Chapter Twenty-Six - Lucky
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
By the time the Starlight van arrives to pick us up, Becca and I have our campsite all packed up and we’re standing as far away from each other as possible.
Mostly this is because we’re still running Operation I Hate You, but the other reason is because I know if I’m standing next to her, close enough to see the freckles on the bridge of her nose or smell the floral scent of the shampoo in her hair, I’m going to completely drop character, wrap my arms around her, and kiss the hell out of her.
It’s hard enough to keep the massive grin from spreading across my face, a grin I think I could wear for a week straight without faltering if it weren’t for the competition. We’ve just got to make it through breakfast, and then we’ll be back in our car and on the road again.
I steal a glance at Becca as she tosses her sleeping bag in the back of the van. “Damn,” I mutter, shaking my head. The feelings that stir in my chest every time I look at her are going to be so hard to hide.
When we arrive back at the Tombstone Visitor Center, we’re met out front by one of the Starlight executives.
“Becca and Lucky,” she greets us. “Everyone is down the hall in the banquet room. There’s a breakfast buffet set up for you, so please help yourself. The cameras will start rolling again in half an hour.”
“Great, thank you.” Becca smiles. “I’m just gonna head to the restroom first.”
Seeing an opportunity, I pipe up, “Uh, yeah. Me, too,” and hurry to follow Becca down the hallway. The cameras aren’t allowed to follow us to the john, so as soon as we round the corner, I check to make sure no one else is around and then grab Becca around the waist and whirl her around.
“Lucky! What are you—”
My lips crash down on hers, cutting her off. Her surprise lasts only a second before she winds her arms around my neck and kisses me back.
I honestly don’t think I’ll ever get enough of this, and I gently walk her backwards until her back is pressed against the wall. I can’t get enough of her.
Becca pulls away, her lips slightly swollen. “We should go,” she whispers. “They’re all waiting for us.”
I sigh. “Fine, but I’d much rather stay here and do this.”
“Well, so would I.” Becca laughs. “But we have a competition to win, remember?”
“Oh, right, that.”
Becca rolls her eyes, ducking under my arms and into the ladies room. I wait for her to come out, thinking my heart will slow down now that we’ve stopped touching, but it doesn’t. I’m already thinking about kissing her again.
Becca re-emerges a few minutes later.
“Ready?” I ask, pushing away from the wall I’d been leaning against.
“Yep! But one thing first.” She launches herself at me, standing on her tiptoes as she presses her mouth to mine.
My hands reach up, automatically cupping her head as I gently tilt her head back, deepening the kiss as my tongue sweeps in to swirl around hers. My entire body feels weightless, like I’m one of those helium balloons that someone has accidentally let go of, floating higher and higher and higher.
“You’re bad for business, Lucky DeLucca,” Becca breathes when we finally release each other. “I’m supposed to be hating you right now, but god, you’re making it hard. Especially when all I want to do is kiss you.”
“That’s fine by me,” I grin, hooking my fingers into the loops of her jeans and tugging her even closer. I lean down, eager to taste her again, but then the door to the men’s room creaks open.
We’re standing way too close to each other for it to be casual and Becca’s eyes widen when she realizes our cover is about to be blown, so I do the only thing I can think of.
I whirl her around so that her chest is pressed to my back. With my arms wrapped securely around her, I lift her off the ground. She squeals, her feet kicking out slightly as I hoist her higher.
Sean steps into the hallway and stops when he sees us, his eyebrows lifted.
“There,” I proclaim loudly, as I plop Becca back down. “Consider your back officially cracked.” I step far away from her and paste a smirk on my face. “Feel better now?”
It only takes Becca a millisecond to catch on. “Yeah, much better. Thanks. I think it was sleeping on the ground that messed me up.”
Sean gives her a sympathetic smile. “So, tent camping wasn’t great, huh?”
Becca returns his smile. “You mean sleeping on the rock-hard desert floor?” She rolls her eyes. “Oh no, it was super fun.”
“Well, guess you better step it up then,” Sean chuckles. “Actually, no. Keep doing what you’re doing. Better for me and Iris if you guys lose.”
“I wouldn’t count on that.” I throw my arm over Becca’s shoulders. “Team Bucky is about to make a comeback.”
Becca steps out from under my arm. “I really wish you’d stop calling us that.” She gives Sean a little wave before she walks into the ladies’ room.
Sean and I nod at each other before he continues down the hallway. I head inside the men’s room, wait a minute or two, and then walk back in the hallway. Becca has her head poked out of the women’s room. “Is he gone?”
“Yeah, we’re good.”
“Oh my gosh, that was such a close call,” Becca breathes. “You don’t think he suspects anything do you?”
“I doubt it. If he’d have seen anything, he would have said something.”
“Well, that was some super quick thinking on your part, Mr. DeLucca, so nice job.”
I make a little bow. “Why, thank you. How’s your back for real though? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Becca shakes her head. “It definitely popped, but no, you didn’t hurt me. We need to be more careful though. I’m not sure how the other finalists would react if they saw us, you know, together.”
