Page 10 of Red Light, Green Light
I wasn’t one to get overwhelmed. Part of being a Hopeful and eventual member of the Nine was being able to take in a lot of variables all at once and make quick decisions. A freak blizzard where we had to combat stabbing sleet? A sudden dust storm where you couldn’t see your hand in front of you as you held your breath from the sand? Even a late-night parent coming home from work and having to notify Santa without being noticed? All things I was more than equipped to handle. In fact, I loved dealing with the chaos. Adaptability was one of my highest scores for a reason.
But none of my years of training or even sneaking out for kickbacks could have prepared me for this.
The absolute rager was taking place in the hotel’s massive bar. Normally, the event space had the hotel’s modern and luxurious ski cabin lodge aesthetic mixed with the elegance of a five-star hotel. Tonight, though, it had been transformed into a sex nightclub. People wereeverywhere—Hopefuls, the Nine, and so many others. I had no idea if they were faculty and staff atthe Stable, friends of the competitors, super fans and strangers who had found their way in, or a combination of everything, but the sheer number was staggering. They danced along to the remixes of Christmas music the DJ played, the bass thumping through me like an angry stampede. Some mingled in corners or sat at tables and booths, doinga lotmore than mingling.
String lights and strobes hanging all around pulsed to the beat of the music, shining in the dimly lit space for only brief moments for me to catch someone mid-moan or a hand slipping underneath a skirt. Everywhere smelled like sweat, expensive perfume, and pheromones, as if I was smelling either someone’s bad decision in progress or the night of their lives. I couldn’t lie about it adding to my heat. It was so much information that I didn’t need and had to filter out. It was hard to focus, hard to make sense of everything, especially through this growing fucking haze.
Until it did all at once.
I sensed them before I saw them. My hair stood on end, and I felt my skin pebble with goosebumps. The heat within me spiked, making my eyes flutter. My heartbeat hastened as if begging me to hurry to them. The scent of them sliced through everything, making me inhale deeper. Cinnamon, apples, and cranberries swirled with allspice, fir needles, and oranges. I couldn’t get enough. My caribou-deer stomped her feet in anticipation, eager for me to get closer. I was pulled toward them like gravity or instinct, by something bright, primal, and impossible to fight. I felt them with every fiber of my being. The party dulled to static, but they were the signal, the subtle beat, rhythm, and tune that was my soul’s favorite song.
Holy Last Christmas, I’m down fucking bad.
Felicity and Merrilee sat at the corner on the other side of the bar, one of the few spots with more intimate, lounge-style lighting thanks to the backlit shelving of bottles next to them.Merry wore a dark green blazer suit with nothing underneath to show her delicious cleavage and the Northern Star tattoo that took up her clavicle and neck that I wanted to trace with my tongue. Her long, braided hair fell from the shoulder it was thrown over as she tossed her head back, laughing at something Felicity had said. The sound of it was somehow even louder than the music. Yet, what was truly infectious was the smile Felicity had. Her red hair was curled and fell in beachy waves around her broad shoulders. Her muscles were on full display in the strapless dark evergreen dress she wore that had a cutout in the front to show off her abs and a slit that was even more scandalous than my own going up her thigh. I loved that they had matched me with their color scheme without us even discussing it. We were great matches, so why not show that to the world?
As if feeling the same draw, Felicity’s and Merry’s eyes met mine. They both smiled brilliantly at me like they had caught stars in their mouths, and I felt my orbit change to ensure we would always revolve around each other.
I stepped forward—
Only for Chrissy to stride right in front of me from seemingly nowhere.
Reality dropped back onto me like a wet blanket. The world became too bright and too dark all at once. The room was too loud. There were too many people. My grip on my bag was too tight, just like my throat.
“I seeyouare still a Hopeful. That’s pretty lucky,” she said over the music as she crossed her arms over her strappy glittery dress. She wasn’t as stacked as Felicity, but she was still tall enough that I had to look up at her. People gave us a wide berth as they walked, but they still glanced back at us with curious eyes.
“I am, but hey, thank you for showing me the locker room. It was great getting to see where my locker is going to be in advance.”
“Ha, as if you had a chance in Jack Frost,fawn.”
Just as my ire was growing at Chrissy’s insult, movement behind Chrissy made me shift my eyes off her for a moment. There, Merry’s nose was flared, and she looked like she was ready to hop across the bar and lay Chrissy’s ass out. The only thing holding her back was Felicity’s hand on her shoulder and whatever words quickly moved past her lips. Felicity’s eyes met my own, and all I saw was trust there. Smirking, she gave me a quick nod.
My heart swelled.
“You know, Chrissy,” I said, my eyes returning to her again. “I don’t need tricks or little games to win the big one and a title. You are the only one who needs that. You are the one with something to prove. I have already proven that I have every right to be here and then some.”
Her eyes narrowed on me. “Are you saying I don’t deserve to be here?”
“I’m saying that if you want to win, you need to check your feelings at the door, bring it on the field, and not try to kick out the competition you’re scared of. Hit me with your best shot, or don’t even fucking bother wasting my time. Go enjoy your night, Legacy. Maybe get some of that entitlement fucked out of you.”
I stepped around her before she could recover from her shock. I exhaled heavily, not even realizing I was holding my breath.
When I reached my girls, Merrilee immediately took me up in her arms and spun me around, making me giggle. She sat me down in the chair between her and Felicity. As my laughter died down, I breathily asked, “What was that for?”
“For giving us a little bit of a show with our cocktails, baby,” Merry answered as she sat down after giving me a quick kiss on my cheek.
“Mhmm, indeed. And all while wearing a gorgeous outfit, love,” Felicity admired.
“I could say the same thing about you both.”
“You deserve a drink after that, little doe,” Merry said, passing me a menu while taking a sip from a rose gold mule mug garnished with a rosemary sprig and frosted cranberries. She threw her arm over the back of my chair, the warmth of it adding to the heat inside me. “We wanted to order something for you, but we didn’t know what you wanted.”
“Oh, that’s okay! My tastes change depending on my mood—”
“Hi there! You ladies doing okay—?” A male bartender approached. When he noticed me, his eyes widened with recognition immediately. “Oh, my goodness! You are Wynter Norwood, right? The Next Rudolph?”
“I don’t know about that, but I am the next member of the Nine, for sure.” I smiled politely.
“Oh, yeah?” He leaned on the counter toward me, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. “Do you need any extramemberson your team?”
