‘I think catching a lift on the handlebars is too!’ the man yelled after her.
We finished together, two bikes, five jubilant women, whooping as we crossed the line most definitely not last.
Oh, it felt beyond wonderful to be racing with my team again.
* * *
We had another hour-long break for snacks, more photographs and wincing at Kommando Kim’s afternoon Killer Kardio session (non-triathlon competitors only). Selena followed me into the changing room.
‘Good to be back?’ She pulled out her ponytail and fluffed her hair in the mirror a few times.
‘Yes, thanks.’ I bent down to splash some water on my face. The heat in here was brutal. The brand new changing room already carried a faint whiff of rancid cheese.
‘You’ll be back for good? Training as usual?’
‘I hope so.’ And I meant it, too.
‘You’d better be.’
I paused, flicking a strand of hair out of my face. Selena demanding me back at the Larks could have been a compliment. But it sounded more like a threat.
‘It’s bad enough losing Nathan. If he’s left for nothing, you are not going to be popular round here. Might want to rethink the whole recluse thing.’
‘Excuse me?’ I gripped onto the sink as the blood drained from my body, leaving my head empty and spinning. ‘You think Nathan left because of me?’
‘Well, duh!’
I’d wondered, but to hear it out loud, from Selena of all people. My battered heart felt as though it splattered onto the shiny new floor.
‘Did he tell everyone?’
‘Darling, he didn’t have to. You know his rule. Professional boundaries.’
Oh, no. This was horrible.
‘He was the one who told me where he lived!’
She stopped plucking at her hair and turned to face me, hands on hips. ‘Well, that confirms it then, doesn’t it? Oh, come off it, don’t look so shocked. What else was he supposed to do?’
‘He should have asked me to leave. Why didn’t he? I would have left, if he felt that uncomfortable. I thought it was nothing really, not a big deal, we’d laugh about it and move on. Nathan can’t leave the Larks because of me. I’ll talk to him, tell himI’mleaving. Then he can come back.’ I shook my head, confused. ‘Why didn’t he askmeto leave?’
‘What, apart from being head over heels in love with you? I’d guess not wanting to send you back into your house for the next ten years, back to a hopeless, friendless and below-optimum-fitness existence. Hoping you’ll bring us a victory today. You being the celebrity face and driving force behind hashtag PoolPalforPiper. Not wanting to cause tension between you with Joey’s trials coming up and Joey being so excited about you and his dad getting back together. Is that enough for starters?’
‘What?What?Selena, stop. What? What are you talking about? Nathan is not in love with me!’
She shrugged. ‘Well, probably not. But it takes more than a passing fancy or simple animal attraction to turn Nathan’s head and surmount his insanely strict code of conduct. Believe me. And if he thought you were worth giving up the Larks for, what would you call it?’
‘But… if he liked me, then where has he been for the past two months?’
More to the point,I thought, but would never say out loud to Selena, ever,why did he disappear straight after I accidentally leaned in a bit close while barely dressed and in an enclosed space?
‘Ooh, training your son, turning up at A&E to find you all cosied up with your ex, who tells him to jog on? Giving you space to decide who you are and who or what you want? Allowing you to decide if you want Nathan, even when you don’t need him? Doing the decent thing and bowing out so you have a chance to get back with the father of your child? Using all this as an excuse because he’s massively shy and even more scared after his last girlfriend? You know, the whole him forgetting to meet her for a run, her getting attacked and him not getting over it so she dumped him, and married his oldest friend?’
Before my head had a chance to explode with all this information, let alone start sifting through to decide which, if any of it, was true, Bronwyn burst through the changing room door.
‘There you are! Flippin’ ’eck, you two, the next leg is about to start. Stop preening and get on out there!’ She gave me a concerned second look, before disappearing out the door again.
‘Come on, then.’ Selena held the door open for me. ‘You never know, there might be another miracle which means we end up being not last.’
