and beautiful and yeah, sometimes you drive me crazy. But you challenge me. You love asking questions and picking things apart as much as I do, and I think we’re perfect for each other. I want you to be my penguin.”
Her hand closed around the rock and she put her arms around my neck. “I am your penguin.”
I kissed her again, feeling like I could fly. The fact that penguins were flightless birds ran through my head, but I pushed that train of thought aside. Someone nearby whistled at us, but I ignored them too, because love was awesome and for the first time in my life, I didn’t care if I made things awkward.
She pulled away but her legs buckled. I grabbed her again to keep her upright.
“Are you okay?”
She clutched my arms. “My legs don’t seem to want to work properly.”
“You must be exhausted. Hang on, I brought you something else.”
I made sure she was steady before letting go, then retrieved the bag I’d left sitting on the ground. I pulled out a banana and opened one of the bottles of Gatorade I’d picked up at the store.
“Thank you.” She took the bottle and drank deeply.
“We bought enough for everyone.”
“We?”
“Yeah, me and Shepherd.”
She took another drink. “Why were you with Shepherd?”
I shrugged. “He came over to ruin my life, but he actually helped me figure things out.”
“Ruin your life?”
“Never mind.”
A woman with curly blond hair, much of it wet and matted against her head, came up behind Hazel and wrapped her in a hug. She was followed by Shepherd, holding hands with a blond woman who was obviously Everly, and another pair, both with dark hair, who appeared to share the same genetic material. Probably siblings. The women all wore matching shirts and finisher’s medals around their necks.
“So this is him?” The dark-haired woman crossed her arms and looked me up and down, but she had the hint of a smile on her face.
Hazel slipped her hand in mine. “Everybody, this is Corban. If it’s not already clear, the events of last weekend were a misunderstanding. And I’m his penguin.”
“I don’t know what that means, but it’s so nice to meet you,” the curly-haired woman said. “I’m Sophie.”
I held out my hand, but Sophie came in for a hug—faster than I was expecting—and I practically punched her in the stomach.
“Oof.” She grabbed her middle.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.”
“Nope.” She held up a hand and took a deep breath. “Totally my fault. Let’s try that again.”
This time, I went in carefully, keeping my arms to the sides. She gave me a quick hug and I patted her on the back.
Everly gave me a bright smile and we executed a hug without any inadvertent punching. “I can’t believe we haven’t met you yet. I’m Everly. This is my husband, Shepherd.”
I nodded to Shepherd. “Yeah, we’ve met.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Everly winced. “Sorry about that.”
Shepherd was still eying me like he hadn’t made up his mind about me. He didn’t look sorry at all.
“I’m Nora,” the dark-haired woman said. She gestured over her shoulder. “That’s my brother, Jensen.”
Jensen raised a silver flask with a smile. “Cheers, mate.”
Nora stepped close, putting her arms around me, and spoke quietly in my ear. “Good job, big guy. I’m glad Shepherd didn’t have to burn down your life.”
“Um, me too?”
She patted my arm and winked. “Don’t fuck it up.”
“Not a chance.”
I passed out bananas and bottles of Gatorade to Hazel’s friends. More finishers came in from the course, dozens of tired and triumphant faces passing by. A man with a purple and teal mohawk and wearing a peacock costume—complete with a huge fan of feathers—approached.
“Nice finish, ladies,” he said.
All four of them answered with a chorus of thank-yous.
“I love your costume,” Everly said.
Nora nodded. “It’s fierce.”
“Thank you.” He puffed out his chest, then turned to Hazel. “I just had to tell you, I really wanted to quit around mile ten. But I heard you asking everyone what they’re running for, and I remembered why I decided to do this. It gave me what I needed to finish.”
Hazel smiled. “I’m glad my spontaneous words of encouragement were helpful.”
He grinned at her. “More than you know. I also wanted to tell you I overheard that fake-ass group of mean girls giving you crap before the race. Don’t let those bitches dim your shine.”
“It’s too bad they punked out on us,” Sophie said. “Bella owes me five hundred dollars.”
Peacock Man raised his eyebrows. “She what?”
“Bella’s their ringleader,” Nora