Partner Games
Page 21
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I tucked it under my arm and walked away.
I needed to play this casual. Cool. Calm. Collected.
Yeah, like that was going to happen.
Then Swift was zipping down the line, and there was no more time to run.
I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to look busy and impatient as they pulled Swift out of the million and one zip line harnesses. Then when he was free, he marched right over to me. So did his cameraman.
“That,” he hissed, “was a hell of a thing to announce and not give me a chance to respond.”
“Well, I wasn’t trying to announce it,” I snapped back. “Can we talk about this some other time?”
“I cannot believe I have been macking on a virgin! What the hell, Tiny?”
Now I was starting to get irritated. “You make it sound like I’m twelve, not twenty-eight. What’s wrong with being a virgin?”
“Who the hell gets to twenty-eight as a virgin?” He threw his arms up. “And how is it you made it to twenty-eight a virgin and your sister is Georgie freaking Price? She’s a cover model!”
My hands clenched into fists and I stormed away. I was not having that conversation right there. Not with everyone staring at us and wondering. Bad enough that everything else had been gotten on film. I just wanted to crawl into a deep dark hole. Maybe we’d get lucky and our taxi would drive off a pier or something. I brightened at the thought. That sounded more promising than riding back with Swift.
“Hey,” he called as I stalked off. “Wait up! I need to get my clue.”
“Then get it,” I called back, not stopping. “Because I am leaving.”
“Tiny, wait up,” he bellowed. “Jesus!”
I practically raced to the waiting cab, but before I could make it even halfway there, I heard running footsteps behind me. Swift grabbed my hand. “Hey—“
I jerked it out of his grasp.
“What the—Tiny, why are you mad? I’m the one that just had a bomb dropped on him!”
I turned around, wheeling on him. “I am mad because you are making me feel like a freak.” I gestured at the cameras, who were recording every humiliating second of this. “And because it is all going to be on TV.”
“Shit.” Swift’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Let’s just get in the cab, all right?”
Oh, now he wanted to keep things quiet? The cat was already out of the bag. But I let him open my cab door and got in, then stared straight ahead when he slid in next to me.
“Where now?” the cab driver asked.
I looked pointedly at Swift. “You’re the one with so much experience. You tell him.”
“Tiny, hang on,” Swift said, tone soothing. He looked at the taxi driver. “Just give us a sec, man.” Then he leaned in close to me. “We need to talk.”
“I thought we’d said enough.”
“I just don’t understand. How is it that someone like you is a virgin? I think you’re beautiful, Tiny. And so damn smart. And you have great taste in music.”
I softened. Only a little.
“It’s just strange to me that Georgie Price’s twin sister is a virgin at 28. That’s all.” He paled. “Is it for religious reasons? Oh, damn. Have I been bothering you this whole time? Because if so, I really apologize—“
“It’s not religious,” I reassured him. “Seriously. And you want to know why I’m a virgin? It’s because my sister is Georgie Price. Who would look at me twice when she’s around?”
“Me,” he said softly.
I blushed all over again, and stared at my hands, clasped in my lap. I still had the clue next to me on the seat, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to read a word of it right now. And honestly? I didn’t care what it said at the moment. “It’s not religious. It’s just me being a nerd. Whatever Georgie has…it doesn’t translate over to me, you know? She’s got something extra that makes people want to look at her. I’m just the paler copy.” I shrugged. It was something I’d been used to all my life. I didn’t even resent my twin for it. How could anyone hate Georgie? She never did anything with malice. “Just…stop looking at me like I’m a freak, okay Swift?”
“I just felt bad because here, I liked you, and I’ve been trying to say all this sexual shit to you, and—“
“I like you too,” I interrupted. My gaze met his for a moment, and then went to his mouth, where it was easier to look. Easier to focus on his chiseled mouth than those piercing, laughing eyes. “I just might need to go a bit slower than you want.”
“I can go as slow as you want, baby.” He grinned and leaned in, and his lips brushed against mine. “Just as long as I can still kiss you and look at you.”
“Yeah, you can.”
“And occasionally touch you when no one’s looking.” His tongue flicked over my lips.
A shiver rippled through me. “I—“
“I am sorry to interrupt,” the driver said. “But did you have directions? My meter is running.”
