“Sorry, I’m just eager to get the crystal and get home,” I say. “I barely slept last night because the anticipation was killing me.”
“I get it,” he assures me. “We’re going to get it, and then we’re going to go home.”
I stop moving a few feet from the door, then spin around to face him.
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“It’ll work.”
“But if it doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll figure out another way to get back.” He pulls me into him. “Breathe, Sugar. It’s going to be okay.”
“You promise.”
“I promise” I peer up at him, and his soft eyes assure me that he’s right. “Besides, what’s the worst thing that could happen if it didn’t work?”
I take a step back.
“Let’s see. We could lose the careers we love, never see our families again, and be forced to live out our remaining days here until we both die.”
He snorts. “That was very specific, but that’s not going to happen.”
“You don’t really know that.”
Reaching out, he places both hands on my shoulders, easing the tension there. “Take a deep breath and think positive. We’re almost there. It’s going to be fine. And if we do get stuck here, then at least we’re together.”
That’s comforting.I guess?
I inhale deeply, then exhale a long breath as he smoothes his hands down my arms.
“Come on,” he says.
We begin moving again, and he grabs for my hand, squeezing it gently before letting go.
Pulling the door of Citrine Brews open, we’re greeted with rich notes of coffee and the sounds of an espresso grinder drowning out the music coming through the speakers.
“Morning,” Joe calls from behind the bar. “Want an early taste of my eggnog latte?”
“Careful, dear,” Cami warns, walking over to greet us. “Stella has ears everywhere. Can’t have her thinking you’re trying to cheat.”
“We’re just here for our usuals,” Everett says. “She’s right. It’s important to Stella that the competition stays fair, and although it sounds tempting, we’re gonna have to wait until it’s time to judge it.”
“You got it,” Joe says as he begins to work behind the counter. “I know you can’t discuss anything. I think Stella knew what she was doing when she made you two the judges.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You both mean a lot to everyone here,” he explains. “And I know out of everybody, you two will judge it the most fairly.”
“Thank you,” I say as blush crawls up my neck and my stomach turns with uneasiness. Everyone seems to know us so well, and I hate that we don’t know them at all. I feel guilty, which is silly because these relationships don’t really exist. These people aren’t really real, and after tonight, we’ll never see them again.
Pulling out my phone, I run my thumb over the little red thirty that tops my messaging app, signaling a heap of text messages from The Naughty List group chat I’ve ignored.
“I’m looking forward to helping you with practice on Monday,”Joe says to Everett as he pours espresso into a cup. “I’ll head over once I’m done here. It starts at four?”
“Uh…yeah…that sounds right,” Everett says, glancing at me and widening his eyes.
“The Polar Bears are looking really good this year,” he says. “You coaching them has made all the difference. You’re a natural.”
