Chapter 12 #3
“I will later. But yes, it’s okay with me. Go home and grab your stuff. Take the pan of pecan rolls out of the freezer and take them with you. That way Steph won’t have to feed you in the morning,” Thea says.
I make a little noise of protest. She’s giving pecan rolls away?
Thea clearly hears me and shoots me a grin. “I have something else for you.”
God, I love that grin. I love her flirty. I want whatever she has in mind for me. Whatever she has in mind.
“Thanks!” Ruth and Jordyn call out as they run from the house.
“You need to get Muriel and Patty around the obstacle course quickly and easily,” Andi says, picking right up on the conversation as she takes the seat perpendicular to Thea’s.
“Yeah.” Thea picks up a chip and pops it into her mouth.
“I was thinking…the rules don’t say that pairs have to take turns on the obstacles.
They both have to be there and “participate”.
I’m thinking if Josh and I can get them around the course with us and we have them do the things they can, we take care of everything else, we can’t be disqualified. ”
“Well, disqualifying people for being physically unable to complete a task would be very shitty and probably even illegal…Nora would never do something like that,” Andi says. “If you all try to make accommodations and help them participate as much as they can, Nora will love it.”
Thea nods. “Agreed. What do you think?”
“I can just put Muriel on my back,” I say. “Piggyback.”
Thea and Andi both laugh.
“Okay, that would be worth seeing. If we can’t come up with something else, good to know that’s an option,” Andi says.
“Well, I can’t do that with Patty,” Thea says, with a grin.
“I can finagle something,” Andi says. “Is the course at the high school like usual?”
“Yes, on the football field, so it’s not too uneven or anything. There’s grass, gravel, sand…oh, and blacktop, some pavement. Maybe a few cracks there.”
“Got it.”
I look from Thea to Andi and back to Thea. “She’s just going to make something?”
Thea sips from her sweet tea. “She’s going to find something and modify it as needed.”
“Something like what?”
“First thing that comes to mind is a golf cart, but I think that’s too big,” Andi says.
“Yeah, it needs to be able to get in close to the stations so they can do as much as they’re able,” Thea agrees. “It might also be considered cheating if it’s motorized.”
“True. I guess that rules out Segways, too,” Andi says with a grin.
Thea laughs. “Muriel would be a menace on a Segway.”
“No way would either of them agree to use a wheelchair,” Andi muses.
“Nope.”
“I don’t think they could get in and out of a red wagon easily,” Andi says.
Thea shakes her head. “Or fast enough. Patty has had a hip replacement, so that wouldn’t be a good idea anyway.”
Andi shrugs. “I’ll figure something out.”
Bebe and Eli settle at the table, and we chat and eat. The time flying, until suddenly the alarms on our phones go off and we realize our next challenge is thirty minutes away.
Everyone rises and starts cleaning up, but I snag Thea’s shirt and tug her out of the kitchen.
“Is something wrong?” she asks as I pull her into the alcove by the front door.
“Yeah. I haven’t had a minute alone with you where I can do this.” I cup the back of her head and kiss her.
She melts into me and lets me kiss her for nearly a full minute. I run my hand down her back to her ass and squeeze as I press her into the wall.
I give a low groan as she arches against me, letting me feel her curves through the thin sweater and skinny jeans.
I glide my palm over her hip and then up to cup her breast. She moans, but then pushes me back. She stares up at me with dilated pupils, her hands just resting on my chest.
“We can’t do that unless we’re behind closed doors,” she says.
“Well, unless we’re out of sight,” I say.
She shakes her head, pressing her lips together for a moment, making me wonder if they’re tingling a little. Like mine are.
“This makes it harder not to look at you with all my feelings on my face.”
I smile. “I suppose you think I should be sorry about that.”
She shakes her head, but she’s smiling too. “I’m so glad to hear Violet is getting better. I want this all out in the open, too.”
“Definitely.” I run my fingers over her cheek, then drop my hand and step back. “Okay, I’ll be good. I’ve just wanted to kiss you, well, ever since I last did.”
She nods. “Me too. What are we going to tell everyone?”
“The truth. As soon as Violet is awake and everyone can see she’s fine and she can agree that she and I just set this up last minute, for fun, but that it’s nothing serious, then we can tell them how I was going to help her out but fell for you instead.”
“Fell for me?” she repeats softly.
“Completely,” I say firmly.
She takes a deep breath. “Yeah, okay. I like that. We’ll tell them just what happened. The truth about you and Violet.”
“And you.”
“And me.”
“Exactly.”
“Thea! You ready to go?” her mom calls.
Thea stretches up and presses her lips to mine quickly. Then she calls back, “Yep. Totally ready!” She gives me a sweet smile, then ducks around me. “By the way, I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I ask, realizing I need to go to the bathroom or something to explain why she and I were both out of the kitchen.
“For me and Patty totally kicking your and Muriel’s butts in the next several events.”
I chuckle. “You’re going to have Andi put something amazing together for you and some rickety old thing for me and Muriel?”
She laughs. “Good idea.”
Then she winks at me, and I barely resist reaching out and pulling her back into this little corner with me.
Soon. Soon we can come clean.