“What are you doing here?” I called, but she was already pedaling ahead, disappearing through the crowd.
Adrenaline slammed into me, rebooting my circulatory system as I sprinted after her. “Lu! Where’s your mom?”
Fuck. Did she run away again? How the hell did she know where to find me?
I finally caught a glimpse of her bike weaving ahead near the spectators and pushed myself harder. A second wind hitwith supernatural force, my breathing evening out and my legs unlocking as I entered the final stretch of the race.
The crowds thickened near the finish line, spectators screaming while race announcers shouted names through crackling speakers overhead. My vision tunneled slightly as I crossed the final turn, and then, suddenly, I saw the finish line but still no Lu.
I stumbled across it half delirious while volunteers descended, offering me water bottles and some kind of substance in a paper cup, but I waved them all off.
“Sir, over here,” someone was saying. “Medical should?—”
“Congratulations on third place!” another volunteer cut off the first.
I frowned, still convinced I was hallucinating. “Wait, what?”
The guy gave me an excited grin. “You placed third overall.”
Another volunteer shoved a timing printout into my hand. 2:49:37.
I looked at it again, but that couldn’t possibly be right. A sub 2:50 marathon was insane.
“What the hell,” I muttered, but followed an attendant toward the recovery tents and electrolyte stations.
My legs wobbled slightly, feeling like they were about to stage a protest when I suddenly saw a line of familiar faces. Lu was standing on top of a barricade, waving both arms like she was directing airport traffic. Jennifer bounced excitedly beside her while Amber clapped.
Adeline was with them, smiling at me like she couldn’t believe what she’d just watched. I looked around a little more, disoriented and unsure if they were real. Another attendant came up behind me. “Right this way, sir.”
I waved him off and stumbled toward them instead. On the off chance that itwasactually them, there was a lot I needed to say and right now seemed to be as good a time as any.
“I can’t believe it,” Adeline said as soon as I reached the barrier, her blue eyes wide and smiling. “Zach, that was insane.”
Amber shook her head, looking mildly disappointed. “You beat some of the professional runners.”
I was too exhausted to even begin to process that information. Bracing my hands on my knees, I breathed hard, taking a few seconds before I managed to say anything at all. “That was never my intention.”
As soon as I straightened, I found myself folding straight into Adeline and the girls. Jennifer launched herself at me, shrieking, “You won!”
Lu attached herself to my side a second later before immediately recoiling. “Ew. You’re so sweaty.”
“That tends to happen during marathons,” I managed between harsh breaths.
She wriggled away with a look of disgust while Jennifer laughed so hard, she nearly fell over, and Amber’s nose wrinkled. “You smell like a crime scene.”
“Thank you,” I wheezed, but then Adeline stepped closer and the pain moving through my legs suddenly didn’t feel particularly important anymore.
Shit, she’s beautiful.Her hair was windblown and her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes shone with joy. Without even really thinking about it, I leaned forward until my forehead was resting against hers. Sweat probably got on her but she didn’t seem to care.
“What are you doing here?” I asked once I managed to speak again.
She let out a slightly shaky laugh. “I couldn’t wait.”
Around us, people were still cheering, runners stumbling over the finish line, but I was barely aware of any of that. “You couldn’t wait for what?”
She swallowed so hard that I saw her throat move, but her gaze was still firmly locked on mine. “I love you, Zach.”
Yeah. It’s official. I’m hallucinating. I’m probably holding a banner or something right now, since it can’t really be her. But this is nice. I think I’ll stay in this sweet dream forever.
