Chapter 15: The Morning Run

Nina's alarm went off an hour earlier than normal, and she shut it off quickly, before it woke Scott. She had laid out her workout clothes the night before, so she could fumble her way into them half-asleep, and in the dark. Heading downstairs, she filled a water bottle, and attached it to her waist with a belt. Her music player went on her left arm in an elastic wrap, and she put a house key in a pocket of her shorts.

In the driveway outside, she saw the sun just starting to peek over the horizon as she began a warmup routine, stretching her legs and bending over forward, then from side to side. She stretched out her hamstrings, loosened up her ankles, flexed her arms, and finally pronounced herself ready.

Starting out with a fairly slow pace, she headed down the street toward the park, where she could pick up the network of paths that the runners in the neighbourhood used. She knew that the paths were marked out with distance indicators for different routes, so it was a simple matter to find a route that would give her the distance she needed. She had already decided to see if she could finish a three-mile run, rather than the two miles that Gretchen had set.

Her favourite tunes played through her headphones, and she soon found herself entering the runner's space, that combination of pounding feet, oxygenated lungs, aerobic pulse rate, and endorphin high. She was failry certain that she could maintain this pace for a long time, but wisely decided that the three-mile limit would be enough for this morning.

As she entered the second mile of her run, she could see that another pathway would be merging with hers in about a hundred yards. The space between the paths was open at this point, but would soon enter a wooded area. She looked to one side, and saw another runner on the converging path. The other runner was another woman. She seemed to be quite tall, with long legs and dark hair, held in a ponytail sticking out the back of a baseball cap. Nina estimated that the two of them would end up almost side by side once the paths converged.

As they drew closer, Nina could see that the woman was outfitted in a similar fashion, with tight shorts and a sports bra. Her legs seemed to be well-muscled, and her abdomen was toned. Nina moved over to allow the woman room to merge into the path, and they ended up running beside each other as the path entered the wooded stretch.

The woman turned her head toward Nina, so Nina pulled an earphone out of her ear to be able to hear what the woman was saying. "I don't think I've seen you on this route before."

"It's my first time. My trainer wants me to run every morning to tone up my legs."

The woman looked Nina over, and craned her head to see her legs, and rear. "You don't look like you need much toning to me."

"Thank you. You look to be quite well-built yourself."

"Well, you've definitely got me beat in the boob department. Do they cause you any trouble when you're running?"

Nina thought the question was perhaps a little forward, but decided to answer. "No. This bra is a new type that uses a sort of mesh fabric. It gives great support, but it breathes really well, so it keeps me cool."

The woman moved closer to Nina, and looked at her bra, watching the movement of her breasts as she ran. Taking Nina by surprise, she reached out a hand and cupped one of Nina's breasts, letting it move in her hand, then squeezing it firmly. Before Nina could react to say anything, the woman took her hand back.

"You're right. The bra does give you good support, but the firmness of your breasts helps."

"I hope you enjoyed the examination," Nina said sarcastically.

"I'd much rather examine you all over, without the clothes."

The remark caught Nina by surprise, and she nearly stumbled. She looked sharply at the woman, and asked "What did you say?"

"I think you heard me perfectly well, or else you wouldn't have stumbled. You're quite cute, and I think I'd like to play with you."

Nina quickly began to think that this woman might be a dominant. At the very least, she seemed to be an aggressive lesbian.

"Play with me? Play with me how?"

"Oh, I'm thinking I'd like to look at you without those clothes so I can see how wet this conversation is making you. Then I think I'd like to see how good your tongue is as it licks my clit."

"So, you're telling me your gay, and you're coming on to me in a kind of heavy-handed fashion."

"No dear, I'm not gay. If I were gay I might offer to lick your clit in return, but there's no way I'm going to lick your little pussy. I just like to dominate little sluts like you. I do like to have one of you on your knees servicing my every whim, but there's no way I'd ever soil myself by touching you with anything except a paddle or a whip."

"And you think this is going to make me want to take my clothes off and then lick your pussy?"

"Well, you may not want to do it, but I think you will."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because I may be forced to hurt you until you do."

Once again Nina was facing a threat of violence from a total stranger, and she suddenly felt a pang of fear. She knew that this woman could easily overpower her, as she was in better shape, and was much taller. Nina doubted that she could outrun the woman, but was willing to try. She knew that she was most vulnerable while the running path was in the wooded section, as the woman could pull her off into the trees, and be hidden from view. She decided that her best option was to stall for time until they passed out of the wooded section.