Partner Games
Page 10

She gave me a bright smile, and then it wobbled again. “I’m sorry, Clemmy. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t complete the challenge.”
“That’s okay,” I soothed. “Really.” I enfolded her in my arms and hugged her close. At the end of the day, this was just a stupid competition. My twin was worth more than a million dollars to me, and if we lost in round one, well, we lost in round one. “We had fun, right? That’s all that matters.”
Georgie nodded and buried her face against my shoulder as we stepped onto the mat. I knew she thought I was disappointed in her. I wasn’t; I was more concerned that Georgie had broken down and cried over something that was supposed to be exciting and fun.
Chip looked at both of us gravely. Cameras zoomed in on Georgie and I. “For not completing the challenge, ladies, you have incurred a four-hour penalty.”
I gave the host a cross look. A penalty didn’t matter for shit if we were in last place. Georgie sniffed loudly, and I caught sympathetic looks from a few of the other players. No one wanted to be the first ones out. “We had fun,” I said staunchly, hugging Georgie’s slim waist. “There’s no one I’d rather be with than my sister.”
Chip’s eyes narrowed at us and he gave a slow nod. “As I said, you ladies have a four hour penalty.”
I frowned. “We’re in last.” Did I have to point out the obvious?
“Actually,” Chip said, that famous smirk on his tanned face. “The pink team failed to catch a flight to Peru on time. They are currently en-route and will not arrive for another six hours. You are currently in last place, but you are not out.”
I gasped and Georgie’s fingers tightened on my arms. Then, with a happy squeal in unison, we hugged each other and danced around the mat.
“Twins, man,” I heard someone mutter. “That’s so freaking hot.”
I turned, recognizing that voice, and scowled at Plate. He just grinned back at me, and I couldn’t even be pissed at the guy. He looked like a big dumb lunk, but he’d also been so courteous and kind to Georgie that I liked him anyhow.
“There’s a bus arriving in a half hour to take you all back down to the village,” the production assistant said. “Once you’re down there, we’ll start the countdown timer. Everyone will be taking off twelve hours exactly from the time you checked in, with the exception of our red team, who will be leaving sixteen hours later.”
I squeezed Georgie’s hand excitedly. “It doesn’t matter,” I whispered to her. “We can make it up, no problem.”
She nodded and gave me a half-smile back.
It didn’t matter if Georgie wasn’t sure if we’d climb ahead in the next round. I’d work twice as hard to make sure we succeeded and my twin got her mojo back.
 
~~ * * * ~~
 
A short time later we were back in Aguas Calientes. There were tents set up for us on the edge of town, or we could use some of our money and get a hotel room. Since this was the first leg and we weren’t sure how much money we’d need for the future, Georgie and I opted for the tent. With bottles of water and a shared cake of soap, we washed up and switched out of our sweaty clothing.
“I heard that Annabelle saw Alicia and Jen getting drunk at the airport bar before the flight,” Georgie said as we switched into a clean pair of red shirts and our lightweight red jackets. “Maybe they got so wasted they missed the flight entirely. Either way, it’s to our benefit.”
“It is,” I agreed. Georgie seemed back to her normal self. The bus ride had given her plenty of time to socialize with the other teams and chatter, and her breakdown was forgotten by all…except me. Right now she was back to her old self, but I wondered.
I kept all that wondering tucked away, of course. If Georgie was feeling better, I wasn’t going to bring her back down again. I pulled my shirt over my head and tucked it in.
“Knock knock,” came a male voice on the other side of the tent.
Oh no. I grimaced at the sound of Swift’s voice and looked at my twin. “So I forgot to tell you that I made a deal back during the challenge.”
“Oh?” Georgie asked, running a brush through her hair.
“I sorta told Swift we’d go out with him and Plate if he helped me with the challenge. I’m so sorry.”
“I can hear you through the tent walls,” Swift called out, amused. “And I’m not sorry.”
I made a face.
Georgie giggled. “Well, if we must, we must,” she said gravely, a goofy grin on her face making her words exaggerated.
I’m sorry, I mouthed one more time, but I smiled. Georgie didn’t seem upset about my deal, which made me relax. I moved to open the tent, but she stopped me.
“We’ll be out in just a second,” she called, and handed me the hairbrush.
“We’ll be waiting uh, out here somewhere.” The sound of footsteps told us they’d walked away.
Blushing, I undid my frizzy braids and brushed my hair. I started to pull it back up again and Georgie shook her head and handed me some tinted lip gloss instead. “Trust me,” she murmured. “If those boys like us, we can take the help.”
In other words, we were going to flirt with the enemy to get ahead. All right. I gaped as Georgie stuffed a sock in each bra cup, then fluffed them. “We’re twins,” I hissed at her.
“You’re right,” she said. “Where are your socks?”
“Georgie!”
“Come on! We’ll get farther in the game if they’re on our side,” she said.
I groaned.
Ten minutes later, I emerged from the tent, my cheeks blushing at my sock-stuffed bra. It felt incredibly obvious. Georgie linked her arm with mine and leaned in. “If you own it, no one will notice,” she murmured, and strode forward, dragging me along.
Swift and Plate were waiting a short distance away, talking to Jendan and Annabelle. The orange team had their arms wrapped around each other and were all smiles, laughing and talking. Both men of the black team turned at the sight of us, and two big smiles crossed their faces.
“Goddamn, I wish I had a camera,” Plate said as we approached. “No one at home’s gonna believe I went out on a date with Georgie Price.”
“Uh, hello,” Annabelle said, gesturing at the cameramen that crawled all over the impromptu camp. “You think they’re going to leave you alone for five minutes?”
“Good point,” Plate said, and stepped up to Georgie, putting his elbow out for her to take. “Miiiilady,” he said in an exaggerated accent.
“Milord,” Georgie teased, and put her hand in the crook of his arm and they walked forward.
Swift scratched his head and glanced over at me. “They…do realize we’re not in England, right?”
I chuckled, crossing my arms over my (thrusting, sock-filled) chest. “I don’t think they care.”
Swift shrugged and offered me his arm. And because I couldn’t refuse with a camera hovering so close by, I took it.
We were about a five minute walk from Aguas Calientas, and Georgie and Plate laughed and skipped ahead of us, clowning around. Swift walked a lot slower, to the point that I started to wonder if he’d hurt his leg earlier today. We were quiet, and I kept mentally thinking up topics and discarding them. Weather? Stupid. The race? Derp. Biking? I didn’t know jack. Paleontology? I knew way too much and I doubted he’d be interested.