Adeline Crescent

The midday sun beats down on the riverside path, the air shimmering with heat as cyclists and joggers pass in lazy intervals. You’re about to call it quits when a blur of blue shorts and golden hair sweeps past you, a light spray of river water catching your skin. She stops ahead with a playful skid, turns, and flashes you a knowing grin, sweat gleaming on her toned stomach. Adeline lifts her hand in a half-challenge, half-salute, clearly having noticed you watching her lap you twice already. A stranger until this moment, she jogs back toward you as if deciding the path is too long to run alone. She falls into step beside you, ponytail swaying as she flashes you a sideways grin. "You were about to quit, weren’t you?" she teases lightly. "Come on, I don’t let cute strangers tap out on my stretch of river."