I woke up this morning wondering if I dreamed it all. That’s when I saw the text from Bent telling me to meet him on the field. So here I am.
I exhale deeply and watch my breath mist in front of me. Needing to stay warm against the morning chill, I begin to bounce from foot to foot. Bringing my hands up to my mouth, I blow on them.
“Good morning, birthday girl,” is breathed into my ear, causing me to jump and turn.
Bentley is smiling back at me as he holds out a cup to me. I take the cup, and it warms my hands up right away. I take a sip, and the warm, sweet flavor bursts against my tongue.
“Thank you. It’s my favorite. Carmel hot chocolate,” I say and give him a little goofy grin.
I can’t believe he remembers what kind of hot chocolate I like. It’s perfect too. He places his hands on my hips and kisses my forehead.
“I remembered and thought you would want something to warm you up. We’re not in Arizona anymore. This cold will get to you,” he replies.
“So what are we doing out here? I thought our date was for tonight.”
“It is, but can you blame me for wanting to spend the day with my girl on her birthday?”
“Not your girl yet. You haven’t won, or did you forget already?”
“I haven’t forgotten at all. That’s why we’re here.” He nods to the stairs. “Challenge number one. First one to quit is the loser.”
I smile wider. I should have known. This is our thing. Our game is to challenge each other mentally and physically.
“Oh, you’re on.”
I finish my hot chocolate and toss it into the bin a few paces away. I begin to roll my neck from side to side and then start to stretch. Bentley is already stretching as he watches me with a smile on his lips.
Once we’re done, we move to the bottom of the stairs and stand side by side. I don’t need my speed for this, I need my endurance. Bentley has always been full of energy. All I have to do is match that.
“I win this round, I get another date this weekend,” he says.
“We haven’t even gone on the first one. What if it’s a bust?” I tease.
He bumps me with his hip. I laugh as I dodge him. He reaches for me and pulls me into him.
“I have the perfect date planned for tonight. I’m confident you’ll want another.”
“If you say so. What do I get when I win?”
“I never thought about that because you’re not going to,” he says.
“Is that right? Fine. I win, I get to pick the next two challenges, and you have to show me all the need-to-know spots on campus. I still haven’t gotten around to exploring much.”
“Deal, I would do that anyway. Let’s go.”
He turns and starts to run up. I’m right with him. It only takes a few seconds for me to get where I went wrong with this one. Bentley has been here for two years. He’s used to the altitude here. I’m not.
My lungs are burning, and we’ve only been up and down once so far. I want to curse and fuss, but I suck it up and keep going. I’m no quitter.
“You okay, baby? You ready to quit?” Bentley taunts as we start up again.
I frown at him and keep going. How the heck is he talking while doing this? At this point, I’m no longer feeling the cold.
I push through and keep going. However, exhaustion from not sleeping much begins to catch up with me as we get to round four. Once I turn and get back down to the bottom, I’m ready to throw the towel in.
I stop and place my hands on my knees. I grind my teeth as Bentley hoots and fist pumps. I’m so mad I could spit, but my body is telling me I can’t go any further.
“You cheated,” I pant.
