Page 98 of Your Pace or Mine
Darius laughed, lowering his microphone, as some of the other reporters started to ask generic questions about training schedules and Olympic hopes to the other athletes gathered.
Jamie’s heart was hammering harder than it had even during the final miles of his marathon, but it was full, so full. He smiled at Darius, a small private smile and a promise of things to come.
Chapter 26
Darius
1 week after the London Marathon
Darius barely registered the rest of the event after his brief interrogation. He’d been so nervous about what Jamie would think that he’d barely slept for days trying to make sure everything was perfect. The smile Jamie’d sent him when the questioning had finally finished had told him everything would work out, though.
A reception kicked off following the press questions, and Darius pushed his way past his friends and the journalists vying for a soundbite. He was trying to reach Jamie, who was at the back of the room by the canapés.
Jackson had been a giddy ball of energy the whole time and was the hardest to shake, but a whispered explanation about grand gestures had him helping clear a path until they were blocked by the person Darius least wanted to speak to.
“Coach Anders,” Darius said, straightening instinctively.
“Hewitt,” the coach replied, his tone measured. He paused, then sighed. “It appears I may owe you an apology. I made a lot of assumptions about you. About your values, your… attitude. I was wrong.”
Darius raised an eyebrow. “You never even took the time to speak to me.”
Anders winced but nodded. “Yes. And that was unfair, it was never about you, it wasn’t personal.”
Darius crossed his arms. “It certainly felt personal when you overlooked me from the team and publicly stated I’d never run on it.”
Anders winced. “I judged you based on what I know of your father, assumed you were cut from the same cloth and allowed my previous experiences with upper-class athletes to colour my opinion of you. But my relationship with your father is not… it should have no bearing on my ability to work with you. I can see now how much courage it took for you to be here today, to speak up for your partner despite what the press has been saying. Hell, even to stand up to me. You’ve got my respect, Darius, and my support.”
Darius felt a small sense of relief washing over him. He didn’t think they would ever truly get along, but it would make his life a lot easier not to have the head coach at his throat every practice. “Thank you, Coach. That means a lot.”
“Keep your phone close the next few days, Hewitt. You’ll probably be getting an important call.”
As Anders walked away, Jamie appeared at Darius’s side, a small smile on his lips.
“You know how to make a scene, don’t you?” Jamie teased, passing him a cup of some sort of sparkling juice.
Darius chuckled. “I learned from the best.”
They stood next to each other in silence for a moment, sipping out of plastic cups.
“Well, for what it’s worth,” Jamie said, breaking the silence, “I’m proud of you, and you’re everything to me too. These last few weeks, without talking to you or seeing you, it felt like part of me was missing.”
“I’m so sorry, Jamie.”
“Stop apologising, we’re fine. We’re going to be better than okay, remember?” Jamie laughed and kissed him softly on the cheek.
Darius sighed in equal parts relief and adoration, then pulled Jamie closer into a deep kiss. With Jamie in his arms, he felt like anything was possible.
Jackson cheered obnoxiously as he stacked a plate full of mini sausage rolls. Then, Darius ran with it, completely uncharacteristically dipping Jamie into the most drama-filled cinematic kiss he could think of. Jamie laughed into his mouth as he lifted him back to his feet, their foreheads bent together in silent understanding.
He hadn’t planned to kiss Jamie quite so dramatically, in front of everyone, but in that moment, something inside Darius had snapped. The joy of the day, the energy and passion of the people around him, finally feeling like he was doing something good—it had all swept him up. The potential of an Olympic call-up was great, but this right here was everything he needed.
Finally back home after a day of far too many people, Darius had Jamie all to himself again. They chatted while they sipped tea in Darius’s kitchen, finding every possible excuse to touch each other. A brush of shoulders, knees knocking together. Hands intertwining.
As they were tidying up, things took a more heated turn. Darius lifted Jamie onto the counter as he passionately kissed him, allowing his hands to wander all over his body. He slid his hand along the waistband of Jamie’s jeans. Jamie flinched slightly, drawing attention to a fresh tattoo.
“This is new,” Darius said, running his fingers more softly over the numbers on Jamie’s hip.
Jamie groaned. “It’s cringe, isn’t it?”
