Post by karyn30 on Aug 11, 2010 0:58:44 GMT -5
“Remind me again why I’m doing this?” Paige Murphy huffed into her blue tooth
“Just think of the cruise” her best friend and partner in crime Lorena ; tried to convince her that the burning in her legs and the sweat dripping from her forehead were worth the end result
“Right” she tried to picture blue ocean waters and icy cold drinks served by cute island men who spoke little to no English. Though the imagery usually worked, today her willpower was non existant
“Earth to Paige” she’d been so focused on her burning legs she forgot she was on the phone
“Oh sorry Lor, what were you saying?”
“I was saying I need to get back to work; lunch is over”
“Sure rub it in” she could just picture Lorena rolling her eyes at Paige’s sarcasm
“I’ll talk to you later; oh and Paige?”
“Yeah?”
“Check your shoes?” with that the phone went dead in her ear. Paige laughed as she stopped and checked her sneakers; sure enough one of them was untied. Stooping she thought, ‘Oh Lorena you know me so well.”
“God this Chicago heat is going to kill me”Ryan thought to himself as he jogged along the lakefront. He loved his daily runs, but missed the coolness of home. Checking his watch, he decided he’d better kick it up a notch if he wanted to make rehearsals on time. He put his ipod on shuffle and an old favorite came on, making him pound the pavement even harder. He was rounding the corner, really belting it out when all of a sudden …..
WHAM! Ryan tripped over something-correction-someONE and went flying head over heels. Landing on his backside, he felt a pain shoot through his right ankle. He was attempting to get up when he heard
“Oh My God are you ok?” a woman, presumably the one he tripped over hovered over him with a concerned look on her face
“That will be determined in a minute” he replied as he tried to get up a second time. Putting his foot down gingerly, he confirmed his fear-he was going to need a dr.
Paige watched in horror as the man tried to stand, and failed miserably. She’d just squatted to tie her shoe when he came flying around the corner out of nowhere and tripped over her. Grabbing his arm, she said
“Let’s get you over to that bench” she indicated a bench that sat not more than ten feet away
“I think I can manage” he grumbled, shrugging her arm off. “Sharon is going to kill me” he thought to himself as he sat down
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you-“
“Didn’t see me what-jogging on the runner’s path? Imagine that” he said coldly
Paige could feel the heat in her cheeks; part of it was embarrassment for having caused him to fall, and part was because she couldn’t believe he was being such a jerk about it
“No I didn’t see you, and I’m sorry I’d bent to tie my shoe”
“In the middle of the path?”
“You know what?” Paige turned and was about to give this guy a piece of her mind and suddenly her mind was a blur. The man was drop dead gorgeous; of course that didn’t excuse rude behavior.
“I said I was sorry-what more do you want?” she asked equally sarcastic
The man took a deep breath and winced in pain.
“Look I’m sorry miss, I’m just in a lot of pain right now. Forgive me, my ma would have my head if she caught me talking this way to a lady”
Paige took pity on him; after all she did stop in the middle of the path, but she hadn’t seen anyone all morning, so she’d assumed she was the lone jogger.
“Do you need me to call anyone?”
“Does that mean I’m forgiven?” he asked hopefully
“I haven’t decided yet, but since you clearly need to get to a dr., and since I’m not about to let a strange man into my car; I figured it’d be best for you to call a friend.”
Ryan smiled as he pulled out his phone, the lady certainly didn’t take any crap from anyone
“Paul? Yeah, I need you to come pick me up; I’ll explain that later, just make it quick ok?” hanging up he turned to the woman who’d single handedly turned his world upside down in a matter of minutes.
“Problem solved. By the way, I’m Ryan.” He said extending a hand
“Paige” she replied and shook his hand; it was the first time she’d noted his accent
“You’re not from around here are you?”
Ryan laughed
“Not really; County Tyrone, Northern Ireland”
“Business?” she questioned
“You could say that. I take it you’re a native Chicagoan?”
“Born and raised” she smiled proudly as she sat down next to him
“So Paige from Chicago, what brings you to the park?”
