False Start by Barbara Valentin

extended into a "V" in front of him, he invited Mattie to sit facing him.
    After pulling the hem of her sweatshirt down as far as it would go, she lowered herself into position.
    "Put the bottom of your shoes against mine," he instructed before holding his hands out to her.
    Looking as if she had just sniffed sour milk, she observed, "This is couples stretching. I've seen it on TV."
    Nick shook his head. "It's instructional stretching, just until you're comfortable doing it on your own."
    When still she hesitated, he urged, "Come on, Mattie. Ya gotta trust me."
    She pressed her size five shoes against his. As she leaned forward, holding out her hands, she felt his shoes press back.
    When Nick grabbed a hold of her fingers and enveloped them in his grasp, tingles traveled up the length of her arms, and she let out an involuntary gasp.
    Eddie had rarely laid a finger on Mattie, and when he did, tingles were not the result. Maybe because any intentional physical contact on his part always seemed so forced, so obligatory. Even after they were engaged, the only time Eddie had agreed to sleep with her was after he had downed nearly half a bottle of one hundred-year-old cognac. While she had spent much of her young life looking forward to the magical moment when she would finally lose her virginity to the man of her dreams, the experience was, at best, awkward and, for lack of a better word, platonic.
    Such a schmuck.
    "Breathe," Nick coaxed as he studied her face. "You're not breathing."
    Mattie winced. "Easy for you to say."
    "Just a couple of more seconds. You can do it. Just relax."
    "This isn't helping, Nick. It's making it worse."
    Frowning, he eased her back a bit.
    "All right. This ought to do the trick. Lay on your back."
    "Excuse me?"
    Nick put his hand on her shoulder and nudged her backwards. "You heard me. Lay down."
    When she was flat on her back, he knelt next to her and grabbed the heel of her right foot.
    "What are you doing?"
    "Making it all better. Straighten your leg."
    He slowly lifted her foot. By the time her leg was perpendicular to the ground, she was arching her back and digging her nails into the track's rubber surface.
    "Uncle!"
    "You're not breathing. Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth."
    Mattie gritted her teeth while Nick knelt idly by, holding her foot mid-air. "Come on Mattie. I don't have all day."
    No raise is worth this.
    Taking a deep breath in through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, she felt something happen. The tightness in her muscles actually started to dissipate. She did it again. Even better. Her eyes popped opened, and she flashed a smile at the vaulted ceiling of the field house.
    Nick eased her leg back to the ground and started raising the other one. After a quiet moment, he said, "This would all go much easier if you'd stop fighting me."
    Mattie considered her options. She could continue to be aloof, whiny, and uncooperative for weeks, just to be difficult, but what would that prove except perhaps that Nick was right to advise his brother against marrying her?
    She looked at him. "Do you promise never to make me this sore again?"
    Nick thought for a minute then shook his head. "No."
    He dropped her foot to the floor.
    Coach one, Mattie zip.
    Flinging an arm across her face, she mumbled, "Fine."
    "Excuse me?"
    She pulled herself into a sitting position and looked at Nick.
    "You heard me. I surrender."
    He reached down and extended his hand to her. "Good. Now let's get to work. We'll take it nice and easy today. Come on."
    While Mattie shuffled along, sweating and panting, Nick walked next to her, talking the entire time.
    "I want you to think about setting some goals for yourself..."
    I'd like to not jiggle when I jump up and down.
    "…For motivation…"
    I'd like to be light enough for the man of my dreams to sweep me off my feet.
    "…Like 5ks, 10ks, and a half marathon."
    Oh.
    "I checked around. There's a 5k in February. You should be ready for that by