Playing Games by Jessica Clare

  "Well, you made sure that was the case, didn't you?" I said bitterly. "Blackmailing me for the Ace was pretty low."

  "I don't get why you care so much," he said, and for a moment he sounded genuinely confused. "You said you just wanted the money. You'll still get the same amount for second place as you would for last."

  "Would you give up on the money?" I bellowed. "It's not about that for me. Not anymore." I was getting a throbbing headache just trying to reason with Brodie. Why was I even trying? "You know what? Never mind, Brodie. Just never mind."

  Summer rushed in a moment later, her eyes wide. She grinned happily at the sight of us. "I could hear you two yelling down the block. Led me right to this place."

  "Only one of us is yelling," Brodie said in a sulky voice.

  "Fuck off, Brodie," I said in my sweetest voice, and stuffed another pretzel in the tray.

  “Language,” the cameraman said again, and we fell quiet.

  Everyone twisted in silence for a while, the tension in the room utterly palpable. I couldn't help but notice that once Summer got set up with her table, Brodie propped up a few trays and made his own fort so she couldn't copy his hand motions. I peeked over at Brodie, and was discouraged to find that he'd started moving quite a bit faster than I'd hoped. If his pretzels looked halfway decent, he was going to make up a lot of time.

  I finished the tray I was on and counted pretzels. Ten more. I got nervous at that, my hands shaking as I rapidly twisted and squished the pretzels into the proper shape. And then I was done. I leapt up, waving for the judge.

  She strolled over to my table as if in slow motion and I twisted my doughy, flour-covered hands so I wouldn't reach out and shove her toward my table. As I hovered, she counted, and then nodded. "That's two hundred."

  I hopped with excitement. "Now I do a delivery?"

  She nodded and moved back to the mat. A large box of hot pretzels was waiting, painted black for my team color. It was about the size of a large ice-chest, and I hoisted it up, frowning. It was bulky and awkward to hold.

  "You need to wear a delivery hat and apron," she told me cheerfully, and produced a boat-shaped hat with a big plastic pretzel on the front, and a plastic apron.

  I set back down the pretzels, took the clothing from her, slapped the hat on and tied the apron around my waist. "Address?"

  "Independence Hall," the woman said in a sweet voice. "Good luck."

  "No street?" I didn't know where that was. This was Philadelphia — what if there were four different Independence Halls? "No directions at all?"

  "No." Her smile remained in place.

  "And I can't take a cab?"

  "You have to walk."

  Figured. I hefted the box and headed for the exit, trying not to panic. And here I'd thought twisting pretzels would be a challenge. I should have done the stinking flag task - Liam had been out of there within moments. Me, I'd spent the last hour twisting dough into knots and now had to hike across town with an enormous box of pretzels.

  As soon as I emerged from the pretzel shop, I was greeted with polite clapping. "Good job, Katy," Polly called, and Tesla clapped her hands.

  "Thanks," I said, touched by their encouragement. I squinted into the bright squinting sunlight and glancing over at my partner. Liam leaned against a wall, his pose utterly casual. But he was clapping, his hands slowly moving together, his gaze on me.

  Did he hear me arguing with Brodie?

  Our eyes locked for a long moment. Liam didn't speak.

  Guess not. Feeling awkward, I hefted the box. "I have to deliver this before I get the next set of instructions."

  "Good luck," Liam called as I turned to leave.

  I glanced back at him, then hurried down the street. The hall surely couldn't be that far away. I just had to find it, and I had a lead on the others.

  I'd been mistaken about one thing, though - the hall wasn't close. And all too soon, the Katy-curse came back to haunt me. I went down a few streets, asked for directions, followed the directions I'd been given, and twenty minutes later, was hopelessly lost. Downtown Philadelphia was kind of crazy. There was an enormous amount of buildings all clustered together, and I had no idea where I was going. Not only that, but the box was getting heavier by the moment. Why on earth did the five foot tall, direction-challenged girl get the task that involved delivering a heavy box?

  Frustrated, I grimly hefted the getting-heavier-by-the-minute box onto my shoulder and kept walking, only to realize I'd passed by the same tree twice now.

