laying Games (Games #2)(9)
Author: Jessica Clare

"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."