Bette blew out a breath shakily.  She ached to hold the blonde, to feel Tina’s warm, soft body rub against hers; she missed the taste of those lips, the smell and feel of the blonde’s silken skin.  Most of all, she missed Tina, as a wife, best friend, and confidant.  She imagined a conversation she could be having with her wife.  How are you, baby?  I just want to know how you’re feeling, what you were thinking of at this moment, what you dreamt of last night, what you thought of when you woke this morning…

I can’t take much more of this, Bette thought to herself.  I’m literally losing my mind without her.

The group had reached the west end of the loop, and after they made the turn to loop back east, she banked to take the inner lane of the jogging path and sprinted past the group, gulping mouthfuls of air, wicking sweat from her brow with the edge of a finger.  Once the sun had set, the air began to feel progressively cooler. She savored the breeze generated by the pace of her sprint as well as the cool air blowing through the trees and rustling the leaves.    

She ran as fast as she could for another half a mile, pumping her arms and legs like something was chasing after her, before she downshifted to an 8 minute/mile pace, and, minutes later, slowed down even further to jog down a gravel trail that led to the bridle path that ran parallel to the jogging path.  She followed the bridle path until she got to a well-lit trail that led south to the backside of the Metropolitan Museum.   Bette circled around until she got to the front, jogging in place by the broad marble steps that led up to the Fifth Avenue entrance to the famous museum, while she waited for the crossing light to change.  She spied an empty cab approaching, and thought for half a second about boarding it.  She figured she had about twenty five to thirty blocks to go to reach The: Core.  Ahh… why not just continue running?

She decided to run south along Park Avenue, instead of pedestrian-clogged Fifth Avenue.  Ten blocks from the street of The: Core, she pulled into an alley between two high-rises to take a swig from her water bottle and check her messages.  She saw one from Jules, who said she planned to meet up with Bette in the gym in about half an hour.  Jenna probably texted her.