Page 17 of Goodbye To Tomorrow

Soon, couples who were interested in the sprint began to gather. I looked at Gracen with a stare that suggested Do you want to give it a try? She nodded her head vigorously signaling she was more than willing.

We signaled our interest and took a name tag from one of the protocol team members on the sidelines. A few other couples signaled their interest and also got tags. Soon, the event kick-started; the ladies were to go first. I reached for Gracen, wrapped my arms around her and held on to her waist from behind, before walking with her to the marked line.

She twisted and stretched while looking at me, a wicked smile playing on her face. She couldn't believe how she had let herself get so excited about a race that wasn’t attached to any kind of celebrity status.

"I will kill you for this," she said with a smirk and gave me a quick kiss.

"But you wanted to race for the sheer fun of it," I burst out in a teasing laugh, spreading my palms up in the air.

"Ladies...are you ready?" The voice of the MC blasted from the speaker.

Gracen gave me one last embarrassed stare before heading to the starting line.

"We are going to shake things up a bit. Spouses or significant others of these beautiful ladies over here—kindly go and stand behind your lady; for the glory or the shame!" The MC yelled, invoking gales of laughter from the crowd.

Each of the men, including me, took our places. Gracen turned, once again, to catch my gaze. She had a big grin on her lovely face. The blast of the whistle split the air as the ladies sped off amidst loud chants of cheers and laughter.

What was expected to be a comic race didn't disappoint; names of each of the ladies were yelled out from behind us as men cheered their women. As the race came to an end, the cheering rose to an even higher pitch as the first lady crossed the finishing line. The MC's voice was heard over the speaker.

"And the first lady to cross the line is...Gracen!" he announced as the whole arena filled with loud cheering. I joined in the cheering as the MC went on to announce the second, third and the fourth runner...as each lady crossed the line.

"Where are contestants number three and seven?" He asked in a taunting manner.

When the last contestant breezed crossed the finish line, Gracen was nowhere to be found. And then I saw her coming towards me—gold medal around her neck and looking very much like the beauty queen she really was.

“Great win, Sweetheart.” I congratulated her, wrapping her in a warm hug.

“Thanks Honey, but I feel guilty. Those other out-of-shape women never had a chance against me,” Gracen bragged. Look how out of breath they all are,” she giggled.

“You did great, Babe. I knew you had it in the bag,” I told her, rubbing her back with my palms and planting a kiss on her long silky hair.

She pulled away from me and playfully threw jabs at my chest while I took cover with my arms. The loud voice of the man behind the megaphone captured my attention. It informed the crowd that the men’s’ race was about to start. I glared at Gracen, laughing furtively at my victorious woman. I dared not tease her about being out of breath herself. She would kill me.

“Try not to come in last,” Gracen warned, poking my nose with her finger.

“No worries, I’ll try not to break your record Babe,” I mocked.

Another smile immediately appeared at the corners of her lips. She was indeed beautiful and elegantly so, with a spark that would start a fire in the absence of oxygen.

The gun thundered, and then we men ran. The sight was breathtaking as my legs moved in accord until weariness set in and only the fittest trudged on. The crowd roared, and the atmosphere was electric as a winner was set to emerge. One man was close behind me. Gracen voice reached my ears as she cheered. I crossed the finish line first, the other runner a close second. I raised my hands above my head flashing a “V” for victory.

The ovation became louder in an instant. I suddenly felt dizzy and fell to the floor in a struggle to catch my breath. I guess I had expended my energy more than I should have after being jet lagged. My stomach hurt, and my joints cramped, but I struggled to stand to my feet and hugged my overly-elated fiancée who was overjoyed. She could not help screaming at the top of her lungs That’s my man! It made me feel all the happier for winning.

*****

"Brrrr, it's cold out here," Gracen muttered, shivering, as we stood outside the Moonlight Basin Lodge; an 8100 acre in the alpine community. The snowy afternoon is bitterly cold in the large populated area of Big Sky, Switzerland. This was our second day here and it had snowed heavily the previous night.

Gracen had lain in my warm embrace this night as the snow came down heavily. More than a foot of snow was expected to blanket the area again this night. This left me with another promise of a night spent with Gracen’s smooth skin interlocked with mine. The thought of it made me giddy.

"Don't worry, Darling, I'll warm you right up after our skiing session." I flashed a smile and winked. Gracen’s cheeks flushed even redder as I gazed into her sky-blue eyes and licked my lips thinking of getting a taste of her nether regions.

"You're a bad boy Jiraiya," Gracen fluttered her naturally long eyelashes at me.

"There's no boy here Sweetheart. Haven't you learned the difference by now?" I replied with an arch to my brow.

"That I can definitely attest to," she responded with a giggle before turning her head to view the surrounding area.

"I can't believe it's only early November and the ski lifts are this crowded," she added with a frown appearing between her perfectly carved brows.

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