Partner Games
Page 57
“They were. They just got screwed with a layover.” I gave his knee a squeeze under the table. “Maybe we can meet up with them again back in the states at some point and all go out for a beer.”
Swift gave me an intense look and nodded.
“Can’t meet up with them too soon,” Georgie called out. “Me and you have a date with a beach house, remember?”
“I remember.”
“Beach house?” Swift asked. “You guys staying in Hawaii for a while, then?”
I nodded and toyed with the stem of my glass. “We wanted to stick together for a bit. Keep the sister-thing going for a while. Plus, neither of us wants to jump on a plane right now.” I gave him a weary smile. “If I never see another flight attendant, it’s too soon.”
“Amen to that,” Plate said, then got to his feet. “I think this hotel has a dance floor. You wanna go do some breakdancing, Georgie Price?” He held his hand out to her.
She giggled and got to her feet, slapping her palm into his. “I do a mean cabbage patch, just so you know.” Georgie looked over at me. “You guys coming?”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “I don’t think dancing’s my thing.”
“And I’m going to call my dad and then call it a night,” Swift said, then tapped the ice bucket. “Me and my new best friend are gonna take it easy.”
“Party poopers,” Georgie called out, then shrugged. “More fun for you and me, Plate.”
He crooked his elbow at her. “Milady,” he said in an exaggerated voice. She snort-laughed and took his arm, and they left the restaurant.
I watched Georgie leave, a bit of concern on my face.
Swift leaned in to whisper to me. “They’re fine, Tiny. You know Plate wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. They’re just going to go dance like idiots and then he’ll take her back to her room. She’s already made it clear to him that she’s not jumping into anything right now, and he’s ready to wait.”
I nodded. “It’s just hard. I worry about her.”
“I know you do.” He eased his hand out of the ice bucket and wiped it off with a cloth napkin. “But I’m glad they left, because that means I get to talk to you alone.”
“Oh?” My heart began to flutter in my chest. “What about?”
He gave me an intense look. “Will you spend the night with me?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Did I think we’d win? Never any doubt in my mind. Why? Because we’re awesome. We’re smooth with the ladies, and chill with the dudes. Except the Green Team. Those dudes can go fuck themselves. And please make sure you quote me on that.” – Plate, Team One Percent, The World Races Post-Interview
“Spend the night?” I repeated dumbly.
“Yeah,” Swift said, and his mouth curled with amusement. “You know, you and me go upstairs together, and we pretend like there’s no one else in the world for about eight hours?”
A hot blush scorched my cheeks. “I knew what you meant.” It just was taking a moment to digest, that was all.
“Thinking up a polite way to turn me down, then?”
Was he crazy? I grabbed the front of his Race shirt and pulled him against me in a quick, lip-mashing kiss. “Is that your answer?”
He grinned at me. “Your room or mine?”
“Seeing as how I’m sharing mine with Georgie? Yours. Unless you’re sharing with Plate.” God, my face felt so very red at the moment.
“Nope. I made sure we had separate rooms tonight.”
And that made my face burn a little hotter. Did everyone know what Swift’s plans were tonight?
“So is that a yes?”
I nodded, feeling shy but excited. He took my hand in his, raised it to his mouth, and kissed my knuckles. “You know you’re…special to me, right?”
I frowned at him. Special? “Swift, I’m not asking for a declaration of love, here. I agreed to sleep with you. I don’t need to be bribed into your bed with words. I’m a big girl. I can make a decision to sleep with a guy without hearing the three magic words, you know.”
This time, he looked embarrassed. “Right. Okay. Shall we head up?” He pulled a wad of bills out of his wallet and tossed them on the table. I stood up, and the moment I did, his arm went around my waist.
This was it. This was us. My last moments with Swift, I realized. After tonight, we’d head back home (or in my case, I’d stay in Hawaii with Georgie) and we’d figure out our lives from there. This chapter was ending, and I was pretty sure Swift wasn’t going to be in the next one. Nothing he’d said to me had indicated otherwise. My heart hurt a little at that, but I was going to take this for what it was – a celebration of falling in lust with someone and a wonderful, exhilarating time in my life.
