Runner's High
Lorn Skye
Runner's High
by Lorn Skye
© 2021
All Rights Reserved
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Chapter One
Thad leaned into the fence, the pulling sensation in his calf muscles worsening as he stretched in preparation for his upcoming race.
He had been stretching for longer than usual because he just didn’t feel right. He didn't feel bad, he had assured his coach, just not right.
He felt slightly off, like that feeling when you know you’ve forgotten something, but you just can’t remember what it is you've forgotten.
But all the stretching hadn’t helped and now it was time for the race, the prelims for the 400 meters in the regional meet. Thad had a reasonable chance of making the state finals this year, but this odd feeling had him worried.
Moments later, after checking in with the starter, he was on the starting line and ready to start the race.
As everyone settled into their blocks, Thad took a last look along the track, mentally reviewing the strategy he and his coach had worked on.
That was when he saw her: Tricia, the girl he had a huge crush on. Calling it a “crush” might have been a bit of an understatement. His friends even teased him about it, whenever she walked into room his mind went blank.
She had the most beautiful dark red hair Thad had ever seen, and the most amazing green eyes. And where she was standing, with the sun just behind her, Thad was mesmerized by the illusion it created of a ring of fire around her.
He was so taken by the incredible sight that he missed the starter’s gun and was a step behind everyone getting out of the blocks.
"Figures," he thought, "Just the way my day is going."
And realizing that he had nothing to lose, he reached down deep inside himself and ran as hard as he could, hoping he would have enough left at the end of the race to finish strong.
As he ran down the back stretch, he felt that tingle that meant he could push it a bit more, so he pushed a little faster.
Thad was in that zone, his runner’s high was intense, and he didn’t realize that he had passed the entire field, nor did he notice the hush that had fallen over the stadium.
In fact, the only thing Thad was noticing was how great he was feeling. As he came out of the last turn, he was feeling so good that he kicked in some extra speed down the stretch to the finish line.
Thad was excited that he was the first across the finish line as it guaranteed him a spot in tonight's finals. But it wasn't until he was jogging into the turn during his cool-down that he looked up to see the time on the scoreboard.
42.8 seconds.
He read it again. It hadn't changed.
"It must be a malfunction," he thought, "That time is impossible." Then he noticed the silence of the crowd, and remembering Tricia standing along the fence, he looked over to where she had been standing.
She was staring at him, her mouth open and her expression stunned.
Thad jogged over to her and lightly leapt across the small fence that bordered the oval track. He went to hug Tricia, his excitement about winning overcoming his shyness. And when he paused, suddenly unsure of his actions, she literally leapt into his arms and hugged him, placing a small kiss on his cheek.
But before Thad could say or do anything else, two things happened.
First, he was mobbed by his teammates hugging him and congratulating him. The second thing was the announcer on the PA system announcing the results of the race.
“And qualifying for the finals in the 400m with a new state record time of 42.8 seconds, Thad Bowman wins the final heat.”
Thad froze. There was no way that he just ran the fastest time in the history of the state. He had never been that great a runner. He'd always been pretty good, but not great. In fact, he'd always considered that he was rather middle of the road. No college had ever talked to him about a scholarship or even being a walk-on. He just liked to run, he enjoyed the competition and was good enough to compete.
But a state record holder? No way!
Tricia's squirming in his arms brought him back to reality.
"Oh my God!" she whispered in his ear, "I am so proud of you!" And then she proceeded to kiss him square on the mouth. A big kiss, full of passion, leaving Thad hanging onto her just to hide the reaction that her kiss was causing in his thin running shorts.
His friends and teammates were all still gathered around, slapping him on the back and yelling and generally causing a ruckus. When the coach came over and joined in, he was even more confused. Normally, coach was very strict about discipline. He never let anything get too out of hand. It wasn't until one of the race officials came over and started to break up the celebration that the crowd around Thad quit growing. The officials, and even Coach, couldn't really reduce the size of the crowd, but they did manage to get them to move further away from the track so that they could continue to run the next races.
Tricia, though, stayed plastered right to his side. She had a smile on her face that Thad hadn’t seen before, a very happy smile. It matched the one on his face. In fact, Thad was happier about hanging out with Tricia than he was about breaking some state record in the 400 meters. Heck, he hadn’t even run in the finals yet, so he could still lose!
About then a reporter for the local paper appeared and wanted to get a picture of him and interview him. While he posed for the picture, the reporter started asking Thad a bunch of questions, but before he could answer more than a couple of them, his coach ran over and pulled Thad back over to the track, sending the reporter packing.
"Now Thad," his coach started, "I don't know what you did, but son, if you can run like that just a few more times, we can get you all the way to state and maybe get you a scholarship. You need to go stretch and get ready for the finals tonight."
"But Coach, I've got to run the 800 Meters in a few minutes," Thad started.
"Not tonight, I want you to save it all for the 400 finals," his coach said. Thad was disappointed to hear this because he believed that he was just as good, if not a tad better, in the 800 as he was the 400.
Thad headed over to the infield where his teammates were all gathered. They were stretching and generally goofing around as they were waiting for their events to start. Fortunately, the discus and javelin competitions were already complete, so he didn't have to worry about dodging deadly flying objects.
