Never Mind The Botox: Rachel (38 page)

‘Er, thank you,’ said Pauline, brushing herself down and picking bits out of her hair.

‘No problem,’ said Rachel.

Pauline’s friend eventually noticed what was going on and appeared by Rachel’s side.

‘No bloody cab yet. Just saw one and I tried to jump in front of it, but he didn’t stop,’ she said.

I’m not surprised, thought Rachel.

‘I’ll flag you one,’ said Rachel. ‘Why don’t you both sit down again, carefully this time.’

It didn’t take Rachel long to flag down a taxi, although the driver didn’t look best pleased when he saw Pauline and her new best mate stumbling out of the shadows towards his cab.

‘Please try not to be sick,’ Rachel whispered quietly to Pauline as she helped her into the cab. Pauline glared at her and slammed the door.

Rachel grinned smugly to herself as they drove away. That had felt good.

Rachel could see the finish line in the distance. Her lungs were burning and she couldn’t feel her legs, but she forced herself to speed up. All around her, red-faced runners were pushing themselves equally hard towards the finish. She looked at her watch. It read fifty-four minutes, eighteen seconds. If she really sprinted, she might just break fifty-five minutes. That would be even better than she’d hoped for.

‘Come on, Rachel, you can do it, keep going,’ yelled Luke from the side of the course. Rachel clenched her fists and sprinted as hard as she could, head down, legs pounding on the well-worn grass track. She crossed the line in fifty-four minutes and forty-eight seconds and then promptly collapsed onto a grass bank a few metres past the finish already well splattered with gasping runners.

‘Stand up, stand up,’ shouted Luke as he sprinted towards her. He pulled Rachel up onto her feet and gently bent her head over. ‘Otherwise you might be sick. Put your hands on your knees and take big slow breaths.’

Rachel breathed slowly in and out until the burning eventually subsided. She stood up and paced up and down, catching her breath. Luke just stood quietly and watched her.

‘Okay?’ Luke asked after a few minutes.

‘Yeah, just about,’ said Rachel, her face still beetroot red.

‘Well, now you can talk, did you see your time? It was fantastic!’

Rachel nodded, grinning.

‘Well done,’ said Luke, picking her up and swinging her round. ‘I’m so proud of you.’

Rachel felt a rush of pride too. She’d done it! Her heart was pumping with adrenaline and she felt tingly all over. It was a great feeling.

She took Luke’s hand and squeezed it hard. ‘Thank you for everything,’ she said, tears pricking her eyes.

‘You’re welcome, you mad, crazy thing,’ said Luke, kissing the top of her head.

‘Come on, let’s go. I’m starving and I need a beer,’ said Rachel.

‘Rachel! It’s ten o’clock in the morning,’ said Luke.

‘I know, I’m only joking,’ she said, cuddling under Luke’s arm. ‘And besides, you’re the only vice I need right now.’