Page 91 of Pretend Girlfriend

“This will be fun to watch,” I told Landon. “You’d better make me a proud girlfriend.”

“I really don’t want to go for a run,” Landon muttered.

“It’s only a mile! Don’t be a baby, sweetie,” I told him.

Marisa started recruiting people to participate. Bradyn, Landon, Clark, two other groomsmen. Carol jumped in next, followed by Wanda.

“If my blisters weren’t killing me, I’d gladly show y’all how it’s done,” Austin said. “I’ll head up the beach to the turnaround spot.”

“Go a quarter of a mile,” Bradyn suggested. “Everyone has to run down and back twice.”

Austin saluted, then started walking up the beach.

“Joanna!” Marisa called over to me. “Are you ready?”

“Oh, I’m not going to play,” I said. “I hate running.”

Marisa gave me a puzzled look. “I thought you were a runner. You said you qualified for Boston.”

Oh no. I did say that, way back at the family dinner when I met everyone for the first time. Thanks a lot, past-Joanna.

“I’m trying to take it easy since I’m not training right now…” I said.

Landon put an arm around me and guided me forward. “It’s only a mile! Don’t be a baby, sweetie.”

I glared at him. “I’m not very fast running on sand,” I said.

“Great!” Marisa replied. “That means the rest of us will have a chance!”

We all lined up on the beach, Marisa and Bradyn included. Landon and his brother were exchanging trash talk, while I tried to think of a way to get out of this. Maybe a shark would jump out of the water and bite my leg off. Honestly, that sounded better than having to run a mile in front of the entire wedding party. Aside from chasing after a train, the last time I went for a run was high school gym class.

Danicka counted us down. “Three… two… one… GO!”

All of us took off across the beach, following the shoreline west. I let the faster guys get out in front while I casually jogged behind them. My fake persona was a marathoner, not a sprinter, after all.

It was immediately obvious how out-of-shape I was. The sun beat down on me oppressively, and the air was so thick with humidity that it was like trying to breathe soup. Austin stood in the distance. He seemed so much farther away than a quarter of a mile.

Everyone else except Clark and one of the groomsmen was faster than me. The group reached the turnaround spot and passed me going the opposite direction.

“You’re such a sweetheart!” Marisa said as she passed me. “Giving everyone else a chance!”

Sure. That’s totally what I was doing. I was already panting too hard to respond, so I flashed her a thumbs-up.

By the time I reached Austin, I was all alone, with Clark and the other guy walking a long way behind me. “You qualified for the Boston Marathon?” he asked.

“Landon’s fake girlfriend Joanna did,” I replied while making a U-turn around him.

“That was a dumb thing to brag about.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Somehow, I got into a groove on the way back. It helped that I was running with the wind now; it felt like it was pushing me forward. I reached the starting point, wishing I could stop, but Danicka was jumping up and down and taking a video.

“Go Joanna! You’re doing great!”

I gave her my best smile, which was replaced with a scowl as soon as my back was to her.

The start of the second lap was excruciating. My lungs burned and my thighs ached. My feet sank into the sand with every step, making it impossible to get some momentum. The rest of the pack passed me going home to the finish line, which was demotivating since I hadn’t even reached Austin.

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