Partner Games
Page 30

“Yo, we can cuddle later,” Plate said, gesturing at the walkway up to the dam. “The girls need to get their ticket before another team comes here.”
“Right. Come on, Clemmy,” Georgie said, grabbing my hand and pulling me off of Swift.
We raced up the marked path, flashlights in hand. Ahead in the darkness, there was a World Races sign with the logo and several tabs that were numbered. Those had to be the tickets. We grabbed number three. It had a time on it – 8 AM.
“You’re only fifteen minutes behind us,” Swift said, giving my shoulder an awkward pat.
Plate gave a whoop and grabbed Georgie, flinging her around. “Hell yeah!”
I froze.
I knew Plate. I knew he meant well. But all I saw was a big guy grabbing my twin, and my brain exploded.
“Don’t you fucking touch her,” I yelled, flinging myself at him. My fists slammed into his shoulder.
“Yo, Tiny, what the fuck?” Plate said, trying to move out of the way of my flying fists. I felt Swift grab me around the waist and I began to kick.
“Let go of her,” I screeched. There was a red haze of anger in my mind that blurred out all thinking. No one was going to grab at my twin again. Not while I was around to protect her. Georgie needed protection and this time, I could fucking be there for her. “Don’t touch her!”
He set Georgie down, his eyes wide, even as one of the camera-men came racing forward and put himself between me and Plate.
“Guys, calm down,” he said, putting his hands up. “No getting physical with the other teams! You know the rules.”
“He grabbed my twin!” I yelled.
“It’s okay, Clemmy,” Georgie said in a soothing voice, moving to my side. Her long arms wrapped around my neck and she hugged me. Blinking back angry tears, I hugged her back, squeezing her tight against me. “It’s just Plate. He’s safe.”
Plate’s big face scrunched up. “Safe? What the fuck does that mean?”
But Georgie was busy soothing me. “It just means that she doesn’t need to worry. You’re not my type.” Her hand stroked down my back. “It’s cool, Clemmy. Really.”
Plate reeled as if hit. “Not your fucking type, huh? I guess it’s okay to hang off of me and take my help when you need it, just because I’m a big dumb ugly bastard, right? Who cares if I have fucking feelings.”
Georgie pulled away from me and shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I—“
He threw his hands up and walked away. “I can’t believe this.” He turned around and pointed at Georgie. “I fucking worship you, Georgie Price. You may not get that from your regular ‘type’ but I would fucking wreck this town if you asked me to. So maybe you chew on that for a while.” He turned away and stormed off.
“Oh, shit. That did not come out right,” Georgie said miserably.
“He’ll get over it,” I said, patting her back. “I’m sorry I freaked. I just…snapped.”
“Yeah, so…” someone drawled behind me.
Oh damn. Swift. Flinching, I turned to look at him, apology in my eyes. “Swift—“
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, moving forward. Georgie released me and Swift came to my side, cupped my cheeks in his hands and gave me a light kiss. “I’ll go cool him off. He’s a good guy. He just…probably thought things were different. That’s all.” He shot Georgie a look and then kissed me again. “We’ll have to save our snuggle time for some other race leg. Do good, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered, hating that he was leaving. We had hours before our ticket time. I wanted to spend them curled up with him.
Instead, Georgie and I had just pissed off our alliance. Damn it.
“Everything cool now?” The cameraman asked, arms still spread as if to keep us separated. “Do I need to call in production?”
“We’re good,” I said. “It’s just a misunderstanding.” I watched miserably as Swift jogged down the trail back to the parking lot to catch up with his partner.
Georgie moved to my side. Her arm went around my waist and she gave a heavy sigh. “I really fucked things up, I think.”
“You are just fine,” I told her stiffly. I was not going to let her beat herself up over this. “It’s probably good that we separate for a few legs, because Drew and Foster are going to try and turn everyone against us if we ally.”
“Mmm,” she said, then looked at me. “So. He just kissed you like it was nothing. Did I miss something here? Or did you guys make out while we were in the tent and I slept through it?”
“Uhhh,” I said eloquently, and my cheeks burned with embarrassment. This was awkward. What could I possibly tell her?
Yeah, right before you destroyed me with your confession, I sucked face with the hot biker. Is that ok?
“Can I plead the fifth?” I asked, my voice squeaky.
“No, you absolutely cannot,” Georgie said, leading me down the path to the parking lot. “Spill. We’re twins. We don’t keep secrets, remember?”
Damn. She’d shared her horrible secret with me. I supposed I had no choice but to share the news of my makeout session with her.
 
 
Chapter Twenty
 

“What is it about me that makes me so fuckin’ unlovable to someone like Georgie Price? I’m strong. I’m tall. I can change a flat. I can hold my breath for at least two minutes solid. I’ve got a big dick. What more do girls want? Manly tears? I mean, damn. Throw a brother a bone already.” — Plate, Team One Percent, The World Races  
“Sucks for my bro, but I’m kinda glad it was him getting the nad-shriveling takedown and not me. I’m already losing man-points for the guitar thing.” — Swift, Team One Percent, The World Races
 
“I’m pretty sure I messed things up back there.” — Clementine, Team Beauty and the Geek, The World Races
 
“I’m pretty sure I messed things up back there.” — Georgie, Team Beauty and the Geek, The World Races
 
 
We sat in the car with the windows rolled down as we waited the hours until Verzasca Dam was open. There were still several to go before sunrise, and we wanted to see which teams also pulled up to get their tickets in what order.
Also, it was so we could hide from the guys, since we’d gone and spoiled that relationship.
Also, it was so we could talk, sister to sister.
Let me tell you, it was damn hard trying to explain to my worldly sister about the furtive makeout sessions I’ve had with Swift without sounding, well, like a total child. I mostly wanted to squee about kissing him. About how he ‘got’ me and made me happy. But it all made me sound like a fourteen-year-old instead of a mature twenty-eight-year-old.
I was just a leeetle bit behind on some stuff. Just a little.
But Georgie kept my starry-eyed self grounded. She listened with a smile and said she was happy for me…and then left me with a warning. “He’s a great guy, Clemmy. And cute. But he’s also a player. I’ve had a lot of experience with players, and I can tell you that they’re fun to play around with, but guard your heart. I know this is all new for you.”