Oh boy. I pulled away from Swift and decided I needed to look at my clue after all. The clue was cut in half right down the middle, and it was obvious that Georgie would have the other half and it would give us instructions on what to do next.
My side of the disk read:
Bygdov is
Your Next Clue
The Berlin Wall
Gstaad Palace in Switzerland
The Arc de Triomphe in France
Now Grab
An Evening Of
When You Arrive
Enjoy!
I peered at it and read it twice. Huh. Swift was reading his, also. “I thought this was supposed to tell us where to go?” he asked, looking at me.
“Maybe the first two lines are our clue? Bygdov is where Plate and Georgie are. Maybe we’re supposed to meet back up with them?”
He flipped the disk over, examining the other side, and then flipped it again. Swift shrugged. “I guess we’ll know when we get there.”
We headed to Bygdov.
~~ * * * ~~
When the cab pulled up at the Viking ship museum, we could see camera crews racing around, and people in the colorful team shirts we had to wear for the show. Each one wore a Viking hat and what looked like a furry cape of some sort, and they carried big round wooden shields as they raced around and worked on the task. As we got out of the car and headed up the hill, I mentally ticked off teams. There was the blue for Team Daddy, the brown for Team Newlywed, the Green Machine…
And that tall flash of red was my twin, Georgie. Whew. Plate ran past a moment later, his big hand clutching his helmet, and Swift chuckle-snorted at the sight. “He looks like an idiot.”
“How do you think we looked when we went down the zip line?” I teased, elbowing him.
“Like virgins?”
I smacked his arm. “You are so not funny.”
“Baby, I’m hilarious.” He grinned at me and to my surprise, he reached out and took my hand as we raced up the hill.
When we got to the top, the place was utter chaos. It looked as if each team had a station, and each station was comprised of a massive pile of lumber pieces that looked more like Viking Jenga than a longship. As I watched, half of each team was working on piecing their boats together, then removed pieces when they realized they were the wrong ones. Georgie had her prow built…but that was about it. As I watched, she and Plate stood together and whispered, and then they went to work on their separate boats. Good. They were working together.
I needed to play this casual. Cool. Calm. Collected.
Yeah, like that was going to happen.
Then Swift was zipping down the line, and there was no more time to run.
I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to look busy and impatient as they pulled Swift out of the million and one zip line harnesses. Then when he was free, he marched right over to me. So did his cameraman.
“That,” he hissed, “was a hell of a thing to announce and not give me a chance to respond.”
“Well, I wasn’t trying to announce it,” I snapped back. “Can we talk about this some other time?”
“I cannot believe I have been macking on a virgin! What the hell, Tiny?”
Now I was starting to get irritated. “You make it sound like I’m twelve, not twenty-eight. What’s wrong with being a virgin?”
“Who the hell gets to twenty-eight as a virgin?” He threw his arms up. “And how is it you made it to twenty-eight a virgin and your sister is Georgie freaking Price? She’s a cover model!”
My hands clenched into fists and I stormed away. I was not having that conversation right there. Not with everyone staring at us and wondering. Bad enough that everything else had been gotten on film. I just wanted to crawl into a deep dark hole. Maybe we’d get lucky and our taxi would drive off a pier or something. I brightened at the thought. That sounded more promising than riding back with Swift.
“Hey,” he called as I stalked off. “Wait up! I need to get my clue.”
“Then get it,” I called back, not stopping. “Because I am leaving.”
“Tiny, wait up,” he bellowed. “Jesus!”
I practically raced to the waiting cab, but before I could make it even halfway there, I heard running footsteps behind me. Swift grabbed my hand. “Hey—“
I jerked it out of his grasp.
“What the—Tiny, why are you mad? I’m the one that just had a bomb dropped on him!”
I turned around, wheeling on him. “I am mad because you are making me feel like a freak.” I gestured at the cameras, who were recording every humiliating second of this. “And because it is all going to be on TV.”
“Shit.” Swift’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Let’s just get in the cab, all right?”
Oh, now he wanted to keep things quiet? The cat was already out of the bag. But I let him open my cab door and got in, then stared straight ahead when he slid in next to me.
“Where now?” the cab driver asked.