  I was lost.

  And this was the final leg.

  And Liam was going to think that I was doing this on purpose so Brodie could win.

  I admit, I panicked. I ran to the nearest building. I'd just ask for fricking directions, if that was what it took.

  There was a small coffee shop nearby, and I hefted the box under my arm, pulling the heavy glass door open. Someone was coming out at the same time as I was going in, though, and nudged my box. It fell to the ground, pretzels spilling everywhere.

  I gave a small scream of dismay. "No!"

  "Sorry," the man in a suit said, holding a cup of coffee. He watched me as I knelt over the pretzels, and then turned away and left, as if it wasn't important to help me. Dick.

  I hurriedly scooped pretzels back into my box, trying to place them back the way they'd been neatly stacked. That was a losing battle, though, and by the time the box was full, I still had twenty pretzels sitting on the ground and couldn't close the lid. Frustrated, I mashed pretzels and tried to stuff them back into some semblance of order. Pushing the pretzels back into place took another five minutes of my time, but I couldn't leave any of them behind. Once the lid was back in place, I headed into the deserted coffee-shop. "Do you know where Independence Hall is?"

  The guy behind the counter peered at my hat, then stared at the cameraman trailing me. "You on TV?"

  "Something like that," I told him, impatient. "Independence Hall?"

  He waved a hand. "Back that way several blocks."

  "I just came from there," I exclaimed.

  "Well then, you're heading in the wrong direction. Go back that way a few blocks. You can't miss it."

  Can't miss it? Apparently I had. Heart sinking, I wondered if the delivery location had been closer than I'd thought. I'd gone at least eight blocks by now, maybe more. Hefting my box again, I murmured a thank you and headed out the door.

  Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars was on the line, and I'd gone the wrong direction. Two hundred and fifty thousand.

  And I'd screwed us because I was no good with directions.

  The box seemed to get heavier with every block I jogged. I couldn't afford to walk at this point. Who knew how much time I'd lost by going the wrong way? When I'd gone a few blocks again, I stopped and asked for directions once more. I got the same thing — a few blocks in this direction. You can't miss it.

  I arrived at Independence Hall twenty minutes later, having missed it again and gone in a circle. By that time, one of the handles on my box had broken, the bottom of the box was sagging, and I was near tears. At the front of the massive, historic hall stood a man in front of the doors, dressed in a George-Washington-style coat and a powdered wig. He stood on the World Races mat and gave me a pleased nod when I thumped my worn box of pretzels down on the ground. "Very good. Here is your next task."

  I took the disk from him, weary and defeated. I wanted to lay down on the ground and give up, but I owed Liam an explanation.

  Not that he'd believe me. This was the most critical task, we'd had a huge lead, and I'd blown it. The moment that Brodie had come running back before me? He'd assume the worst.

  And there wasn't a thing I could do about it.

  I jogged back to the pretzel restaurant, my heart heavy. We'd lost. We'd lost the race. We'd come so close and I'd blown it. I'd said that I hadn't wanted the win, but I lied. I totally lied.

  Because right about now? I was sick that we'd lost everything. Second plac
e got the same money as last place.

  But that was okay. I'd keep my cool and not let anyone know how disappointed I was. How much it hurt to have everything blow up in my face in the eleventh hour. How much it hurt to not have Liam at my side at the end. I'd been warned that it wasn't a real relationship, but my heart hadn't listened so well.

  And now I was in too deep.

  And that hurt. A lot. It hurt worse than the ache of losing.

  When the pretzel restaurant came into sight, I saw Liam leaning against the wall, every muscle in his body tense despite his casual pose. His black hair was shaggy, nearly covering one side of his face. Polly stood off to one side, scuffing one of her sneakers. Brodie was nowhere to be seen.

  They'd already left.

  Liam spotted me and got to his feet, and Polly looked my way with only mild interest. Her gaze was glum, and I realized that she knew they'd lost. The fighting spirit had gone out of her.

  "Welcome back," Liam said in a low voice, approaching me as I rushed forward. He carried both of our backpacks again.

  Like nothing was wrong when everything was wrong.

