We. I like the sound of that. I like that he’s automatically willing to bear my burdens, even if all that means is listening to me bitch about them later. I bring our joined hands up to my face and kiss his knuckles.
“I love you.”
His megawatt smile nearly bowls me over. “I love you too, Rocky.”
BUTCH
When we get to the registration area, all the guys are already milling around. Fender, AJ, Slater, Callan, and Dre all have numbers on, and they look ready for the race, while Silas, Ezra, and Xeno are off to the side, not dressed to run, holding signs that I can’t read from here, but that I’m guessing are meant to cheer us on.
We sign in and get our numbers while Juno goes to join our cheerleading section.
I can’t stop looking at Percy, and every time I do, I’m fucking blown away by how in awe I am of him, how crazy in love I am with him. The confident smile on his face and the way he moves like he’s not afraid of taking up space and being seenmake me want to sweep him off his feet and kiss him until we’re both dizzy. Sure, all of his new lean sculpted muscles are hot, but they’re nothing compared to the way his self-assurance has grown.
Last week he took a shower at Sweat. I got hard just seeing him strut through the locker room with a towel around his waist and his head high like he fucking owned the place, like he knew he had every right in the world to be there, just like anyone else.
“You might want to roll your tongue back up before someone trips over it,” Fender says, nudging me with his shoulder, jarring me out of my staring.
Percy looks up from pinning his number to the front of his shirt and snorts a laugh.
“I think you’re jealous of how in loooooove we are,” he taunts playfully, patting Fender’s cheek.
“No way. I’m a wild stallion—strong, beautiful, and untamable. Losing my mind over someone sounds like a horror story to me. Like some don’t-open-that-door-or-you’ll-go-insane Lovecraft shit.”
“I think there’s a cliché somewhere in there about protesting too much, but your life of denial seems important to you, so I’m going to leave it alone and buy myself a tub of popcorn to watch with glee when someone finally does come along and make you stupid and crazy,” Percy says.
Fender scoffs, and I keep my mouth shut, but secretly, I’m with Percy. It’s going to be entertaining as fuck when someone manages to get under Fender’s skin.
The announcement comes that the race is about to start, so we all make our way over to the starting area.
“You’ve got this.” I give Percy a little slap on the ass. “Remember to breathe, pace yourself, and stay focused on the finish line. Nothing else matters except the road ahead.”
“Got it.” He nods with determination and does a quick quad stretch.
The starting pistol sounds, and we all take off.
It’s the perfect day for a half-marathon. The sun is shining but the temperature isn’t too high, and there’s just enough of a breeze that sweeps through every so often to cool the sweat as it forms on our skin.
Unsurprisingly, Callan and Dre sprint ahead of us quickly. Their competitive streaks no doubt have them determined to finish near the top. AJ and Slater seem like they’re competing against each other but not necessarily killing themselves to get a good time, and Fender seems happy to keep up a measured jog with me and Percy.
“We’re not all the way at the back,” Percy says with surprise after the first handful of miles, breathing heavily but evenly. His curls are flat, damp with sweat, and so is his shirt, but otherwise he’s still smiling.
“Told you you’d do fine.”
“Might try to beat you,” he teases, speeding up a little bit to get ahead of me.
I huff a laugh and keep my pace steady, not bothering to try to catch up. I’ve got plenty of stamina for distance, but I wasn’t built for speed and I’m not going to kill myself trying. Besides, the view from a couple of feet behind him is top notch.
We spot Juno and the others at the third water station. We slow down to rehydrate, and Percy pulls his sweat-drenched shirt off and tosses it to Juno, who catches it and pretends to swoon like a true over-the-top fan.
“Here, you’ll need this.” Xeno tears the number off of Percy’s shirt and hands it to him.
He takes it, and we start running again.
Thirteen point one miles. It’s a long way to run, but it gives me plenty of time to think.
Was Percy hinting at anything when he mentioned his rent increase? This is the first time he’s said anything about his lease almost being up, and he moved on from it so fast that it was hard to tell. I know he likes living with Juno, and Fender isn’t the worst roommate in the world, but living with Percy? My stomach flutters and a surge of energy courses through my tiring muscles. Yeah, I want that.
When the finish line eventually comes into view, he slows down a little and falls back into step with me.