As Thad settled in to do some stretching, he looked up to see Tricia still standing along the fence watching him. Once again, she had her back to the sun as it settled toward the horizon as it set and her hair surrounding her face looked like a halo of fire.
Thad and Tricia had been friends for quite a while, but Thad had long hoped that their relationship would develop into something else. Tricia had grown from the tomboy who lived down the road into a beautiful woman. She had even done some modeling for a few of the local stores, including modeling in a shoot for a fashion magazine. She had been the recipient of a lot of attention from the older guys in the high school, getting asked out almost continuously by the Juniors and Seniors when she and Thad were just freshmen.
But since her on-again, off-again boyfriend had graduated last year and made it clear that he was permanently off-again, Tricia hadn’t been out on a date. In fact, her friends had revealed that she had sworn off men altogether after how Jim had treated her.
But for the last few weeks, Tricia had been hanging out with Thad quite a bit. They were both Seniors, and about to head off to college. Thad had been accepted to several schools and he was trying to decide where to go, while Tricia had only applied to the University of Georgia and already had most of her plans for the fall in place.
Thad looked up just in time to see the start of the 4 x 800M finals which meant that the finals of the 400M were just a few races away. He also figured that coach would also have him anchor the 4 x 400M Relay, the last race of the meet.
Once again that uneasy feeling began to overtake Thad as he finished his stretching on the infield and then headed over to the track to jog a bit between the races to finish warming up.
Usually, this was no big deal, the area between the track and the fence was reserved for the runners to warm up as he was about to do. The area on the other side of the fence was usually empty, except for a few moms and dads who were there to cheer on their children. But as he neared the fence, he saw that there was quite a crowd gathered including a number of television cameras.
Thad had always been happy to observe from the sidelines. Running was a sport that he could participate in and not draw a crowd or be in the limelight. Even though he was the best middle-distance runner at the school, most people didn’t know who he was, and he was quite happy about that.
But with the cameras hovering just outside the fence, a sense of panic started to well up within Thad. He couldn’t catch his breath and that feeling that something wasn’t quite right started to swell up, stronger than ever before. Time itself started to slow down and everyone appeared to be moving in slow motion.
Then Thad saw Tricia hop over the fence, and in slow motion, Thad was struck by her grace as she moved. Thad knew she was an ice skater; he had even been to one of her competitions to watch her, though he was pretty sure that she didn’t know that. He had been amazed at what she could do on the ice, at how graceful and beautiful she was in her element.
And then it was like time speeded back up and suddenly Tricia was in his arms.
“Kiss me!” she demanded as she grabbed him. “Kiss me now!”
And not knowing what else to do, Thad did exactly that: he kissed her. There was too much going on, too much overloading his brain to let him be embarrassed, or to hesitate, or to think about the girls of his dreams now in his arms.
Instead, he kissed her, and she returned his kiss with a passion he hadn’t expected. Soon he was lost in the kiss, lost in the feeling of her warm lips pressing against his, of her breath and her sweet smell of vanilla and cinnamon. And the feel of her body pressing against his, that threatened to strip away his sanity.
And just as Tricia had intended, the world around them slipped away, lost in each other’s arms and in the moment. Time stands still and the world falls away in the face of love. In that moment, there was no one, and nothing else.
When Thad felt Tricia’s tongue pressing into his mouth, he started to match her, and then reality set back in as a few of his teammates started making catcalls in his direction. He realized that Tricia had wrapped one leg around him, her arms wrapped around his neck, and he was sure they were quite the spectacle.
Thad slowly, gently, but insistently broke the kiss, pulling back just a bit to look into her eyes. Tricia’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Bet you aren’t nervous now,” she whispered in his ear as she leaned forward to hug him.
“True,” he replied, “but now you are going to have to stand in front of me for a few minutes because of the, err, reaction you have caused.”
“Mmm, I noticed,” Tricia purred into his ear. “If I had known this was what I was missing, I would have been kissing you earlier.”
“I’ve wanted to kiss you for ages,” Thad blurted out and then immediately regretted saying it, blushing and feeling like a fool. The only good thing was that it helped his swollen condition, and he was able to step back from Tricia without embarrassing himself.
Tricia smiled and paused. She looked at him carefully and then she tilted her head in that way that made her look so adorable.
“I wish you had. I’ve been trying to get you to notice me for the past two months!” she said.
Then she leaned in and kissed him again, not the passionate kiss of before, but a friendly peck on the lips.
“Now you need to head to the starter and get ready for your race which is next. Run your ass off for me!” And with that, she stepped back, smacked him on the ass, and trotted back over to the fence and gracefully leapt over it.
And Thad realized that indeed it was time for him to head over to the starter. And a few minutes later, he was in the blocks and doing a few practice starts just before his race.
Thad was in the inside lane as his time was the fastest. It meant the entire field of runners was in front of him and, more importantly, between him and the fence, which was ringed with fans and reporters and television cameras.
But Thad really didn’t notice any of that. He was still thinking about the kiss, about Tricia. Even in the blocks, as the starter’s gun went off, he wasn’t worrying about the race, he was thinking about the warmth of her body as it pressed against him.
