Partner Games
Page 34
Below them, out in the grass, Chip Brubaker waited on the mat to welcome each team as they arrived.
“Grab your bags,” Georgie hissed, even as another car pulled up next to us. Damn it! We snagged our things and raced out of the parking lot and toward the mat, barely ahead of Team Houston. Those jerks must have sped like crazy to catch up to us – either that or Jendan and Annabelle got lost.
Someone shoved me, and I slammed to the ground as Team Houston bounded onto the mat a few moments before Georgie. My glasses went flying, and I sat up, peering around. “Um, anyone seen my glasses?”
“Oh no,” Georgie said. “Did you lose them? No one move!”
I patted at the grass near me. It was tall and bushy and bright green. It also looked like a blur. “I’m sure they’re around here somewhere.”
“Here, we’ll help you look,” said the guy from Team Houston, just as I heard an awful crunch. Then a fake “oops.”
Yeah. Ten bucks said that wasn’t an accident at all.
Great, now I was going to be going into the race blind as a bat.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Well, uh, at least they’re not last? And she looks cute without glasses? I just hope she doesn’t have to do any driving in the next leg.” – Swift, Team One Percent, The World Races
I stuck another piece of masking tape on the bridge of my shattered glasses just as Georgie nudged me. “Here come the last two teams.”
I peered at the blurs in the distance. “I can’t see anything.”
“Let me spare you the drama,” my twin said dramatically. “It’s Green Machine and Team Daddy. Guess who’s in the lead?”
I groaned and squeezed the nose piece. “Not Team Daddy, huh?”
“Nope,” she said emphatically, just as Chip Brubaker began his spiel. “Green Team,” he cried out jubilantly. “You are team number seven to arrive!”
I put my busted glasses on my nose and tried to look around me. One side dug into the tender flesh behind my ear and the other side was crooked. One lens was totally busted and the other scratched, and when I squinted at the Green Machine high-fiving each other on the mat, they looked warped. I pulled the glasses back off. “These are useless.”
“Didn’t you bring spares?” Georgie said.
“I don’t have spares!” Heck, most of the time I didn’t even have gas money, much less spare-glasses money. “You forget I’ve been living off of school grants!” Well, that and the money Georgie sent me.
“Mmm,” Georgie said, then got up from her spot in the grass on the edge of the lawn. The other teams were all gathered off to one side so we could see who arrived last. Even now, I could hear sobbing from the finish line and winced. Maybe it was a good thing I couldn’t see two grown men cry as they exited the race. Poor Team Daddy. Georgie dusted off her leggings and then nudged me with her race-issued sneaker. “I’m going to hit the bathrooms before everyone else does. You want to come?”
I shook my head and tried to adjust the tape on my glasses again. “I’ll wait here.”
The uncomfortable sobbing from the finish line continued for a few minutes, and then I put my again-repaired glasses back on, just in time to see the two men of Team Daddy leave with one of the production assistants. The glasses slid again, and I adjusted them, only to have a chunk of lens fall off in my hand.
Just friggin’ great. I ripped them off my face and tried not to cuss.
A big black shape slid into the grass next to me. “Hey, sexy.”
I held my busted glasses up and peered through the bit of lens I had left. “Hey, Swift.”
He laughed and plucked the broken glasses out of my hand. “I like that you had to check to make sure it was me. Lots of guys calling you ‘sexy’ on this race?”
“You’re the only delusional one, I’m afraid,” I said, crabby. “Team Houston totally stomped my glasses.”
He held them up, a man-shaped blur next to me. “Yeah, your glasses are pretty hosed.”
“Thanks for the recap.”
“Georgie can drive, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You guys should be okay then.”
“As long as I don’t have to read a map or anything, right?” I kept my voice sweet.
“Well, one of the lenses isn’t too bad. Maybe you could make yourself a monocle,” he said, and held it up to his face.
Even though I was in a bad mood, I snort-giggled at that and took my glasses back from him. “No monocles.”
“No? You’d be cute with it.”
My face grew hot and I tucked my busted glasses back into a pocket. “I’ll just have to go into things blind for a bit. Maybe we can find some reading glasses at a rest stop and I can use those for maps and signs and stuff.”
