Page 65 of Bridesmaid for Hire
He picks up a towel and wipes his face. When his eyes meet mine, Irealize maybe I was wrong. He’s very good at communication. Without having to say a damn thing, he’s telling me I’m a dead woman.
Well, we should win some points for that.
I stare down at my leg that’s tied to Brody’s and then back up at him. “You realize you’re almost a foot taller than I am, which means our strides will be different.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” he asks as he stands near the starting line with his hands on his hips, waiting for the rest of the teams to finish tying themselves together.
“Well, you can’t just take off. We have to work together or else I’m going to fall.”
“I understand the logic of the game, Maggie.”
“Really?” I ask. “Because it looks like you’re about to leap off like a gazelle when Reginald gives us the go-ahead.”
“I’m not.”
Hardy and Hudson walk up to us, their legs tied together, looking like a well-oiled machine. After the egg toss, they upped their game, taking first place in nearly every event, besides the whipped cream. Hardy took the same approach as me—piss off your partner as much as you can. Apparently one year, Hudson did the same thing to him, so it was payback.
But the fact that we’re losing to them doesn’t seem to be sitting well with Brody. Not sure if he’s trying to prove something, like he’s the better man, but he’s picking a battle with the wrong people.
“If Beatrice takes the win on this one, I’m quitting life,” Hardy says.
“We’re taking the W,” Hudson says who lifts up his shirt, showing off a very flat and defined set of abs as he wipes his forehead.
Is every man in this group ripped?
And are we not eating carbs to get to that point in the formation of our bodies? Because I’ve tried eating salads for a month with nodressing and it did nothing other than make me cranky and horrible to be around.
“I don’t know,” Brody says as he brings his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in tight to his side. Could he be any more obvious? It’s not even like the Hopper boys are trying to get close to me. “We have a solid chance at winning this.”
Oh boy, the competitiveness is coming out.
Hudson smiles and places his hand on Brody’s shoulder. “We’ve been doing this for years, Brody. We have a process.”
“Don’t let them scare you,” Haisley says, coming up to us as well, Jude tied to her side. “They’ve fallen many times in their pursuit of theW. They communicate, they yell. Jude and I are taking the W on this.”
“Racers, get in line,” Reginald says. Brody moves us toward the starting line and with a Hopper on either side of us, the tension of competition sparks in the air.
Not sure who will win, but there’s one thing I can guarantee: this is going to be an all-out brawl for first place.
I tug on Brody’s arm. “Remember what I said about stride.”
But he doesn’t acknowledge me. He gets into what I can only describe as a runner’s stance, ready to shoot out of the block. Dear God, I fear for what’s going to happen next.
“Ready? Three…two…one…go,” Reginald yells, and like a bat out of hell, Brody surges us forward.
Lord in heaven, the bucking bronco has been released.
I grip my bouncing bosom, thinking that it’s the only thing I can hold that will keep me safe as I’m flung across the sand, one giant leap right after the other.
And for a moment, pride surges through me as I realize that even though Brody is taking monstrous steps the likes of a yeti could only keep up with, I’m staying in line with him through sheer will and tenacity.
But that moment is short-lived. His pace is far too demanding for a peon like me.
And just like I thought, I lose balance.
But I think quick. It’s the event planner in me.
Reading my options, I let go of my bosom and reach for Brody to steady myself…only to be dragged by his momentum as I tumble to the ground.