But unlike his last race, he got a great start out of the blocks. He felt great in this race. As neared the first turn he saw her, standing along the fence. Once again, he was struck by her beauty, and remembering what she said, he reached down into the space he had found in his last race, and he ran. As he did, he replayed the kiss in his mind, and her words, “I’ve been trying to get you to notice me for the past two months!”
And Thad reached down even deeper, and it felt like the world was slowing down around him as he ran faster and faster. He distantly noted that even before he was into the last turn, he had passed all the other runners and was in the lead.
Thad was in his own world. He hadn’t noticed the hush that fell over the stadium again. He was just running and feeling the pure joy of speed along the track, one foot in front of the other, just Thad and the track.
And the next thing he knew, he was crossing the finish line and the stands erupted in noise, people screaming his name and cheering.
Thad coasted into the turn, slowing down as he neared where Tricia was standing. He jogged over to the fence and leaned over. Tricia met him halfway and kissed him softly on the lips. But it only lasted a second, Tricia was too excited.
“You did it again!” she exclaimed and holding him by the shoulders and turning him so he could see the clock that sat just inside the first turn and displayed the time.
42.2 seconds.
It wasn’t possible, it simply wasn’t possible. Thad knew he had won the race and he was on his way to the state meet. But to think he had set a new state record in the 400M twice in one day was just a bit beyond believable.
The crowd along the fence was swelling, everyone calling out to Thad and pressing Tricia up against the fence so that she was looking very uncomfortable.
“Listen,” he said leaning in quickly, “I’m going to jog around the track to the other end. I want you to meet me by the timer’s table in a few minutes.
Tricia nodded in reply, and Thad took off, running around the outside of the track at a slow jog, laughing to himself as a few idiots with cameras and microphones tried to follow him around the outside of the fence.
He spared a glance backwards just in time to see Tricia leap over the fence and head for the timer’s table. He smiled when his Coach pulled her behind the table to stand beside him. Thad then also noted that there were two cops at each entrance, and they were keeping people from coming onto the track.
When he was on the far side of the track, he turned and sprinted back to the timer’s table.
“Thanks Coach,” Thad said when he arrived.
“No problem, Thad, but I need to tell you something,” his Coach said.
“I know the clock must be messed up,” Thad started to protest, “But I still won the race. They can’t take that away, can they?”
“Thad, the timer is working perfectly. They have tested and re-tested it and it works just fine. They even had a backup system on this race.”
His coach paused and gave him a look that started to freak Thad out just a bit.
“And you didn’t just set a state record,” his coach continued, “You just set the world record. And since this is a sanctioned meet by the state with a certified timing system, it should be recognized. The only thing they are trying to confirm is the wind speed.”
Thad felt like the world was collapsing around him. He barely heard anything after world record. Thad was just a regular guy; there was nothing special about him. Nothing special ever happened to him, never! And that was fine with Thad. He liked it that way.
And now it was ruined and there were going to be television cameras and interviews and crowds and all the things that Thad hated. Thad had accepted long ago that he was an introvert. He was happiest when he was out running, just by himself.
Then Tricia was by his side, holding him and talking to him. But while he could see her and see her mouth moving, he couldn’t hear her. And then his vision started to go dim and he felt his legs slipping out from under him.
Tricia panicked as she held Thad and he slumped to the ground. Just when she had gotten him to respond to her and now there was something wrong with him. She couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes and blurred her vision. Nor could she stop screaming for someone to help Thad, despite the fact that his coach and numerous officials were around him, trying to help him.
When Coach tried to pull her away, she grabbed hold of Thad’s arm and would not let go. She refused to budge as they laid Thad on the ground and lifted his legs off the ground, propping them on a cooler.
She did note that he was still breathing, and she could feel a slow but steady pulse where she held his arm in a death grip. The officials were breaking out the first aid kit and pulled out some smelling salts, but before they could even get them open, Thad opened his eyes and groaned.
“Well, that’s embarrassing,” Thad muttered.
Tricia just leaned over and hugged him; overcome with emotions she couldn’t seem to get any words to form.
“Thad, you need to drink some Gatorade,” Coach interrupted. “I suspect you are a little dehydrated after those two races and with the emotions, you just passed out for a minute.”
Thad nodded and tried to sit up. Tricia pulled him up and then shifted so that she was behind him helping to hold him up. Thad took the bottle of Gatorade and downed it, immediately feeling better.
It felt good to hold Thad, Tricia noted. He wasn't a huge football player, but he was solid. She had never appreciated just how muscular he was since he usually was wearing sweats or other baggy clothes that hid his body.
Tricia also wondered how her mother would react when she told her she was dating Thad. Her mother wouldn't approve of Thad as a boyfriend even though they had been friends from childhood. He didn't come from a family with money and didn't have the right southern heritage. Thad had moved here from California, of all places! At least they hadn't been from the North. On the plus side, Thad’s Dad was a war hero. Tricia liked to point out that Thad's home was just down the street, that his house was bigger and nicer than hers.
But none of that mattered to her mother. She hated to admit that her mother was really that shallow, but the reality of it was starting to settle in.
