Page 163 of Of Pucking Course

I’m definitely going to pass out as soon as I hit the finish line, but I don’t even care.

I let out a laugh of pure disbelief. I’m really doing this.

I’m only half a mile from the finish line now. The sound of the crowd gets louder and louder the closer I get.

In the distance, I see the massive blue sign above the finish line. People line both sides of the track, hollering and clapping for the runners.

“Yeah, baby! Let’s go! You’re almost there!”

I grin at the sound of Sam cheering me on. I scan the crowd, but I don’t see him.

“You’re almost to the end, Dakota!”

“Hell yeah!”

“You’re so close, Dakota! Give it all you’ve got!”

“Go go go!”

More familiar voices. That’s my brother, Sophie, Bella, and Ingrid cheering for me.

I can’t see them either, there are too many people. So I just focus on making it to the finish line.

I will my tired legs to go faster and faster. I’ll probably have cramps the second I stop running, but I don’t care. I want to finish hard.

The end gets closer the faster I go. And then I finally see them, standing just past the finish line.

There’s Sam, Del, Xander, Blomdahl, and Theo all wearing white shirts that say “Team Dakota” in sparkly pink letters as they cheer and scream for me.

When I cross the finish line, I’m smiling so wide my cheeks ache. Sam wraps his arms around my waist, scoops me up, and swings me around.

“You did it, beautiful! You ran a half-marathon!”

I cup my hands over his cheeks and kiss him.

“I did it! I freaking did it!” I squeal between kisses.

I gaze down at his smiling face. His eyes are bright and soft all at once.

“I’m so proud of you,” he says before kissing me again. He hugs me tight against him.

Emotion bubbles up inside of me. Sam has been my biggest cheerleader while I trained for this race. He got up early and ran with me every morning that I had a scheduled run. He helped me cross-train so my body would be as strong as possible for the race. He massaged my legs when they were sore from working out. He made sure the pantry and fridge were constantly stocked with smoothies and snacks so I would always have enough fuel to power me through my training.

“I couldn’t have done this without you,” I say against his lips.

“Yeah, you could have.”

I shake my head. “No way. I would have given up if you weren’t there to run with me or massage me or give me my favorite snacks.”

He grins and kisses. “I was the support. You did the hard work. Be proud of yourself, beautiful.”

My heart squeezes in my chest. Sweetest boyfriend ever.

He sets me down, and I glance at the guys. “I love the shirts.”

“It was all Sam’s idea,” Del says.

Sam smiles at me. “I thought you might need a little push at the end.”

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