No more, no less.
We went upstairs, and I clenched my sweaty fists to keep from trembling as Swift slid his key card into the slot, and then opened the door to his room. “After you.”
I stepped inside, and blinked.
This wasn’t just a regular room, like the one me and Georgie shared. This was a deluxe suite, complete with Jacuzzi tub in one corner of the room and enormous king-sized bed. Snazzy art hung on the walls, and there was a plush sofa directly across from the bed. “Wow. This…doesn’t look like my room.”
“Winners got an upgrade,” he told me with a grin. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Comfortable? When I was here to sleep with a guy for the first time? Right. I’d just kick off my shoes and relax and…try not to break out into a nervous sweat. I kicked off my shoes and padded around on the thick carpet, feeling ill at ease.
“I just need to make a quick phone call,” Swift said, brushing past me. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” I was actually relieved. It’d give me a few minutes’ reprieve to relax and stop freaking out.
He grinned and gave me a quick wink, then flopped down on the edge of the bed and pulled out his cell-phone. It was a weird sight. After weeks of not having a phone, I didn’t think about mine much anymore. Strange. I sat on the edge of the sofa as he held the phone to his ear.
“Dad?” Swift’s voice was husky. “It’s me, Richard.”
I tensed, wondering if I should get up. Was this a private conversation? Should I leave?
Before I could decide, Swift pressed a hand to his eyes, hiding them. “We did it.” His voice was husky with emotion. “Me and Plate. We won. We got the money.” His throat worked, and my own eyes burned with tears. He nodded a few times and made sounds of assent. “Yeah. Half a mill each, but Plate said he was going to donate his prize money to the cause, too. That means after taxes there should still be enough for most of your treatments.” He paused again, and then a smile crossed his face. “Fuck, really? That’s awesome. I’m so glad.” He rubbed his forehead again. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be home in a few days and we’ll get you all set up. This is gonna work out, Dad, I promise. We got it handled. Yeah…..yeah. I love you too. Call you tomorrow.”
Swift gave me an intense look and nodded.
“Can’t meet up with them too soon,” Georgie called out. “Me and you have a date with a beach house, remember?”
“I remember.”
“Beach house?” Swift asked. “You guys staying in Hawaii for a while, then?”
I nodded and toyed with the stem of my glass. “We wanted to stick together for a bit. Keep the sister-thing going for a while. Plus, neither of us wants to jump on a plane right now.” I gave him a weary smile. “If I never see another flight attendant, it’s too soon.”
“Amen to that,” Plate said, then got to his feet. “I think this hotel has a dance floor. You wanna go do some breakdancing, Georgie Price?” He held his hand out to her.
She giggled and got to her feet, slapping her palm into his. “I do a mean cabbage patch, just so you know.” Georgie looked over at me. “You guys coming?”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “I don’t think dancing’s my thing.”
“And I’m going to call my dad and then call it a night,” Swift said, then tapped the ice bucket. “Me and my new best friend are gonna take it easy.”
“Party poopers,” Georgie called out, then shrugged. “More fun for you and me, Plate.”
He crooked his elbow at her. “Milady,” he said in an exaggerated voice. She snort-laughed and took his arm, and they left the restaurant.
I watched Georgie leave, a bit of concern on my face.
Swift leaned in to whisper to me. “They’re fine, Tiny. You know Plate wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. They’re just going to go dance like idiots and then he’ll take her back to her room. She’s already made it clear to him that she’s not jumping into anything right now, and he’s ready to wait.”
I nodded. “It’s just hard. I worry about her.”
“I know you do.” He eased his hand out of the ice bucket and wiped it off with a cloth napkin. “But I’m glad they left, because that means I get to talk to you alone.”
“Oh?” My heart began to flutter in my chest. “What about?”
