**

With, her heart banging in her chest like an out of control metronome, Dana put her hands no her waist and bent over for a second before standing up right once again. The athlete smiled when she glanced at her watch, noting that she had taken another five seconds off her mile time.

As her breathing began to return to normal the athlete walked the half block to the Planet for her morning smoothie.

“Hey Rick,” Dana greeted the young man behind the counter as she walked in.

“Your drink will be up in a few minutes,” the dark hair replied gathering the ingredients for Dana’s usual protein shake.

“Great,” she said as she passed by and headed to the table where her friends and her girlfriend sat chatting.

“Hey guys,” she greeted everyone before leaning down to give Alice at kiss before saying, “Morning gorgeous.”

“What no kiss for us,” Shane teased as the athlete pulled up a chair?

“Stop hitting on my woman, Shane,” Alice replied with a grin taking Dana’s hand in her own and stroking it gently with her thumb. “Are you gonna let her get away with that,” she asked Carmen?

Giving Shane a once over, as if she was pondering something before doing the same to Dana, Carmen declared, “Well, Dana has been looking particularly fine lately,” causing Dana to blush, “but given the fact you two are always attached I don’t think I have anything to worry about.”

“Damn straight,” Shane replied kissing her Latina love affectionately.

“Yeah, Dana,” Tina began, “you’ve been different lately… happier.. I take it things are going well with training.”

While things were going well with her training, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Her and Alice’s relationship, while it was a little rocky upon Lara’s return, couldn’t have been stronger. Once she had pulled her head out of her ass and realized that Alice was being clingy because they were failing to communicate, Dana grabbed Alice and headed up to Santa Barbara for a romantic weekend getaway.

 In the three days they were in Santa Barbara, they left their room at the Biltmore once, and that was only to satisfy Alice’s crazy craving for an In n’ Out burger. They had spent the weekend reconnecting not only physically and emotionally, but verbally too. Talking had always been Dana’s weak point. She always felt like she came off as naïve and stupid because she couldn’t find the words to express what she was thinking.  But it was getting easier and Alice, her beautiful Alice, was being patient.