Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
SPRING
PERCY
I pull on my crop top and a pair of knee-length shorts.
According to the weather app, it’ll probably feel a little chilly when I step outside in these, but I’m positive that by mile three or so I’ll be glad I’m not wearing more clothes.
I run through a quick mental checklist as I pull my shoes on and stoop to tie the laces.
Blister guards on? Check.
Anti-chafing stick applied to my balls and nipples? Check.
Sanity? Clearly left the building, but that happened months ago, so we’re rolling with it.
“Percy,” Juno shouts, even though they could just as easily walk the few steps to my room and open the door. “Your boyfriend is here.”
“Then let him in, numbnuts,” I shout back.
I can hear their bark of laughter in return, and the heavy sound of Butch’s footsteps a few seconds later.
I meet him at my door, pulling it open before he’s made it all the way there.
Just over seven months since we met, and the way his smile lights up the second he sees me hasn’t changed.
Neither has my reaction to it. My stomach flutters, and an answering smile jumps to my lips immediately.
“Hey.” I tilt my chin up expectantly.
Of course, he doesn’t disappoint, leaning down to press a firm, sweet kiss to my lips.
“You ready for this, Rocky?” He looks me up and down, his eyes lingering for a second on my tight six-pack on display.
I know he would love me even if I was still the string bean who could barely take a flight of stairs without breathing heavily, but it feels damn good to have him admire this version of my body too.
I worked hard for it, and more than anything before, it feels like me.
I swallow nervously at his question though.
“Fuck, I hope so.”
He drags his eyes back up to mine. “It was a rhetorical question, baby. You are ready for this. You’ve trained your ass off, you’ve run sixteen miles twice in the last month, and you’ll have your coach right next to you every step of the way, reminding you to breathe and cheering you on if you need it. ”
I let out a breath and nod. He’s right, I’m as prepared as I possibly can be.
I think my nerves are coming from an old place, from the person I used to be and not who I am now.
If you’d asked me a year ago if I could ever run a half-marathon, I would have pissed myself laughing.
But I’ve done a lot of things in the past seven months that seemed impossible before.
I’ve gone rock climbing, I’ve deadlifted almost twice my body weight, and I’ve fallen in love with an amazing man who loves me back.
When I think about all of that, running a half-marathon sounds like a piece of cake.
“Let’s go. We have to get there in time to register and get our numbers.”
Butch offers me his hand. “Let’s go.”
“Jun—oh.” I sputter a laugh as we step into the living room and I spot Juno. “What the hell are you wearing?”
They have a pompom in one hand and a foam finger on the other, and their face is painted blue on one side and purple on the other—my two favorite colors.
And they’ve paired that with a baseball jersey that they turn around to show off with the number one and my name above it.
By the time I reach the cheerleading skirt, I’m not even surprised.
It somehow makes perfect sense that it’s the only proper way to finish an outfit this wildly insane.
“My fan gear, obviously.” They roll their eyes like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I can’t very well cheer you on from the sidelines without the proper attire.”
My throat tightens and I drop Butch’s hand to pull my crazy-ass best friend into a bone crushing hug.
“I love you, you big freak.”
Juno kisses the top of my head, and I can feel the wet smear of paint they leave behind.
“Love you too, Perce. Now let’s fucking go. I want to find a good spot near one of the water stations.”
The starting and finishing line is conveniently only a couple of blocks away, so we walk it. Butch holds my hand and a light spring breeze ruffles my shirt and my hair, sunshine warming my bare skin as we make our way down the block at an unhurried pace.
“Oh, hey, I forgot to ask you, how’s your thesis presentation coming?” Butch asks as we walk.
My stomach swoops and I chuckle. “Good. My adviser approved it, and he seems enthusiastic about it. I have a lot of work ahead of me still, but it’ll come together.
Let’s focus on one terrifying accomplishment at a time.
If I survive running a half-marathon, then I can start having anxiety sweats over my thesis, and my future, and whether or not Juno and I want to renew our lease when the landlord is telling us rent is going up by three hundred dollars. ”
I groan at the sheer weight of all the things I need to worry about.
Butch squeezes my hand reassuringly.
“Sorry, didn’t know that would be such a can of worms. Head in the game for today, and we can tackle the rest of it tomorrow.”
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 seen make 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.
“I’m gonna make it,” he huffs, a look of pride glowing on his face.
“I knew you could do it.”
“You really did, didn’t you?” There’s a hint of awe in his breathless voice.
When we’re only a few paces away from the end, Percy reaches for my hand.
With his palm slick against mine and our fingers twined together, we cross the finish line.
He turns to me and launches himself into my arms. I stumble back a step thanks to my tired legs, but I catch him with a panting laugh, and our mouths collide in a kiss.
“Take me home and lick all the sweat off of me,” he mumbles against my lips.
I groan in agreement. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.