Playing Games

by Jessica Clare

  At last, my picture was done. I carefully lifted it from the frame, holding it so it wouldn’t smear, and shot a triumphant look at Liam. He stood with the other teammates, looking cool and casual, but as I glanced over at him, I saw him give me a subtle thumbs-up.

  I brought it to the judging stand and laid it flat to be judged. The judge pulled out his magnifying glass and began to pore over my finished painting. He took so long to study it that I was sure he was going to find fault, and my stomach dropped. Had I missed something? Had I dripped into the wrong box? I watched him, holding my breath.

  He straightened, looked at me, and then nodded. "Good job." And he held out my disk.

  I bounced with excitement and hugged him. "Thank you! Thank you!" I grabbed the disk and dashed to Liam, and on impulse, hugged him too.

  Liam seemed surprised by that, but after a moment, he hugged me back. The other teams clapped politely, but I could tell they were nervous that we had already finished.

  "Let's go outside and read this," Liam told me, whispering in my ear.

  We grabbed our bags and headed outside, and I flipped over the clue. "Make your way to the Shelbourne Dublin. Bring all disks with you so you may cross the finish line." I looked up at Liam. "The Shelbourne Dublin? It sounds like a hotel."

  "I know where that is," Liam told me. "I've stayed there before."

  "You have?"

  He nodded, slinging my backpack over his shoulder. "On tour. Come on."

  We made it to the Shelbourne Dublin a short time later, though we had to stop and ask for directions twice. I nearly chewed my nails off in anxiety as Liam navigated the streets of Ireland, but he didn’t get lost once and listened intently to my directions.

  In the front of the large building, I could see The World Races flag and the cameramen milling about. No teams waited outside - I didn't blame them. Why hang out on the street when you can take a break in the nice comfy hotel? And I was suddenly exhausted. We parked the car, and then Liam and I were racing for the finish line. The tape had been broken already, which meant we weren't first, but we didn't care.

  We bounded past the finish and waited for Chip to announce our place.

  "Black team," Chip said in a grave voice. "You are team….number five."

  I gave a happy squeal of excitement, even though I'd known we were at least five, considering we'd left five teams back at the last challenge. And to my surprise, Liam reached down and grabbed me into a hug, lifting me into the air.

  And I laughed. Today? We were safe.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  "I have to say…I'm not exactly unhappy to have Katy as a partner. She's a tough one, despite the pigtails. I think the others underestimate just how strong she is because she looks so small and cute. And she kisses like a fiend." — Liam Brogan, Paris Leg of The World Races

  Everyone lingered in the lobby of the hotel. It wasn't that we particularly wanted to hang around. All the racers were exhausted from the constant flight-hopping and then heading straight to the challenges, not to mention the constant nerves when you thought you were in last place. I was wiped, Liam was wiped, everyone was wiped. And yet, we were all still in the lobby.

  No one had the money for a hotel room.

  Rooms were just a bit over two hundred a night, and we'd been given twenty dollars for the Greenland leg, and a hundred for the Ireland leg. Considering that we liked eating, we had to save some money for food and drink. Even two teams pooling their money together couldn't afford one room, as the price we’d been quoted was over two hundred and twenty a night. No one was quite willing - yet - to fork over most of their money to split one double room between six people. No one wanted to be that third couple that didn't get to sleep on a bed.

  So we hung out in the lobby, our two bucket chairs scooted close together, and watched the others come in for the race. Brodie and Tesla had come in fourth, one spot ahead of us. They now sat in the bar of the hotel, eating dinner and flirting. It was like my brother hadn't even noticed I was there.

  I glanced over at Liam to see if he was feeling the sting of Tesla's lack of attention, but he didn't seem to be bothered.

  In fact, he was leaning in to my chair. He whispered, "Kissy and Rusty came in ninth, so they’re out."

  I couldn't say I was surprised to hear that, since the Rednecks hadn’t proven themselves to be particularly good with the challenges. I was, however, surprised by the shiver that rocked through me at his breath against my ear. I squirmed in my chair and counted heads of the other contestants, loitering in the lobby. "Who does that leave?"