“See, problem solved. I’ll even contribute to the Tiny-Needs-Glasses fund if you need cash,” he said. “Plate and I have been careful with our race money.” He took my hand in his and tugged on it. “Now, come on.”
I got to my feet, reluctant, and hitched my backpack over one shoulder. All around us, things were in motion once more. Blurry motion, but still in motion. Cameramen moved past, production assistants scurried back and forth, and the faint smell of hairspray and cologne told me that Chip Brubaker was still somewhere around here. “I should wait here for Georgie.”
“Nah. When I saw her, she was running off to say hi to Plate. It’s rest time anyhow. You’ve got eleven hours to kill before you have to run off to the next stop, and Plate and I grabbed a few rooms. We can get a bite to eat and head upstairs to relax.”
My eyes went wide and I froze. Rooms? Did he say rooms? As in plural? “Are you sure I shouldn’t wait for my twin?” My voice cracked.
“Tiny,” he murmured, and all of a sudden his arm was around my waist, and his big body pressed against mine. “It’s cool, okay? It doesn’t have to be anything except hanging out, I promise. We’ll go as slow as you want to go. We just made sure to get two rooms because we wanted to make sure you guys were parked next to us instead of near the Green Dickheads.” He leaned in and I got a close-up view of his blurry face before his lips lightly brushed against mine. “Come on. I just want to curl up with you and relax for a few hours.”
That sounded pretty darn nice. Still, I hesitated. “You know the Green Machine’s gunning for me and Georgie pretty hard, right? It might be smarter not to ally with us.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck what those two dickbags think,” Swift growled in my ear before stepping away, dragging me along with my hand in his. “They can be assholes all they want, but as long as we’re in first, they can’t do shit.”
“Yeah, but me and Georgie aren’t in first—“
“We’ll protect you,” he said, squeezing my hand as he led me forward. “Don’t worry.”
Ha. Don’t worry. Easy for him to say. I put a hand on the center of his back to guide myself as he led me through the maze of people toward the hotel. I wished I’d gotten a good look at the place, but I couldn’t see more than interesting blurs without my glasses.
“Grab your bags,” Georgie hissed, even as another car pulled up next to us. Damn it! We snagged our things and raced out of the parking lot and toward the mat, barely ahead of Team Houston. Those jerks must have sped like crazy to catch up to us – either that or Jendan and Annabelle got lost.
Someone shoved me, and I slammed to the ground as Team Houston bounded onto the mat a few moments before Georgie. My glasses went flying, and I sat up, peering around. “Um, anyone seen my glasses?”
“Oh no,” Georgie said. “Did you lose them? No one move!”
I patted at the grass near me. It was tall and bushy and bright green. It also looked like a blur. “I’m sure they’re around here somewhere.”
“Here, we’ll help you look,” said the guy from Team Houston, just as I heard an awful crunch. Then a fake “oops.”
Yeah. Ten bucks said that wasn’t an accident at all.
Great, now I was going to be going into the race blind as a bat.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Well, uh, at least they’re not last? And she looks cute without glasses? I just hope she doesn’t have to do any driving in the next leg.” – Swift, Team One Percent, The World Races
I stuck another piece of masking tape on the bridge of my shattered glasses just as Georgie nudged me. “Here come the last two teams.”
I peered at the blurs in the distance. “I can’t see anything.”
“Let me spare you the drama,” my twin said dramatically. “It’s Green Machine and Team Daddy. Guess who’s in the lead?”
I groaned and squeezed the nose piece. “Not Team Daddy, huh?”
“Nope,” she said emphatically, just as Chip Brubaker began his spiel. “Green Team,” he cried out jubilantly. “You are team number seven to arrive!”
I put my busted glasses on my nose and tried to look around me. One side dug into the tender flesh behind my ear and the other side was crooked. One lens was totally busted and the other scratched, and when I squinted at the Green Machine high-fiving each other on the mat, they looked warped. I pulled the glasses back off. “These are useless.”
“Didn’t you bring spares?” Georgie said.
“I don’t have spares!” Heck, most of the time I didn’t even have gas money, much less spare-glasses money. “You forget I’ve been living off of school grants!” Well, that and the money Georgie sent me.
