Seeing Winter on the way to the track

It was almost about to get dark on Thursday Night, Mark was on his way to the athletics track on campus to get a bit of extra running in before the big 100 metre sprint for the Hall Tournament.

On the way there, he saw a more than familiar busty brunette sitting in the courtyard on her phone.

“Hey! Whats up?” he said casually as he walked up to her.

“Oh Mark, hey… uhh not much, just finishing a class before and wanted to get some fresh air here before I head back to my room,” she told him.

“Well uhh… if you wanted, you could come to the track with me and watch me run,” he offered up the choice for her, “Bit more fresh air and sort of helps me run knowing I’m doing it in front of someone else.

She put away her phone instantly inside the pocket of her hoodie. “Sure. I’ll come for a bit!”

Mark was a bit surprised by how quickly said to coming along. It was a relief to know that their friendship was making a lot of progress in re mending itself.

***

“Wow, I didn’t know you were that quick,” she told her, impressed by his speed.

The girl had been watching Mark run for the last half hour. She stood at the side of the track as he practiced his run throughs and quick starts out of the block.

“Thanks! I’ve been training a lot with the football team that I’ve sort of just kept improving over time,” he told her.

Mark noticed the way she was smiling at him, something he had missed. Not just any smile, but one that had meaning behind in. The kind of one that he had seen her give him so much just last year when they were lovers of their own sort.

“I forget how much you’ve changed since I met you back in East Hall,” she said to him.

At first he didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. So much of Mark physically and mentally had changed over the course of a year and a half. Whether it was for the better or the worse, he believed Winter meant well by that comment.

Before they were about to finish up at the track, they were joined by one more person. The third member of the whole love triangle that took a dark turn earlier this semester, Tiffany.

Wearing just tight leggings and a red college crop top, she smiled as she joined them at the side of the track.

“Hi! Uh sorry to bother you’s,” she said, well aware that she may be intruding some private conversation that Mark and Winter were having, “Just checking in on you Mark to see if you were all set for the big race tomorrow?”

“Oh yeah thanks Tiff, umm yeah I guess so, done a bit of training and that throughout the week. Guess I’m looking alright,” he answered.

“He’s being too humble,” Winter chimed in, “I’ve been watching him tonight and he’s in terrific form.”

That pleased Tiffany who was more concerned about how well East Hall performed in the tournament race than the bad blood and history that the three of them now unfortunately shared.

“That’s fantastic!” she exclaimed, “What’s your fastest time so far Mark?”

He was a little rattled at first, he didn’t have any sort of idea, “Umm I don’t really know to be honest, I haven’t been timing myself.”

Tiffany looked a little confused why he wouldn’t get someone like Winter who was right there with him at training to help time him. “Oh well… I’ve been told that Kyle Simpson from south wing can run a 10.65, that’ll be pretty hard to beat, we should see what you run here right now and then you at least have an idea on how much you need to improve tomorrow.”

Mark looked at each girl, still not exactly in the zone now that the two girls that he felt the most significant bonds with, standing next to each other.

“Um yeah.. okay… sounds fine to me,” he replied.

“Awesome, we’ll go down the other end so we can see when you cross the line,” Tiffany told him, “just give us some sort of signal before you’re about to get into the starting blocks.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Mark said as he waited for his two girls to start walking down the track for the finish line.

Was this going to be awkward with them? Would they just be walking in complete silence?