Page 64 of The Kiss Keeper
He shrugged. “I figured you’d have to wear that lobster crown. It sounded fun.”
“And the queen has to kiss the winner of the blindfolded obstacle course,” she added.
“What?” he threw back, his eyes as wide as saucers.
“Didn’t you see the obstacle course on the beach?” she pressed.
He shifted his weight. “I figured it was for the kids.”
“No, the guys compete, and my grandmother’s always been the Lobster Queen.”
“I forgot,” Jake answered, running his hands through his dark tangle of hair.
She watched him closely as that weird déjà vu thing between them returned.
He shook his head. “I mean, I didn’t realize.”
“Better hurry! It’s about to start,” the girls said with a squeal as the screen door slammed behind them.
Natalie paced the length of the room. “One of the older boys will most likely win, and it is only a kiss on the cheek.”
“Or it could be Marcus with onion breath or Leo, and he may fake you out and try to kiss your feet,” Jake added with a half-laugh half-grimace.
“Ew! That’s an awful thing to imagine,” she cried.
“Probably not awful for Leo,” he said, biting back a grin.
She donned the lobster crown and took his hand, dragging him out of the lodge. “You got me into this, and now I’m going to help you get me out of it.”
“How? I don’t think the lobster queen has any real powers. Unless that fancy lobster crown lets you command all those cooked lobsters to come to your defense.”
“You’re awful, and I’m a vegetarian. I’d never rule over dead seafood,” she laughed.
“No, that’s perfect! Zombie lobsters, coming back from the dead to defend their non-lobster eating queen,” he said, lowering his voice as if he were narrating a horror movie.
She shook her head. “Enough with the lobster! You need to focus. The last thing I want to do is kiss Leo or Marcus—even if it is only on the cheek. You nominated me to be queen, so you have to win.”
“Because you want to kiss me?” he asked with a cocky twist to his lips.
She shot him a sharp look. “So, I don’t have to kiss a perverted podiatrist.”
He shrugged. “Fair enough, but how hard can it be to win an obstacle course race?”
“Harder than you think. It’s a blindfolded obstacle course, but I’ll guide you through it.”
“What’s up with blindfolds and this place?” he murmured as they headed toward the lobster bake luau on the far end of the camp’s coastal property.
“You’re about to find out,” she said, swiping one off a folding table, then assessed the situation.
Leo and Marcus stood in the crowd of Woolwich men waiting to compete in the race with their heads bent over, having what looked like a serious tête-à-tête with Leslie and Lara.
Jake gestured to the mass of men. “Why does everyone do this? Wait, don’t tell me. It’s a Woolwich tradition.”
“That, and you get the first lobster,” she replied.
“Early access lobster and a kiss from the lobster queen. I see the appeal, but why would Leslie and Lara want their husbands to do it?” he asked.
Natalie shook her head. “Because for some reason, Leslie lives to one-up me, and that means also beating you since you’re my…”
