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

Epilogue

ONE YEAR LATER

Paige

Porcupine Rim 221.47 mi/ 356.42 km

“I hate you,” I tell Adam as he passes me yet again on this leg. We’re almost done. I cannot believe we're almost done. I never thought we'd get to cross this finish line.

We just left the last check-in point at the Porcupine Rim aid station, and every part of my body wants to give up.

Even my mind is on the brink of quitting. In fact, if the hallucinations over the last eight hours have anything to say, it’s that my mind has left the building. The only thing keeping me going is the ass in front of me and the views all around me.

Porcupine Rim is incredible. Even after growing up in Utah and living here until a year ago, the views still stun me speechless. Especially this last trek. It could be that the finish line is so close, that the surge of relief and adrenaline is heightening my senses, but I feel on top of the world as the sun crests the red rock.

We’re still in the shade up on the rim, watching the world explode in colour with a brightness that almost hurts my eyes.

“You love me!” Adam calls back. He is way too chipper after four days of running and climbing. I cannot give him the satisfaction of winning.

I pick up my pace, relying heavily on my poles to keep me upright and immediately regret it, but I cannot let him beat me. There are only eighteen miles left and because I now live in Canada, my brain immediately converts that to thirty kilometres. I can do thirty kilometres in my sleep.

Good thing too, because I feel like I’m about to fall asleep. We could have pushed hard through the night to make it to the finish line, but we wanted one last night together in the desert. We found a decently protected spot and slept.

Maybe I shouldn’t have let him rest that much because Adam’s perfect ass is getting farther ahead of me, and I cannot have that.

I have to admit, I’m glad we’re doing this, even though I want to stab him right now, my legs screaming at me as we stumble over the uneven rocks. Being back in Utah feels good. The sun beats down on my neck and I feel dry, even though that may have more to do with the fact that I’m dehydrated.

It’s an inevitable part of running an ultra. It doesn’t matter how much liquid you take in—a four-day race in the desert is going to dry you out. This year specifically is so much drier than three years ago when we first tried to do it.

There have been no torrential downpours, which means no muddy rock slides to navigate. No scummy friends ratting us out and no mountain lions trying to eat us. We did celebrate the moment when we made it farther than last time and had sex in the desert.

As Adam predicted, the rocks did dig into my back and neither of us had a ton of energy, but the stars were so bright and it was very romantic.

If you’re interested in having sex in the desert, I would recommend going glamping, not waiting until day two of an ultramarathon. Still, the conditions didn’t take away from the toe-curling orgasm I had. I was smart about it and made Adam do all the work, depleting his energy and keeping mine. A truly win-win situation for me if I do say so myself.

The race has been so great and so challenging. There’s been blood and tears, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve spent a lot of time healing over the last year. Adam has helped me through each of my panic attacks, holding me when I need him to and arguing with me when I’m being stubborn. So far I’ve only had two episodes this whole race, and seeing my sister at the aid stations quickly put me at ease.

She was there waiting for me with Levi safely in her arms, ready to show me the pictures Shay sent of our pups back home.

We added another dog to the house, another Newf of course. Her name is Penny. I know Adam is hiding a cat somewhere, who he named Bond. I’ve heard him talking to it multiple times and phantom meows haunt my dreams. Every time I sneeze I look for that damn cat, but Adam insists it’s not there. It is though. I know it.

The thought of the secret cat propels me forward. Looking at my watch, I savour the little thrill that shoots through my exhausted body. Only five kilometres to go. Adam has been ahead of me this whole leg and now’s my chance. I speed up and it takes me about a kilometre to pass him because by speed up I mean shuffle my feet faster.

“Ugh,” he grunts as I smack his ass.

“Such a charmer.” I leap up to place a kiss on his dirty, gritty face and then blow right past him. Read: shuffle my feet even faster. I hear him try to chase me, but my feet are moving, he doesn’t have the time to catch up now.

“See you at the finish line,” I call back. It’s our favourite way of rubbing in our wins.

Adam

Finish Line 240 mi/ 386.24 km

Paige is so giddy when she yells back to me. I hope it uses up too much energy. But it looks like she’s got the finish line in her sights, giving her a thousandth wind. It’s like the second wind for a normal race, but since we’ve been racing for over four days, a thousand seems more accurate.

I grit my teeth and try to catch up to her. I was doing so well on this leg and there are only three kilometres left. That’ s only half an hour, maybe a little longer. I know I don’t have it in me to speed up and I hate it. Doesn’t stop me from trying, but every time I increase my speed, I swear Paige moves her feet that much faster.

I can’t catch her.