  "Just Myrna and Fred, I think." Liam glanced around the room and nodded. "Yep. Just them."

  "The two easiest teams," I mused. "It's going to get a lot harder after this. Who do you think will go next?"

  He considered the others, then leaned in close to me again to whisper his response. "Depends on the kind of challenge. If it's a water challenge, I say Wendi and Rick, because Wendi's not athletic and Rick doesn't have the musculature."

  The mother and son team. I could see that.

  "If it's something athletic…maybe Steffi and Cristi. They don't run as fast as the others."

  "And if it's an eating challenge?" I asked lightly.

  "Then we'll win," he said. "If you do it, anyhow. If it's me, be prepared for the Loser Lodge."

  "Sensitive stomach?"

  He gave a small laugh. "Would you believe me if I said that my failure at that challenge had more to do with memories of a bad sushi experience than anything else?"

  I chuckled. "I believe it. I don't think I can ever eat fish again after that challenge. And it wasn't even fish. It just smelled like it."

  “It was a nightmare.”

  “I’m shocked – you’re not a big fan of the raw, blubbery insides of marine wildlife?”

  "Don't remind me," he said, clutching at his stomach as if in pain. "I'm still getting acid reflux flashbacks."

  I laughed again, just as someone thumped into the chair next to me. It was Abby, with Dean hovering over her shoulder.

  Liam immediately went quiet, glancing over at me.

  Abby leaned in, a twinkle in her eye, and whispered, "How much money do you have?"

  "Why?" I asked warily, glancing over at my partner. His face was a mask of indifference. Gone was the easy smile he'd worn, and I felt like our hard-won truce had just disappeared into smoke. Which kind of sucked.

  "Because," Abby said, and then leaned in, glancing around at the crowded lobby. Her voice lowered. "Dean worked his magic and got us a discount on a room that was vacated."

  I sucked in a breath, staring up in wonder at Dean. He winked at me, all cocky and pleased with himself. "I pulled a few strings, might have signed a few autographs, things like that."

  Oh, that was right. Dean was a big shot Olympian swimmer. Five medals or something like that. I looked over at Liam in excitement. "You're famous too - maybe you can squeeze us a discount?"

  His mouth twitched and he shook his head. "Tesla, maybe. Everyone recognizes her. Me, I'm just the guitarist. Without her at my side, I'm anonymous."

  Abby waved a hand impatiently. "We don't need another discount. They're willing to give us the room for half price as long as we're out by seven am."

  I glanced at my watch. We had a twelve hour rest break between the time we'd arrived and the time we received our next clue. "We got here at five," I told her.

  "We got here at three thirty," Abby said. "So that's perfect."

  "And that means we only have to pay about a hundred and ten or so…fifty five apiece if we split it between two teams."

  I looked over at Liam.

  He shrugged.

  "Hot showers," Abby cajoled. "Pillows. Someplace to sleep that's not an airport floor."

  It was so incredibly tempting. I bit my lip, and then stole a glance at Liam again. "What do you want to do?" It would be half of our money, but we'd also be well rested and well showered. It was worth it to me, but this was a partnership, and
that partnership meant that we'd have to agree.

  Something Brodie and I had sucked at.

  Liam noticed my hesitation. "It'll mean watching our money for meals for a bit."

  I nodded.

  "I have half of the money from when Tesla and I got split," he told me. "Six dollars and fifty cents."

  "I have nothing other than what they gave us for this leg of the race," I said cheerfully. "Brodie sucks with money." My brother and I had argued over some high priced protein bars at the general store in Kulusuk, but Brodie had insisted, and we'd spent every dime. Liam apparently had saved his cash better than we had.

  "Looks like he's still determined to spend all of his team's money," Dean pointed out. "They're having a few beers in the bar. That's gonna cost them."

  I was hungry too, but I'd gladly give up dinner for a nice bed and a hot shower. I looked at Liam again.

  "I'm in if you are," he told me.

