See You at the Finish Line (Run, Love, Repeat #1)

13. Paige

Indian Creek 67.8 mi/ 109.2 km

That kiss.

I never knew a one-second, closed-mouth kiss could turn my world upside down. There was more passion in that one kiss than I have experienced in my entire life.

I knew I was tripping more through the night before the kiss, but now I really can’t see straight. I can only see that fire in his eyes when he pulled away, and my mouth is still tingling from the pressure.

We shuffle through the night, neither of us willing to speak more than a couple words to each other. I’m getting more and more anxious.

Does he regret kissing me?

Are there other mountain lions out there ready to eat us?

These seem like two very real possibilities, though I know only a delusional person would be worrying about the kiss more than the actual lion stalking around somewhere. But I only have control over one of those situations. I want to be able to tell my therapist I didn’t spiral .

Well, mostly.

I clear my throat. “Adam?” His name comes out like a question.

“Yeah?” He turns, finding me farther behind him than he realized, forcing him to jog back to me. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He doesn’t seem to know what to do with his hands but his eyes scan over me, looking for a problem.

“No, it’s not that ...” I let my voice trail off and his eyes return to my face. I take a deep breath. “We can just pretend it didn’t happen if you want. I don’t want you to regret anything. It was a good kiss, great even, but I don’t expect more, and I don’t think it was bad, I just—”

“Paige.” He cuts off my rambling, a genuine smile crossing his face. “I don’t regret kissing you. All I can think about is kissing you again, but I was worried I overstepped.”

That small reassurance propels me forward. “You didn’t overstep,” I confirm.

“Okay, good,” he says, still smiling.

“Good.”

I expect him to kiss me again—I desperately want him to kiss me again—but he pulls back. I furrow my brows. The hurt must show on my face because he quickly comes to stand right in front of me, so close our bodies are almost flush.

“Paige, I don’t regret kissing you.” He closes his eyes like he needs to collect himself. I know the feeling. When he opens them again, that fire is blazing in those blue eyes, my headlight illuminating his striking features. I’m tingling all over .

“But if I kiss you again, I will regret it because I won’t be able to stop.” He steps closer, his hands coming to cup my neck, tilting my face up with his thumbs. “I won’t be able to stop at only tasting your mouth. I’ll want to taste every part of you.” He leans in, the phantom touch of his lips making mine ache for contact. “And you deserve more than a dusty trail in the middle of nowhere, rocks digging into your back, scared that we might get attacked by a mountain lion.”

He lets the words settle, almost like he’s trying to convince himself as well. “The stars are romantic, but so is the ceiling in my hotel room.” His gaze flicks to my lips before he drops his hands, backing away. I just stand there, fairly certain I’m about to die of a heart attack. What kind of woman wrote this man?

“Okay then,” I sputter, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Damn, my future husband has moves. I probably shouldn’t even be thinking along those lines. Knowing me, it’ll spill right out of my mouth.

We run through the night, both of us jumping at any sound the desert makes, then dissolving into laughter. My heart races every time I catch him looking at me and smiling, which happens just as many times as he catches me looking at him.

It’s a good thing it’s pitch-black out here because if it was daylight, I’d be missing the stunning scenery, too busy thinking about the ceiling in his hotel room. If I’m being honest with myself, a rock digging into my back wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Besides, he could always be the one with rocks digging into his back .

I shake my head, trying to clear the images. For the millionth time, I remind myself I’ve only known this man for a couple of days and he could very well be a serial killer in disguise. Not that I’ve met any serial killers in my life, but he doesn’t seem like a serial killer. That would be a plot twist.

We make it through the night without further incident, and thankfully no more wildlife encounters. Between the mountain lion and the rockslide after the storm, what else could go wrong?

Night barely gives way to the light of the rising sun, reluctant to surrender its reign. The black sky is now a deep navy blue. We still need our headlamps. When we catch sight of the Indian Creek aid station, there seems to be a lot of commotion. Adam and I trade curious glances and pick up the pace, feeling tension permeate the air.

Did someone get hurt?

Though I don’t have anyone else doing the race with me, Adam has his two friends. From what he’s told me, I already care about them, though Caleb seems like a douchebag.

Adam runs faster and I let him go ahead, dread pooling in my stomach. Instinctively, I slow down, not wanting to face whatever’s happening. The feeling of dread from the mountain lion returns in full force as panic weighs down my chest.

