Kristen had been correct in her assessment. The following morning, and the one after that, Agent Bishop had slowly caught up to her before finally passing on the left. Each time he had been courteous while offering simple good morning wishes and a brief exchange of conversation. Then on the fourth such encounter during a more crowded Saturday morning, Heath lingered for an extra moment. Knowing that her bait had finally worked, Kristen said, “Thanks for not making me look so bad today.”

Intrigued by the statement, Heath asked, “How do you mean?”

“You slowed down for me, and didn’t just pass me like I was standing still. So thank you for that.”

With a smile in her direction, he replied, “Miss, I can assure you that you do not look like you are standing still. You run a brisk pace that is certainly faster than all of these other folks out here.”

“You mean except for your pace. And it’s Kristen by the way.”

Heath realized that he had inadvertently backed himself into a bit of a corner. He could potentially work his way out by simply wishing her a good day and picking up his pace again, but that just wouldn’t sit well. Another option would be to freely admit believing that he was a superior runner, but that would serve no productive purpose. To do so would invite the risk of being viewed as some sort of jerk in her eyes, especially since he had lingered for an extra moment as if toying with her. That was not his intent, and preferred to be thought of as a gentleman.

Therefore he asked, “Would it be alright if we ran together for a while?”

With a smile on her face, Kristen replied, “Sure, that’s alright with me. However I do have one condition.”

“What’s that Kristen?”

“That you tell me your name.”

Feeling rather foolish at his neglect of an introduction, he replied, “Well that’s fair enough I suppose. My name is Heath.”

Throughout the next two weeks, Kristen and Heath continued to run together whenever possible. They began to learn a little bit about each other, although both remained somewhat guarded. Heath didn’t want Kristen to know that he was a Secret Service Agent, while she was feeding him a false identity via a cover story. Kristen understood that the less she told him about her supposed life, the easier it would be for her to remember what had been said. Eventually Heath asked her if she wanted to have coffee or something, and she agreed to meet the following day for lunch. When Kristen arrived Heath was amazed. He hadn’t seen her in anything other than running clothes and shoes with her hair pulled up, but now she stood before him in a nice knee length dress with heels while her long brown hair flowed freely over her shoulders.

The lunch and extended conversation moved the budding relationship in a positive direction, and as November then turned to December, they began to see each other when time availed during the evening hours. However based on work schedules, be they via cover story or in reality, the morning runs were still the most reliable means for almost daily contact. Then with each passing week Heath noticed that Kristen was able to rearrange her time more often so that the frequency of their occasional drink or dinner could increase. This was a good thing in his eyes, and although her recent and convenient flexibility of time might have been a red flag in most circumstances, he didn’t recognize it as one.

When Heath asked her a few days before Christmas on one of their runs what her plans were for New Year’s Eve, Kristen replied, “Well I don’t have anything specific planned if you’re asking me to go out. I do enjoy being among the masses in the evening hours if the weather isn’t too bitter, but I also usually prefer to be back indoors someplace a little before midnight. That way I can view the television coverage of the Manhattan madness and the ball dropping in relative comfort. What about you?”

“Well for a long time I didn’t want to do anything on New Year’s Eve. It just didn’t seem like that big of a deal to me, but lately I’ve looked at it a little differently.”

“What’s changed Heath?”

“Nothing specific, and like you, I still prefer to be in by midnight.”

“But you do like to go out for a drink and dinner in the evening?”

“Well sure Kristen, but now it sounds like you’re the one asking me out.”

“Wow, you turned that around on me pretty fast. But if that’s what makes you feel comfortable, I’ll play along. Heath, would you like to go out with me on New Year’s Eve?”

With a slight laugh at her sarcasm, he replied, “Alright Kristen, since I have nothing else to do. What time should I pick you up?”