Page 22 of Chasing Sunsets

Sadie and Cally attended Texas State University together. One day, Cally begged Sadie to go to football practice with her. She’d met a player in one of her classes and thought he was hot. Cally took too long to pick out an outfit and put on her makeup, and by the time they arrived, players were running off the field.

“Cally? Sadie?” a deep voice shouted.

She turned toward the voice. Zack ran their way. They hadn’t kept in touch and she had no idea he was attending TSU. He’d grown taller, his hair lighter. When they were kids she’d never noticed his amazing, deep-blue eyes. They’d started dating a couple of weeks later.

When he whispered those words at their wedding ceremony, she realized he’d overheard her back in the seventh grade. When she’d laughed out loud, he captured her lips in a searing kiss. Everyone asked what he’d said, but she refused to tell anyone—not even Cally.

Those words were for her, and her alone.

“You’re going through hell, keep going.” ~ Winston Churchill

Chapter Eight

Athumping woke Sadie. A moment later, she realized the thumping came from her head.

Worry of what she’d let her world spiral into jabbed at her like a joust ramming into her chest. She gently rubbed the spot over her heart and glanced at the clock. 6:17 am.

From the itinerary left in their room while they were at dinner last night, she knew the wake-up call would ring in thirteen minutes. The room phones only communicated with the desk since contestants weren’t allowed to make personal calls. As she turned over, she realized her body ached as much as her head. She stifled a moan. It wouldn’t make her feel any better.

She dragged herself to the bathroom and started a hot shower in hopes of easing her pain. How would she get through the day feeling this terrible? She understood weaning off alcohol might be better than completely stopping, but she refused to use that approach. Her drinking was out of control, and she wouldn’t prolong her recovery.

Don’t complain. Don’t think about the pain. Don’t blow this opportunity.

She dressed in a bathing suit, pulled on aChasing Sunsetst-shirt, identical to the one she’d worn yesterday, and the assigned khaki shorts. The show provided clothes and swimsuits for each day. The women had a choice of a bikini or a one-piece. She’d selected the one-piece, not wanting to expose even that much on TV, but she didn’t have a choice.

Backpacks ready, she and Kelly exited their room at a quarter to seven. Zack and Brett waited outside their door and rode on the elevator with them. She liked Kelly and hoped they’d be roomies throughout this process. She wasn’t pushy and went right to bed last night. To complete this race Sadie would need rest. Lots of it.

In the cafeteria, a wall of windows overlooked a beautiful Olympic size pool. A couple of tables decked in white tablecloths were pushed together with chairs around them. Counters were set up behind the tables. One held a breakfast buffet, and the others were manned by chefs in white hats and coats. They could order from a chef or load their plates from the buffet. Food aromas wafting in the room made her feel sick, but she knew she needed to eat. She grabbed a plate and went to the buffet table. After looking over the food, she settled on a piece of dry toast and orange juice.

Sparse meal in hand, she made it to the table where three other couples were already eating. She sat at the very end on one side, and in a short time, Zack took the seat next to her with a thick meat and cheese omelet on his plate. Kelly and Brett settled across from them and Ruben and Tamara to Zack’s left. While they ate, the men talked football like they were old friends, arguing about the pro teams and who had the best chance to be in the playoffs this year.

Zack and Ruben gathered the dirty dishes and brought them to the cleaning staff as Tamara spoke to Uri.

“Sadie,” Brett said. “Zack told me you’re a physician assistant for a gynecologist.”

Kelly’s head snapped up, and she stared at Sadie.

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