I laugh, studying his mouth at close quarters. Well-shaped, slightly fuller lower lip. Very kissable. ‘No, but if there’s a bakery on the way, I – ooh, watch out!’
Not looking where he’s going, Matt suddenly stumbles and veers to the left. I cling on tighter and he manages to stay upright but then somehow the ground is coming closer, and we’re tumbling down, landing in a patch of grass by the river.
I’m lying on my side, feeling breathless, my ankle throbbing. But then I catch Matt’s eye and we start to laugh.
‘Christ, sorry! Must have tripped over a blade of grass. It’s your fault for distracting me.’
‘Oh, that’s nice. Just blame your passenger, why don’t you! How am I meant to cross the finish-line if my lift is out of action?’
He rolls over onto his stomach, so he’s lying next to me. Groaning, but still laughing as well, he flops his head onto his arms. ‘We can’t abandon the race now. Can we?’
He looks up and our eyes meet and hold.
The breath catches in my throat. His hair is ruffled and I have a sudden urge to reach out and smooth it back. I manage to resist it, but then he rolls a little closer, bridging the gap between us. And then I’m leaning towards him, and his mouth finds mine and suddenly we’re kissing passionately. I wind my hands in his hair, pulling him closer, feeling his body hard against me. The kiss deepens, and I feel like I’m soaring upwards, my head spinning out of control, aware only that this was always going to happen, even though I never knew it…
Then without warning, he pulls away, leaning over me panting, his eyes dark and unreadable. ‘Sorry,’ he gasps at last.
I shake my head, feeling suddenly chilled. I want to reach out to him again but his expression is closed off, so I stay where I am.
He heaves himself to his feet, as if it’s an effort this time, and he holds out his hand to help me up. I take it, but when he tells me to hop up on his back, I shake my head.
‘I’ll just walk for a bit. See how it is.’
He looks doubtful. ‘We’ve still got the best part of a mile to go.’
I force a smile. ‘I’m sure I’ll make it.’ I try walking on the foot, but almost immediately, it gives way. He sees the pain in my face and takes charge.
‘Come on. If you’re on my back, we’ll be there before you know it. Then we can get that ankle checked out.’
‘Okay.’ Feeling miserable now, after all the fun of earlier, I allow him to hoist me back up, and we proceed on our journey. It’s different now, though. Neither of us is talking. It’s clear that Matt is regretting what just happened between us.
Oh God, am I to blame for the kiss? Did I take him by surprise? Did he just go along with it because he didn’t want me to feel rejected? Surely not…I couldn’t have imagined the passion I felt from his side. Could I?
I suppress a sigh, dismay making me feel heavier than a sack of potatoes. Whatever happened back there, it obviously wasn’t a good thing.
As far as Matt’s concerned, at any rate…
At last we get there. Matt sets me down so I can limp across the finish line myself, with his help, to the cheers of Katja and Madison nearby. Then he suggests driving me to A&E.
I shake my head. ‘It feels much better. I think it’s just bruised. Honestly, I’ll be fine if I can just sit down on the bench for a while, over by the duck pond.’
He doesn’t look too convinced. But seeing I’m not going to change my mind, he leaves me in Katja and Madison’s hands, and they promise him that they’ll get me home. Then they link arms with me and walk me over to the bench.
‘How romantic of Matt to give you a piggy-back,’ sighs Katja. ‘He must be so strong.’
‘Interesting that you just happened to twist your ankle when he was running past,’ points out Madison, with a sly smile.
I stare at her. ‘You don’t believe I’m injured?’
‘No, I’m sure you are. But the subconscious is a fascinating thing. Perhaps you were secretly wanting Matt to rescue you, and you laid a trap for him without even realising it yourself!’
I laugh, thinking that actually, she might be on to something there…
‘For God’s sake, Maddy, you should be asking Molly how her ankle is not spouting such ridiculous psycho-babble!’ Katja turns to me. ‘Is it bad?’
‘It’s not great. I’m just going to sit here for a bit.’
‘Hey, guess who won the women’s race,’ says Madison.
‘Patrina?’
‘No! That’s the weird thing. It was Krystle first past the post!’
‘Really?’ I stare at her.
‘I know. Weird or what? I mean, she was rubbish when we were training…stiff as a corpse!’
‘Ssh! She’s coming,’ hisses Katja.
‘Hi, Krystle,’ we chime together.
‘Bloody well done for beating Patrina,’ says Madison. ‘That girl needs taking down a peg or two, as my granny used to say.’
‘She didn’t look too pleased,’ murmurs Katja.
‘Yes, you were great,’ I tell her. ‘Congratulations!’
Krystle smiles shyly. ‘Thanks, folks. But – um – there’s probably something you need to know.’
We all stare at her.
Madison points at her. ‘I know! You were just pretending to be a rubbish runner, to lure Patrina into a false sense of security!’
Krystle blushes. ‘That’s partly right. But the bit about being a rubbish runner is completely true, I’m afraid.’
‘You cheated by hopping on a bus?’ asks Madison.
She laughs. ‘No. The fact is, I’m not Krystle at all.’ She reaches up and slides out her bun, shakes it out, then quickly ties her hair back into its usual ponytail.
‘Carrie!’ we all shout at once.
‘Banged to rights,’ she laughs, holding up her hands. ‘I’ve always been the sporty twin. I was on the school cross country team. So we hatched this plan to make Patrina think the race would be a walk-over after she’d seen Krystle running. She had no idea it was actually me she was competing with!’
‘That’s amazing!’ laughs Katja.
I nod. ‘If you didn’t have different hairstyles, you really would be identical. Looks-wise, at any rate.’
‘Right, I need a drink,’ says Madison. ‘Can I get you one, Molly, since you’re a bit incapacitated?’
I smile up at her. ‘I’d love one. Thank you.’
She and Katja go off to the café, where Ellie is opening up for the afternoon.
Carrie frowns. ‘Are you injured?’
As I explain what happened, she sits down on the bench beside me.
‘Poor you. You look absolutely done in, if you don’t mind me saying. Your ankle must be really painful. Are you sure you haven’t broken it?’
I shake my head. ‘Matt checked. He says it’s probably a sprain.’
‘But I bet it still hurts.’
‘Actually, it’s not too bad. It’s not really the ankle that’s…’ I swallow and shake my head. ‘I’m fine.’
‘What is it, Molly?’ She studies me, and I feel myself suddenly welling up at the kindness in her eyes.’