Partner Games

Page 44

 
“Georgie and Clementine, you are team number two.” Chip gave us a smug look. “But since the Green Team acquired a four hour penalty, you are now team number one.”
Georgie and I squealed in unison and grabbed each other, dancing around happily. It was our first time as number one! We’d come into the lead!
My celebrating stopped as Georgie hugged my neck. Wait, if we were number one after losing our money and those challenges…where was everyone else?
Off to one side, the Green Team glared at us, unable to check in. I pulled my twin off to the side and gave her a worried look. “How is it we’re in first?”
“Because we’re awesome?” She did a little jig in place.
“No, I mean, where are the guys?”
She blinked. “Damn. That’s a good question.”
“Ladies, can you move to the side?” Production asked, herding us along. “The Red Hats team is due to show up soon.”
We headed over to the far end of the walkway. We were near a golf course, a resort set up in the distance. After finishing the puzzle and paint challenge, we’d had to ride camels through La Palmeraie to the mat. I smelled like camel and sweat, and I was hot and exhausted, but judging from the way they were steering us away from the resort, we weren’t exactly invited there. A small half-circle of tents nearby were flagged with the World Races logo and were probably our accommodations for the night.
Our cheap, cheap accommodations.
“Claim a tent, ladies, and hydrate.” Someone pushed bottles of water into our hands. “You’re sweating hard.”
I wiped my brow and tugged at my shirt. “Can we strip down a little?”
“Inside your tent you can.” The production assistant gave us a tight smile, hugged her clipboard, and moved away.
Figured. I headed into the tent and dumped my bag, and Georgie dumped hers. There were two sleeping bags and pillows rolled up off to the side, but it was too hot to even think about blankets. I sat on my bedroll and pressed my water bottle to my face. “I don’t understand,” I told Georgie. “How did we get in the lead? We were at least two hours behind the others.”
“Yeah, but the Red Hat ladies were sucking hard at that last challenge, and Drew and Foster got a penalty.” She opened her water bottle and poured it over her head and then down the front of her shirt to cool off. “Maybe the guys got held up at the camels? Those things were assholes.”
“But then we would have passed them,” I mused. “They’re just…nowhere.”
“Another team coming in,” someone called, and I heard the sound of cameras readying.
I looked over at Georgie. “Should we go see who it is?”
“Might as well. It’s hotter than heck in this tent.” She fanned her face with her hand. “I’m starting to miss Norway.”
“You aren’t the only one.” I wiped my brow and got to my feet and headed out of the tent with Georgie. We peered at the finish line (me with my stupid monocle) and were disappointed to see the two Red Hat ladies triumphantly arrive. A few steps behind them were Jendan and Annabelle.
“Something’s definitely wrong,” Georgie murmured. “That’s all four teams on our flight here at the mat.”
“Their flight was delayed, remember?”
She shrugged helplessly. “Let’s find a shady spot and wait for them. They’d do it for us.”
They would. We found another open air tent with coolers, water-jugs and sandwiches set aside for the crew. We snacked and sat in folding chairs, watching the finish line.
The Red Hat ladies joined us a few minutes later, looking longingly at the chairs we’d acquired. Muriel gave us a grandmotherly smile. “No hard feelings, right, ladies? It’s all part of the game.”
Georgie took a sip of her water bottle and shot them the finger.
That seemed like an excellent idea. I did the same, wagging my middle finger in their direction. They’d threw their lot in with the Green Team, not us. We hadn’t done anything to them.
“Hussies,” Pearl snorted. “Fuck you both.”
“You kiss your grandkids with that mouth?” Georgie called after them as they left. My twin looked over at me and shook her head, then tsked. “Sore losers.”
“Either that or we’re being sore winners.”
“Ask me if I care.”
I chuckled. “You care?”
“Nope!” Georgie beamed at me, and I was so thankful to have my sunny twin back that I didn’t care if we flipped off every old lady in all of Morocco. Since her confession to me about her horrible experiences modeling, it was like all of her anxiety and stress about it had run its course. There would still be issues – and I was determined to get my sister into counseling the moment we got home – but she wasn’t panicking or freaking out at difficult challenges. It was progress, of a kind. I guessed that some of her worry had come from the fact that she’d thought I’d judge her.
I never judged Georgie. I loved her. She was my other half. And now that she realized that, she seemed to be relaxing a little.
Her flirtation with Plate didn’t hurt things, either. He doesn’t push her, just teases her and they have fun together. It’s weird, but I trust him to go slow with her.
Which is ironic, because I’m the kissy-makeout-twin on this excursion.
I thought about Swift. Where were they? What had happened?
 
~~ * * * ~~
 
Hours later, Drew and Foster checked in at the mat, grumbling about their penalty. I noticed they didn’t give our money back, though. Jerks.
They were in fourth place, according to Chip. The relief and surprise on their faces echoed ours. It was hard to believe that there were other teams still out there.
My worry ratcheted upward, and I chewed on my fingernails. Three teams were still out racing, and two of them were going to be eliminated. If the guys didn’t beat the Dr. Moms or Team Houston, they’d be going home.
I paced. Despite the heat and my exhaustion, I paced, sipping the bottles of water that production pushed into my hand. What was I going to do if Swift was gone from the race? We’d been playing at having a relationship, but that was while the race was going. What happened when it was suddenly over and he lost?
God, what happened if he lost? His father had cancer and needed the money. I felt like a jerk for wanting the money to live on while I went and dug up dinosaur fossils. I was competing against someone that wanted his money for medical bills. “Hey, Georgie?”
“Hmm?”
“You think we’re going to win this?”
“Of course.” She rubbed at her sweaty neck. “Why else are we killing ourselves on camel rides and bungee jumping if not to win?”
Why indeed. But I thought about Swift and his dad again. What if it came down to us versus the guys? Who was going to come out ahead there? What if we had to choose to beat the guys or to let them beat us?
I shook my head to clear it of such crappy thoughts. It might not even matter – if the guys didn’t get to the finish line soon, they wouldn’t be in the game anymore at all.
I returned to biting my nails.
 
~~ * * * ~~
 
An hour after Drew and Foster checked in, my stomach had formed one big giant knot of worry when the camera crews leapt to their feet and began to ready for filming.