Paige sighed and cringed slightly
“Truth? My friend talked me into going on a cruise with her in January and I really want to be in shape for it, so I had the bright idea that I would start jogging/walking everyday.” She could feel the heat rise in her face from embarrassment; anyone with eyes could see that she needed to get in shape.
Ryan simply smiled
“Well that’s great, running is a great form of excerise, I myself can’t start my day without a run; helps clear the head.”
“Yeah well you’re talking to someone who hates to run for the train, let alone for fun” she quipped
“Oh it’ll get easier-promise. Just stick with it and you’ll see.”
“If you say so; so what do you-“
“What the heck kind of mess have you gotten yourself into this time Ryan?” Paige was cut off by a voice sounding curiously like Ryan’s
“Oh hey Paul” Ryan greeted the newcomer
“I need to go to the hospital-I fell and did something to my ankle”
“You WHAT?” Paul practically screamed
“Well you see I was-“
“He was coming around the corner and I stupidly had stopped in the middle of the road to tie my shoe and he kind of tripped and fell over me” Paige cut Ryan off
“And you would be?” Paul inquired
“Oh I’m sorry, I’m Paige, Paige Murphy” she stuck her hand out
Taking it gently Paul bent over in a gentlemanly fashion
“Well Page Murphy it is a pleasure to meet you” and with that he kissed her hand, causing her to blush.
‘Why God? Why on Earth would you have me meet not one, but TWO gorgeous men on the one day where I must look like a stuffed sausage that spent a little too much time in the steemer?’
Just then Ryan cleared his throat
“Um Paul, can we get me to a hospital?”
Paul smiled regretfully at Paige and sighed
“Yes Ryan my boy let me get you to a Dr. so we can figure out just what the heck we’re going to tell Sharon.”
Suspecting Sharon was probably Ryan’s girlfriend made things easier for Paige. Here she was just about to give him her phone number and watch the rejection form on his lips.
“Well again, I’m really sorry and I hope everything works out for you” she said as she turned towards Ryan
“That makes two of us” he said with a smile. After what seemed like an eternity he hobbled off in the opposite direction with Paul.
“So I’m really excited this time around because-Paige are you even listening?”
“Huh? What?” Paige guiltily realized that she hadn’t been paying attention to a word Lorena was saying. She was too busy thinking about Ryan and wondering what happened to his ankle. Yes that was it; because she certainly wasn’t thinking about his stormy blue/grey eyes or his thick black hair that her fingers itched to run through and she definitely was not thinking about his accent that could make the phone book sound like the most interesting thing in the world. She was concerned for his health; yes that was it.
“I was saying how excited I am for this tour because Neil will be touring with them as one of the front men now!” Lorena went on excitedly; she was always like this when she got to talking about Celtic Thunder, her latest favorite group. She still couldn’t fathom why Lorena listened to them-she’d listened to a couple of songs, but she could take them or leave them. How Lorena ever talked her into going to a concert still amazed her ‘It must have been the night we did tequila shots’ she laughed to herself.
“Remind me again who Neil is?”
After sighing heavily Lorena went on
“Neil was the guitarist in the show, but this time he takes the lead on Hallelujah and on the cd he sings When You Wish Upon A Star, quite beautifully I might add.” She said animatedly
“Sounds great”
“Really? Cuz you didn’t seem too enthused when I started talking about the concert” she seemed a bit dejected
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve been so busy with work and I had an incident of sorts yesterday morning.”
“Incident?What happened? Are you ok?” her friend questioned, concerned.
“Oh I’m fine, I just feel bad.” She went on to explaine what had happened the previous day, omitting the part where she was about to give Ryan her number and the fact that she was still thinking about him today.
“Oh I’m sorry Paige that must have been quite embarrassing. Was he at least cute?” she questioned, trying to make her friend feel better
Paige laughed
“You never give up do you?”
“What? I just figured if you’re going to embarrass yourself, at least do in front of someone worth being embarrassed in front of.”
“Ugh anyway, onto better things; tell me more about Celtic Thunder-when is the concert again?”
“Tomorrow night 8pm-I’ll pick you up around 6 and we can have dinner before we head over to the theatre.”
