But from the amount of nodding from the other teams, everyone else knew Zoe as well. It was hard not to. It had been Zoe who’d stood beside Cassidy in the finale of The One. It was Zoe who had ended up on the cover of tabloid magazines for months after the finale aired.
And it had been Zoe who’d played the part of villain and had made it her mission on the show to make the other girls’ lives miserable. No one — who’d seen the show or tabloid news — would want to be forced into a partnership with Zoe after how she’d acted on that show.
“Now that everything is settled with the teams,” Spencer said, “it’s time to kick off our show. At the sound of my whistles, these ten teams will race down the hill behind me to the marked vehicles with your names on the windshield. Inside each vehicle you’ll find your backpacks, a cooler of cold water and energy snacks, and a state of the art hand-held GPS unit, which has been specially equipped with a camera and internal server for our game. You’ll use your new GPS to find the five hundred treasure boxes — or caches, as we like to call them — we have hidden around the area.”
Miles smiled, feeling sure of himself and his partner. With all the supplies they gave them, this challenge would be a breeze. And with a vehicle to get around in, it would be easier for Ben — because of his limitations with his leg, physical fatigue and long-term mobility were probably going to be their team’s biggest personal challenges.
“Each day you will get to race from eight in the morning until eight at night, during which time you are free to find as many caches as you can. But be warned. You will be turned away from some caches if you arrive too late to complete them before the end of the day. By eight P.M. sharp, every team will be expected to have checked in at the base camp where you’ll all be staying. If a team fails to check in at base camp before time is up, they will receive a two-hour time penalty for the next day’s hours.”
The rules didn’t sound too tricky, but it may be a lot to think about once the game got rolling and adrenaline started pumping. Although, Miles didn’t expect adrenaline to be a problem for himself or Ben. They lived for the rush. Always had.
“The game is simple,” Spencer continued. “Find as many hidden caches as you can in the next twenty-eight days. Be the first to find the cache and you may find more than just game points. Many caches have prizes to collect but only for the first team to find them. At the end of the race, we’ll tally the points you’ve collected with each cache you’ve found, and the team with the most cumulative points will win the grand prize of … half a million dollars!”
The teams cheered. Even Miles couldn’t help but cheer for that kind of money. He’d do whatever it took to win. Then he’d give his portion to Ben to help right his wrongs.
“Oh, and I’d expect a few surprises along the way too.” Spencer winked. As if sensing a growing concern among the teammates, he raised his arms over his head to get them to quiet down so he could finish his speech. “Okay, everyone. I’ll see you at base camp for our first check in. Teams, start searching!” With that, he dropped his arms as if he were starting a drag race.
Teams on every side of Miles bolted past Spencer and down the hill. Two of the bigger guys — Team Firefighters from New York City, if he remembered correctly — were the first to find their vehicle. Not surprising since guys like them were trained to be fast. And efficient. He made a mental note to keep them in his sights.
A cluster of three or four teams reached the vehicles next. The team of sisters was fast, but Kent and Kyla, the dating underwear models, were even faster. They had sprinted the entire way. They were definitely faster than he’d expected. For being incredibly thin, they were also in amazing shape. Team Models might actually be more of a threat than he thought at first glance.
Miles and Ben ran too, but at a slower pace. Still, they made it down the hill and to the vehicles only moments later than the rest of the teams. Well, not including Paige and Zoe’s team. It appeared those girls were in no real hurry with Zoe in her four-inch heels and Paige still looking shell-shocked from the early twist in the game.
But Miles couldn’t sit around wondering how the girls would do in the race. It was their business, not his. His priority number one was getting Ben to the end of the game with the most points and prizes in hand. And proving to him they could still take on any challenge together. And succeed.
Miles and Ben found their SUV easily since there were only two left. A quick glance at the name on the windshield and they pulled open the doors. Miles hopped into the driver’s seat while Ben jumped into the backseat behind him. Their cameraman rode shotgun where he could film facial expressions of both men.
He handed the GPS unit to Ben and ripped open the folder of information they’d been given to start the race. Inside he found a logbook with a series of numbered GPS coordinates listed. Pages and pages of longitudes and latitudes stared back at him. Even for an experienced hiker, it was overwhelming.
“Wow. Look at this.” Miles showed the logbook to Ben. “The other teams aren’t going to know where to start.”
“Good. Because I think we’ve fallen behind already,” Ben said, looking out the side window instead of at the logbook.
“No worries. This is a long race and where we lack on speed, we’ll make up for by being able to use the GPS better than the others. Let’s just pick one in the middle and get started.”
Ben shook his head. “I hope you’re right. But I’m pretty sure we’re due for last place.”
“Well, I think you’re wrong and it’s about time you started believing in yourself again. You’re just as able as any of the other teams here.” He glanced down at Ben’s leg, already stretched out along the backbench seat, unable to stop himself from reliving the injury again as if it were his own.
“Well, I’m definitely as able as that team. Can you believe they only just now reached their vehicle?” Ben said, sounding marginally disgusted.