“Mmm,” Georgie said, then got up from her spot in the grass on the edge of the lawn. The other teams were all gathered off to one side so we could see who arrived last. Even now, I could hear sobbing from the finish line and winced. Maybe it was a good thing I couldn’t see two grown men cry as they exited the race. Poor Team Daddy. Georgie dusted off her leggings and then nudged me with her race-issued sneaker. “I’m going to hit the bathrooms before everyone else does. You want to come?”
I shook my head and tried to adjust the tape on my glasses again. “I’ll wait here.”
The uncomfortable sobbing from the finish line continued for a few minutes, and then I put my again-repaired glasses back on, just in time to see the two men of Team Daddy leave with one of the production assistants. The glasses slid again, and I adjusted them, only to have a chunk of lens fall off in my hand.
Just friggin’ great. I ripped them off my face and tried not to cuss.
A big black shape slid into the grass next to me. “Hey, sexy.”
I held my busted glasses up and peered through the bit of lens I had left. “Hey, Swift.”
He laughed and plucked the broken glasses out of my hand. “I like that you had to check to make sure it was me. Lots of guys calling you ‘sexy’ on this race?”
“You’re the only delusional one, I’m afraid,” I said, crabby. “Team Houston totally stomped my glasses.”
He held them up, a man-shaped blur next to me. “Yeah, your glasses are pretty hosed.”
“Thanks for the recap.”
“Georgie can drive, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You guys should be okay then.”
“As long as I don’t have to read a map or anything, right?” I kept my voice sweet.
“Well, one of the lenses isn’t too bad. Maybe you could make yourself a monocle,” he said, and held it up to his face.
Even though I was in a bad mood, I snort-giggled at that and took my glasses back from him. “No monocles.”
“No? You’d be cute with it.”
My face grew hot and I tucked my busted glasses back into a pocket. “I’ll just have to go into things blind for a bit. Maybe we can find some reading glasses at a rest stop and I can use those for maps and signs and stuff.”
“See, problem solved. I’ll even contribute to the Tiny-Needs-Glasses fund if you need cash,” he said. “Plate and I have been careful with our race money.” He took my hand in his and tugged on it. “Now, come on.”
I got to my feet, reluctant, and hitched my backpack over one shoulder. All around us, things were in motion once more. Blurry motion, but still in motion. Cameramen moved past, production assistants scurried back and forth, and the faint smell of hairspray and cologne told me that Chip Brubaker was still somewhere around here. “I should wait here for Georgie.”
“Nah. When I saw her, she was running off to say hi to Plate. It’s rest time anyhow. You’ve got eleven hours to kill before you have to run off to the next stop, and Plate and I grabbed a few rooms. We can get a bite to eat and head upstairs to relax.”
My eyes went wide and I froze. Rooms? Did he say rooms? As in plural? “Are you sure I shouldn’t wait for my twin?” My voice cracked.
“Tiny,” he murmured, and all of a sudden his arm was around my waist, and his big body pressed against mine. “It’s cool, okay? It doesn’t have to be anything except hanging out, I promise. We’ll go as slow as you want to go. We just made sure to get two rooms because we wanted to make sure you guys were parked next to us instead of near the Green Dickheads.” He leaned in and I got a close-up view of his blurry face before his lips lightly brushed against mine. “Come on. I just want to curl up with you and relax for a few hours.”
That sounded pretty darn nice. Still, I hesitated. “You know the Green Machine’s gunning for me and Georgie pretty hard, right? It might be smarter not to ally with us.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck what those two dickbags think,” Swift growled in my ear before stepping away, dragging me along with my hand in his. “They can be assholes all they want, but as long as we’re in first, they can’t do shit.”
“Yeah, but me and Georgie aren’t in first—“
“We’ll protect you,” he said, squeezing my hand as he led me forward. “Don’t worry.”
Ha. Don’t worry. Easy for him to say. I put a hand on the center of his back to guide myself as he led me through the maze of people toward the hotel. I wished I’d gotten a good look at the place, but I couldn’t see more than interesting blurs without my glasses.