Her best friends Jennie and Kelley had been trying to convince her that Thad had a thing for her for a while. It had started just before Christmas when her asshole ex-boyfriend had dumped her just before the holiday ball. He had been one that her mother had approved, a true southerner with family that fought with the Confederacy in the war.
And just like the other boys that her mother had approved of, this one was a real jerk who treated her like crap.
But she never thought that Thad would want her. His family was from California and though they had been living in Athens for most of Thad's life, he still thought that the people who revered the Confederacy were a bit off their rockers.
But lately Tricia had been noticing that Thad would be staring at her across the room in class and then look away with a guilty blush when she would catch his eye. And so, on a whim, she had come down to the track to see him run this afternoon. She knew that he was a pretty good runner and had a chance of making it to state, but she would have never dreamed that she would witness a world record in the making.
She was interrupted from her thoughts by Thad's coach returning, and as much as she was enjoying the closeness with Thad, she knew this wasn't the time or place to be anything more than supportive.
"Thad, I hate to ask you, but do you feel up to running the 4 x 400M relay tonight. We have a chance to win the region if we can win the relay, and I know if you can run even your usual time, we have a chance.
Thad nodded. "I'm feeling a lot better now and I think I am up for one more run." he replied.
Then he turned and kissed Tricia on the cheek.
"Thanks for taking care of me." he said softly in her ear. "Would you like to go with me for pizza after the meet?"
Before she could even think about it, Tricia found herself nodding yes. And as she watched Thad walk away, she noticed that for the first time in a long time that she felt very happy.
Asking Tricia to go for pizza after the meet had seemed like a really good idea at the time, but as Thad headed for the starters table to report in for the relay, he saw the crowd of reporters and television cameras that were clustered around the start-finish line.
"I am not going to let them ruin my day!" Thad thought to himself, growing angry at the people who had shown up not because they gave a damn about track or running, but simply because they smelled a story that could add to their fame.
"I am going to have the best day of my life!" He muttered at them as he headed for the starting line.
His teammates were certainly psyched up for the race. Instead of being perpetual losers, they all realized that they now had the opportunity to make it to state as part of the relay team. As Thad joined them, they all slapped him on the back and had wise things to say to him, like "Way to go" and "You rock, man"
Thad knew they meant well, but the only thing he cared about was finishing this meet and getting to head to Fox's Pizza and spend some time with Tricia.
The first runner took his place in the blocks as they got ready to start the race. Josh was a pretty good runner, and he wouldn't let them get too far behind. Chris ran the second leg and as a 200-meter specialist he certainly had the speed, but sometimes he gave out and limped to the finish line. Brian would run the third leg and he was the weak link, being that he was a freshman and had very little experience and hadn't yet achieved his full potential.
Just as the gun went off, Thad looked around and caught sight of Tricia standing beside coach along the side of the track. This surprised Thad, and he wondered how Trish had wrangled that. He also wondered what they were arguing about as they appeared to be having quite a discussion. In fact, so much so, that Coach was paying more attention to Tricia than he was to the race.
Thad turned his attention back to the race. He hadn’t had time to go through his normal warm up routine, but he felt pretty good. After drinking the Gatorade and sitting with Tricia for a while, he felt much better. In fact, he didn’t feel as tired as he normally did at this point in a track meet.
Josh, their first runner was just now coming around the turn and appeared to be holding with the leaders. Chris was waiting for the baton, and he looked ready to go. In fact, he looked so ready to go that Thad yelled for him to remember his pace. Chris didn’t break eye contact with the baton, but he did nod to let Thad know he had heard him.
Chris did a great job on his leg, keeping up his speed through his whole leg, but Thad could see the fatigue in his eyes as he came in to pass the baton off to Brian.
And that was when disaster struck.
As Chris came in, he let go of the baton before Brian had it and Thad felt the pit of his stomach go cold as he watched the baton fall to the ground. Brian dove for it and managed to recover it, keeping it in the lane, but he had lost precious seconds doing so and now they were in last place.
Brian took off like a shot, trying his best to make up the time, but Thad knew that the leaders had too big a lead now to make it up in just two legs, even if he did run another world record pace.
But never one to quit, Thad got on the track and stretched, jogging in place and watched as they went down the back stretch and into the corner. Much to his surprise, Brian was making up a good bit of the deficit and was just a couple of steps behind the next runner.
As he came down the home stretch, Brian had a horrible look of pain on his face, but he pulled out and passed the runner, moving them into fifth place.
Thad held out his hand and grabbed it as Brian stretched it out to him. He then turned and started running as hard as he could. He didn’t think that he could catch the leaders, but he wasn’t going to let Brian’s amazing effort to get them back into this race go to waste.
Reaching down again and drawing on that pool of energy he seemed to have found, Thad ran faster, and faster, until everything around him got quiet and blurred into a gray amorphous mass. He just ran, letting his feet follow the familiar path around the track, concentrating on nothing except the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other.
He didn't even realize he had passed the entire field until he saw the finish line fast approaching and there was no one in front of him, just the timers staring in his direction with an astonished look on their face.
