Page 24 of The Amazing Date

We aren’t the only team struggling. Good. Seeing another team still on the course emboldens Rylee. She picks up her pace, and I struggle to keep up, the second backpack weighing me down. I can’t complain. My partner devoured two dozen cookies and is racing through the streets without taking a beat. We work our way through Spofford Street.

It must pain her to speak as she points to her right and looks back to me for confirmation. I nod, and we continue to pace forward. I spot Trey and Brooke across the street, staring down at their map, lost once again. If our directions are correct, we aren’t too far from the bank. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling, but she most likely needs a distraction.

I stride next to her, hoping to catch her attention. Her gaze is locked in front of her, something as small as turning in my direction too much for her. “Do you mind if we stop and offload some of your things in your backpack? You’ve packed too much.”

She snorts, and the word comes out barely above a whisper. “Ass.” Her words say one thing, but the twinkle in her eye tells another story.

“Once we cross the finish line, I’ll get you that tea, along with a box of donuts.”

“You sure you want to continue poking this sick bear? Keep at it and I’ll add you to the blondie plan.” A full-on smirk crosses her face, and I know my job is done. She’s no longer thinking about her stomach hurting.

“Really? What sort of pain could you conjure up for me? I can’t be any worse than that time I heard you and Gabby singing karaoke.”

Her cheeks finally flush with color as her eyes crinkle into a bright smile. She increases her pace. “You aren’t the only one with ammunition. Remember, Gabby showed me your baby photos. I’m sure the rest of the contestants would love to see that picture of three-year-old you dressed as a cowboy sitting on a donkey you thought was a horse.”

Watching her smile at that moment brings me a joy I hadn’t expected. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Test me,” she says, beaming. “And you know how well I do with tests.” Her face brightens even further, and I look ahead for the source—the bank.

Wilma stands at the top of the steps, along with the lady in the red dress from earlier. Wilma is wearing jeans and a simple top. She’s looking in our direction but makes no motion to acknowledge us.

With the finish line ahead and the knowledge that there are at least two teams behind us, I slow my pace. Rylee does the opposite, racing up the steps two at a time. She reaches the top step, and Wilma points to a spot just to the right of the finish mat. I race up the steps and remember the rules presentation from last evening. A team must step to the mat together to check in.

I lower the backpacks to the ground and stride next to Rylee. I take her hand in mine, and we step to the mat together.

“Ni hao,” Wilma says. “Welcome to the end of It Takes Two day one. I’m not sure how you’ve done it after the day you’ve had, but you are team number three.”

“Thank you,” I state and raise my hand in Rylee’s direction, expecting a high five. The smile from a moment ago is gone, and her face is flushed once again. I wrap a hand around her waist and direct her toward the steps, easing her down. Wilma hovers over us, but I wave her off. “She’ll be okay. Just digesting way too many cookies.” My statement brings a smile to Wilma’s face, her challenge doing what she hoped it would.

“I’m going to let her rest here while I go grab some tea for her, okay?”

Wilma raises a finger toward me, the lady next to her capturing her attention and pointing down the street. We all turn to see an approaching Trey and Brooke. The summer breeze carries Brooke’s voice.

“You might as well rip that map up right now. We better not be last.” She may think she’s holding her voice low, but it travels nevertheless. She hides the words behind a plastic smile, her true personality poking out with the stress of the race.

A warm hand slips into mine and tugs me down. Rylee. I slip down to the top step next to her. “You can’t go just yet.” Her words are faint, and I see the struggle on her face.

“There’s a tea shop right across the street,” I say, pointing toward the red Blossom Tea Shop sign in the distance.

She lowers her head onto my shoulder. I slip my hand around her waist and pull her close to me. “I’ll stay.”

A soft “Mmmm” vibrates from her as we watch Brooke and Trey step on the finish line mat.

Wilma greets them and informs them they are team number four. Brooke appears relieved, but for the first time, the smile that is always on Trey’s face appears to have cracks. He’s not the happy-go-lucky guy we all assumed.

Assumptions. I should know better, given the assumptions people have placed on me my entire life.

The twins will finish last and likely be the first team eliminated. When we started this leg of the race, the twins were the favorites with their physical conditioning and being an all-male team and, well, freaking twins. Everyone assumed they would fire on all cylinders, thinking and acting as one, but this race is proving looks and assumptions don’t necessarily foretell success. It’s not the eye test they must pass but the battles of life’s challenges.

“The other teams are congregated in the lobby of the bank. Please have them come join us at the mat to welcome the final team.” Wilma gives the final instructions to Trey and Brooke, and they disappear through the glass doors.

Rylee’s hand lands on the top of my knee, and she begins to push up. Her wobble causes me to hold her free hand, helping her up. We pick up our backpacks and stand behind Wilma as the stream of contestants comes through the glass doors.

Trey and Brooke are followed by Ronnie and Thelma. There is a calm and peace to them, as if this entire race has been nothing more than a Sunday stroll. Which leaves only one team.

I hear them before I spot them. “We are the champions, we are…” The duo of blonde trouble is chanting the Queen song and holding up the It Takes Two golden trophy, the one given to the first-place team at the end of each segment. I no longer have to wonder who won.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” Rylee whispers in my ear.

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