Page 104 of The Protégé

“We just need a minute. Thank you, though.”

“Take your time. Don’t rush. This is our fifth time here.” The friendly woman smiled. “Just have fun. No one will care if you’re the last to finish.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Elena’s heart pounded against my body, and tears filled her eyes.

Chantel and Sabrina just earned themselves the top spots on my shit list.

“Yo! Stop that shit!” shouted another team as Chantel kept jumping on the rope.

A guy yelled at them. “We’re on the same team. What the fuck?”

“Kick them off the course!” a woman with red hair barked at them. “They’re making it dangerous for everyone!”

I wanted to go over to Chantel and Sabrina and toss them out, but I needed to keep Elena safe with me.

Chantel and Sabrina shrugged, grinned, and climbed over to the other side and down.

Then Elena looked up at me. “I’m okay now. Let’s finish this. If I don’t, they’ll win.” She jerked her chin toward Chantel and Sabrina, who were already onto the next obstacle.

“We’re doing this our way.” I gripped her hand, lifted it into the air. “Victory is ours.”

She rolled her eyes, and I had my Elena back.

“You go ahead, I’ll be right beside you.” With each climb, she looked over at meand smiled. Finally, we made it to the other side and down to the ground.

She leaped into my arms, slipped from my muddy shirt, but I gripped her ass, holding her tight. “We did it!”

The next obstacle required us to crawl under this mesh, which she accomplished with ease.

When wearrived at the finish line, to our surprise, Butt Crack was limping along with the help of his friends. A crew memberemerged with an ATV to help him. His friend told the group that he’d sprained his ankle.

“Poor guy,” Elena said. “We were second to last place, but that was because we didn’t train.”

“You’re supposed to train?”

She nodded. “Some do, to help their bodies adjust. Especially those who prefer the ten-mile obstacle course.”

“Excellent job!” The girl who had shouted at Chantel and Sabrina high-fived us. “You okay? I made a complaint about those bitches. I mean, seriously. This is a teamwork course, and they wanted to hinder people’s progress. You could’ve gotten hurt.”

“I don’t know why they’re here,” said another woman. “Getting their hair done and shopping is more their style.”

“Oh, the manager said one of the girl’s fathers had placed a bid to purchase this place. Maybe she came here to check it out. If she’s going to be a regular attendee, then I won’t be coming back. There are other places I can support.” The lady with the ponytail placed two hands on her hips, looking toward Chantel and Sabrina talking to the crew. “She has spoiled brat written all over her.”

“The world of privilege differs from ours, Terri,” said a woman with mud all over her blonde hair.

“Glad we made it to the end.” Elena forced a smile. “I’m going to be so sore tomorrow.”

“Make that a few days.” Terri straightened her back, stretching out her arms and legs. “Nice meeting you both. Hopefully we’ll see you again.”

“Have a good evening.” I waved to the women.

I turned to Elena, trying to wipe the mud from her forehead, cheek, and chin. “Need a massage?”

“You give massages?” She reached up, removing the mud from my face.

“No. But I’ll make an exception for you,” I said, wanting to ask her more questions about the source of her fear of heights. But I held back, seeing how tired she looked.

---