I rethink my plan. It’s going to have to be different than what I’ve been imagining for a year, ever since I suggested we redo this race. And for the last ninety-eight hours, it’s all I’ve been able to think about. I almost ruined it the day we found out we won our entrance.

I didn’t tell her I called the race officials, telling them our story in the hopes they’d guarantee us a spot. They did.

Hopefully, Mateo will see her cross first—I swear she has this energy because she made me work hard for her desert orgasm—and he’ll know I had to switch things up. I cannot wait to hear him say I told you so.

Paige has wanted this win for so long. It’s been the source of so many fantasies for her. I know she has more dreams about winning than anything else. My competitive side is so irritated she’s about to pull it off, but the side of me that loves her (really it’s all of me, but the competitive guy is cranky at the moment) is so thrilled for her.

“Go get it, sweetheart!” I use up what little energy I have left to call up to her.

I hear the cheering begin as spectators come into sight. We’re so close and my heart rate goes wild. I didn’t know it could beat this fast after this much exertion but I’m almost there. I see Leah and Levi waving, and Isabel screams as loud as she can.

Mateo’s flop of brown curls bouncing up and down beside them as they cheer Paige on. I know my brothers would be here if they could, but Liam and Dana have their baby at home, and Simon and Jake are waiting to hear back from their adoption agency.

Isabel’s cheering is always the loudest. She has perfected being a race spectator. When I find her in the crowd, I do a double take. My mom and dad are here—I didn’t know they were coming. My dad’s smile is huge as he cheers Paige on.

Paige, not me. If I didn’t love my woman so much, I’d be jealous. She has single-handedly bridged the gap of communication between me and my dad. Things are so much better between us that I no longer have to lock down my emotions around him.

I’ve been going to therapy to untangle my own feelings of self-worth from my dad’s, finding the strength to stand up for myself and for what I want, regardless of the opinions of others. I’ve been able to have a proper relationship with him, and while we still have a long way to go, it’s a vast improvement. I never thought it was possible.

Then again, there are so many things I didn’t think were possible. Paige getting a job where I work. Getting to be with her every day. Paige beating me on this damn course.

I’m only a few metres behind her and I turn to make sure no one is behind me. I don’t want to mess up anyone else’s finish line experience. The path is empty, thankfully, I’m in the clear. Paige crosses first and my heart lurches. She did it. We did it.

A few minutes later I’m crossing and cannot believe that after everything, after starting this race three years ago, I’m finally here. And even more amazing, I’m here with her .

Paige turns around to cheer me on, exhaustion surely ripping through her like it is me. I finally cross the finish line. Paige runs to me. How is she running?

I collapse to the ground.

“Adam!” she says, her voice tinged with panic.

I heave air into my lungs as she kneels beside me, checking me over. I hear the panic in her voice. My entire body feels like lead and Jell-O at the same time. How is that possible?

“Medic!” she calls but I shake my head.

“Don’t be stubborn. We finished! We did it!” She starts sobbing and I know the adrenaline is wearing off. We’re going to sleep for days after we eat the biggest meal known to mankind. But first, there’s something I have to do.

I brace myself on Paige’s arms and come to one knee.

“What are you doing?” she whispers as I bring my backpack around, digging into the side pocket. She almost found it a few times during the race, giving me heart attacks along the way.

I pull out a small linen bag and reach inside to take out the ring. She gasps.

“Paige Elizabeth Harrison, daughter of the late Emily Montgomery and Philip Harrison. Sister to Leah Harrison, auntie to Levi Harrison. Massage therapist to pro athletes, owner of the failed gift attempt Q, Penny, and Bond—”

“I knew it!” She shoves me, and I’m so tired I almost fall over. “Sorry,” she whispers, catching me, her eyes welling up. She’s too dehydrated to actually cry, though .

I continue the speech I’ve been preparing and perfecting since I laid eyes on her in the arena. “You are the love of my life. When I met you in this very spot three years ago, I could only dream that this is where we would end up today. And if you had put my number in your damn phone properly, we could have been here a lot sooner.” She laughs, shoving me more gently this time.

“Because I know that no matter whether it was three years ago, or ten years from now, there is no timeline in which I do not love you. And I will continue loving you through every step we take, every day of our lives, and whatever comes after. Paige, will you marry me?”

Cheers and yells surround us, but there’s only me and her. There’s only this race that brought us together and this race we finally finished.

“YES!” she yells over the crowd, laughing as she throws herself at me.

We collapse into a heap on the ground, and I know that no matter what else happens in our life, with this woman at my side, there is no finish line that I won’t cross without her—even if she finished this one first.

THE END