Chapter 37
He pulls away. I lean back in, and he holds up two fingers to my lips. They’re swollen and covered in rain. I want more.
Reid grasps my hand and throws it up in the air. Robbie and his husband, whose name I never caught, lead me up to the podium. I need to be more attentive to the world around me next season.
The results are here.
Blair nudges me. “Hey. You did great. Chloe would be proud.”
Water pools in my eyes. Chloe would be proud. My voice is shaky as I reply, “Yeah. I think she would be. I just wish she was here.”
She looks empathetic—something I never pictured suiting her. Maybe she’s not as bad as I thought. I realize I forgot to congratulate her. “Blair.” She turns to look at me as I continue, “You did really great too.”
As soon as she stops talking to me, I realize how many cameras are surrounding me.
My hand feels cold without Reid’s in it. My legs are heavy—as if I’m wading through a dream—and the wet sunflowers are cradled in my arms. My hair is dripping down my back. I can barely hear what the announcers are saying to me. Static fills my ears.
I can’t take my eyes off Reid. He’s standing in the pouring rain, smiling and snapping pictures with his phone. It’s an out-of-body-experience.
Robbie of all people comes over and gives me my third place clamps. Fucking third place at the coolest event there is. I can hardly believe it. “Congratulations, Addie. You deserve it.”
My heart clenches—I don’t deserve it any more than the other riders here. I could just as easily be in Chloe’s position, laid up in a hospital bed right now.
The rain eases up a little, and I spend the next hour being interviewed. Per usual, I don’t know what to say, so I shrug and tell the camera, “It feels unbelievable…I don’t know what else to say. I tried my best to channel Chloe—ride for her—since she can’t be here today.”
I wink at the camera after saying it. Chloe would love my mentioning her on TV.
Reid joins us, and they start asking us about our kiss. My lips tingle at the memory before the announcers interrupt, “Here you have it folks. Mountain Biking’s newest power couple.”
I wish our first kiss wasn’t televised, but I’m glad it finally happened. Truly, I was going to combust. Reid keeps talking to the camera, addressing how his season went and assuring everyone of our plans for next season. “Don’t you worry. We’ll both be back next year.”
The camera crew believes him, and so do I. We start to make our way over to Damien and Josie, but I get stopped by dozens of people asking for my autograph. Each time they ask, I’m just as shocked as I was the first time.
Josie is holding up a massive sign, which says ‘Go! Aunt Addie.’ It’s bigger than her. She looks like she’s about to fall over. Her little brown eyes barely peak over the edge. Damien has a dashing grin on his face, and it looks good. I haven’t seen him smile like this since the incident.
“Proud of you, kid.” He hugs me hard.
My eyes roll back. “We’re practically the same age.”
“Yeah right, I’m gonna get Josie back to the hotel. You two go celebrate.”
He shoots me a knowing wink. I could kill Reid for making us public before I had a chance to process everything, but I guess it’s assurance he isn’t going to change his mind on me.
I wonder if Damien always saw this coming. He has a way of seeing through people, right down to their soul. Their biggest fears, wants, needs—he sees it all.
Looking back, it feels inevitable we would find ourselves together like this. No one blinks an eye, as if this is exactly where they expected us to end up, too.
Rider after rider approaches and congratulates me on my ride. It’s exhilarating. I could see myself doing this again, maybe even better next time.
A group of little girls ask for my autograph, and in this moment I know it was all worth it. Worth the anxiety, the torturous workouts, the injuries. My ability to push past my comfort zone gave these girls hope they can one day do the same.
I smile at them and hug the ones who want to.
Stuck in the mud, not even caring to move, I stand smiling wide, doing my best to bottle up this feeling.
Tears start to well up in my eyes, and I tug my foot out of the mud.
I don’t want to shatter their illusion of my ‘Blondie’ persona, so I get myself under control and wave goodbye.
Two of Reid’s friends run up to us, and cold fizzy liquid hits my face. “What the hell guys!”
They both shrug innocently. “It’s tradition.”
I’m pretty sure that only happens at the Superbowl but I let it slide. Reid looks at me apologetically before disappearing behind me. I turn to look for him, but I’m blinded by freezing cold Gatorade as it flows over me. Swiping my wet hair out of my eyes, I charge towards Reid. “Hastings!”
“It’s tradition!” he screams back at me as he runs away.
I’m running as fast as I can, determined to catch up to him, when he trips over a forgotten rope. My speed prevents me from stopping, so I tumble right on top of him and we cascade into giggles.
