Chapter 4 #2
‘If you say so. En garde.’ I lunge toward her at half speed, and she hops to the left, her sword swinging up to catch the tip of mine. We do a little dance in a circle, each of us eyeing down our opponent. My lips curve when she glides toward me, feet nimble on the frozen ground.
A solid strike sounds when our swords collide.
She’s not bad – clumsy with her hand movements, but she’s got the gist. I spin past her, our hands quickly grazing as we circle around in my favorite type of dance.
Her cheeks are flushed even darker, and a tiny line between her brows appears as she huffs in frustration at being unable to catch me.
‘I can slow down, if you like. Walk you through the basics. This is a full-service class.’ I don’t fight my grin as I fling my sword from one hand to the other in a move I like to bust out to impress. But this girl isn’t batting an eye.
She wipes the back of her hand across her forehead, looking anywhere but at me. ‘A generous offer, but not needed,’ she says, clearly flustered. A chorus of screams echoes in the distance from the Triple Crown roller coaster.
I try a different move. ‘Do you have a name?’
‘Everyone has a name.’ She deflects my advance with the sword. To be fair, I’m not trying very hard. I’ve trained to be a fencer since I was three. Can’t bring out all those moves here. But I’m giving her more of a show than the kids get. Something about her tells me she can handle it.
‘Want to share it with me?’ My blood pumps in my ears, and I doubt it’s the cardio. I’m working harder to crack her than I am at the sword work.
She bites her bottom lip, and my stomach gives a tug. She’s got a line of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her bun has fallen out into a loose ponytail that she flips to the side, still fighting that smile I know she wants to give me.
‘Ripley.’
‘Ripley.’ I repeat the name and like how it feels. ‘Do we go to school together?’ Now that I’ve gotten a moment to look at her, I’ve definitely seen her. I’m not sure how I haven’t talked to her sooner.
‘Yes. And I have a question for you.’
I lean in close, pushing my sword against hers. The wood bites into my skin, but I ignore it. ‘I’m all ears.’
She clears her throat. I conceal my smile because I have a feeling she wouldn’t like it.
‘First, do you have a girlfriend?’
I can’t stop my smile now or the chuckle that follows. ‘Talk about getting right to the point.’
Her flushed skin turns deep crimson as she quickly shakes her head, taking a moment to study the castle beside us before continuing. ‘I wasn’t asking for me. I just … I need to be sure you don’t before I ask my second question.’
‘Well, now you’ve got me intrigued,’ I say, twirling the wooden sword in my hand. ‘No, I don’t.’
‘All right, I was wondering …’ She looks around like she’s waiting for backup, but no one comes to her rescue.
‘My mom runs this dating app, Beeloved, and they’re launching a teen version, so they’re doing a reality dating show for promo and it’s going to be filmed here.
I’m assuming you already know all about it? ’
Actually, this is my first time hearing the news. I make a mental note to interrogate Ivor later. How dare he keep such intriguing information from me.
‘And the original star had to back out, which means they need a new one,’ she adds.
I’m unsure where this is going, but I already like it. Ivor waves from across the group, motioning for me to come help with a rowdy pairing, but I ignore him.
‘The lead gets moderate compensation for their time. So, I was wondering if you’d want to do it?’ she finishes.
‘Absolutely.’ I don’t wait for further explanation.
‘Don’t you want some more details?’ A little frown appears on her face, a deep line between her eyebrows.
‘I’ve heard of Beeloved. I’m actually pretty excited about a teen version. What more do I need to know?’
Her flush dissipates as the determined tone reappears. ‘Where? When? How? Who? The basics.’
I twirl my sword, flipping it into the air and catching it. This trick usually gets me some applause – Ripley gives me nothing. ‘You said it’s a dating show where I’m the star, so I presume I’ll have a bunch of girls fighting for my attention. That’s all the detail I need.’
‘You know what –’ Ripley holds her sword to me – ‘never mind.’
‘Wait, wait, wait.’ I step in front of her to keep her from walking away, steering us clear of two kids who are definitely pushing the constraints of our safety standards. ‘You can’t just drop this on a guy and then change your mind. You got me all excited.’
‘I need someone who’s going to take this seriously.’ She folds her arms across her chest, which is hard to do in her puffy coat. ‘Don’t you have a brother? Or a couple? Maybe I’ll ask one of them.’
‘One, I am the best brother. Ask anyone. Second, if you want a star, trust me, that’s me.’
She doesn’t respond, and I know she knows I’m right. That’s why she came to me to begin with.
I plaster on my best puppy-dog smile. ‘Doesn’t this look like the face of a reality dating show?’
She bounces up and down, trying to keep warm as a gust of frigid air blows through. ‘Yeah. It’s exactly the type.’
I’m pretty sure she’s being sarcastic, but her face is so straight I can’t tell. She is an enigma, and I need to know more.
‘Kendrick, get over here – now!’ Ivor bellows. From that tone, I know I only have a few precious seconds before he drags me away.
‘So, do we have a deal?’ I place out my hand to her.
She waits an excruciating amount of time before taking my hand. Her hand is warm in the cool winter air, and I shake it a moment longer than I need to.
‘Deal.’
I know I should have asked more questions.
But it’s a reality dating show. It’s not like anyone’s really expecting me to find love.
Plus, it’ll be great promotion for FTG, and maybe I can get Tristian off my back about finding a girlfriend.
Also, depending how much they’ll pay me, I might be able to start the fencing camp myself and not pester Dad about it any more.
This sounds like the perfect way to spend my Christmas season.