Page 61 of The Big Race
“How long have you guys been together?”
“Oh, we’re strictly platonic, though our followers are always shipping us,” she said. “We don’t make a big deal of it, but Maddox is ace.”
“Asexual?” I asked, just to be clear.
She nodded. “We met at a creator conference in Los Angeles two years ago and since then we’ve done a bunch of cross-promotional campaigns. We thought coming on the race would be good for both our brands, but it’s a lot harder than we expected.”
“For us it’s been the relationship stuff. I mean, we would love to win the million dollars, but being forced together so much is making us realize our real lives are more important.”
“Yeah, Maddox and I have been arguing about stuff, too,” she said. “What’s on brand for him isn’t always what’s on brand for me. I think after the race we’re going our own way for a while.” She smiled. “Of course, that would be a lot easier if we were splitting a million bucks.”
We climbed onto the chair lift and began riding down. From above, it was easy to see how challenging the slalom course was, and Maddox was having real trouble. Adrienne was behind him,and despite living in Colorado Springs, she was having a lot of trouble. I saw her falling and skidding. Ray was far ahead of her, taking every curve smoothly and avoiding the moguls.
Then the lift curved away from the slope and I lost track of him, though I saw the male models and George and Ernie struggling with snowshoes.
As soon as we go to the end of the chair lift, I jumped off and raced over to the finish line. Up above, I saw Ray ducking his head and shoulders for the final race to the bottom. I was so excited I was jumping up and down.
Once he finished, we hugged and kissed, forgetting everything except how we’d conquered a series of challenges together. Then we rushed over to the clue box, which said, “Find Julie and Nordic ski champion Armand Honecker at the Stop’n’Go somewhere on the grounds.”
“I saw something from the chair lift,” I said. “I think it was the glare from a camera lens. It was over behind the sauna pavilion.”
“I trust your instincts,” he said. We took off, with Cody filming behind us, and we raced around several buildings until we saw the sauna building, and Julie and a handsome man standing by the mat.
We raced up to the platform, where Julie looked surprised to see us arrive. We couldn’t be last? I knew there were at least three teams behind us.
“Ray and Jeffrey,” she said, “you’re team number one!” We hugged each other tightly, both of us trembling with adrenaline and relief.
“And as winners of this leg,” Julie continued, “you’ve won a romantic five-night stay at a luxury resort in the South of France. You can use it after the race is over.”
Ray’s arm tightened around my waist. “What do you say, babe? Want to come back here?”
“Only if you promise to do the parasail next time,” I said.
“I’m on it,” he said, and high-fived me.
“How does it feel to be in first place?” Julie asked, shoving a microphone toward us.
“It’s all due to my amazing husband,” I said. “Did you see the way he killed that ski slope? Poetry in motion!”
“My husband’s pretty amazing, too,” Ray said. “He took to that parasailing like he was born to fly.”
“I’m glad to see you guys are getting along so well,” Julie said. “Do you think the race has brought you back together?”
“I’ve been a fan of the show for years,” I said. “I’ve seen couples crack apart under the pressure. And I’ve seen others have their bonds strengthened. I’m happy to say that we’re in the second category.”
“Well, you may be in that second category, but today you’ve finished this leg in first place. Get some rest. You’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
Chapter 27
Echo Chamber
We collapsed onto a bench in the corner of the plaza where the leg had ended. It was chilly in the sunshine, the Alpine air fresh with the scent of pine and ski wax. The crew drifted off to catch arrivals, while Cody remained nearby.
Ray leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of him with the lazy sprawl of a man who knew he’d earned it.
“We won,” he said, grinning up at the sky. “Holy shit, Jeffrey. Wewon.”
I was still trying to believe it. “Yeah.”
