Page 71 of Of Pucking Course

Sam

“Idon’t feel like I’m going to throw up! Aren’t you so proud of me?”

I burst out laughing at what Dakota just said as we finish the last quarter-mile of our run.

“So damn proud.” I glance over at Dakota jogging beside me. Her tan cheeks are flushed and she’s panting, but she’s smiling.

“You’re giving Usain Bolt a run for his money,” I say.

“Usain Bolt is a sprinter,” she says matter-of-factly. “I bet I could outlast him in a 5K race.”

I grin wide. “Oh, definitely. I’d put my money on you, no question.”

She laughs, then her expression sobers. She winces. “Side stitch.”

“You wanna slow down?”

She presses her palm against the left side of her stomach and shakes her head. “We’re almost done, right?”

“Yup. See that streetlight at the end of the next block? That’s where we stop.”

She nods once, and her eyebrows furrow together in determination. “I got this.”

“So hardcore. I love it.”

When we make it to the streetlight, Dakota turns and flashes the biggest smile at me.

“I did it!” She high-fives me.

“And you ran through the pain of a side stitch. You’re hardcore.”

She chuckles. Together we walk back toward my place, which is down the street and around the corner.

“You’re getting faster. And your stamina is really good now,” I say.

She bites back a smile and looks over at me. “You think so?”

“Yeah. It’s cool to see how good you’re getting.”

Her smile turns shy. “It’s not that good. Not like I’ll ever be a pro athlete like you. Or Del.”

“So? That doesn’t matter. You’re running. You’re putting in the work to do something you’ve never done before. You’re kicking ass, Dakota. Be proud of yourself.”

She says a quiet, “Thanks.”

We walk in comfortable silence for a few moments.

“Do you think you don’t deserve to feel good about all the progress you’ve made just because you’re not a professional at it?” I ask.

“That’s what I used to think,” she says while looking ahead. “I guess I got used to people making fun of me my whole life for being unathletic and always comparing me to my superstar athlete brother. It was hard to feel motivated to run or do anything active when my brother was a million times better than me.”

“That’s shitty. I’m sorry.” I can’t believe people said that to her.

“I guess when people see you as one thing and one thing only, you start to see yourself that way too,” she says. “People labeled me as bad at sports, unathletic, and clumsy. So I never thought I could be any different.”

Dakota’s words resonate.

“I can kind of relate,” I say.

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