Page 33 of Accidentally Amy

Of course it did. “God help us all.”

When we made it inside, the next physical challenge was floor lava. Ella and her friend Claire had to make it to every room of the apartment without their feet touching the hardwood. Itsoundedsimple, but alas, it was not. They each fell hard enough to make even Blake laugh-cry as they leapt from the couch to the kitchen table like incredibly clumsy flying squirrels.

“This is it,” Blake said to me as Josh reached for our challenge card. “The other teams failed, so we just have to complete this one tiny challenge and we win.”

I wanted to mock him, but I found it somehow sweet that he thought winning a physical challenge was even a possibility for me. It was so optimistic.

“Okay, Team Bliz.” Josh read the card and smiled. “Super simple. One competitor does fifty push-ups with the other competitor on their back. The ride-along competitor has to bounce a tennis ball—one bounce per push-up. Push-ups must be continuous, as must the bouncing of the ball. You lose if you stop or if you lose control of the ball.”

Shit.I was terrible with balls. I’d never been sporty, or even remotely coordinated. Me bouncing a ball usually resulted in me chasing said ball.

“Also, the spectators will be shooting Nerf foam bullets at you the entire time.”

“C’mere,” Blake said, grabbing my sleeve and pulling me off to the side. That intense look was back as he said, “It might feel weird, but I think the best way to do this is if you lie on me face down. That way your balance won’t hinder my push-ups, since you’ll be glued to my body—you know, even weight distribution and everything—and you can bounce the ball in front of us fairly easily.”

I said skeptically, “Do you think you can do fifty push-ups with me on your back?”

He shrugged and seemed chill about it. “Maybe. Let’s go.”

“How do I, um,” I said, feeling awkward as hell. “Embark?”

His smirk returned, only this one was a little bit filthy. His dark eyes were all over me when he said, “I’m going to lie down, and then you can climb on top of me. Cool?”

I couldn’t manage words, so I just nodded.

Blake dropped to the floor, lying on his stomach with his arms out to his sides. I got down on my knees beside him, and it was hard not to laugh at the ridiculousness. Six people stoodaround us, Nerf guns aimed at our faces, while I tried to figure out the best way to mount my boss’s boss.

“We can do this, Iz,” Blake said, giving me a face full of confidence.

“That’s twice,” I said, quietly so no one else could hear, “that you’ve said my real name.”

“Well, hop on and make me say it again when we win.”

He didn’t mean that suggestively, did he?I knew the answer, but he just made me so fucking aware of him. I managed, “Okay, boarding.”

I climbed onto him, my legs on his legs, my chest on his back. Josh handed me the tennis ball, and I lowered my face to Blake’s ear. “Are you good?”

“Fine,” he said, his voice tight. “Let’s do it already.”

“Okay,” Josh said gleefully, the little prick. “Three, two, one—go!”

Blake pushed against the floor with ease, and I gave the ball a tiny bounce as Josh’s friends unloaded their guns. Blake did push-ups faster than I would’ve imagined, and I carefully gave the ball another bounce, glad he’d had a solid plan. The ball was right there, in front of me, so as long as I kept the bounces small and controlled, I might actually pull it off.

The Nerf bullets were annoying, but light enough where they just kind of bounced around. I asked, “You doing okay, Blake?”

“Never better,” he said, and it almost felt like he meant it. His push-ups were so smooth, fast, and flawless that I stopped feeling guilty about my weight on him; obviously he could handle it.

“It’s totally unfair,” Josh said to his friends as they reloaded their Nerf guns, “that this particular challenge was drawn when Izzy brought the fucking Witcher to our party.”

I kept my concentration on the tennis ball, but I was impressed as hell as he pounded out the push-ups. When he reached forty, I started getting excited.Holy shit—we’re going to win a physical challenge!The group started counting loudly, shooting faster and directing their aim at my face once it became clear that Blake wasn’t going to make a mistake.

I was the weakest link.

When we hit fifty, Blake collapsed face down on the floor with me lying on top of him. I started laughing and said into his ear, “You’re a damn hero, Mr. Chest. Now say my name.”

He started laughing, still face down, and groaned, “Izzy!” at the top of his lungs.

I smiled and nodded. “That’s right, baby. You say it.”

---