  I burst into tears.

  Liam's eyes widened and he moved toward me, pulling me against him. "What's wrong?"

  "I…got…lost…" I choked out between sobs. "I fucking ruined us and now you hate me."

  "What?" He glanced around and noticed Polly watching us curiously even as he hugged me closer. His hand splayed on the back of my head and he pulled me in for a tender kiss on the forehead. "Come on. Let's get in the cab and we can talk on the way to the next task."

  Unable to speak beyond my hysterical weeping, I handed him the disk. I hadn't even bothered to look at the next task. What did it matter?

  With me still tucked in his arms, Liam led me around the corner. A taxi waited there, along with one more, presumably for Polly and Summer for when they finished their task. Liam tossed our bags into the back seat, and then gestured for me to get in. I slid into the car, wiping tears miserably from my face. A moment later, he was in the car and shut the door. He leaned in and showed the driver the clue. "You know where the Rocky Stairs are?"

  "Everyone does," the driver said, pulling away from the curb.

  "Perfect. Thanks, man." Liam sat back and then pulled me against him again. When I wouldn't meet his gaze, he put his fingers under my chin and tilted my face toward his. "Tell me what happened."

  "Muh-my pretzels spilled everywhere," I sobbed. "And I got lost and went in the wrong direction and I couldn't find the place and everyone knows I'm really bad with directions but I kept looking because I knew you would think I was throwing the challenge but I wasn't, and I don't want Brodie to get ahead at all, I just want us to get back to being cool and I wouldn't even let him see how I twisted my pretzels because I didn't want you to think I was helping him and—"

  "Shhh," he told me. "Katy. I know you didn't help him. It's okay."

  I looked up at him in surprise, wiping my eyes again. "How do you know?"

  He gave me a crooked grin. "Tesla peeked in and said you were hiding your pretzels from Brodie so he couldn't cheat. She was really annoyed about it, too."

  I gave him a tremulous smile.

  "And we couldn't help but overhear everything you guys were yelling at each other," he told me in a low voice, his thumb stroking across my lower lip. "Turns out your brother blackmailed you, huh? You should have said something."

  I took a shuddering breath. "I felt stupid. Like, he used me. And I gave him the Ace and then you guys fought, and I felt like I couldn't tell you. I'm not exactly proud of it."

  "You should have told me." He leaned in and kissed me, light and lovely, on the mouth. "I'm not a heartless beast, you know."

  "No, but you were mad and you thought I was working with Brodie to fuck you over."

  "That's my own hang-up," Liam admitted. "Remember I told you Tesla and I dated once upon a time? That was pretty much how it ended up. She lied and saw other guys behind my back. So I guess once I heard that, I kind of got blinders on and assumed the worst."

  "Well, that's not my problem," I told him with a sniffle.

  "No, it's not." He gave me a sheepish look. "And I wanted to say I'm sorry."

  "Thank you," I told him softly.

  He leaned in and kissed me again, his tongue stroking over my parted lips. I felt the stud of his piercing glide along the seam of my mouth, and I opened for him, letting him flick against my tongue as we deepened the kiss. It was apology and comfort and desire all at once, and I melted into his arms. He broke the kiss a moment later and smiled down at me. "Forgiven?"

  "Forgiven," I agreed, sliding my hands under his shirt to caress his bare skin. "Not that I suppose it matters, since we've lost the race."

  "We'll finish strong," Liam told me, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me close. "No shame in second place." He leaned in. "And with you in my arms? I've already won."

  Those three sweet words did a lot to soothe my worries, I admit.

  ~~ * * * ~~

  "We're here," the cab driver announced.

  I looked up from where I was snuggled against Liam's chest. The minutes had flown past, and though it wasn't a long drive, I'd enjoyed every moment of it, wrapped in his embrace, his hands touching my face, my hair, my skin as if he couldn't get enough of me. All the while, he hummed a wordless tune under his breath. I wasn't sure if that tune was for me or for him, but it was pleasant nevertheless.

  "Thank you," Liam said, handing the man some money. "You don't have to wait."