  I could have kissed him - again - in that moment. “Totally in.”

  "Great," Abby said with excitement. "Dean's going to get the room." She glanced up at her partner, who leaned down and kissed her forehead, then headed off to the counter. She turned back to look at me and Liam. "We don't want the others to know we're sharing a room or they'll probably crash it and try to squeeze some pillows or floor space. I'll find out what room we have, and then I'll take the elevator to the top floor. Wait five minutes, and then meet me there, and we'll go to the room together."

  "Sounds good," I told her, and when she stuck her pinky out, I linked mine through hers.

  It was good to have friends on this race.

  ~~ * * * ~~

  Fifteen minutes later, I flopped down on one of the queen beds in the hotel room and groaned with pleasure. "Oh my god, a mattress. I've died and gone to heaven."

  Next to me, Liam sat on the edge of the bed and dropped his pack to the ground. He didn't flop backward like I had, just sat and looked at me.

  Which made me feel weird and selfish, like I was hogging all of the bed. So I sat up and curled my legs under me.

  On the other bed, Abby slid her shoes off and wiggled her feet as Dean sprawled onto the bed behind her. "This was the best use of money ever. I'm so glad we did this."

  "I'm so glad you invited us," I told her. My stomach growled, and I winced. I had a protein bar in my bag, but it wasn't sounding super appetizing at the moment.

  Liam glanced at me again, then turned to Dean and Abby. "I don't suppose you guys want to go halves on dinner? We can get a pizza for pretty cheap if we don't mind picking it up."

  "Pizza sounds great to me," Abby said, rubbing her stomach. She glanced over at Dean. "Paper rock scissors for who has to go get it?"

  He laughed and leaned in to kiss Abby. "Tell you what. I'll get it and you owe me."

  "Mmm, deal," she told him with a teasing grin.

  Dean got back to his feet and put some money in his pocket, then glanced at Liam. "You want to come with?"

  "Sure, man. Give the girls a few minutes to relax without us." He looked over at me again, that hesitant almost-smile on his face, and then they disappeared. The door shut a moment later, and silence fell. It was just me and Abby in the room, basking in the fact that we didn't have to go anywhere for at least several more hours.

  The silence didn't last long, though. Abby rolled onto her side on the bed and gazed over at me. "Sooooo, how's the new partner? What’s it like being paired up with a rock god?"

  I sat up, crossed my legs, and thought. I felt like I could trust Abby. It was like having one of my best friends here on the race with me. And I didn't think she'd dick us over. "He's…not what I expected."

  "He seems different than your brother," Abby said bluntly. "And I mean that in a good way. I think you lucked out."

  I gave her a wry look. "Brodie's my brother, but yeah, he tends to think of Brodie first and Katy second."

  "Why do you let him get away with that? I'd have beat him with my backpack if he'd treated me the way he treated you."

  I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess because he was honest about what he wanted out of this? He wants a career. Me, I just want the consolation prize money."

  She snorted. "I told myself that until I made the merge on Endurance Island. Trust me, when you get closer to that big prize? You want that money."

  She had a point. I had to admit that when I saw everyone racing, it made my blood get fired up and my competitive spirit kick in. Still, I didn't know if I could deliberately push ahead of Brodie, not when I'd be just as happy with the last place check. It seemed selfish somehow. Even though Brodie hadn't been awesome to me on the race, the race would end and he'd still be my brother long after these people were out of my life. So I said nothing.

  "Well, at any rate, I'm glad we're allied with you and not Brodie. He doesn't seem the loyal type," she said with a yawn. "You want the first shower? I'll wait until Dean gets back and we can share ours."

  A shower sounded incredible. I pulled myself up from the bed and grabbed my backpack. "I promise not to use all the hot water."

  "Good." She waved me away, yawning and laying back on her bed.

  By the time the guys got back with pizza, I had showered and changed into new clothes, and was combing out my wet hair. We tore into the pizza, divvying it up four ways. I only ate two of my slices, being the smallest of the group, and nudged my extra slice over to Liam. He was a tall guy and would probably need the fuel.

