Partner Games
Page 54
I bit my lip. “But—“
“No buts. As long as you’re still part of the race, you have to comply by race rules.”
“Actually, I was eliminated last round.”
The look he gave me was withering. “You are officially part of this race until the winner crosses the finish line, because all eliminated teams will be waiting at the end to cheer them on. Unless you want to forfeit your place at the finish and your share of participant money?”
I actually considered it for a moment. Then, I sighed, shoulders slumped. “No.”
“Then back to your room.”
I turned around and headed back, dejected.
Georgie was still in the tub when I returned and flopped down on the bed.
“Cockblocked?” she asked, sympathetic.
“Ran into security in the hall.” I grimaced. “He was a real jerk.”
“Just chill, Clemmy.” She relaxed back in the tub. “Read some magazines, watch some subtitled TV, and relax.”
“How are you so calm?” I sat up. “I mean, aren’t you worried that you won’t get a chance to contact Plate again?”
“Nope,” she said, a touch of smugness in her voice.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m Georgie Fucking Price and he’d be insane not to come after me.” She shot me a look. “And you’re Clementine Fucking Price and Swift would be a huge dumbass if he let you go.”
I sighed.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Winning is the only acceptable outcome. I refuse to lose. I don’t want to disappoint Tiny and everyone else.” – Swift, Team One Percent, The World Races
“This way, ladies,” a production assistant called to us as we moved through the airport.
Backpacks on our shoulders, Georgie and I trailed behind the Red Hat team. All four of the ‘losing’ contestants were being herded along to our next destination. It had not yet been revealed to us where we were heading off to, but we had a layover in Tokyo, so we were guessing that the last flight was somewhere back in the United States.
“The final leg is usually somewhere in the US, right?” Georgie asked me. “Where do you think it will be?”
“No clue.” I hadn’t speculated, either. It was weird, but since we’d been knocked out of the race, a weird sort of calm had come over me in the last few hours. My twin didn’t hate me, Swift was still in it for the money, and we’d had a fun adventure. Whatever happened, happened. My normal antsiness had given way to a calm, chill mentality.
And exhaustion. So much exhaustion. If I never saw another plane again, it’d be too soon.
Georgie and I had seats together on the flight, near the back of the plane toward the bathrooms. We stored our bags and sat down in our seats. Georgie immediately reached for a magazine; I reached for a sleep mask.
“Those bitches are sitting four rows ahead of us,” Georgie hissed at me. “How can you possibly think about sleeping?”
“Bitches?”
“The Red Hat ladies!” She poked me with a finger. “Why would you sleep at a time like this?”
“Uh, because we’re out of the race?” I snapped the elastic on the mask and then adjusted it over my eyes. “Let them be in front of us. It’s not a competition anymore.”
My twin hmmphed. “I can still hate them.”
“You can,” I said with a chuckle, and settled in to my seat.
I fell asleep before the plane even took off, and I’m not ashamed to say that my dreams were full of Swift. He was wearing his race shirt, his hair tousled, and there was a grin on his face like he’d just won the latest challenge. Then I dreamed of Swift holding my hand and encouraging me to zipline. Swift smiling at me in a taxi, crammed in between me and Plate. Swift in a hotel room alone with me, kneeling between my thighs and—
“Pssst!” Someone shook my arm.
I grunted and slid the mask down. It was just Georgie, her eyes sparkling. I rubbed my face. “What?”
“Two things. One, you’re talking in your sleep.”
I sat up immediately, blushing. “I was?”
“Yeah, you kept going on about ziplines. Nightmare?”
Not quite. I swiped my hand over my mouth, checking for nap-drool. “What was the other thing?”
Georgie leaned toward me. “So…one of the producers is sitting a few rows behind us and he talks on his phone really loud.”
“Oh?” I stifled a yawn.
“Yup. I’ve been ‘going to the bathroom’ regularly.” She made air quotes. “Spying, you know. Wanted to see if I could get some deets on our boys.”
That made me wake up. I straightened in my seat, alert again. “What did you find out?”
