Walk and talk

After roughly ten laps with no sign of Rina I couldn’t go on, leaving me heaving against the facade of Rina’s apartment — the Vicenza, as the huge cursive lettering was quick to remind — while I caught my breath. I fanned my shirt in an effort to expedite the recovery process. It had been a hot minute since I pushed myself this early. I know I was excited to see her, but I might’ve gone a touch overboard in the process.

While jogging the idea struck me to check and see if Rina was working out too. Exchanging “good mornings” in the group chat was a nice way to start the day, and following up seemed like it would elevate this otherwise standard affair. At the time I felt it was distinctly possible to catch her — she seemed like the type to jog even before practice with how in-shape she is — but on reflection that was wishful thinking. I don’t know much about Rina’s fitness regimen outside school, and this area is quite large to boot. I’m not sure why I so confidently assumed we’d run into each other by coincidence.

Resigned to the fact that I had either missed Rina or misinterpreted her schedule, I shook myself off and began the trek back to my own apartment. I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed, but it was hardly the end of the world. I think I was just riding the high of last night and wanted more of it.

And what a night it was… The sexting session Nia and I half-planned had really spiraled out of control, and not in a bad way. One moment we were enjoying a wholesome conversation, the next Nia and Rina were trying to one-up each other’s nudes. As soon as Nia had invited “tradesies” Rina went all in, her most private parts laid bare in exchange for Nia’s own. And with my darling’s competitive spirit being what it is, it wasn’t long before things evolved beyond that. Before I knew it, the two were sharing their favorite ways to masturbate and floating horny ideas for the next get together. Nia even begged me to let Rina douse her with all those massive — frankly cartoonishly sized — loads. Or was I the one begging for that to happen…? In my defense I’d crammed a lot yesterday, it was late, and I was several orgasms deep by then. I’m surprised I remembered much of anything outside how aroused I was.

A bothersome arousal I was starting to feel again…

I tried to drag my mind from the hours of sweaty texts we all shared and think about something less explicit. It wasn’t that I wanted to avoid getting immersed in these memories; far from it, I would enjoy it too much. See, the issue here was something rooted solely in my material condition. Jogging shorts didn’t exactly leave much to the imagination, and getting arrested for public indecency was not on my agenda for today.

Pulling back, I settled for reminiscing on our chat preceding the sexual pandemonium. We’d never gotten together on a group call like that before, and shooting the breeze while I studied was incredibly fun; surprisingly comforting as well. It was the first time in a while we’d all talked apropos of nothing, which was something we were going to need to do more if we didn’t want the roleplay to warp our relationships. Perhaps we were only comfortable pushing the sexting so far because of the good atmosphere we’d set. It’s also plausible it soothed some unspoken anxiety we had yet to address? Nia did seem less anxious than before.

…Ooor it could be I was overcomplicating things again, and it didn't go deeper than us having a pleasant conversation…

On that note, there wasn’t really anything wrong with shooting Rina a call, was there? I figure she hadn’t gone back to sleep after responding to our texts, and I’m sure she wouldn’t be opposed to having a workout buddy if it fit into her routine. Instead of all this asinine guesswork, it would be much better — not to mention less creepy — to just run it by her.

…I wasn’t being creepy again, was I? I hoped not. I just wanted to spend more time with Rina now that we were doing this.

Trying not to dwell on that thought much longer, I found a good spot away from the din of traffic and pulled up Rina’s contact. To my surprise, Rina almost immediately answered; a mere ring separating my spur of the moment impulse from reality. She did not, however, say anything upon picking up. The only thing I could make out on the line was a muffled shuffling.

Emery: Good morning Rina! Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.

Strangely, the only greeting I received was an ambiguous clatter.

Emery: You alright, Rina?

…

Emery: Rina? Are you there?

Rina: ~Ah…haah. E-Em? Uh…hey, ca-can you hear me now?

Even more than mine, her voice sounded utterly breathless. Had I actually just missed her, or was she running somewhere else right now? An ember of hope rekindled itself in my heart.

Rina: Em?

Emery: Oops, yeah hey, sorry. I can hear you. Were you talking before?

Rina: Y-yeah, ahem…I was, uh…working out just now, so maybe I was a little too far away from the phone?

Emery: I thought you sounded a bit winded, hahaha. Sorry if I caught you at a bad time, keep doing what you were doing! I can call back when you’re done.

There was a brief pause. It was long enough that I thought maybe I hadn’t heard Rina again.

Emery: Rina? Did you say something? Sorry, I think you’re still too far away from the phone.

Rina: …Whoops, ha ha. Really need to watch that.

Emery: No problem, it’s probably a sign that we should talk later.

Rina: …N-no, uh…let’s talk a little longer... I was saying I’m on the last few sets is all, so…if you really don’t mind then I’ll…keep going while we talk…

Emery: Please, I don’t want to interrupt.

Rina: …O~okay… Sorry to ask…I’m just really, ugh…trying to push through it. Stay with me…you’ll help me…focus.

Emery: Oh, well it works out perfectly then. Happy to help, haha!

Rina: Ye-yeah. Sorry If I sound a lil, um, rough though, haha. You know how I’ve always been kinda…noisy when exercising.

Emery: Come on, you know that doesn’t bother me. As I always say, whatever helps you through the workout. Besides, I’m the one who called you! It’d be pretty silly for me to complain.

Rina: ~V-verrry true… Why did you call anyways? Not that I’m not happy to hear from ya, but it’s rare for you to call…‘specially since we already said hey in chat earlier.

Emery: Well I was jogging close to your place and wanted to see if you were interested in joining me. Unfortunately, it sounds like I might’ve called you too late haha.

