Page 50 of See You at the Finish Line

“Shit,” he mutters, plastering a smile on his face. I throw my head back and laugh at the awful fake smile. It’s truly atrocious. My laugh brings a genuine smile to his face, and someone takes another photo.

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asks, his voice low.

Do I? I don’t know. I think I could like him. It could be that Nate is the kind of guy I need to get over the slump I’ve been in. Who knows, maybe I’ll even fall in love with him.

Lying to myself is becoming second nature.

“Let’s go.”

We stand, one of his hands landing on my lower back as he leads me out of the restaurant accompanied by more camera flashes and trailing fans.

Julien and I perchat a high-top table in the corner of the bar. I’ve spent the last hour trying to convince myself to tell him about Paige. I’m such a coward. I also don’t want to disregard her privacy. What if she doesn’t want anyone to know? What if this wrecks any chance I have with her?

Then I remember that she went out on a date, and my swirling thoughts know no bounds. Who is she dating? How did the date go? I have to stop overthinking about this. Julien already knows we were at the same race, so it wouldn’t be much of a leap to guess we had something more. At least, I thought we had something more.

“Remember that ultra I did a few years ago?” I begin, trying not to lose my nerve. I need someone in my corner besides Mateo. I love the guy, but I think a calm presence like Julien’s might help.

“Adam?” Another voice cuts in before Julien can answer me. I turn to see a man walking towards us, his blond hair styled the same way he always wore it, roughly combed over to create a tousled look.

My mind goes blank. I haven’t heard from Caleb in over a year. After our huge fight two years ago we’ve drifted apart. Damn Mateo.I bet he told Caleb that Paige was in town. Did he also tell Caleb I was out with Julien tonight? He better not have.

The shit Caleb pulled at the race when he ratted me—us—out was a huge breaking point for me. He didn’t have my back. He could spew all the crap he wants about doing the right thing, certain that in the long run, I’d see that he did me a favour.

I don’t know how long “the long run” is supposed to be, but after two years, I can safely say I’m still pissed. Now that Paige is here, I’m even more upset with Caleb. He stole so much time from us.

I probably should stop thinking that—the loss of contact is not entirely his fault.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Caleb says over his beer. I take a sip of my club soda and lime. There’s an uncomfortable silence as Julien looks between us. I give Caleb a short nod and wait for him to say whatever it is he came over to say.

“Can I join you and order some wings or something?” he asks, his eyes shifty.

“I had dinner already. What do you want?” I ask when it seems like he’s beating around the bush.

He sighs. “Still pissed, huh?”

“I’m just ... I don’t know, Caleb. You did a shit thing.”

“I’ve said sorry.”

“Actually, no, you haven’t.”

“You haven’t given me the chance.”

“It’s been two years. Anytime between when you crossed thefinish line and today would’ve worked.”

“You stayed in Utah after the race so you didn’t have to fly home with me.”

That’s only partially true. I stayed because ... Well, I stayed for a lot of reasons.

One reason.

Another awkward silence. It’s been a long day.

I hate Saturdays. With almost no hobbies outside of work and running, the weekends are pretty wide open after my long runs in the mornings. And Paige went on a date last night.

“Look, man, we both made some mistakes—”

“No, I didn’t make a mistake. You didn’t have my back. You tattletaled like a child—”

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