Page 47 of Your Pace or Mine
“Thanks.” He glanced at Jamie, who offered a small, genuine smile. “It was… nice.”
But the moment of ease shattered when a voice called out, too loud and too practised.
“Darius Hewitt—got a moment?”
He turned to see a man holding a mic, a camera operator beside him. Instantly, every muscle in his body tensed. This was what they had hoped for, but after being here and speaking to the kids, it just felt disrespectful.
“We’re withRunner’s Life. Mind answering a few questions?”
Jade stepped in. “This is a safe space. You can’t just barge in.”
“We’re on public property,” the reporter said coolly. “And I think people deserve to hear more about Hewitt’s views; especially given the location, Lord Hewitt,” he said with barely concealed disdain.
Jamie moved fast—he was suddenly between Darius and the reporter, posture sharp as if he could read Darius’s change of heart about the publicity they’d come for. “You need to leave. This isn’t the place.”
The reporter ignored him. “What about the allegations? We’re hearing Eric Anders didn’t want you on the team because of your treatment of LGBTQ competitors. Don’t these kids deserve the truth?”
Darius’s hands curled into fists. His instinct had been right. This wasn’t fair to the centre. Jamie wrapped his arms around him, settling his anger.
“That sounds like you’ve got your sources twisted a bit.” He took Darius’s hand and looked up at him, the question obvious in his eyes.
Darius nodded.
“My boyfriend’s hardly going to be the one to take issue with queer athletes,” Jamie stated.
The reporter’s eyes lit up like he’d just been handed the scoop of the century, but with Jamie’s steadying hand in his, Darius found the will to cut him off. His voice, when it came, was low and firm. “I’m here because I care about these kids. Places like this matter, and I want to do what I can to support them. You want a good story? Write about how underfunded charities like this one are, and how the running community can help.”
Jade escorted the reporter out the door with a honeyed, “I’d be happy to send you some statistics for your article.” When the door finally shut, Darius let out a long breath and pressed a hand to the back of his neck.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“Not your fault, and all press is good press in the fundraising game,” Jade said.
He wasn’t sure he believed that. But then he caught the look one of the teens gave him—soft, grateful. Like maybe he’d done something good.
Jamie stepped beside him, not saying anything for a moment. Then quietly, “You handled that well.”
Darius glanced at him. Jamie was close—close enough that Darius’s brain short-circuited, and he stepped in to give him a soft kiss. Jamie kissed him back gently, an appropriate kiss for the audience they had. The audience that was the only reason he got to kiss Jamie at all.
Because it wasn’t real.
He broke the kiss. “Thanks. You too.”
Jamie nodded, and they stood there for a beat too long, not quite touching. It was exactly what they had come for, but Darius wanted it to be so much more.
The article was out by the next morning. As far as the usual speed of the news cycle, that wasn’t even particularly fast. Darius imagined the running channel that had shown up had needed to make a surprise pivot on their story at the last minute. There was, in fact, mention of the charity itself and their struggle for funding in the article, as well as a lovely quote from Jade about what Darius and Jamie’s support meant to them. It was exactly what he and Jamie had hoped for, but Darius still felt hollowed out. Like the media had taken something precious and commodified it. By that afternoon, it had been picked up by the tabloids with sensationalist headlines he knew to ignore, and he’d screened seven calls from his father and two from his agent.
The most surprising thing of all of it was how little he’d heard from Jackson, who typically loved to poke fun at Darius’s occasional tabloid appearances. That changed, though, as he was getting ready for his afternoon run with Jamie.
Jax
Mate!
Jax sent a link to one of the more salacious headlines that had come out about Darius and Jamie in the past few hours. Darius ignored it, unwilling to give them the clicks.
Jax
I can’t believe you finally did it.