Thad immediately slowed down and noticed the crowd was eerily silent. In fact, about the only sound he heard was the clicking sound of cameras as people tried to capture his run. And despite all his training not to do so, Thad turned and looked back over his shoulder, seeing the lead runner just now coming out of the corner as he crossed the finish line.
It was then that Thad began to realize something was wrong. Running fast and setting a world record was amazing, even unbelievable, but he had just done something that went beyond what was humanly possible, making up all that lost time and distance and still winning by a hundred yards.
Tricia was staring at him, a look of shock on her face, mirroring the look of shock on his coach's face. He knew then that he was a freak. He knew they would never look at him the same. Just when he had gotten Tricia to agree to go out with him, and even gotten a kiss from her, now she was lost to him.
He was a freak, and all these television cameras were there to witness it.
Thad started to freak out, and so he did what he did best, and he ran, to the far side of the track where there were no stands and no crowd. He easily vaulted the fence there and headed for the gym to grab his stuff and get out of there. Then he saw the crowd that had gathered around the gym, and he just headed down the road. He had no particular destination in mind, just anywhere that was away from there.
Chapter Two
It must have been early in the morning, because it was pitch black outside and Thad was cold. He had left the track with nothing on except his running outfit and it wasn't exactly designed for warmth, or even modesty he thought to himself.
He found himself sitting on a picnic table looking over Lake Oconee. He had no idea how he got there, it was too far to run, at least twenty miles between the school and here, and while he had certainly run twenty miles before, there was no way he should have been able to do that after running three world record pace 400 meter races.
He saw some clean trash bags tucked into the ranger station office, so he headed over there to get one to wear like a poncho to help keep him warm.
"Just further proof I am a freak," he thought as he pulled is head through the hole he had torn in the end. "Now I am wearing trash bags and trying to set a new fashion trend."
He then looked around for somewhere to rest and remembered there was a thick patch of pine trees nearby where he could get out of the wind and have a nice thick bed of pine straw. He headed over there and crawled in, clearing out the pinecones that were on the ground and pilling up some extra needles until he had a nice bed and some extras to cover his legs. He took the second trash bag and slipped his legs into it like a sleeping bag and then covered himself as best he could with the pine straw and tried to get some sleep.
He knew he would have to head home eventually; he hated worrying his mother and not letting her know that he was fine, but he just needed to get away. Life would have to wait for morning. He was too tired to worry about it now. And with that thought, he was soon fast asleep.
The sun was just coming up through the trees when Thad was awakened by the sound of a car pulling into the picnic area. Not wanting to give his hiding place away, he stayed very still but watched as the car parked and much to his surprise Tricia got out.
She looked around and sighed before leaning against the hood of her car and looking forlorn.
"I really thought he would be here," she muttered to herself.
Realizing that Tricia was likely looking for him, Thad decided to crawl out of his hiding place. He started brushing all the pine needles off of him and took off the garbage bags. It was bad enough that he was smelly from running and spending the night in the wild, but he didn't need to add homeless bum appearance to his image problems.
"Shit, who's there?" Tricia called out, alarm in her voice when she heard the noise coming from under the large pine tree.
"Um, it's me, Thad, Tricia," He called out as he shucked the trash bag over his head and brushed himself off as best he could before crawling out from under the limbs.
"Thank God!" Tricia exclaimed and rushed to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him.
Thad was at a loss for what to do, still being rather self-conscious about the way he must look and smell. But despite his attempts to dislodge her, Tricia wasn't about to let go of him. She held him even tighter.
A minute later Thad realized that she was crying. Not knowing what else to do, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. No matter what, Thad had been friends with Tricia for a long time and he couldn't stand to see his friend hurting.
They stood there for several minutes, their arms around each other until eventually Tricia got herself under control and gently pulled back from Thad, looking up into his eyes with a fierceness there that surprised him.
"Don't you ever do anything like that ever again! Do you understand me? I've been up most of the night looking for you, and your mother is worried sick about you."
Thad instantly felt horrible. He knew his mother would be worried, but now faced with the reality of it, he felt horrible. Not only was he a freak, he was also an insensitive jerk.
"I'm sorry I worried you, but I just needed to get away from there last night. Do you have your cell phone so I can call her?" he asked.
Tricia nodded and taking him by the hand, led him over to the car and reached in to pull out her iPhone and hand it to him. Then she reached in to pull out a bag full of breakfast food from MacDonald's and a Venti Latte as well.
Thad realized just how hungry he was when he saw the food and he could barely hear his mother scream with relief when she answered the phone over the rumbling of his stomach. After apologizing over and over to his mother and promising to be home shortly, he hung up the phone and grinned when Tricia led him over to one of the picnic tables and set the bag of food in front of him.
"I figured a growing boy who broke the world record twice in one night would be hungry." Tricia said with a grin. "But you only get to eat if you promise to tell me why you disappeared and how the hell you got all the way out here?"
Thad shrugged, "I ran." He said simply and took a bite of the bacon egg and cheese biscuit Tricia had brought.
"But that is like 20 miles!" she exclaimed.
"I've run that far several times before." he replied between mouthfuls.
"But after a race?" she persisted.