“Is that what we are?” I quip, loving the color that’s rising in her cheeks. “I’m teasing you, Holly G,” I grin, checking that the coast is clear before I reach for her, kissing her on the top of the head. “This thing between us is definitely something I want to see through.”
Becca beams at me and then leans up to quickly brush her lips against mine. “Come on,” she says, “let’s go.”
We head back down the hallway with a respectable distance between us. I know the minute we walk into the room, the game is back on, but I don’t want it to be.
My feelings for Becca—feelings that I can’t even really put words to—aren’t something I want to hide.
If anyone saw us together, though—one of the camera crew, another finalist, a producer, anybody—it would blow the whole thing.
No, it’s better to keep whatever this is between us off the radar. But damn if I don’t want to shout it from the rooftops.
The green room in the visitor center isn’t large, but there’s a massive breakfast spread in one corner that I make a beeline for. Piling my plate high with food, I head over to the table, and take a seat next to Ross, who’s leaning over his PSP.
“Morning,” I say, slathering some butter on a biscuit. He just nods in reply.
Becca, having gotten her own plate, sits down next to Iris and strikes up a conversation with her and Skai. I focus on shoveling everything on my plate into my mouth.
Overall, breakfast is pretty chill, and as soon as we’re all done eating, Dozer is given the cue from one of the producers and the cameras all swivel in his direction as he waltzes towards us.
His western costume from yesterday is gone, and he’s back in his usual suit, his overly whitened teeth bright and glistening as he grins.
Not gonna lie, I sort of miss the floppy mustache.
“Good morning, Finalists,” Dozer greets us. “Today we leave Tombstone, heading for the second to last destination.”
As he talks, one of the Starlight associates walks around the table, handing each team a folder that contains information for our next destination. “I hope you’ll be as excited for this one as we all are.”
Becca cracks ours open, her eyes scanning the papers.
“Lucky!” She squeals, pointing to the words in black ink on the paper.
Las Vegas, Nevada.
My cheeks lift in a wide grin as Sean cries out, “Vegas, baby!” from across the table.
Dozer claps his hand together. “Inside your packet, you’ll find all the information you need in terms of travel, and we’ll see you all under the neon lights!”
Everyone claps and then it’s a flurry of activity as we head out to our respective vehicles.
While I’m not eager to get back into the tiny ass tin can of a car Becca and I were assigned, I am looking forward to the hours in the car with just the two of us.
My knees hit the dashboard as I squeeze myself into the passenger seat. I swear under my breath, which elicits a giggle from Becca as she turns the keys in the ignition.
Drops of Jupiter fires up right on cue, which only makes both of us laugh, and we’re singing along by the time Becca hits the main road that will take us to Vegas.
“You know, I think this song is starting to grow on me,” Becca says over the music.
“I thought you couldn’t get behind a song that mentions Tae Bo and soy lattes?”
“It was Mozart and fried chicken that threw me off, but I think I might be coming around.”
“Well, you should,” I say, with a shrug. “Team Bucky needs a theme song. Might as well be this.”
Becca snorts. “I said the song was growing on me, not that I want to adopt it as our theme song. Do we really need a theme song?”
“We absolutely need a theme song. James Bond has a theme song. And so does that Mission Impossible guy. Even SpongeBob has one. All the cool ass people do.”
“Whatever you say, Lucky,” she giggles and it makes my heart jump like a kid in a double-Dutch contest. I reach for her hand resting on the console and give the back of it a gentle kiss before lacing our fingers together.
“So,” I say, patting the dashboard with my other hand. “I’ve been thinking about the name for this ole gal and I heard a contender in Tombstone that I think you’ll like.”
Becca’s eyebrows lift. “Oh? Now, I’m intrigued.”
“How do you feel about . . .” I pound out a little drum roll with my fingers. “Clementine?”
“Hmmm,” Becca purses her lips as if she’s thinking hard about something and then grins. “I think it’s perfect!”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah! Clementine it is.”
I let out a whoop and give the dashboard another affectionate pat. “You hear that old gal! You’ve officially been named!”
Even though I’m all scrunched up in the passenger seat, my back and neck already aching from the cramped quarters, I can’t keep the smile off my face. I haven’t felt like this in . . . well, ever. And I know it’s because of the girl sitting next me.
“Hey, Holly G, I’ve got a question. Once we win this competition, can I take you out?”
“You mean like on a date?”
“That’s what I mean. No cameras, no challenges.
Just you and me. I’m thinking a dive bar with a lot of dark corners or a bottle of wine in the kitchen of my apartment.
Or we can get a room in some fancy hotel where I can touch you and hold you until the sun rises.
I honestly don’t care as long as I’m with you. ”
“You live in Alabama, Lucky. Chicago isn’t exactly in the neighborhood,” she argues, though I can tell she’s happy from the blush on her cheeks.
“True. But you know what? I’ve actually been planning a trip to Chicago. It’s quite the coincidence, really.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“It is so,” I reply with confidence. “So, how about that date?”
Becca takes her eyes off the road for just a second to give me a smile so warm I swear the sun is jealous. “I would love to go on a date with you, Lucky.”
I grin back, already planning it in my head.
I’ve always wanted to visit Chicago, and now I have a very good reason to do just that.
But first, Las Vegas.