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Rafe didn’t try to talk as we ran, thank God And I was grateful when he steered us toward the old Harkness graveyard, because ouldn’t have to dodge pedestrians there

"Never caate

"It’s cool," he said "On the way horave"

"Bet you say that to all the girls," I puffed

He chuckled, but he didn’t slon, damn him At the other end of the cemetery, he ran us up Science Hill, where the pedestrian traffic was also minimal But my pace had slowed to a crawl, so he took a hint and stopped at a drinking fountain in the tiny park at the top

"Dying here," I groaned, bending over to lean on my knees "Why do people do this?"

He took a drink before answering "Just to prove they can"

"But I don’t care if I can"

"You’d care if you couldn’t," he pointed out

"That’s deep," I scoffed

While I tookme the once-over "We’ll turn back now," he proo ahead I’oing to do this right"

"God, why? I’m not an athlete"

He shook his head "An athlete isn’t a special kind of person Anyone can be an athlete You just do it, and then you can call yourself one"

"Just do it, huh? Are you on Nike’s payroll?" My stream of bitchiness was on autopilot now