"Alright, I'll grant you never after a race." Thad replied. He was starting to become uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going. He was starting to feel like a freak again.
Tricia stopped asking questions and just looked at him, her head tilted just off center as she did when she was thinking.
"What?" Thad asked as he finished his breakfast.
"You are incredible, you know?" she asked, "Only you would be this freaked out over breaking some track record! Most people would be hamming it up and trying to get as much attention as possible.”
Thad looked at her and saw adoration in her eyes, and for a second, he got lost looking in those eyes, their green drawing him in and helping him to gain some confidence.
“Look,” he started, “I just enjoy running, I have no idea what happened and all those cameras and people yelling just spooked me. I mean, I’m not a freak!”
Tricia paused and it dawned on her what was really bothering him. She sidled up beside him and put her arm around him.
“You know, you have some gift that allows you to run really fast, but no matter what else I know about you, I know you are a good person,” she said very quietly.
Thad put his arm around her and hugged her.
“Thanks, that means a lot to me,” he said quietly. “It was just all too much last night.”
Tricia nodded. “I can only imagine how I would have reacted if suddenly I started skating perfect routines on the ice and won my way into the Olympics.”
She paused and then playfully punched him in the stomach.
“You runners are so lucky!” she exclaimed as she hustled to get away from him, “You can set a world record anytime, but us skaters have only one chance in four years to get that kind of recognition.”
And then it happened. One minute Thad was chasing her playfully through the picnic area and in the next instant he was in front of her and caught her as she ran into him.
Tricia couldn’t stifle the gasp that escaped her as she realized that in the blink of an eye, Thad was suddenly in front of her. But despite how strange it was, when she looked up and into his eyes, all she saw was a look of love and adoration.
Thad suddenly had a very strong urge to kiss her and the way she was looking up at him, he knew that she wouldn’t object. He debated for a split second, and then he leaned his head down and kissed her softly.
Tricia’s lips were soft and moist and warm and just perfect, and a split second after touching her lips, Thad was lost to the world. All he could do was moan and savor the kiss, breathing in her scent, running one hand up to run his fingers through her hair and the other hand down to cup her ass and pull her against him.
Tricia met his passion with a passion of her own. She wrapped her arms around his neck and going up on her toes, she wrapped one leg around his leg, molding her body to his and moaning even louder when he pulled her tighter against him.
Thad had no idea how long the kiss lasted, but when eventually Tricia had to gasp for air and when she did, Thad tried to pull away, but she was having none of that. He was a little self-conscious about the erection she had caused, but when he tried to pull away, she used her leg to pull him back and then ground herself against his erection, moaning as she did so.
The sound of a car coming down the road eventually caused them to break apart and Thad walked behind Tricia back to her car. Thad didn’t know what to say and so he just ran his fingers through her hair until they got to her car.
“Why didn’t we do that a long time ago?” Tricia asked as she turned back to face him.
“Because you are a beautiful and popular and wonderful and I’m a bit of a nerd?” Thad answered honestly.
Tricia paused and did that thing with her head again.
“I didn’t just kiss you because you are some world class runner now. I came down to the track just to see you, before you did anything special, because I realized some time ago that you were the kind of guy that I should be hanging out with, not the stupid jerks who are always hitting on me.” She said, never breaking eye contact with Thad.
“And I’ve wanted to do that for at least a year,” Thad admitted with some hesitancy.
And then they both broke up with laughter, some nervous laughter, but mostly the laughter that comes when you are laughing at yourself.
“Well, as much as I would like to stay here and kiss you again, I think I need to get you home,” Tricia said.
“Yes, I suppose it is time to face the music.” He replied.
Thad paused and looked at her.
“I’m glad you came to the track yesterday, and I am glad you found me today, but what I would really like is for you to stand by me over the next few hours as I have to face the world. Would you do that for me?” Thad asked, the nervousness plain in his voice.
Tricia kissed him softly on the cheek and whispered softly, “I’d be honored.”
And then she turned and climbed into her mother’s car that she had borrowed, while Thad walked around to the other side and climbed in and with a grin, Tricia gunned the car, throwing gravel in an arc and she spun the car around and onto the road like a rally car driver.
Tricia screamed with delight as they sat off down the road, Thad’s voice joining hers, and for a moment all was right with the world; just a guy, a girl, a car and a road to travel together.
Thad called his mother when they saw the crowd that was gathered around the house. The cameras were there, even more of them than were at the track last night. Vans from all the major networks were there and a few that Thad didn’t recognize.
Fortunately the police were there as well, and when Thad’s mother went out to talk to the officer in charge, he was able to clear a path for Tricia to pull into the driveway so that they could escape around the back of the house and in the back door.
Thad thought his mother was going to choke him as he ran in the back door, then suddenly pulled back and looked him in the eye.
“I know you freaked out, but don’t EVER do that to me again.” She exclaimed.
“I’m sorry Mom,” he replied.
“Now go get cleaned up. Then we need to plan a press conference before old Mr. Clarke next door gets fed up with the mess in the road and starts to clear the crowd with his shotgun.” She said with a twinkle in her eye that suggested that she was secretly hoping that was exactly what would happen.
