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"I need to win this race, Grant. Dani will be so sad if I can't stay in Catalpa Creek and, without that gym—"
"Clover," Grant grits out. "Stop. Talking."
"Okay. I can do that." Pressing my lips together hard, I walk in ever-widening circles, eyes on the ground, watching for snakes among the dead leaves. I'm pretty sure it's warm enough for them to emerge from hibernation. "March is snake emergence season, right?"
"Clover," Grant says, his voice tight.
"Sorry. I didn't realize I said that out loud."
He grunts. "And, yes, it's warm enough for snakes, so watch yourself. I'm not carrying you back down the trail."
I walk back over to stand next to him. Cold muscles and a sore knee are better than snake bit.
Asher appears halfway up the hill, moving at a snail's pace, but still jogging, his face so red it's purple.
"Is he okay?" I ask.
Grant says nothing. We stand there in silence, and I take no small amount of pleasure in watching Asher clearly struggle with each step. As he gets closer, I can hear his heavy wheezing. He stumbles on a root and I almost feel bad for him.
I also cross my fingers that he might fall on his face and give up the race all together.
But he regains his balance and joins us. He throws an arm over my shoulders, letting all his heavy, sweaty body weight rest on me until I swear I shrink an inch.
"Get off me." I duck out from under his arm and give him a shove.
He chuckles between wheezes as he leans forward and drops his hands onto his knees to catch his breath. "Made. It. To. The. Break," Asher pants out. "Not. Bad."
Grant's chuckle is dry and unhappy. "This is not the break. The break was scheduled for a mile into this run. This spot right here." He points at the ground for emphasis like we're toddlers who don't understand words. "This is only a quarter mile into the trail." He pins us in turn with his gaze. "And who'd like toguess why we're stopping here and Asher's already done for the day?"
Asher straightens. "Not done. Just catching my breath."
"Brrrrmp," Grant says. "Wrong answer. Clover, want to give it a try?"
Honestly? I'd rather find a time machine and go back to the moment right before I followed Asher on his wild run and choose to stay behind Grant. "Because Asher didn't follow the rules."
"Brrrrmp," Grant says. "Wrong again. We're here because neither of you listened to me. The whole point of having a trainer is that you want to learn all I have to offer about trail running."
"Sorry, man," Asher says. "I just can't focus with Clover mocking me all the time. If you and I could train without her—"
"Brrrmp."
How did I never realize before how obnoxious Grant is?
"Asher's the one who broke away from us," I say. "I've been listening and I'll do better. Dani is your source of regular sex, you—"
"Brrrmp. Never speak about my sex life again, Clover."
"Right. Of course. Sorry."
Grant paces back and forth across the trail. Since it's a single track, it's more like he's turning in tiny circles, but I've got enough sense not to point that out.
Finally, he stops and faces us. "I hate to do this, but if I keep training you two, I can't promise I won't leave you in the woods and make sure no one ever finds you again."
Asher flinches. "Harsh."
"And if I do that, Dani will never forgive me and Amelia might not show up the next time I call Animal Control." He shakes his head and stares back down the trail. "I've never quit anything in my life. But I'm quitting this."
"Good idea," Asher says. "We'll take a week off and try again next Saturday."
