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“Ready?” she asks, stepping away from me with excitement in her eyes.
“I’ll even give you a head start.”
She grins before taking off.
My heart races with anticipation.
Mariella
ChapterTwenty
Irun for at least thirty seconds before I chance a look behind me. I don’t see him, so he must still be waiting to start.
A smile curves my lips as I continue to follow the worn path, cutting through giant trees and heading toward the end.
“Shit,” I curse aloud.
Realization dawns on me. I don’t know where the path ends. How will I know I’ve won if I don’t know where he usually stops?
The sound of snapping twigs and crunching leaves steals my attention. He’s getting closer. I don’t bother looking behind me, I just quicken my pace and curve around a collection of trees, narrowly missing a large, sharp rock jutting out between the foliage on the ground.
A minute later when the path twists again, I finally take a quick peek behind me and spot him about twenty yards back. After progressing to a sprint for thirty seconds, I realize I may be out of my depth. I try to do a workout here and there, and maybe a quick jog around the block from time to time, but I’m not used to running for my life in the middle of a forest.
Okay, he’s not gonna kill me out here, but we made a bet and I want to win. However, I’m already breathing heavily and my legs are begging for me to stop.
When I notice a collection of very large moss-covered rocks about fifteen yards off the path, I head straight for them. He’s nowhere in sight when I look around, and I have to struggle up a bit of an incline to hide my body behind them, but when I do, I breathe a sigh of relief.
Now I can sit and catch my breath. He never specified I had to be the fastest, I just have to not get caught.
Half a minute later I hear him run by so I get on my knees and peek around the rocks, watching him follow the path until he disappears behind the trees. Maybe I can go back to the beginning and wait for him there. Then I’ll have won and he’ll have to kiss me.
I never questioned him on why he hasn’t attempted to do so yet. Vicente doesn’t seem like the romantic or sensitive type. I have a feeling he’s the kind of guy who views kissing as a romantic or loving gesture rather than just another way to express attraction or desire.
After another couple minutes of rest I decide to head back to the path and start the journey back to where we started. It takes a bit longer than I hoped to get back down the incline, because I’m afraid I’ll twist my ankle if I jump straight down. So I end up having to go toward the direction Vicente went until the land levels out and I can easily get to the path.
Thinking I’ve successfully outmaneuvered him, I have a grin on my face as I jog back toward his house, but as I round a corner, he’s there. He’s standing in the middle of the path, his arms at his sides and a devilish glint in his eye.
“Tsk tsk. Never took you for a cheater.”
Like my feet hit quicksand, I’m stuck in place, dread climbing up my spine. When he takes his first step toward me, I spin and take off in the opposite direction.
“I’m gonna find you,princesa,” he calls out. “And then I’m going to claim you and mark you as mine.”
The thrill of anticipation and fear collide together and explode in my chest. My pulse spikes and my legs move faster.
He shortens the distance between us quickly, his footsteps rushing up behind me. I let out a squeal as I panic and veer off the path, jolting to the left. His laughter follows me.
I nearly trip on a thick root in the ground, and just as I’m thanking my lucky stars for avoiding that fall, my leg scrapes against a sharp rock, cutting a hole in my pants and seemingly splitting my skin.
My adrenaline keeps me going, my eyes constantly searching for a place to conceal myself. I spot another potential hiding place, but I have to cross a small creek first. There’s plenty of rocks and hardly any water, but enough to soak my shoes if I run through.
Without thinking, I slow my pace so I can hop to a large and somewhat flat rock in the center of the water before continuing to the other side. My foot slips and water ends up splashing my feet and shins, but I instantly jump over a moss-covered stump and crouch low, pressing my back against it, hoping he didn’t see me.
My breath comes in heavy pants, and I do my best to keep quiet, but my lungs burn for more oxygen.
The sound of my pulse rattles my eardrums, and though I’m trying to control my breathing, each inhale sounds like it can be heard miles away. The water behind me is soothing, and since it’s quiet, I decide to lean to the left and look around the stump.
He’s not there.