  I started at that, then realized…this was the last stop. He wouldn't have to wait because we were done with the race. Mouth dry with a sudden burst of anxiety, I grabbed my bag and handed Liam his, and we piled out of the cab. As we emerged, Liam held his hand out for me and I took it.

  To my surprise, he lifted our twined hands to his mouth and kissed the back of my hand. "We didn't start this as a team, but we'll end it as one."

  I smiled at him. "I'm just sorry we couldn't win."

  "I'm not," he said. "I got a lot more out of this race than just a paycheck."

  I felt my entire body flush with the heat of those words and we headed forward.

  As soon as I saw the Rocky statue, I laughed to myself. This was why this place was referred to as 'the Rocky Steps.' A large statue of Rocky Balboa was off to one side and we passed it, heading toward a massive series of steps led to the pillars at the front of the museum. I vaguely remembered a scene from the Rocky movies where he'd jogged up them.

  At the base of the steps, there was a World Games mat, a series of boxes off to each side of the judge waiting there. I squinted at the top of the stairs - Chip Brubaker waited there, along with a fleet of cameras and a finish line tape that was intact.

  Midway up the steps stood Tesla and Brodie, moving slowly as they carried a yellow mini-Trojan horse on a litter.

  "They're not done with the last task," Liam told me, surprise in his voice. "No one's won yet."

  I blinked at my brother and his partner, unable to believe it. Sure enough, I watched as Tesla dropped the front of the litter, spilling the Trojan horse to the ground. She put her hands on her knees, panting, and I watched a look of frustration contort Brodie's face.

  This wasn't done yet.

  I gave Liam an incredulous look, and as one, we both broke into a sprint and raced to the judge's mat at the bottom of the stairs.

  "Welcome to the last leg of The World Races," the judge told us in a low, smooth voice. It was a woman this time, dressed head to toe in the colors of the race, the big planet logo of The World Races emblazoned across her chest. She proudly held out the last clue disk.

  I disentangled my hand from Liam's and took the disk with shaking fingers and flipped it over, reading it aloud softly. "Welcome to your final task. For this task, you must take the marked litter and, one by one, take a series of objects to the top of the steps and place it on the numbered mats designated for your team. Each of these objects re
presents a leg of the race, and you must put them in chronological order. Once you have placed your object, return to the bottom of the stairs for the next one. When you have placed all eight objects in order, the judge will give you your final token. When you have that token, you may cross the finish line."

  "That shouldn't be too hard, then," Liam murmured into my ear, his breath tickling my skin. "We can do this."

  "We can," I agreed, excitement pounding through me. I shrugged off my backpack and tossed it next to the series of large black boxes and the litter that was off to one side. The pink group of boxes was untouched - Summer and Polly were still at the last challenge. Off to one side, the yellow boxes were demolished, all but two opened. They were close to the end, then. If we worked hard, we could do this. "Come on."

  We opened the first box. It was a replica of a sphinx. "This one's Egypt," I told him. "Not first."

  "We need to find Greenland," he told me, opening the next box. "Here, this is it." He tossed the lid of the box aside and I moved to view it. It was a wooden replica of a sled, about three feet long and complete with wooden dog at the front, all painted in black. Cute. Liam began to pull it out of the box and then grunted. "Jesus, it's heavy."

  I moved to help him and was surprised at how freaking weighty the thing was. "Did they weigh it down with lead bricks or something?"

  It took both of us to drag it over to the litter, and I grabbed the front, Liam with the back. I grunted indelicately as we hoisted it into the air. The thing weighed a fricking ton. No wonder Tesla and Brodie were still doing this challenge.

  As a unit, we moved forward, and since I was in front, I set the pace. I started out charging up the stairs, but that quickly gave way to a steady, slow climb. You couldn't move fast with the heavy litter, and the stairs seemed like and endless procession. It felt like it took forever to get to the top, and by the time we did, my hands and shoulders were burning. We barely passed Tesla and Brodie on the way up, and my brother didn't seem worried. As soon as we got to the top, I knew why. They already had five of their eight objects at the top. It was a disappointing sight to see, but I forced myself to concentrate on our team. What Brodie did no longer mattered. It was all about Liam and I.