was this a friendly like or something more? She didn't have enough time around the guy to know if this was a friendly, sibling-ish, or romantic like when she analyzed it. She said as much when she went to the clearing.
"I think I like this guy, Reuben. I don't know him very well, but we enjoy running together. I can't say what kind of like this is, but I hope it stays good. I've had a few guys I liked hanging around become acquaintances who then left, and one become a friend and marry one of my female friends. I don't know how this one will turn out. I'll guess I'll have to wait and see. There's nothing else I can do right now besides pray."