look back up at Luke. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Not going to try.”
“Thanks,” I mumble.
“Now,” Will Wang says, striding down the podium and grinning big, “take a look at your nine happy couples. They’re getting ready to embark on a honeymoon, if you will. But this is no ordinary honeymoon! First, a few ground rules!”
Will starts to explain the details of the game. When we arrive at the first stop, we’ll be given $5,000, which we’ll need to budget for travel to the locations we’ll be visiting. For the most part, flights will be booked for us to keep an air of mystery as to the next location, but we have to secure most of the ground transportation and lodging. At most stops, there will be challenges that will test our ability to work as a couple. Places will be determined based on how we fare on those challenges and how soon we arrive at each check-in. The last couple to arrive at the final outpost or check-in during each leg of the journey will be eliminated, though there will be several stops along the way that are non-elimination rounds. I listen to all this, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed. “Sounds like The Amazing Race,” someone says. I shrug dumbly. Now I kind of wish I’d watched that show. Maybe then I’d have some idea what to expect.
A staff member urges us off the risers and rushes us out of the room as Wang is still talking. I catch, “Right now, they’re going to be shuttled off to an undisclosed location in the United States, where the hardest test of their relationship will begin! Who will learn to work together? Who will be torn—”
The doors close, and then they’re running us down the hallway we entered through. Outside is a big tour bus. They load us all on, telling us that our packs are already loaded and that we need to sit with our spouses.
My spouse.
Oh my god, I’m married.
To this hot, dirty, completely-wrong-for-me hunk.
Still sticky with Jell-O, we sit down, all eighteen of us, and I look out the window as the Georgia Tech rec center disappears from view. “Where are they taking us?” I ask after a few minutes.
“Airport,” he says.
He’s right. We’re heading south down I-85, toward the Atlanta International Airport. “You think it’s going to get a lot more intense? Dangerous?”
He nods. “I think they’re gonna fuck with us as much as they can.”
I cringe.
He notes it with some amusement. “What? You don’t like the word fuck?”
I cringe again.
“Or is it the action you have a problem with?”
“I don’t approve of that kind of talk, actually. I find it low class.”
“Oh. Well, I’m sorry, Mrs. Cross. I’ll try to tone it down—”
“No. Not Mrs. Cross.” He gives me a confused look, and I explain. “I’m going to keep my name when I get married. I’m not even going to hyphenate. And I earned my title. I’ll always be Dr. Carpenter, thanks.”
He squints. “You’re bullshitting me.”
I cringe again.
“All right, Dr. Carpenter. So before we get on the plane, let’s get a few things straight so we can win this.” He lowers his voice and leans toward my ear. “Ace and Marta are the ones to look out for. I don’t know about Marta, but as we’ve already seen, Ace is gonna play dirty.”
He peeks between the seats to make sure no one is looking.
“Ivy’s strong and competitive, but she can’t beat me, and her partner, Cody, is about as weak as they come. Brad’s tough. He and Natalie are going to be a hard team to beat too. He’s athletic, and she’s a badass.”
I stare at him. I barely know these people’s names. I’ve been so busy just making sure I don’t trip and fall flat on my face. How has he sized up the competition so quickly?
“The others are no problem. So. Number one, I want you to trust me. Completely. And I will trust you. We are each other’s first and most unbreakable alliance. You got that?”
I’m surprised by how serious he sounds. He’s definitely in it to win it. Which sucks for him, since I’m probably going to let him down big-time. Hell, I was out of breath from that tiny run from the arena to the bus. “Fine.”
“Number two, you have to chill out. Stop worrying about everything and just relax. Do as I tell you and everything will be fine.”