“Works for me” the two continued to discuss the concert and where they would eat the following evening.
“Just think of the cruise” her best friend and partner in crime Lorena ; tried to convince her that the burning in her legs and the sweat dripping from her forehead were worth the end result
“Right” she tried to picture blue ocean waters and icy cold drinks served by cute island men who spoke little to no English. Though the imagery usually worked, today her willpower was non existant
“Earth to Paige” she’d been so focused on her burning legs she forgot she was on the phone
“Oh sorry Lor, what were you saying?”
“I was saying I need to get back to work; lunch is over”
“Sure rub it in” she could just picture Lorena rolling her eyes at Paige’s sarcasm
“I’ll talk to you later; oh and Paige?”
“Yeah?”
“Check your shoes?” with that the phone went dead in her ear. Paige laughed as she stopped and checked her sneakers; sure enough one of them was untied. Stooping she thought, ‘Oh Lorena you know me so well.”
“God this Chicago heat is going to kill me”Ryan thought to himself as he jogged along the lakefront. He loved his daily runs, but missed the coolness of home. Checking his watch, he decided he’d better kick it up a notch if he wanted to make rehearsals on time. He put his ipod on shuffle and an old favorite came on, making him pound the pavement even harder. He was rounding the corner, really belting it out when all of a sudden …..
WHAM! Ryan tripped over something-correction-someONE and went flying head over heels. Landing on his backside, he felt a pain shoot through his right ankle. He was attempting to get up when he heard
“Oh My God are you ok?” a woman, presumably the one he tripped over hovered over him with a concerned look on her face
“That will be determined in a minute” he replied as he tried to get up a second time. Putting his foot down gingerly, he confirmed his fear-he was going to need a dr.
Paige watched in horror as the man tried to stand, and failed miserably. She’d just squatted to tie her shoe when he came flying around the corner out of nowhere and tripped over her. Grabbing his arm, she said
“Let’s get you over to that bench” she indicated a bench that sat not more than ten feet away
“I think I can manage” he grumbled, shrugging her arm off. “Sharon is going to kill me” he thought to himself as he sat down
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you-“
“Didn’t see me what-jogging on the runner’s path? Imagine that” he said coldly
Paige could feel the heat in her cheeks; part of it was embarrassment for having caused him to fall, and part was because she couldn’t believe he was being such a jerk about it
“No I didn’t see you, and I’m sorry I’d bent to tie my shoe”
“In the middle of the path?”
“You know what?” Paige turned and was about to give this guy a piece of her mind and suddenly her mind was a blur. The man was drop dead gorgeous; of course that didn’t excuse rude behavior.
“I said I was sorry-what more do you want?” she asked equally sarcastic
The man took a deep breath and winced in pain.
“Look I’m sorry miss, I’m just in a lot of pain right now. Forgive me, my ma would have my head if she caught me talking this way to a lady”
Paige took pity on him; after all she did stop in the middle of the path, but she hadn’t seen anyone all morning, so she’d assumed she was the lone jogger.
“Do you need me to call anyone?”
“Does that mean I’m forgiven?” he asked hopefully
“I haven’t decided yet, but since you clearly need to get to a dr., and since I’m not about to let a strange man into my car; I figured it’d be best for you to call a friend.”
Ryan smiled as he pulled out his phone, the lady certainly didn’t take any crap from anyone
“Paul? Yeah, I need you to come pick me up; I’ll explain that later, just make it quick ok?” hanging up he turned to the woman who’d single handedly turned his world upside down in a matter of minutes.
“Problem solved. By the way, I’m Ryan.” He said extending a hand
“Paige” she replied and shook his hand; it was the first time she’d noted his accent
“You’re not from around here are you?”
Ryan laughed
“Not really; County Tyrone, Northern Ireland”
“Business?” she questioned
“You could say that. I take it you’re a native Chicagoan?”
“Born and raised” she smiled proudly as she sat down next to him
“So Paige from Chicago, what brings you to the park?”