Miles couldn’t really blame him. It was pretty sad that two able-bodied girls couldn’t even beat them in a footrace to the trucks. “Probably don’t want to break a nail.”
“That’s most likely true for Zoe, but I’m not so sure about that Paige girl. That’s a team of polar opposites if I ever saw one. Glamorous and high-maintenance paired with functional plain Jane.”
Miles eyed the girls. Ben was right about Zoe, but what about Paige? Functional? Sure. That tight top and those sensible hiking boots were definitely functional in this game. But plain Jane? No way. She might be understated but she certainly wasn’t plain.
“Well, we can beat one team for sure,” Miles said, looking away from Paige’s tiny hourglass figure and delicately curved lips. He didn’t have time to take in the scenery right now. But later, at base camp, well, there’d be plenty of time for sightseeing then. “And I know we can beat the others too.”
“Whatever. Let’s go already,” Ben said.
Miles had heard the dismissal in Ben’s tone more times than he cared to remember. Somehow, some way, he had to prove to Ben that he was still capable of everything they’d ever wanted to achieve. And maybe this show would finally be the thing that got through to him.
But there was no sense pushing things with Ben now. Not right at the beginning of what would be a long and challenging race.
Together they skimmed through the logbook, trying to decide where to start their search. Finally they picked cache 252 — just a couple off from the middle to be one step ahead of all the teams who started exactly in the middle. Perfect.
Ben effortlessly punched in the latitude and longitude listed beside the cache number into the GPS unit. A moment later, the screen flashed to life and an arrow pointed the direction they needed to go.
As Miles drove through the parking lot toward the highway, he could already make out a couple of other SUVs up ahead on the side of the road. They didn’t look to be in any distress, unle
ss you counted not knowing how to even turn on a GPS unit.
He smiled at his friend, feeling triumphant already. “See, I told you we’d be okay. Game on.” They bumped fists as they did at the peak of every mountain they’d ever climbed. And it felt great. Two years had been way too long to be without his best friend by his side. Now that he had Ben back, he had to make sure to keep him. And the best way to do that was prove to Ben they could win.
• • •
Paige pulled their name card off the windshield of the truck and climbed into the backseat on the driver’s side behind Zoe who was busy scowling at her fingernails.
“Damn it. I broke a nail on the stupid door handle. That’s a great way to start our race. Now we’ll have to stop at the nail salon to get it fixed.”
Paige’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious.”
“Serious like a Manolo Blahnik sale.”
“Wow. We’re almost the last team still sitting in the parking lot and all you can think about is getting your nail fixed. You remember we’re in a competition right?”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “Of course I remember. But I also remembered that we’re being followed by cameras.” She turned in her seat to face Evan who’d climbed into the SUV and filmed from the front passenger seat. “Long time no see, Evan. Good thing you got that girl of yours knocked up. Now she won’t be around and we can really have some fun at base camp each night.”
“Zoe! Cassidy is going to see that on TV, you know.”
Zoe smiled. “Good. She needs a reminder of the temptations facing her man everyday while she’s at home eating ice cream and getting fat.”
“Oh my God. Stop talking.” Paige couldn’t have felt more uncomfortable in front of the camera at that moment even if she’d been buck-naked. Well, maybe that wasn’t totally true. Naked in front of the national viewing audience would definitely be worse. But she wasn’t crazy about Zoe’s behavior. Especially not at Cassidy’s expense.
Evan caught her eye from behind the camera and shrugged. If he was unconcerned about Zoe, then there was no reason for Paige to waste any more time worrying about her either. Nope. She had bigger worries right now, like how to catch up in a race they were already way behind on.
“Can we focus on the competition we’re supposed to actually be competing in and you can worry about getting your precious nail fixed later? Like maybe after we check in at base camp for the night.” Paige glanced out the window as Team Everest pulled out of the parking lot. It seemed strange that they hadn’t been faster getting to their vehicle since they both looked so fit. Maybe they were just muscled without actually being athletic. “Great, now we really are the last team to leave.”
Zoe glanced up from the packet of information and watched as the team drove off. If Paige wasn’t mistaken, she could have sworn Zoe stiffened at the sight of the other team, her back straightening and her eyes narrowing a little. Weird. It was way too early to have enemies here. Unless you had a history with someone like Paige had with Zoe. Then it made perfect sense to be enemies already. Too bad she had to now be partners with hers.
Zoe handed over the GPS unit, which Paige then tried unsuccessfully to turn on. Damn it. Why did everything have to turn to shit today? Seriously, today was supposed to be the start of a fun adventure with her best friend. She and Cassidy should be zipping along the highway on the way to their first cache now, laughing and joking around. Getting caught up on all the things that had happened in their lives since agreeing to do another reality show for Chip.
Instead she was stuck in a car with bitchy Zoe in an empty parking lot without a sniff of an idea what to do first. Already at the back of the pack and it was only day one of twenty-eight.
If there was a hell, this was the front gate.
And Zoe was the hostess with the mostest.
