“Hey.” Weston stepped in front of me, blocking my view of everyone else. “Don’t stress about this game. We’re here for us.”
“Us?” My voice sounded strained. I swallowed, suddenly feeling my heartbeat crawling up my throat.
“It’s not ideal to have these jerks interrupting our time,” he confessed with a shrug. He sounded like an older brother annoyed of having his younger siblings tag along on a bike ride. “But I think this is better than a typical ‘who are you’ dinner.”
I let out a heavy breath. “Well, it’s definitely different.”
“Look.” Weston stepped behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. His fingers massaged my neck gently as he leaned down to whisper in my ear. “The course is just fifty yards.”
His warm breath tickled my ear. He smelt like rosewood. My muscles instantly loosened as he spoke in a steady voice. His fingers moved towards my shoulder blades, working the skin there like he knew exactly which part of my body tensed up when I experienced anxiety. Once again, he navigated my body like he’d done it before.
“The web of red thread only lasts for a couple of feet. Raise your knees past your waist and you’ve got it,” he explained. His fingers were now at the middle of my back. I followed his free hand when he pointed across the field. “I’m going to have you avoid the water balloons by holding on to me.”
“We can touch?” I let out a sigh. Well, that’d make things ten times easier. He could just walk in front of me and we’d make it across with little if any stumbling.
“For the first fifteen yards. After the ladder, ‘the Eyes’ are supposed to stand on the outside and call out instructions” he told me.
“Perfect,” I mumbled.
“You want to go first?” Weston asked. His hands paused at my lower back. Despite wearing a thick sweater, I could feel the comforting heat of his fingers. When I instinctively leaned into him, his nose brushed against my ear. I couldn’t tell if he’d nuzzled me or was trying to move to get a glimpse of my face. I tilted my head to look at him. He stared back, pulling me closer against his body when he felt me shiver.
“Let’s get a move on!” Kevin called from his lane. His voice startled me enough to make me jump. I pulled away from Weston, who stood in the same place with empty hands.
“Let the best man,” Grayson said as he flicked a red lock out of his face. “Or woman, win.”
“I’ll go first,” I volunteered in a soft voice.
Weston bit his lip and pulled up the blindfold. “You sure? I’m more than willing to let you guide me.”
My stomach flipped at how he tilted his eyebrow when he said ‘willing.’ He laughed a little at my reaction to his innuendo.
“I’ll go,” I turned around so it was easier for him to tie the blindfold.
“Give us a countdown!” Kevin instructed Taylor.
“I’m not going to let you fall,” Weston murmured into my ear as he loosely tied the fabric around my head. “Promise.”
I licked my lips, trying to find some way to moisture my suddenly dry skin. Taylor’s voice called out through air, counting down from ten. Weston’s fingers laced in mine. His touch was firm. Thankfully, I wasn’t sweating yet but I felt my heartbeat sped up as his thumb gently rubbed mine. As he led me closer to the starting line, I heard one of the guys curse loudly. Another laughed in response.
“Stop playing, man,” Kevin said in a hard tone. “This is serious. It’s a bonding exercise. I’mtryingto bond with you.”
“Never going to get him to trust you like that,” Dakota called over.
“Oh, how will I ever survive?” David lamented with a chuckle.
“Five!” Taylor counted.
“Slow,” Weston said to me as he took my other hand and squeezed. “And steady on this first part. Grayson did an incredible job on this web.”
“Very comforting.” I sighed.
“Go!” Taylor instructed.
I followed Weston’s careful tug forward. My blindfold was impressively thick enough to block out everything, even the lights on the field. I could hear people on our right already hurrying through the string web. Kevin yelled again. Something like a body hitting the ground sounded.
“God,” Weston grumbled. “Idiots.”
“I want a restart,” Kevin announced. “And new partner.”