Thad turned to head upstairs to grab a shower. As he rounded the stairs, he saw his mother take Tricia and hug her as well. He wasn’t sure what to think about that. He was certain they were going to talk while he was gone. Probably plan out his whole future, he thought grimly.
A few minutes later when he got out of the shower, Tricia was in his room, laying out clothes for him on the bed.
She smiled suggestively at him when she saw him standing there with just a towel wrapped around him.
When he blushed and moved to push the door closed, she just smirked. “You know, I think that covers more than your running outfit.”
“Can I have a moment?” Thad asked a bit incredulously, not knowing what to think of his mother allowing a girl in his room when he was obviously naked, and picking out his clothes, for God’s sake. Was he five again?
Then Tricia pushed open the door and grabbed the towel, pulling him to her with it.
“You can have several minutes,” she purred huskily and then kissed him.
And suddenly all rational though left his mind as the blood that had previously been delivering oxygen to his brain, was suddenly re-directed to another organ.
“Ah, youth!” his mother interrupted from the bedroom door.
At least this time Tricia was the one who blushed and broke away.
“When you are ready, please come down and review the statement that we drafted for you to read.” He mother said and then closed the door behind her, leaving Tricia and Thad alone again.
“Your mother is pretty cool,” Tricia said, turning to Thad, “But I don’t think we are ready for anything else yet, so I am going to let you get dressed and I’ll see you downstairs.”
Thad just nodded, his brain still oxygen deprived and trying to cope with all the things that had happened in the last few hours.
He quickly ran a brush through his hair and put on the jeans and black polo that Tricia had picked out and then padded downstairs to face the reporters.
Thad’s mother did PR for a living, so Thad had every confidence that she would have something well planned for him to say.
But when he got downstairs, his mother and Tricia were sitting at the kitchen table, and Tricia was explaining what had happened last night at the track meet.
“It really was incredible,” Tricia said with awe in her voice, “He was running down the back stretch and he looked like a gazelle or something. He was so fast and yet so graceful, just moving like it took no effort at all.”
“Ah, there you are,” his mother said when she looked up and saw him standing there. “I have a few ideas on how to handle this, but I wasn’t there so I don’t know what you want to say about the meet and the records.”
She paused and handed him the morning paper, “You also need to read this. We’ll need to be prepared to answer a few questions about the article, particularly the bit that alludes to the use of drugs being responsible for your speed.”
Thad panicked for a moment. His coach had mentioned something about getting a drug test, but no one had ever come to take him for one. Thad knew there was some window that testing could occur and if he didn’t undergo the drug test, any records would be voided.
“There was a man here from the Georgia High School Athletic Association who wanted to get a urine sample from you. He was going to come back at noon to get a sample from you. He said that as long as they got one within 24 hours of the meet, it would be fine.” He mother said, reading the expression on his face.
His mother turned back to the table and handed him a piece of paper.
“I figured you would want to go the humble route, saying things like you are happy to have this gift, worked hard to get here, and your teammates and coach were important, not to mention your loving mother. So that’s what I drafted up, take a look and let me know what you think.”
Thad took the paper and read it. He knew his mother did this for a living, but the way she wrote, it sounded like something he would actually say and it covered all the bases. Tricia was reading over his shoulder and when she was done she looked up at his mother.
“That’s really good, Ms. Ellen,” she said
“I hope so, or Thad’s going to have to get a job,” she replied with a smile.
After altering a few words here and there, Thad felt like it was as good as it was going to get. His mother had passed the word that they would make a statement at 11am and they had a few more minutes before it was time.
Just then there was a knock at the door.
“That must be the man from the Athletic Association,” his mother said, getting up to go answer the door.
A minute or so later, she returned with a man dressed in a suit and another man that a minute or so later he recognized as the doctor in town.
“Thad, I hope coach mentioned that we need to do a drug test on you. Anytime there is a record that is broken, we try to collect a sample within 24 hours to ensure there is no controversy about performance enhancing drugs. I’ve brought Dr. Aikens along with me to serve as a witness.”
“I understand,” Thad said, “If you give me the cup, I’ll be happy to go fill it up for you.”
“Well, we have to watch to ensure you don’t tamper with anything, like dilute the urine with water or use someone else’s urine,” the man replied, “So the doctor and I need to go into the restroom with you and watch you collect the specimen.”
Thad just shrugged. If someone wanted to watch him piss, then so be it. He led the way to the bathroom and stood over the toilet, holding out his hand for the cup which was handed to him a minute later. A minute or so after that, the cup was full and Thad handed it back and then proceeded to relieve the remainder of his bladder into the toilet.
“That was some incredible running last night, Thad,” Doc Aikens said as the official from the state finished up the paperwork for the urine sample. “I was there to watch a friend’s daughter, but you really stole the show. Good job!” And then he turned and walked out the door.
A moment later, the school official thanked Thad and his mother and followed the doctor out the door.
“Are you ready?” his mother asked.
“I guess I am as ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied.
Tricia stepped up and took his hand. “I’ll be right here beside you the whole time,” she said quietly.