A note of sadness, along with something akin to frustration, crept into her tone.

Rina: Oh…ahh shit, that…sucks. I’m sorry Em… I’d love to, I re~eh… I really would, but…yeah, I’m kinda hitting my limit. N-normally I’d just go out with you regardless, but I uh…I’m not feeling one hundred percent today.

I suppressed a sign as she hammered the final nail in the coffin. I expected it given the flow of conversation, but I was left no less glum for that. The soreness of my body ached, as if punishing me for getting ahead of myself.

Emery: Well shoot, that’s a bummer. I hope you feel better soon. You basically never get sick, haha!

Rina: Eheh, yeah. Don’t worry about it though, I should be fine soon. I just get…get like this in the morning sometimes.

That was a surprise. Rina had never told me about her having morning nausea or anything of that nature.

Rina: …Why don’t ya ask Nia to go with you?

Emery: She doesn’t really like morning runs. Her house is too far away for her to easily join me, and even when stays with me she’s too tired. You saw it first hand. She’s only ever tolerated early mornings for her siblings and the swim team.

Rina: ~Oh…oh yeah, I meant. That makes a lot of sense… W-why ask me though? You help a ton of people out wi~th their club shit, I’m sh-sure they’d be happy to have you.

I furrowed my brow, confused by both Rina's question and her tone. A tinge of something akin to impatience started creeping into her voice, almost like she wasn’t getting what she wanted. She didn’t sound irritated, though. She sounded…excited?

Emery: Why would I ask anybody else though? I love hanging out with you. Besides, we're about as close as two people can get if you think about it haha!

Despite my cheery tone, Rina did not reply. Not with words, at any rate. From the other side of the line I instead received another loud clatter, followed by complete silence. Unlike last time, I stayed silent too, because now I recognized what that clattering noise was: it was the sound of Rina’s headboard hitting the wall. A powerful buzz built in my brain, it suddenly becoming clear that Rina had been “working out” in a very different way than was implied.

Emery: …Rina, you there?

Rina: ~Y-yep…hold on Em…I-I’m st-ugh…still here~.

A blush flared on my face as Rina returned. Her voice had been sounding progressively stranger as we spoke, but I didn’t think much of it. Though maybe I just didn’t want to think much of it… Listening to her now, with this fresh context in mind, there was absolutely no mistaking what was happening.

Rina: ~Sorry… I went too deep on that…last squat, and…I’m tryna ride out the burn… ~F-fuuck…one sec, I’m sorry~.

Electricity ran through my spine as she moaned apologetically in my ear. Her barely stifled huffing was louder than before, each puff coming through her end clearly as she stumbled over her words.

After enduring another minute of Rina’s brain melting noises, she seemed to finally collect herself enough to speak.

Rina: Em? …Y-you, uh, still there?

Emery: I’m still here.

A palpable concoction of sexual satisfaction, relief, and guilt flooded her still heavy voice.

Rina: Oh thank god…I’m really, really sorry about that…

Emery: …Don’t apologize Rina, if anything I should be sorry for distracting you when you’re, um, exercising. You didn’t hurt yourself did you? Those kinds of injuries are no joke.

Rina: No…I’m alright. I just got too greedy and took in more than I should’ve…

I held my tongue at her Freudian slip, the images it conjured overwhelming me too much to lie convincingly. It was a good thing I got off the main road to talk with Rina in private, my shorts were feeling a lot tighter than before…

Rina: I didn’t mean to make you worry. I shouldn’t be doing this kind of thing while I’m on the phone…

Emery: As long as you’re alright, that’s all that matters to me.

Rina: Eheh, thanks Em…

A thick pause took hold, the labored sounds of breathing our only exchange. Much as I’d tried to keep the pretense she set, I think on some level we both understood what occurred just now.

Rina: …I should prolly get cleaned up and ready for the day. Thanks again for calling me Em, I really, really appreciate it. My bad for being so distracted…and for not being able to make it today.

Emery: No worries on both accounts. It was a case of bad timing, nothing more to it.

Rina: …Y-yeah.

I cleared my throat, trying to dispel the dregs of awkwardness.

Emery: Can I get a raincheck on working out together?

Rina: …Yeah! My schedule at practice is a little different than last semester, but I still usually run around now. Does that work for you?

Rina’s voice brightened considerably, though it still held some degree of unease.

Emery: That’s perfect, this is my regular time as well. If you’re feeling better tomorrow then do you want to meet up?

Rina: Fee-…? Oh! Yeah, I’m sure I will be!

I did my best to not acknowledge the clear confusion Rina held towards her own excuse.

Emery: Perfect, it’s a date then!

Rina: Y-yeah, heh, sounds good! I’ve uh, gotta go clean up now. See you in class!

Emery: See you then.

I stared hard at my screen as I ended the call, my face still ablaze from…the events that just transpired. Rina’s brazenness really caught me off guard. It seems I wasn’t the only one who was riding the high of last night…

Images of our sexting session flashed through my mind once again, now partnered by a clear mental image of Rina masturbating to the logs as soon as she woke up. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the angry throbbing in my pants. What was with the girls getting me all riled up in public? Perhaps I brought this upon myself with our trip to Leyland’s… Not that I was entirely opposed, but lord if I wasn't going to need a cold shower to get through the day.

I wasn’t sure if I could digest the bulk of this before I saw Rina in person, but I was going to have to do my best. I didn’t want to get too flustered without the girls working for it. Though, this was a very effective method… Hmmm, maybe we need to incorporate more stuff like this into our new play…