Paige sighed and cringed slightly
“Truth? My friend talked me into going on a cruise with her in January and I really want to be in shape for it, so I had the bright idea that I would start jogging/walking everyday.” She could feel the heat rise in her face from embarrassment; anyone with eyes could see that she needed to get in shape.
Ryan simply smiled
“Well that’s great, running is a great form of excerise, I myself can’t start my day without a run; helps clear the head.”
“Yeah well you’re talking to someone who hates to run for the train, let alone for fun” she quipped
“Oh it’ll get easier-promise. Just stick with it and you’ll see.”
“If you say so; so what do you-“
“What the heck kind of mess have you gotten yourself into this time Ryan?” Paige was cut off by a voice sounding curiously like Ryan’s
“Oh hey Paul” Ryan greeted the newcomer
“I need to go to the hospital-I fell and did something to my ankle”
“You WHAT?” Paul practically screamed
“Well you see I was-“
“He was coming around the corner and I stupidly had stopped in the middle of the road to tie my shoe and he kind of tripped and fell over me” Paige cut Ryan off
“And you would be?” Paul inquired
“Oh I’m sorry, I’m Paige, Paige Murphy” she stuck her hand out
Taking it gently Paul bent over in a gentlemanly fashion
“Well Page Murphy it is a pleasure to meet you” and with that he kissed her hand, causing her to blush.
‘Why God? Why on Earth would you have me meet not one, but TWO gorgeous men on the one day where I must look like a stuffed sausage that spent a little too much time in the steemer?’
Just then Ryan cleared his throat
“Um Paul, can we get me to a hospital?”
Paul smiled regretfully at Paige and sighed
“Yes Ryan my boy let me get you to a Dr. so we can figure out just what the heck we’re going to tell Sharon.”
Suspecting Sharon was probably Ryan’s girlfriend made things easier for Paige. Here she was just about to give him her phone number and watch the rejection form on his lips.
“Well again, I’m really sorry and I hope everything works out for you” she said as she turned towards Ryan
“That makes two of us” he said with a smile. After what seemed like an eternity he hobbled off in the opposite direction with Paul.
“So I’m really excited this time around because-Paige are you even listening?”
“Huh? What?” Paige guiltily realized that she hadn’t been paying attention to a word Lorena was saying. She was too busy thinking about Ryan and wondering what happened to his ankle. Yes that was it; because she certainly wasn’t thinking about his stormy blue/grey eyes or his thick black hair that her fingers itched to run through and she definitely was not thinking about his accent that could make the phone book sound like the most interesting thing in the world. She was concerned for his health; yes that was it.
“I was saying how excited I am for this tour because Neil will be touring with them as one of the front men now!” Lorena went on excitedly; she was always like this when she got to talking about Celtic Thunder, her latest favorite group. She still couldn’t fathom why Lorena listened to them-she’d listened to a couple of songs, but she could take them or leave them. How Lorena ever talked her into going to a concert still amazed her ‘It must have been the night we did tequila shots’ she laughed to herself.
“Remind me again who Neil is?”
After sighing heavily Lorena went on
“Neil was the guitarist in the show, but this time he takes the lead on Hallelujah and on the cd he sings When You Wish Upon A Star, quite beautifully I might add.” She said animatedly
“Sounds great”
“Really? Cuz you didn’t seem too enthused when I started talking about the concert” she seemed a bit dejected
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve been so busy with work and I had an incident of sorts yesterday morning.”
“Incident?What happened? Are you ok?” her friend questioned, concerned.
“Oh I’m fine, I just feel bad.” She went on to explaine what had happened the previous day, omitting the part where she was about to give Ryan her number and the fact that she was still thinking about him today.
“Oh I’m sorry Paige that must have been quite embarrassing. Was he at least cute?” she questioned, trying to make her friend feel better
Paige laughed
“You never give up do you?”
“What? I just figured if you’re going to embarrass yourself, at least do in front of someone worth being embarrassed in front of.”
“Ugh anyway, onto better things; tell me more about Celtic Thunder-when is the concert again?”
“Tomorrow night 8pm-I’ll pick you up around 6 and we can have dinner before we head over to the theatre.”
“Works for me” the two continued to discuss the concert and where they would eat the following evening.