He walked a few steps. “Is your job stressful?”
“I’m in sales. It’s just like sports because it’s all about the numbers. You’re competing against yourself and everyone else.”
“You work on commission?”
“I do.”
“That can be stressful.”
“It can be, but it can also be very rewarding helping a client solve a problem.” She quickened her strides to keep up with him.
“I bet you’re great at it.”
Why are we jogging? Is he trying to leave the date?
“Do you have somewhere you have to be?” he asked.
“I’m keeping pace with you. I thought you wanted to burn some energy.”
He slowed, and she did as well.
“You started jogging.”
Did I? Why would I do that? She tugged at the hem of her ski jacket.
“How about we walk?” He smiled, wide and sincere. He tossed his hot chocolate cup into a garbage bin. “If I’m going to jog, I need my running shoes or even snowshoes.”
“Snowshoes? That sounds hard on the legs.”
“It is. It’s great cardio actually.”
I’m still on the fence with him. At least he’s got a sense of humour, and he’s kind. Here’s something that puts off a lot of men, but it’s best that I’m honest about it. “I get up at five a.m. Five-thirty if I want to sleep in.” She slid her gaze to see his reaction from the corner of her eye.
He faced forwards. His arms swung by his side, relaxed and unhurried. “Same. You get so much more done when you wake up early. There’s no one around to distract you. And the few other people that are up, they’re also focused.”
This could be promising. I meet so many clients in the early evenings and then go home and crash. He might be open to breakfast and exercise dates instead of dinner dates. “Do you have a lot of spare time?”
“I’m not training for the Olympics, but I still keep to a personal training schedule. I’m just starting my programme, which means more time and effort are needed to market it. That said, I always make time for important things.”
Great that he’s upfront about his schedule.
I’m the same. I have to be very careful about my time. I have a good routine for my self-care that I must stick to if I’m going to keep my injuries in check and my depression at bay. If I go too much off schedule, I backtrack, and it takes me a long time to get well.
More pickup trucks hauling floats lined the street in preparation for the parade. One float had a large inflated drummer boy and three drum sets near it. Two men and a woman climbed onto the float and started drumming.
Jonathan lifted his chin towards the parade. “I’ve only seen marching bands walk ahead of a float.”
“They started having local bands play a few years ago.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“Yeah, and some of their supporters walk beside the float and hand out flyers.” She sipped some of her now cool drink, and a burst of delicious chocolate and peppermint coated her tongue.
“What kind of music do you listen to?”
“Lately and for the next two weeks, it’s Christmas music everywhere I go.”
He chuckled. “Can’t seem to escape it, can you?”
“Nope. It’s in stores, on the radio, even my podcasts. I thought I would escape it through my Spotify account, but no. A few Christmas songs slipped in.”
“I thought I’d escape it at my gym, but it’s nothing but wall-to-wall Christmas music. It’s not like the classics from the fifties or sixties. It’s all children’s songs that have catchy tunes and repetitive words that stick in your head all day. Even had a dream with those songs playing in the background.”
“Oh? Care to share?” she asked.
“Well…”
“Oh, come on. I like hearing about people’s dreams. I have one of those books that interpret things in dreams.”
“Well, okay. I was on some sort of a quest…with elves…” Uncertainty cloaked his gaze.
She gave him an encouraging nod. “Go on.”
“We had to collect candy canes from Christmas trees, but we had to cross this gravy river on the back of a turkey. We started rowing in time to a Christmas song, and the elves started singing it, so I had to start singing.”
“Did you make it across the river?”
“No. We were ambushed by snowmen pelting us with cranberries. Then I woke up.”
She snorted with laughter, brought her hand to cover her mouth, and snorted again. “Do you have a thing against snowmen?”
“Can’t say that I do, but they might have something against me.”
“Why?”
“I’m notorious for snowball fights.”
She laughed. “You’re taking away their heads and lobbing them at people.”
He winked. “That’s the only way to win.”