Page 72 of The Amazing Date

Rylee rolls her eyes, hunching her shoulders back, exhaling a loud, exhausting puff of air out her mouth. “And here Roberto told me you guys were smarter than you look.” She stomps an impatient foot into the ground and stares up at the rising numbers of the elevator. “This is the observation deck. We all raced up here in the stairwell. You’re welcome to run up another sixteen flights, but we’re taking the elevator. You’re welcome to take your chances ascending faster than a high-speed express elevator.”

The blondes hesitate for a split second. My pulse quickens, and a tightness spreads across my chest. The elevator dings, announcing its imminent arrival. Decision time.

Rylee times it perfectly. A master planner at work. “This is our elevator. We’ll let you ride up with us if we are at the door and get out first. We’ll give you a shot at a footrace to the mat. Deal?” The doors to the elevator slide open with her question.

They don’t have time to react, hopping into the empty elevator. We step in and turn our backs to them. Rylee presses the top floor, 102 observation deck, and smiles.

The plan is working to perfection. Only one more step in the plan. We are on the same page, working in harmony. But so are the blondes.

The blur of movement comes too quick for us to react. A blur of hair and arms flood the corner of my eyes, and I notice Rylee being pushed out of the elevator, a sinister smile on Kelly’s face. Before I can turn, my balance is thrown off by Caitlin, who shoves my lower back. I attempt to resist, but between the surprise, the sting of the injuries from my fall earlier, and the second set of hands of her partner, it’s a losing battle. I trip over Rylee and land on the floor next to her. We both look up in time to see the blondes giving us the finger as the doors to the elevator close.

We remain squatting on the floor, watching the elevator numbers rise. Ninety-six, ninety-seven. I rise, pulling Rylee up to her feet.

“You think we bought enough time for Ronnie and Thelma?” I ask.

Rylee shrugs. “They march to the beat of their own drum. Unless they had a change of heart and raced up the steps, they’re not beating the girls to the finish mat.”

I slip my hand into Rylee’s and walk toward the stairwell. “Never say never.”

Chapter 42

Rylee

Who needs plans and checklists? I’ve studied, memorized, and planned every aspect of this race. But as the saying goes, when you plan, God laughs.

Nearly everything I’ve planned for this competition has not gone the way drawn, starting with Gabby’s injury and the substitution of her brother. Every challenge was a wild swing into the unknown. Yet here we are, still standing on the last day of the competition.

Roberto’s laugh fills the stairwell as we climb to the 102nd floor. His chuckle is a reminder I can still count on my gut and impulse to find solutions. That I can trust myself to step into the unknown and figure out life’s challenges.

Throughout the race, I’ve devised elaborate plans to destroy the blondes, some involving thirty-five complicated moving parts. Yet, it was my impulsive plan that may have worked best.

Our feet hit the landing for the 102nd floor, and Roberto holds open the door. Time to find out if the plan worked.

We step out onto the deck into a world of chaos.

Wilma is standing on the finish mat, a special thirtieth-edition finish line mat. Her shoulders back and a smug smile on her face, she is enjoying every second of the chaos in front of her.

Standing on the mat, Kelly and Caitlin are arguing. Not with Wilma but with each other. It’s the first time all race we’ve seen the two of them not on the same page. Ronnie and Thelma stand to the side of the mat, sharing a bag of popcorn and laughing as if they are at a multiplex theater.

WTF.

“You should have known better,” Caitlin screams at her partner, pushing her.

“I tried to tell you he’s not that nice. Why did you think they were telling us the truth about anything?” Kelly counters, and I realize they are speaking about Roberto. I suppress a smile and step toward Thelma.

She tilts the bag of popcorn to offer me some. I grab a handful. The salt is a welcome treat after sweating out almost every ounce of it in my body. “What’s going on?” I ask, tongue firmly in cheek.

Thelma snickers at me. “You are a sneaky little devil.” She taps her husband by his elbow. “They’re here. Ready?”

He nods and steps forward, capturing Wilma’s eye.

The stern sound of Wilma clearing her throat causes the blondes to halt their bickering. “As I said before, Kelly and Caitlin, I cannot check you in because you took the elevator up.”

Both girls begin to shout and point to the race clue.

Wilma raises her hand. “The clue clearly states race to the observation deck on the top floor. You haven’t been eliminated yet. You can still go back down to the eighty-sixth floor and race back up. You may be able to do all of that before either of these two teams check in.”

While Wilma suppresses a laugh, I squeeze Roberto’s hand, Wilma’s wording capturing my attention. “Either team…” I whisper.

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