I looked pointedly at Swift. “You’re the one with so much experience. You tell him.”
“Tiny, hang on,” Swift said, tone soothing. He looked at the taxi driver. “Just give us a sec, man.” Then he leaned in close to me. “We need to talk.”
“I thought we’d said enough.”
“I just don’t understand. How is it that someone like you is a virgin? I think you’re beautiful, Tiny. And so damn smart. And you have great taste in music.”
I softened. Only a little.
“It’s just strange to me that Georgie Price’s twin sister is a virgin at 28. That’s all.” He paled. “Is it for religious reasons? Oh, damn. Have I been bothering you this whole time? Because if so, I really apologize—“
“It’s not religious,” I reassured him. “Seriously. And you want to know why I’m a virgin? It’s because my sister is Georgie Price. Who would look at me twice when she’s around?”
“Me,” he said softly.
I blushed all over again, and stared at my hands, clasped in my lap. I still had the clue next to me on the seat, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to read a word of it right now. And honestly? I didn’t care what it said at the moment. “It’s not religious. It’s just me being a nerd. Whatever Georgie has…it doesn’t translate over to me, you know? She’s got something extra that makes people want to look at her. I’m just the paler copy.” I shrugged. It was something I’d been used to all my life. I didn’t even resent my twin for it. How could anyone hate Georgie? She never did anything with malice. “Just…stop looking at me like I’m a freak, okay Swift?”
“I just felt bad because here, I liked you, and I’ve been trying to say all this sexual shit to you, and—“
“I like you too,” I interrupted. My gaze met his for a moment, and then went to his mouth, where it was easier to look. Easier to focus on his chiseled mouth than those piercing, laughing eyes. “I just might need to go a bit slower than you want.”
“I can go as slow as you want, baby.” He grinned and leaned in, and his lips brushed against mine. “Just as long as I can still kiss you and look at you.”
“Yeah, you can.”
“And occasionally touch you when no one’s looking.” His tongue flicked over my lips.
A shiver rippled through me. “I—“
“I am sorry to interrupt,” the driver said. “But did you have directions? My meter is running.”
Oh boy. I pulled away from Swift and decided I needed to look at my clue after all. The clue was cut in half right down the middle, and it was obvious that Georgie would have the other half and it would give us instructions on what to do next.
My side of the disk read:
Bygdov is
Your Next Clue
The Berlin Wall
Gstaad Palace in Switzerland
The Arc de Triomphe in France
Now Grab
An Evening Of
When You Arrive
Enjoy!
I peered at it and read it twice. Huh. Swift was reading his, also. “I thought this was supposed to tell us where to go?” he asked, looking at me.
“Maybe the first two lines are our clue? Bygdov is where Plate and Georgie are. Maybe we’re supposed to meet back up with them?”
He flipped the disk over, examining the other side, and then flipped it again. Swift shrugged. “I guess we’ll know when we get there.”
We headed to Bygdov.
~~ * * * ~~
When the cab pulled up at the Viking ship museum, we could see camera crews racing around, and people in the colorful team shirts we had to wear for the show. Each one wore a Viking hat and what looked like a furry cape of some sort, and they carried big round wooden shields as they raced around and worked on the task. As we got out of the car and headed up the hill, I mentally ticked off teams. There was the blue for Team Daddy, the brown for Team Newlywed, the Green Machine…
And that tall flash of red was my twin, Georgie. Whew. Plate ran past a moment later, his big hand clutching his helmet, and Swift chuckle-snorted at the sight. “He looks like an idiot.”
“How do you think we looked when we went down the zip line?” I teased, elbowing him.
“Like virgins?”
I smacked his arm. “You are so not funny.”
“Baby, I’m hilarious.” He grinned at me and to my surprise, he reached out and took my hand as we raced up the hill.
When we got to the top, the place was utter chaos. It looked as if each team had a station, and each station was comprised of a massive pile of lumber pieces that looked more like Viking Jenga than a longship. As I watched, half of each team was working on piecing their boats together, then removed pieces when they realized they were the wrong ones. Georgie had her prow built…but that was about it. As I watched, she and Plate stood together and whispered, and then they went to work on their separate boats. Good. They were working together.