He gave me an intense look. “Will you spend the night with me?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Did I think we’d win? Never any doubt in my mind. Why? Because we’re awesome. We’re smooth with the ladies, and chill with the dudes. Except the Green Team. Those dudes can go fuck themselves. And please make sure you quote me on that.” – Plate, Team One Percent, The World Races Post-Interview
“Spend the night?” I repeated dumbly.
“Yeah,” Swift said, and his mouth curled with amusement. “You know, you and me go upstairs together, and we pretend like there’s no one else in the world for about eight hours?”
A hot blush scorched my cheeks. “I knew what you meant.” It just was taking a moment to digest, that was all.
“Thinking up a polite way to turn me down, then?”
Was he crazy? I grabbed the front of his Race shirt and pulled him against me in a quick, lip-mashing kiss. “Is that your answer?”
He grinned at me. “Your room or mine?”
“Seeing as how I’m sharing mine with Georgie? Yours. Unless you’re sharing with Plate.” God, my face felt so very red at the moment.
“Nope. I made sure we had separate rooms tonight.”
And that made my face burn a little hotter. Did everyone know what Swift’s plans were tonight?
“So is that a yes?”
I nodded, feeling shy but excited. He took my hand in his, raised it to his mouth, and kissed my knuckles. “You know you’re…special to me, right?”
I frowned at him. Special? “Swift, I’m not asking for a declaration of love, here. I agreed to sleep with you. I don’t need to be bribed into your bed with words. I’m a big girl. I can make a decision to sleep with a guy without hearing the three magic words, you know.”
This time, he looked embarrassed. “Right. Okay. Shall we head up?” He pulled a wad of bills out of his wallet and tossed them on the table. I stood up, and the moment I did, his arm went around my waist.
This was it. This was us. My last moments with Swift, I realized. After tonight, we’d head back home (or in my case, I’d stay in Hawaii with Georgie) and we’d figure out our lives from there. This chapter was ending, and I was pretty sure Swift wasn’t going to be in the next one. Nothing he’d said to me had indicated otherwise. My heart hurt a little at that, but I was going to take this for what it was – a celebration of falling in lust with someone and a wonderful, exhilarating time in my life.
No more, no less.
We went upstairs, and I clenched my sweaty fists to keep from trembling as Swift slid his key card into the slot, and then opened the door to his room. “After you.”
I stepped inside, and blinked.
This wasn’t just a regular room, like the one me and Georgie shared. This was a deluxe suite, complete with Jacuzzi tub in one corner of the room and enormous king-sized bed. Snazzy art hung on the walls, and there was a plush sofa directly across from the bed. “Wow. This…doesn’t look like my room.”
“Winners got an upgrade,” he told me with a grin. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Comfortable? When I was here to sleep with a guy for the first time? Right. I’d just kick off my shoes and relax and…try not to break out into a nervous sweat. I kicked off my shoes and padded around on the thick carpet, feeling ill at ease.
“I just need to make a quick phone call,” Swift said, brushing past me. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” I was actually relieved. It’d give me a few minutes’ reprieve to relax and stop freaking out.
He grinned and gave me a quick wink, then flopped down on the edge of the bed and pulled out his cell-phone. It was a weird sight. After weeks of not having a phone, I didn’t think about mine much anymore. Strange. I sat on the edge of the sofa as he held the phone to his ear.
“Dad?” Swift’s voice was husky. “It’s me, Richard.”
I tensed, wondering if I should get up. Was this a private conversation? Should I leave?
Before I could decide, Swift pressed a hand to his eyes, hiding them. “We did it.” His voice was husky with emotion. “Me and Plate. We won. We got the money.” His throat worked, and my own eyes burned with tears. He nodded a few times and made sounds of assent. “Yeah. Half a mill each, but Plate said he was going to donate his prize money to the cause, too. That means after taxes there should still be enough for most of your treatments.” He paused again, and then a smile crossed his face. “Fuck, really? That’s awesome. I’m so glad.” He rubbed his forehead again. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be home in a few days and we’ll get you all set up. This is gonna work out, Dad, I promise. We got it handled. Yeah…..yeah. I love you too. Call you tomorrow.”