And then they were out the door and onto the front porch where an array of microphones was situated. His mother stepped up first, looking like the pro that she was when it came to handling the press.
“If I could have your attention,” she said into the microphone, “We can get started with this press conference. In a moment, Thad will be making a statement. We will then have time for a few questions. After that, we expect you all the leave, and any left here at the conclusion of the conference will be prosecuted for trespassing. Also, anyone yelling out questions will be ignored and only those reporters who are polite and ask questions when called upon will be answered.”
Despite his nervousness, Thad smiled as he listened to his mother speak. Despite the fact that she was a loving and caring mother, he knew she could be a real bitch when it came to dealing with people who made her angry. Thad hoped no one tested her today.
He was so distracted along this line of thinking that he started when he heard his mom call him to the mike for a second time. Almost as if on automatic pilot, he stepped to the mike and began to read the statement they had prepared.
“While I appreciate that you are all interested in knowing more about what happened last night, I am afraid that I can shed little light on the cause. I’ve never run that fast before and I don’t know why I am suddenly able to run that fast.” Thad paused, took a deep breath read on, reassured by Tricia standing beside him holding his hand. “I don’t have a special diet; I eat regular food and too many cheeseburgers according to my mother. I don’t have a special workout that I do, I only run what my coach tells me to run, and a bit extra on the weekends, so if you want to understand my training you’d be better off talking to him.
“I also don’t really recall anything special. I felt like I was really comfortable running, and I didn’t realize how fast I was running until I saw the time at the end of the race.” Thad looked over at Tricia and decided to ad lib one line. “I was distracted by a beautiful girl at the start of the race and that’s what I was thinking about when I ran.
Thad heard Tricia exhale suddenly and saw his mother smile as she realized he was ad-libbing.
“Now, I will be happy to answer a few questions.”
Thad stepped to the side and felt Tricia squeeze his hand. While his mother repeated her rules for how they were going to handle the questions, Thad looked over at Tricia and saw her smiling and a tear in the corner of her eye. He squeezed her hand and then turned to his mother and nodded that he was ready.
The questions were quite predictable and inane. How did you feel? I felt fine, how was I supposed to feel? Where did you go last night? I needed to get away from all of you so I could think. Who was the beautiful girl? Seriously, did you just ask that when she is standing right here? What is your secret? Did you completely miss my statement? Are you using drugs? No, absolutely not, and I just took a drug test to confirm this. Can you do it again? I have no idea.
It seemed that the questions went on forever, but eventually his mother stepped in and called an end to the questions. She then reinforced her earlier comment that they had 15 minutes to clear out before she started prosecuting people for trespassing.
She led Thad and Tricia into the house and they all collapsed onto the furniture in the den.
“How do you do that regularly?” Thad asked his mom with the hint of awe in his voice. “That was really hard. I wanted to yell at them for being so stupid.”
“Well, like anything, with practice, it gets easier,” his mother replied. “But now I am tired, so I am going to go lie down and take a nap since some idiot kept me up worried all night. I suggest you do the same.”
She rose to head down the hall and paused before she left the room.
“Tricia, you are welcome to stay. I trust you and Thad, so you are welcome to stay with him or use the guest room. Make sure you call your mother and tell her we’ll get you home later tonight when things have calmed down. The Sheriff even offered to drive you home if you needed that. He’s having a ball out there arresting people who aren’t leaving and in a few hours it should be safe for you to head home.”
Tricia nodded and grinned at Thad’s mom. “Thanks Ellen. I appreciate your hospitality.”
“Ellen?” Thad asked, “Since when did you and my mother develop a first name relationship?”
“Since she brought home my son!” called his mother down the hall before she shut the door to her room.
Tricia just giggled and Thad rolled his eyes.
It was twilight when Thad awoke. He was lying in his bed, curled around Tricia who had her head on his shoulder. The last rays of sunlight were streaming through the window and highlighting the dark auburn of her hair.
He was spooned behind her and had his other arm around her waist, holding her tightly to him. He noticed that she was wearing a t-shirt and little else from the feel of her pressed against him. Between the warmth of her body and the smell of her hair, Thad was becoming very aroused. He tried to shift away, but when he did, Tricia just moaned and snuggled back against him.
Then Tricia began to rub her ass against his erection in slow circles, a soft moan escaping as she did, and she pulled his hand which was around her waist until he was holding her breast.
Thad soon lost all coherent thought and began to press back against her with his pelvis. He also began to massage her breast, capturing her nipple between his fingers and rolling it softly. He then began to kiss her neck and lightly nibbling at the ear lobe he could reach.
With a gasp, Tricia shuddered in his arms and stiffened, pressing hard against his groin. Thad then realized that her hand was in her panties and she was masturbating. That thought pushed him over the edge and with a final thrust, he began to spurt against Tricia.
This caused another moan from Tricia who grabbed the hand that was on her breast and squeezed it tightly. And for a few minutes, they just laid there, trying to catch their breath and savoring the physical sensations.
Eventually, when she had regained some semblance of control, Tricia rolled over and kissed Thad thoroughly. While it was a sexy kiss, it was more an emotional kiss, full of love and caring rather than a kiss that says I am about to rock your world.
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