Suddenly, being sent home before the show had even started didn’t sound like such a bad idea. Too bad they’d dragged Zoe out of whatever rich man’s bed she’d been in so she could come and harass Paige.
Zoe took the GPS unit back and expertly switched it on. “They just had to stick me with the girl who can’t even work a simple piece of technology. Switch with me. I don’t have time to teach you how to use this thing right now.”
Paige ignored Zoe’s rude comment and climbed into the driver’s seat while Zoe settled herself in the back. She wasn’t a great driver either, but as long as they stayed on the highway, out in the country, she should be fine. “What cache should we look for first? Maybe start at number one and work our way through them?”
“Sure, if we want to be following half the other teams around. And the other half is probably split between starting in the exact middle and starting at the end. No, we need to pick a random spot and hope for the best.”
Good thinking. Maybe Zoe was smarter than she looked.
Paige flipped through a few pages but it did little good. All the coordinates blurred together with no possible way to discern what might be the best one to start with. “How about number 303? Random enough for you?”
“Perfect. I’ll punch in the coordinates while you start driving. Looks like there’s really only one way out of here right now and it will take us to a major interstate. By then I should have this up and running and I’ll tell you were to go.”
Why can’t I be the one to tell her where to go? I have so many creative ideas.
Zoe leaned back in the seat and put her feet up on the middle console between the driver and passenger’s seats. Paige couldn’t help but notice the bright red sole beneath the sparkling heel.
“Nice shoes,” Paige teased as she pulled out of the parking lot. “Let’s hope the first cache isn’t anywhere without a sidewalk.”
“Christian Louboutins are perfect for any occasion.”
“Even hiking?”
“You’d be amazed at what I can do in these shoes.” The tone of Zoe’s voice turned flirtatious as she peered into Evan’s camera.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t imply something I’d really rather not think about you doing.”
“I’m sorry, prude. Are your panties in a twist all of a sudden? I’ve heard that’s painful but I wouldn’t know since I don’t wear any.”
“TMI, Zoe. Seriously. I may be your partner in this competition but I really don’t need to know your panty preferences.”
“Just because you’re comfortable in combat boots and a turtleneck — ”
“Hiking boots and a yoga top,” Paige interrupted.
“Whatever.” Zoe waived her hand at her dismissively. “Make a left onto the interstate. Looks like we’re headed into New York City.”
Chapter Three
Paige panicked at the thought of having to drive into a city with millions of other people on the road. It wasn’t bad enough that she was stuck with Zoe. Now she also had to drive, which she didn’t really care for unless the road was straight and empty. Nope. Now she was headed into one of the busiest cities in the world being navigated by the biggest bitch in the world.
Maybe if she pretended she wasn’t nervous, she wouldn’t be. Or maybe she’d still get them killed in a multi-car pile up on the Henry Hudson.
“Now which way?” Paige asked, gripping the steering wheel.
“Straight. I’ll tell you when we have to take an exit.”
“Oh, okay,” she mumbled. She didn’t like this at all. Cars surrounded her on every side. Zoe muttered from the backseat repeatedly about how she needed to drive faster. Easy for her to say when she wasn’t the one who had to avoid hitting obstacles moving seventy miles an hour.
“You are competent enough to drive a vehicle, right? You do have a license?”
Paige rolled her eyes then quickly focused back on the highway again, swallowing hard. Note to self: No eye rolling while driving.
“Of course
I have a license.”
“Then why do I get the overwhelming feeling that I’m at driving school again and you’re one panic attack away from getting us all killed?”
“I just, um, don’t like driving in so much traffic. That’s all.”
Paige heard Zoe whispering to herself but couldn’t make out what she said. Did she really want to know? Probably not. And yet she felt compelled to ask. They were teammates after all. “Everything okay back there?”
“Great.” Zoe’s voice deadpan and very much reflective of Paige’s mood.
Don’t ask. Just move on.
She sighed. If they were going to be together for weeks and work as a team, they needed to be able to talk about everything. Even if she didn’t really want to, she needed to be nice to Zoe. Maybe if she treated her with respect, Zoe would do the same.
“If we’re going to work together, we should talk about things that are bothering us. It’s not going to help to keep everything bottled up inside.”
“Well, therapist Paige. I was thinking to myself that when we check in at base camp, I’m going to find Chip and rip him a new one for pairing me with a girl who’s not only technology impaired, but also can’t drive. What else are you lacking that I should be aware of? Because maybe I should know that now. I may as well be running this race alone for all the help you’ve provided so far.”
So much for nice and respectful.
“When you’re done with Chip, send him my way so I can thank him for partnering me with Cruella de Vil. Do you kill puppies in your spare time? Because I think you’ve got the right personality for that line of work.”
“We need to take that exit up ahead.”
Paige felt her head spin for a second. “What?” She shoulder-checked quickly before gunning it and swerving into the right lane, narrowly pulling ahead of a minivan. “I told you I needed notice for exits.”
Stuck on You (Crimson Romance) Page 2