Chapter twenty-six
Laney
I can make most of that sound sexual.
"Holyshit!"Igaspas an attendant wraps a blanket around my shoulders. "Holy crap."
I just ran the best race of my entire life.
Beat my Personal Record by nine whole minutes.
Nine fucking minutes!
Did I miss a mile on the course? Accidentally violate the rules by skipping ahead? I don't think I did but there's no way I was able to take that much time off my pace.
"Laney!" I turn to see Miguel moving towards me. The smile on his face is infectious and I find mine growing wider as he gets closer.
He wraps me up in a hug and spins me around. We're both laughing and when he sets me down he says, "Great race, Laney!"
"Thank you," I say, almost bashful under his praise. It felt so good to see him at different spots throughout the race. He was exactly where I needed him to be. "And, was that Dee out there with theYou’re running better than the governmentsign?"
He laughs. "It was. She drove in yesterday. She was a little further back from where I was standing at the finish so she’ll be here soon."
"I can’t believe you got her to surprise me down here."
"It didn’t take much, she wants to support you. We all do."
"All?" I raise my eyebrows and dart my gaze down to his groin.
"Yes, all." He rolls his eyes but I see him fighting the smile.
"Laney!! Are you dead?" Dee comes crashing into the finishing area, her sign wobbling at her knees as she tries to run with it.
I laugh. "Not dead, but close."
We wrap each other in a hug. I had no idea how good it would feel to have people in the crowd there just for me. Dee was there when I didn’t finish in Chicago last year, and since then I felt like I needed to prove I could do it alone.
"What do you do post game?" She asks with a smile.
I look at Miguel.
"Gross." Dee rolls her eyes.
"No, she has to eat, stretch, gather her equipment, and then back at the hotel she’ll need to shower and do the foam roller." Miguel tells her.
"Oddly, I can make most of that sound sexual." Dee says.
"You need to get your mind out of the gutter or get some." I say, as I roll out my ankles after Miguel takes my shoes off. The promise of slipping into my post-race crocs is maybe the only thing I can get excited about when it comes to my body right now.
"Noted."
"Where do you think I should sit and wait for the sponsors to come up to me?" I say it with a hint of humor but I couldn't be more serious. If today’s performance doesn’t have them knocking down my door I don’t know what will.
Miguel's jaw twitches. His forehead pinches too and I feel the anger rolling off his shoulders but I don’t get a chance to question it.
"They'll find you, maybe not here exactly but if they want to sign you they'll find a way to get in touch." He says coolly.
"They have to want to sign me though, right? I mean, that was incredible." And then a thought hits me. What if I was too good? What if they think I've peaked?
