I Love You Just the Way You Are (Book 1- Rock Canyon Series)

Chapter 28 - Kellan

Chapter 28 - Kellan

She slammed her skateboard down and quickly shot off. I couldn't help but stand and watch her for a moment, her recklessness briefly reminding me of Ty. I shook off the thought and started sprinting after her.

I passed her on the grass as she was stuck on the sidewalk trying to get around a group of moms with strollers. I spun around, running backward, and blew her a kiss.

Okay, skatepark. It's about ten blocks south of here, maybe a few blocks over this way, to the east.

I veered to the right, widening the space between us. I glanced back and noticed she kept going straight. Knowing that she'd probably left work and went to the skatepark many times over the summer, I was sure I'd made a mistake.

I lowered my head and pumped my legs, finding a higher gear. After zigzagging a few blocks to the east, I turned south on 8th, and as I was about to cross the street, Maddie came flying around the corner, cutting me off, hair blowing everywhere in the wind, rock fingers stuck high in the air.

No, you don't.

I spied a shortcut just to my left, an alleyway behind an older house that I knew would take me to 9th street, and if I remembered correctly, the skatepark would be a few blocks down on the right. I dashed across a lawn, waving to the old man sitting on the front porch.

"Sorry!" I yelled, as I ran down a small hill, leaping over the little creek at the bottom, and sprinting up the other side to reach the alley. I crossed over without bothering to look for traffic, blasting my way through another yard, finally popping out onto 9th street. When I get to the pavement she was less than twenty feet behind me.

Damn, she's fast.

There was a long, gently sloping hill in front of us, and I knew she's going to pass me. I heard her gaining on me and watched her zoom past me. All I can think is that she's picking up too much speed too fast and oh my God what if she crashes?

"Maddie! You're going too fast! And this hill is cheating!" I yelled after her, but that just seemed to encourage her to crouch lower on her skateboard. I'm scared but I can't help but admire her devil may care attitude. I snapped a mental picture for my sketchpad later.

As I came to the final block, my lung was about to collapse but I ignored it and pushed myself as if my life depended on it. I saw the park looming ahead and I knew I would need a prayer to beat her there. I made the split-second decision that I didn't need to follow her, that she'd be okay. I shot down another alley, hoping it was just what I needed to close the gap. A little clearing between the back of an office building and an apartment complex gave me a last glimmer of hope. The skatepark was just ahead. If I gave it everything I had, I thought I might just might beat her. It'd be a photo finish.

I emptied my tank, squeezing every ounce of energy I had left, flying across the open ground. As I approached the last one hundred feet or so, I chanced a glance to my left. I watched Maddie riding out her momentum from the hill, soaring past me, and knew I had lost.

I slowed to a jog, fatigue already welcoming me. When I got to her, she was standing with three other people. All eyes were on me as I walked the last few feet and then collapsed on the ground beside her.

"I will...eventually...beat you... at something," I said between snatches of air and laughter, my arms spread across the dirt.

"Who is this?" a lanky kid in an old Sex Pistols t-shirt asked.

"My boyfriend," she said and dropped to her knees. She gave me an upside-down kiss before adding, "And I don't think so. I like beating you."

"If it wasn't for that hill... I would have had you."