“Well.” Her voice dropped a little. “They won’t say who, but one of the teams left apparently missed their flight to Tokyo. Which means they’re going to miss their connection. Which means they’re basically going to end up about a day or so behind everyone else, according to that guy.” She gestured behind us by a few rows. “So they’re pretty much out.”
My hands tightened on the armrests. “Did they say who it was?”
“Nope. They just referred to them as team three.”
“The team currently in third or the team that was in third place as of the last mat check-in?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I keep listening, but they just refer to them as team three.”
Ugh. Swift and Plate had been in third place when we’d seen them last. I prayed it wasn’t them, because if it was, we wouldn’t see them at the finish line. We wouldn’t see them again at all. The show would fly us all home and Swift and Plate would still be somewhere overseas. “God, I really hope it’s not them.”
“Me too.” Georgie’s full mouth pulled down into a frown. “I heard him say there was a surprise twist on the upcoming leg, too. Ten bucks says it’s another penalty challenge, and you know what that did to us.”
I nodded absently. It had taken us out of the game entirely, because the challenge itself was so crazy that I refused to do it. What if the next challenge was something that would bother Swift and Plate so much that they’d refuse? What if they got a three hour penalty right before the finish line? That left either Jendan and Annabelle, who I liked….
Or the Green Machine.
“I think I’m going to vomit if the Green Machine wins,” I told Georgie.
She nodded. “Just aim it in their direction.”
~~ * * * ~~
“I can’t believe we’re in Hawaii!” Georgie cried, gazing out at the waves. She had an enormous, floppy straw hat on her head to protect her from the sun as we sat on the beach.
“Technically, I think this island is Oahu,” I corrected, flipping through a pamphlet I’d grabbed at the airport. “Think they’ll let us stay for a few days since we’re already here?”
“God, I hope so. I love the beach.” Georgie wiggled her toes in the sand. “Actually we can just cancel our flights and take a few weeks off, if you want. A buddy of mine has a condo on the Big Island and I’m sure he will let us crash there a few weeks. Do you have to be back soon?”
“No buts. As long as you’re still part of the race, you have to comply by race rules.”
“Actually, I was eliminated last round.”
The look he gave me was withering. “You are officially part of this race until the winner crosses the finish line, because all eliminated teams will be waiting at the end to cheer them on. Unless you want to forfeit your place at the finish and your share of participant money?”
I actually considered it for a moment. Then, I sighed, shoulders slumped. “No.”
“Then back to your room.”
I turned around and headed back, dejected.
Georgie was still in the tub when I returned and flopped down on the bed.
“Cockblocked?” she asked, sympathetic.
“Ran into security in the hall.” I grimaced. “He was a real jerk.”
“Just chill, Clemmy.” She relaxed back in the tub. “Read some magazines, watch some subtitled TV, and relax.”
“How are you so calm?” I sat up. “I mean, aren’t you worried that you won’t get a chance to contact Plate again?”
“Nope,” she said, a touch of smugness in her voice.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m Georgie Fucking Price and he’d be insane not to come after me.” She shot me a look. “And you’re Clementine Fucking Price and Swift would be a huge dumbass if he let you go.”
I sighed.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Winning is the only acceptable outcome. I refuse to lose. I don’t want to disappoint Tiny and everyone else.” – Swift, Team One Percent, The World Races
“This way, ladies,” a production assistant called to us as we moved through the airport.
Backpacks on our shoulders, Georgie and I trailed behind the Red Hat team. All four of the ‘losing’ contestants were being herded along to our next destination. It had not yet been revealed to us where we were heading off to, but we had a layover in Tokyo, so we were guessing that the last flight was somewhere back in the United States.
“The final leg is usually somewhere in the US, right?” Georgie asked me. “Where do you think it will be?”
“No clue.” I hadn’t speculated, either. It was weird, but since we’d been knocked out of the race, a weird sort of calm had come over me in the last few hours. My twin didn’t hate me, Swift was still in it for the money, and we’d had a fun adventure. Whatever happened, happened. My normal antsiness had given way to a calm, chill mentality.