Reid kept my phone for me, and I reach for his back pocket trying to find it. I want a picture of this moment. He grabs my wrist to stop me. His gaze is intense as he scolds, “Addie. I never took you for an exhibitionist.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Oh don’t make it dirty. I just want to take a picture of us.”
He places my phone in my hand, and my smile fades as soon as it lights up.
My parents texted me. So did Aster.
They haven’t bothered to check if I’m alive since my last birthday and now they suddenly want to catch up? I guess now that I’ve made national television, I’m worthy of their attention.
Reid grabs my phone back once he sees my face fall. His brows furrow. “What the fuck is this?”
I don’t have anything to say, I’m as shocked as he is.
He pulls me into a hug and says into my hair, “I’m sorry, Addie. They don’t deserve you.”
I wipe water from my cheek. Reid plants soft kisses, replacing each tear as they fall. With a deep breath, I read the texts.
In a group chat with my mom, my dad has messaged, ‘we’re proud of you.’
No exclamation mark—nothing. I’ve read bank statements with more emotion.
Aster’s isn’t much better. It reads, ‘I always knew you could do it.’
Why didn’t she tell me that sooner? Why didn’t she have my back while my parents berated me?
It stings, but I refuse to let it dampen this moment. In protest, I still smile for the camera.
I can’t stop smiling the entire drive back to the campsite. I’ve decided to deal with my feelings about my parents later. This is one of the best days of my life, and I’m not going to let them ruin it.
The waterworks start flowing again. Reid pulls off to the side of the road and places his hand on the inside of my thigh. “What’s wrong? You just crushed Red Bull Rampage. You should be stoked.”
His voice is laced with worry. I try to wipe away the tears, but it just makes them fall faster.
In choked out words I confess, “That’s why I’m crying.”
He looks bewildered. “I don’t get it.”
“I just can’t believe I did that.”
Reid reaches over and cradles my head against his chest. “Oh, Addie. I think everyone but you knew you could do it.”
He places a kiss on top of my sweaty head, and I fall apart. I sob into his shirt without caring to stop—not that I could if I wanted to. All of the tension from this season comes flooding out of me all at once.
Reid breathes steadily, and I do my best to match my own inhales to his.
The words he whispers into my hair are too quiet for me to make out, but they comfort me all the same.
I sit there sobbing for longer than I want to admit.
Reid sits with me, and he doesn’t pressure me to stop the waterworks once—he lets me cry and holds me while I do it.
Once the tears stop flowing, Reid tips my chin up again, and this time he kisses me soft and slow. His tongue glides over my lower lip, gently asking for approval, and I return the gesture. He tastes a little salty from my deluge of tears.
My heart rate is rising again—it’s in my throat as I finally let my feelings bubble to the surface. This feels so right. I don’t want to live another day denying this is what I want—what I need.
He pulls back, his hand still on the nape of my neck, and closes his eyes. I panic for half a second. Maybe he felt nothing? I felt everything, but maybe he didn’t.
“Addie, we have to stop.”
Oh, this is it. I got my happily ever after for five seconds and now it’s all blowing away before I can hang onto it. My face falls.
His thumb trails over my neck gently.
“We can’t do this on the side of the road. It’s getting indecent.”
That’s when I let my eyes drift to the marks my teeth left on his throat and my rumpled up hair. It’s still wet, getting curlier by the second as it starts to dry. I cover my mouth as I suppress a giggle.
He pulls my hand away and clamps it in his own. “Don’t cover your smile, Adelaide.” Reid’s looking at me with adoration. I’m resisting the urge to look away, uncomfortable with the focused attention.
I sit back in the passenger seat and sigh, trying to commit this moment to memory before it fades away. The sun is starting to set over the horizon, painting the red sandstone cliffs in shades of pink and orange. It’s beautiful.
Reid brushes his thumb over my hand in steady circles, his other hand gripping the steering wheel tightly. His forearms are flexed, bringing out those veins I love so much. “Why don’t we get a celebratory milkshake to cool off a little.”
All I want is to head back to the campsite, but we’ve waited this long, so what’s another detour? Plus, I really do deserve a treat after surviving that shit.
My eyes are trained on his mouth as he slurps his milkshake. “I think it’s all gone.”
“No, you’re just impatient to get home.”
“I’m in no rush to get back to Colorado.”
His eyebrow cocks up. “Oh yeah?”
I lace lust into my words. “Oh yeah.”
Then, I hand him the tied up cherry stem I’ve been playing with from between my lips.
He grabs both of our cups and tosses them in the trash. Turning on his heel, he starts skipping to the van. An unrestrained laugh flows out of me in silky ribbons. I’m soft—pliable like putty in his hands.