I swear she hadn’t slept at all last night, just stared at the ceiling thinking, planning…agonizing. Since this wasn’t her first time at the school, I was a little mystified why she was worrying about it. She didn’t get nervous going into Pete’s anymore, so what was the difference? And it didn’t seem to be the upcoming workload that was freaking her out either. It was literally the idea of walking into a new class, not knowing what to expect. It was strange to me, since I didn’t get nervous about stuff like that, but it was a real concern for her, so I was doing my best to think of ways to help her through it.

Walking her to class was a given—she liked it, and I liked it too. Honestly, it was one of my favorite things about Kiera being in school. That and helping her study. I was a firm believer that sex before, during, or after studying helped you retain things. A belief I was willing to help Kiera put to the test over and over again this fall. For science’s sake, of course.

Laughing at that thought, I set my notebook aside for the day. I wanted to get in a run before Kiera was done with her art class. Maybe exercise would help me think of a way to get her to relax tonight, forget about the needless fears awaiting her in the morning. Something unexpected and fun, something she could think about when she was nervous, something she’d never forget. Yeah, I would do that for her tonight. Help her make a memory, freeze a moment in time. With me.

Eager for the memory to start, even though I had no idea what the memory was going to entail, I quickly changed into my workout gear—a T-shirt and track pants. Grabbing my running shoes, I headed out the door and locked up my house. It was such a relief to know that I didn’t have to worry about beating Kiera back to my home—she could let herself in whenever she got there.

My house rested on a steep hill, about halfway down the incline. That meant I could either start my workout with a bang or end it with one. It was still kind of strange to me, living on one of the many extreme hills that dotted the city. My childhood home in West Seattle had been in a relatively flat spot, considering the area, and I hadn’t had the truly rugged hill experience until moving here.