  He took it with a wink at me, and then devoured it.

  Dean patted his stomach and glanced at the bathroom. "Shower free?"

  "All yours," I told him, uncapping my bottle of water and taking another drink.

  "Wait for me," Abby said, getting to her feet. "I thought we'd share."

  "Just like old times," Dean said with a grin, and smacked Abby on the butt as she sauntered past him. They disappeared into the bathroom and I was left alone with Liam.

  I glanced over at him as he wiped his hands with the napkin, and then looked over at me.

  "So," he said, then paused.

  "So," I said back.

  He seemed more at ease now that it was just the two of us, and now that I wasn't glowering at him every moment. Instead, he simply studied my face, as if considering me. After a moment, he stuck his hand out. "I think we got off on the wrong foot on this race. Hi, I'm Liam."

  I laughed and took his hand. "Hi, I'm Katy."

  "And what brings you on The World Races, Katy?"

  "Well," I said, crossing my legs and getting comfortable on the bed. "I actually didn't want to be on the show. I got talked into it because Brodie needed a partner. And I want the money to invest in my business."

  "Business?" He looked impressed. "What kind of business?"

  "I have a custom cakes and cupcakes business," I said proudly. "Katy's Short Cakes."

  He nodded, as if it somehow fit me, and then he crossed his legs on the bed until he was sitting, facing me. "So you're a baker?"

  "I am." It felt weirdly intimate to be facing each other on the bed like this. It was…direct. And personal. There was no hiding or averting eyes with this. We were one on one, face to face.

  "And the pigtails? Are you a children’s baker or something?" There was a hint of a smile on his mouth.

  I groaned and ruffled a hand through my loose, wet blonde hair. "The pigtails were decided by casting, not by me. I think they picked it because I'm short."

  "And because you're cute," he agreed. "It makes you look perky."

  For some reason, I blushed at that. So he thought I was cute? Or just perky? Perky didn't necessarily mean attractive. Squirrels were perky. "So, what about you?"

  "What about me?" His dark eyes studied my face.

  "What made you come on The World Races?"

  His mouth twisted a bit. "The label."

  I frowned at him. "The label?"

  "Yeah. Tesla wanted to go on the show. Thought it'd be a good opportunity since our next record drops in the fall, when
this airs. We had a large lead time." He shrugged. "The label wanted one of the band members to go with her. I was picked."

  "So you and Tesla aren't," I gestured with my hand. "You know."

  His eyes widened. "Oh, god no. She's just a bandmate. You know, the whole Finding Threnody thing." And he looked at me like I should know exactly what he was talking about.

  I winced. "Is it bad if this is the part that I say that I've never heard of you?"

  He stared.

  "I listen to country music," I said lamely. "Sorry. I'm sure your band is good."

  He continued to stare.

  "I'll buy your CD when I get home," I told him. "I promise."

  He shook his head a little, as if to clear it, then laughed. "So you really don't know who we are?"

  "Well," I told him. I thought for a moment, trying to determine the best way to say it without hurting his feelings, and then gave up. "Not a clue. Brodie's a fan, though."

  Liam chuckled and shook his head. "Well, that explains why you weren't very friendly to me."

  "Are a lot of girls friendly to you because you're in a rock band?"

  "Yes," he said simply.

  I snorted. "They might be until you push them down reaching for their football."

  He scowled. "It was an accident."

  "How do I know that?" I asked innocently, putting a teasing lilt in my voice. "Maybe you thought it was a mosh pit."

  That slow, almost reluctant smile spread across his lean face again. "Now I know you're fucking with me."

  "Just a little."

  He laughed. "I suppose I deserved that."

  I studied him as he smiled. I'd initially thought Liam tall, grungy, and a little scary. The piercings were new territory for me, as were the tattoos. He even had them on his neck. But the smile he extended my way was genuine, and for a moment, he looked like any other guy my age that just happened to be covered in black tattoos, multiple facial piercings, and was the lead guitarist in a supposedly big deal rock band.