Chapter 20 #2
“The video last week was epic,” he spouted, not even trying to hide his excitement. “Was the announcement true? You’re going to compete again? Can I come?”
Taryn crouched down in front of him. “Thank you, and yes, the announcement is true. I don’t think you can come though. It’s a really hectic environment, and I’d be distracted worrying about you.”
He went from the verge of arguing to reluctant acceptance in a heartbeat. “Okay, but can I watch the livestream?”
She laughed. “That’s a question for Mase.”
“Pleeeaaaseee?” He turned puppy dog eyes on me, and my resolve crumbled.
I was going to be there at the competition, but I needed to stay focused on Taryn. I could leave Andrew with Carrie. She’d know how to watch from the safety of their home.
“Sure, but only if Carrie says you can come over and watch with her. I’m not going to be home.”
He hopped up and did some kind of awkward kid dance that looked vaguely familiar while Cole jogged over from the area I hadn’t noticed before with two metal folding chairs set up facing each other.
“I think we’re ready to go if she is.” He gestured at the carrier Taryn still held.
Thus far, Sunny had been quiet in the chaos, but I knew it wouldn’t last. She loved people. As if she could read my mind, she let out an insistent quack which I recognized as let me out.
I sighed, finally accepting we were doing this. Might as well join the circus. I pulled Sunny out and let her look around for a moment to get her bearings from the safety of my arms.
“Where do you need her?” I asked Cole.
He nodded his head toward the chairs. “She’s mostly decorative for the first part, so you can stand there with her while we answer questions.”
Taryn set the carrier next to one of the coolers. “What about me?”
“Next to him, if you don’t mind. All you have to do is decide on the fairness of the questions. If you have any concerns, just say something. What you say goes.”
She wiggled her shoulders. “Ooo, the power.”
We all traipsed over to the chair set up, the rest of the group loosely gathering behind us. Reece described this as the knowledge section, where Marco would be asking questions about Sunny and the first person to answer got the point.
Reece and Cole sat in their respective chairs, and we were off.
I was proud of myself for standing as Sunny’s pedestal for the entirety of the round without making one mocking noise at my roommates.
Some of their answers were ridiculous, but the team loved it.
They’d adopted Sunny as a baby, and there was a small movement to replace our wildcat mascot with a duck.
When Marco indicated the end of the round, Cole pulled ahead by a couple of points. In his usual chill way, he nodded at the crowd cheering for him and grinned at Reece.
Taryn nudged me with her elbow. “They definitely didn’t need me for this.”
“Of course not. This whole mess was a ploy on Reece’s part to get me to talk to you.”
“Sneaky,” she whispered.
They needed Sunny for the next part, so I let Kenzie collect her. The obstacle course they’d set up was meant for Sunny, to see how well they could get her to follow along in the time limit. We all obediently moved to the next area, and Kenzie set Sunny at the starting mark, a bright pink sneaker.
Cole got to go first since he was in the lead, and after several minutes of cajoling, Cole had gotten Sunny through a single obstacle—a collapsable fabric tunnel meant for dogs.
I was pretty sure he’d gotten lucky because Sunny saw a bug on the other side and ran in a straight line through the tunnel.
Once there, she lost the bug and stopped, looking up at him with an indignant series of quacks.
Taryn was losing her shit next to me, along with most of the audience.
When Sunny meandered off the course to eat a dandelion, Kenzie called time.
Cole shrugged and fist bumped Reece as Kenzie collected the wayward duck.
Reece had better luck. Somehow, he convinced Sunny to scuttle through the tunnel then climb into the kiddie pool half-filled with water. Again, he most likely got lucky because Sunny loved bath time. She’d been pissed about the bug and hadn’t noticed the pool the first time.
Of course, she refused to leave the water once she was in it. Kenzie called time on Reece as he was trying to find another bug to grab her attention. I had to give them credit for the creativity in their obstacles, even if they did go to waste.
Reece picked up Sunny from the pool, and her feet continued slapping the air as if she were still swimming. He kissed her head and handed her off to Kenzie.
Taryn took a deep breath next to me and wiped tears from her eyes. “This might be the best duck off I’ve ever seen.”
Kenzie lifted Sunny above her head and the team cheered.
“Ready for the last event?” she asked.
Another chorus went up as Cole and Reece took up positions marked by another pink sneaker and a teal water bottle. Kenzie stood between them with a big smile.
“The official tally is tied since Cole answered more questions correctly and Reece conquered more obstacles.” Her gaze found Taryn next to me. “For the final challenge, we’re going to put Sunny here in the middle, and both of them are going to try to lure her to their side—”
“Tell them what we named it,” Reece insisted.
Kenzie rolled her eyes. “I’m not calling it that.”
“You agreed,” he said pointedly.
She blew him a kiss. “Changed my mind. Now if we’re—”
“Duck of War!” he shouted, throwing both arms in the air.
Everyone around me roared in approval. Even I gave him a pity clap. It was hard not to get invested when Reece was running the show.
Kenzie sighed and motioned for Taryn to join her. “Taryn, if you don’t mind. This is where you get to shine.”
Taryn left me to stand next to Kenzie. “Whatever you need.”
“You get to watch how Sunny reacts and decide who she’d prefer. Since they’re tied, this is for the whole kaboodle.”
I smothered a laugh as Taryn straightened. “I’ll do my best.”
This whole thing was ridiculous. I loved Sunny, and while she was the least duck-like duck I’d ever met, she was pretty easily food motivated. Hell, I could probably whisper the word ‘treat’ and she’d break speed records running to me.
Kenzie set Sunny on the center mark, a neon yellow frisbee golf disc, and stepped away. “Go.”
Cole reached behind the tree next to him and pulled out a guitar, then to the shock of everyone there, began singing the theme song to Next Best Ninja in a steady tenor. Not to be outdone, Reece produced a baggie of diced strawberries from his pocket and started chucking them toward her.
The crowd grew silent as my two roommates battled it out for the affections of one little duck.
Upon gaining her freedom, Sunny lifted her bill to sniff the air. Instead of choosing strawberries or soothing music, she tilted her head then turned and waddled at max speed to Andrew, sitting cross-legged in the grass at my feet.
She chittered at him, wiggled her tail, and settled down in his lap. Andrew turned bright pink and stroked her back. Cole’s song slowly faded, and Reece straightened from his throwing position.
Taryn nodded. “Well, that seems pretty clear. I declare Andrew the winner of the duck off. Cole and Reece can share the responsibility of being third favorite.”
The two competitors met eyes in a silent conversation and came to an agreement. They both abandoned their spots to join us under the tree.
“Congratulations, Andrew,” Cole told him, messing his hair.
Reece dropped the baggie of strawberry pieces next to Sunny, who started quacking excitedly. “I concede defeat.”
The bystanders started cheering again, and Andrew dropped his head as his ears turned the same color as his cheeks. Warmth filled my chest at the smile on his face. Taryn sidled up next to me as the group started to disperse.
“You’re smiling,” she informed me solemnly. “Be careful. You might scare someone.”
My first instinct was to stifle the obvious sign of my emotions, but fuck it. Today was a good day. Andrew and Sunny were happy. My dad hadn’t shown his face in a few days. Best of all, we finally had another home game tonight, which meant I could hopefully come over to Taryn’s after.
I fully planned to make up for lost time.