Flashing lights sear my vision, and all I can see is my dad’s motorcycle swerving to avoid an animal before careening off the road. The single headlight flashes in my eyes as we approach from the opposite direction .

Mom was driving Leah and me home from science camp. I wanted to do a sports camp, but because Leah is older, my mom put us in the camp she wanted to do. I was in the back seat, still sulking about it even though I’d had so much more fun than I thought I would. Even at that age, I was too stubborn to admit it. Leah was talking animatedly in the front seat, and Mom was trying to listen while also paying attention to the road.

It happened so fast.

One minute the approaching light was coming at us and the next, it was swerving into the ditch, the rider being tossed through the air and slamming down on the concrete.

“Stay in the car,” Mom told us, her voice unlike I had ever heard before. Even Leah didn’t protest.

Mom got out and ran to the body, her scream shattering the silence of the night. I still hear it in my nightmares. It was so dark and I couldn’t see anything. I could only hear the sound of my mom’s heart breaking.

Lights were flashing, red and blue ones. At first, I was confused because the motorcycle only had one headlight. But then Leah was there, putting her arm around me and taking me out of the car. The rider on the side of the road was wearing the same jacket Dad always wore.

The lights at the aid station flare, headlamps moving around as people scurry back and forth. I don’t realize I’ve started walking until I stumble, a rock in my path jarring me back to the present. I walk into the aid station to stand beside Adam, resisting the urge to lean into him for comfort. His face is set in confusion, but I don’t hear what the check-in volunteer is saying.

Everything is muffled and in slow motion around me. A flash of light in a dark night. My father’s dead body on the side of the road. My mom’s scream.

“Paige?” Adam’s voice cuts through the fog in my head.

“Yeah?”

“You have to check in.” His face is serious and concerned.

“Right, Paige, 145, checking in.”

“Thank you, Paige. The race director will want to speak with you as well if both of you will follow Lucy.” The volunteer points to where Lucy stands, her face cast downwards.

Adam and I walk to Lucy, and I wonder if his stomach is sinking like mine is. Almost like getting sent to the principal’s office when you don’t know what you did wrong.

“Paige?” Leah’s voice cuts through the darkness, and she stops dead in her tracks when she sees my face. “What’s wrong?” she asks. I can only shake my head. I can see she wants to come with me, but even I don’t know what’s going on.

“Follow me,” Lucy says when she notices I’ve slowed.

“What’s this about?” Adam asks.

But Lucy shakes her head. “I’m sorry.” She opens up one of the aid tents and the race director is there, standing with two officials.

And Caleb.

“Caleb?” Adam says. His confusion seems to grow.

“Adam Ashford and Paige Harrison?” the race director asks us, her voice serious. When we nod, she turns her focus on me. “Mr. Sharpe has told us you veered off the course, around the designated path.”

Adam’s head whips towards Caleb and then to Lucy.

The race director sounds resigned. “So it is true.”

It’s not a question but I answer anyway. “There was a rockslide,” I say. “I lost the path and couldn’t find my way out for a while. I’m not sure which way I was going.”

“Please hand over your GPS tracking chip. We need to check your route,” one of the assistants says to me. I unclip the chip and hand it over.

What is going on? “I was trying to find my way back.”

“And you checked in to the next aid station before forcing a volunteer to erase your name?” the race director asks Adam.

He doesn’t shift his hard stare away from Caleb. “I did, she needed help.”

“She didn’t call for help,” Caleb says quietly.

“My phone got wet, I couldn’t access CalTopo. I was just trying to get back to the path,” I say, confused at how my mishap is being blown out of proportion. It doesn’t officially say anywhere in the rules that we can’t backtrack. But if I accidentally took a shortcut ...

“Paths change due to inclement weather all the time. Paige just had to make her own adjustments.” Adam is visibly shaking beside me. I reach out a hand to calm him, but he avoids the contact, taking a step towards Caleb.

Was that intentional? Is he upset with me ?

The assistant shows the director something on the screen and she deflates, sighing as she turns back to us.

“Unfortunately,” the director says, clearing her throat, “we cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour from our racers. Your map shows that you cut off a significant portion of the trail, Paige. Adam, it is against the rules to interfere with volunteers, and once you check in, you cannot go back.

"We understand that you have spent significant time and financial investment to complete this race, but unfortunately, you both have been disqualified.”