Fire In His Eyes (Secrets & Seduction #1)(61)

“You’re welcome. Good night, Monica, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then we both hung up.

I went to bed with my heart feeling lighter than it had in months.





Saturday dawned bright and early, and although the race didn’t start until noon, registration was from eight until eleven. There would be many racers needing to register. I needed to rise with the sun if I wanted to get there, register, and familiarize myself with the route. The drive to St. Petersburg was nearly two hours, but I also wanted to get in a soak in the tub for my muscles to relax before the big day ahead.

Even though I had barely five hours of sleep I felt refreshed. I thought about Victor while soaking and felt in my heart that things could work out for us. I was sure he would accept my apology, and hopefully we could see each other soon. I made some toast, had oatmeal for the carbohydrates and the extra energy I would need today, and some orange juice. I was in my SUV by seven thirty and on my way. As I drove, I listened to a weekend radio program that had me laughing and smiling. I was in great spirits. I was excited about this race and even more excited about hearing from Victor. I had really come along way, from recluse to fitness buff, to a woman not afraid to try anything. This race, to me, was proof that I had come a long way, and I could make it to the finish line. And then the race was over, well, then there was Victor.

The radio show was done at nine and that song came on the radio. The song by Maroon 5, She Will Be Loved, a song that had played while Victor and I had danced once, and it was perfect. It was another sign to me that I would be loved by the greatest man that had ever walked into my life. I hummed along the whole way and continued to sing the melody when the song was long over.

I made the last few turns into Tropicana Field, the forum in St. Petersburg where the Devil Rays played baseball. I saw from the parking lot where registration was being held for the 5K, and then parked my car. It took a while to get to the front of the line as I hadn’t been out here earlier, but I still made it to the front of the line by ten thirty. I talked with some of the other racers while waiting my turn to fill out my registration packet and pay my registration fee.

Once that was done, I had a little more than an hour before the race so I did some stretching and kept sipping from my water bottle to be sure to I stayed nice and hydrated. I chatted with some of the other racers and reviewed the map that showed the course we were to follow. I wasn’t all that familiar with St. Pete, but my plan was to just follow the person in front of me until I passed them, and then do it again with the next person, and so on. I wasn’t in it to win it. Not my first time out by far. But I did want to have a good time, and possibly enter another race, or this one next year and beat my own time.

There were a lot of racers, both young and old alike, all women as this was an annual race being sponsored by the National Organization for Women and it was their annual United Against Violence run. It was probably one of the reasons Victor had told me about this race and encouraged me to do it. It warmed me to know that he had probably researched the various races, and had picked it because it would mean a lot to me. That fact had just occurred to me now, and made me love him even more.

At about eleven thirty they made the announcement that there were over nine thousand racers this year, and they had beaten last year’s registration by over six hundred people. That meant they raised over ninety thousand dollars in registration alone. The crowd cheered loudly, and that did not even count the money they made on selling t-shirts, banners, water, calendars and other souvenirs people could buy to help support this great cause. It made me happy to know that this was all going to a great cause.

You could feel the excitement in the crowd as the race drew nearer. I soaked it in. I was excited, too, and not just for the race. There were all kinds of supporters there to root the woman in their family on. Knowing that Victor had picked this race made me feel like he was here rooting me on, as well. I didn’t feel alone.

As I started to make my way to the starting positions, I read some of the signs and banners people held; “Go Mom!”, “Women Unite NOW”, “End the violence”, “Grandma, leave them in the dust” which made me laugh, and “Tina and Susie, WE LOVE You”. It was nice to see all the support people were giving one another. I put on the shirt I had been carrying; it was one of Victor’s t-shirts. The one that he had given me in Ft. Lauderdale to wear the first night we were there. I grabbed a hand full of the shirt and brought it to my nose and I inhaled. I could still smell him in it, even though I had worn it a few times. I put my race belt on over it that showed the number I had been assigned for the race, and tied a small knot in the shirt to tighten it around my hips.

At eleven forty five they called all the racers into the starting area and to take their positions. They also asked the crowd to leave the area and to go behind the cordoned off ropes. I had started making my way there ahead of many others so I found myself in a good position for starting. We would be ending here, as well. I soaked it all in as people hugged all around me, and wished their loved ones luck. Even with just a few minutes until the start of the race, Victor was on my mind. He would have been proud of me for doing this. My thoughts were on him so much that I even imagined I saw him in the crowd just as the starting pistol cracked.

It startled me at first, and the people around me pushed past, but I recollected myself and began to run. I wanted a good time, but I had to break out of this pack which was no easy task with a group this large. It probably took me a full half mile to three quarters of mile before I could really begin to move, and I hit it with all I had. I followed the person in front of me just as I had planned, until I passed them; then I chose another person far up ahead to follow until I passed them, too. I kept repeating that pattern until I could see the finish line up ahead.