And exhaustion. So much exhaustion. If I never saw another plane again, it’d be too soon.
Georgie and I had seats together on the flight, near the back of the plane toward the bathrooms. We stored our bags and sat down in our seats. Georgie immediately reached for a magazine; I reached for a sleep mask.
“Those bitches are sitting four rows ahead of us,” Georgie hissed at me. “How can you possibly think about sleeping?”
“Bitches?”
“The Red Hat ladies!” She poked me with a finger. “Why would you sleep at a time like this?”
“Uh, because we’re out of the race?” I snapped the elastic on the mask and then adjusted it over my eyes. “Let them be in front of us. It’s not a competition anymore.”
My twin hmmphed. “I can still hate them.”
“You can,” I said with a chuckle, and settled in to my seat.
I fell asleep before the plane even took off, and I’m not ashamed to say that my dreams were full of Swift. He was wearing his race shirt, his hair tousled, and there was a grin on his face like he’d just won the latest challenge. Then I dreamed of Swift holding my hand and encouraging me to zipline. Swift smiling at me in a taxi, crammed in between me and Plate. Swift in a hotel room alone with me, kneeling between my thighs and—
“Pssst!” Someone shook my arm.
I grunted and slid the mask down. It was just Georgie, her eyes sparkling. I rubbed my face. “What?”
“Two things. One, you’re talking in your sleep.”
I sat up immediately, blushing. “I was?”
“Yeah, you kept going on about ziplines. Nightmare?”
Not quite. I swiped my hand over my mouth, checking for nap-drool. “What was the other thing?”
Georgie leaned toward me. “So…one of the producers is sitting a few rows behind us and he talks on his phone really loud.”
“Oh?” I stifled a yawn.
“Yup. I’ve been ‘going to the bathroom’ regularly.” She made air quotes. “Spying, you know. Wanted to see if I could get some deets on our boys.”
That made me wake up. I straightened in my seat, alert again. “What did you find out?”
“Well.” Her voice dropped a little. “They won’t say who, but one of the teams left apparently missed their flight to Tokyo. Which means they’re going to miss their connection. Which means they’re basically going to end up about a day or so behind everyone else, according to that guy.” She gestured behind us by a few rows. “So they’re pretty much out.”
My hands tightened on the armrests. “Did they say who it was?”
“Nope. They just referred to them as team three.”
“The team currently in third or the team that was in third place as of the last mat check-in?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I keep listening, but they just refer to them as team three.”
Ugh. Swift and Plate had been in third place when we’d seen them last. I prayed it wasn’t them, because if it was, we wouldn’t see them at the finish line. We wouldn’t see them again at all. The show would fly us all home and Swift and Plate would still be somewhere overseas. “God, I really hope it’s not them.”
“Me too.” Georgie’s full mouth pulled down into a frown. “I heard him say there was a surprise twist on the upcoming leg, too. Ten bucks says it’s another penalty challenge, and you know what that did to us.”
I nodded absently. It had taken us out of the game entirely, because the challenge itself was so crazy that I refused to do it. What if the next challenge was something that would bother Swift and Plate so much that they’d refuse? What if they got a three hour penalty right before the finish line? That left either Jendan and Annabelle, who I liked….
Or the Green Machine.
“I think I’m going to vomit if the Green Machine wins,” I told Georgie.
She nodded. “Just aim it in their direction.”
~~ * * * ~~
“I can’t believe we’re in Hawaii!” Georgie cried, gazing out at the waves. She had an enormous, floppy straw hat on her head to protect her from the sun as we sat on the beach.
“Technically, I think this island is Oahu,” I corrected, flipping through a pamphlet I’d grabbed at the airport. “Think they’ll let us stay for a few days since we’re already here?”
“God, I hope so. I love the beach.” Georgie wiggled her toes in the sand. “Actually we can just cancel our flights and take a few weeks off, if you want. A buddy of mine has a condo on the Big Island and I’m sure he will let us crash there a few weeks. Do you have to be back soon?”
