Chapter 1
The sound of panting, smell of sweat and the good kind of pain was all she could feel. Groaning, she pushed herself a little harder, just a little further until…
The sound of cheers erupting took her away from her thoughts when she realized she’d crossed the finish line. Not only had she crossed the finish line but she was the first one. First place. The coveted prize of a marathon she worked too long and too hard for. And she’d done it. She’d won.
Stopping, she placed her hands on her knees, taking in gulps of breath on the side while people ushered water to her, making sure she was out of the way of those who followed after. Because she was the first person. First Place. She coughed, her lungs feeling like they’d gone ten marathons instead of just one. With how hard she pushed herself, she’s not surprised.
A few minutes pass and she finds herself lying on the floor, staring up at the sky. While her breath slowed, she was still panting in exhaustion. In exhilaration. “Come...here often?” she heard a deep voice say.
Closing one eye and putting up a hand to block the sun, she sees a man dripping with sweat, making his muscles more defined. Compression shorts nearly tight enough to make her not have to wonder what was in his pants. “Wandering eyes, I see.” he teased, offering a hand to help her up.
She laughed, taking his hand as he pulled her up from the ground. His arms strong, she had to keep herself from drooling over him. “And so what if they are?” she replied, not one to back down from a confrontation. He quirked an eyebrow, moving closer to whisper in her ears. “They can wander all they want, but if you want more… You’ll start listening more, and talking less.”
While her mouth became suddenly dry, a pool of wetness was forming some place much lower. Licking her lips, she turns to face him. “And who says I want more?” she whispered breathlessly. His eyes flashed and he pulled her closer to him. “How do I find out?”
She chuckled and moved his hand away from her waist, stepping away to create space between them. She smiled at him, her blonde hair covering her face as the wind blew. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.
As she went to tuck her hair behind her ear, he pushed her hand away lightly and did it for her. Blushing, she looked around. “Aha!” she said more gleefully than she intended. Grabbing a pen from the volunteer table and ripping off a piece of paper from the volunteer sign up, she scribbled her number down.
She sauntered back over to him, hips swaying side to side, and tucked the small piece of paper in the band of his shorts. “If you manage to not lose that, maybe you’ll get lucky.” she whispered, with a wink.
“Ashlee!!” she heard a voice screech. She grinned and looked at the guy. “Duty calls. At least now you know my name.” she says teasingly as she sashays away. She gives him a mock salute when she turns around one last time before reaching her friend.
“Omg who’s the hottie?” Leslie asks, still gasping for air as she leans against the tree coughing, though the sound could better be described as her hacking out a lung. “No one says omg outside of text, Les.” she says, rolling her eyes.
“As for the guy…” she starts, biting her lip and tucking the hair that had fallen away from her ear back, “Well, I would’ve found out if you didn’t call me.” she teased, poking her friend’s side. “Ugh, nooooo. My stomach is nonexistent. You cannot press what does not exist. I am merely just lungs that do not work. Where’s a drink, I need a drink.”
Ashlee throws her head back laughing, not knowing she was being watched but secretly hoping that she was anyway. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go find you a drink. Of water.” Leslie pouts as Ashlee drags her away. A pout that was quickly wiped away when she realized that the water station was surrounded by guys she referred to as “hot stallions”.
As the day passes, they find themselves back in the hotel room they booked for the marathon. Ashlee, having pushed herself harder than she ever had, was utterly exhausted. Leslie on the other hand, was much less exhausted having come in 412th place.
“It’s time to go out on the town Ash! We’re only here for two more days, you know what that means?” she excitedly exclaimed while jumping onto Ashlee’s bed. She groaned, shaking her head. “No, no no. I want to sleep.” she yawned, stretching and curling up on her pillow.
Taking her pillow, Leslie started hitting Ash. “Special sex! HOT STEAMY SEX!” she screeched, getting louder with each hit. “Ugh, gross, stop go away.” she screamed, covering her head with her pillow. She knew that it was a lost cause and that one way or another, she’d end up out with the pale redhead.
“Okay, okay.” she mumbled. “FINE YOU WIN!” she says as she pushes Leslie off of the bed. She hears a vibration from her phone, indicated that she had a text. While she scrambled to get out of the bed, her foot got caught on the blanket.
“Ooh, who’s got you all hot and bothered.” Leslie smirked, throwing a pillow at Ashlee. “Ugh, shut up. I’m not doing anyth-” she starts, sighing when she realized it was just a text from her mother congratulating her on first place. “No one, no one.” she lets out a frustrated breath and runs a hand through her hair.
Leslie cocked her head to the side, but let the discussion be dropped for now. “Let’s go, girls night out right?” Ashlee perks up and jumps up from the floor. “Yep, regretted that the moment it happened.” she said, wincing at her slightly sore legs.
