Free Playing Games by Jill Myles Page B

"Oh, god no. She's just a
bandmate. You know, the whole Finding Threnody thing." And
he looked at me like I should know exactly what he was talking
about.
    I winced. "Is it bad if this is the part that
I say that I've never heard of you?"
    He stared.
    "I listen to country music," I said lamely.
"Sorry. I'm sure your band is good."
    He continued to stare.
    "I'll buy your CD when I get home," I told
him. "I promise."
    He shook his head a little, as if to clear
it, then laughed. "So you really don't know who we are?"
    "Well," I told him. I thought for a moment,
trying to determine the best way to say it without hurting his
feelings, and then gave up. "Not a clue. Brodie's a fan,
though."
    Liam chuckled and shook his head. "Well, that
explains why you weren't very friendly to me."
    "Are a lot of girls friendly to you because
you're in a rock band?"
    "Yes," he said simply.
    I snorted. "They might be until you push them
down reaching for their football."
    He scowled. "It was an accident."
    "How do I know that?" I asked innocently,
putting a teasing lilt in my voice. "Maybe you thought it was a
mosh pit."
    That slow, almost reluctant smile spread
across his lean face again. "Now I know you're fucking with
me."
    "Just a little."
    He laughed. "I suppose I deserved that."
    I studied him as he smiled. I'd initially
thought Liam tall, grungy, and a little scary. The piercings were
new territory for me, as were the tattoos. He even had them on his
neck. But the smile he extended my way was genuine, and for a
moment, he looked like any other guy my age that just happened to
be covered in black tattoos, multiple facial piercings, and was the
lead guitarist in a supposedly big deal rock band.
    "So…" he rubbed his chin. "I suppose there's
a special irony in this considering that neither you nor I wanted
to be on the race."
    "We could always sabotage the next leg of the
race and win ourselves an extended stay in Acapulco," I told him,
keeping my voice innocent.
    "Is that what you want to do?"
    I considered it. I really, really did. But we
were still in the race, and we were doing rather well, if I
admitted it to myself. And Liam wasn't a bad partner, as long as we
didn't run into any more mukluk or eating challenges on the race.
"Part of me wants to bail out on the race, but a bigger part of me
wants to see how far we can go."
    He nodded. "Me too." That dark, intense gaze
focused on me again. "So why did you kiss me at the Blarney
Stone?"
    Oh. Wow, okay, that was super direct. I
thought about my answer for a moment, then shrugged. "I wanted
to?"
    "You did?"
    "Well." I ran a finger across the blanket.
"Abby told me that if we made good TV, we stood a better chance of
staying in the race. That the producers would rig things to ensure
that we'd do better. So, I kissed you." I gave another shrug,
trying to make it seem casual even though I was feeling rather
nervous. "Good TV."
    Liam watched me for so long without saying
anything that I began to wonder if it was a mistake to tell him.
After a long moment, he said, "So it was just for TV?"
    I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a
bad thing. "Maybe?"
    He considered this. Then, he leaned in. "You
want to keep making good TV, then?"
    “What do you mean?”
    Liam gave me a wicked smile. “I mean we make
sure that they keep us around as long as possible by making some
really good TV.”
    And just like that, heat flushed through my
body.
     
    ~~ * * * ~~
     
    That night, in the hotel room, Abby and Dean
took one bed, and Liam and I took the other. We slept clothed, of
course, but the bed was small enough that I couldn’t move without
bumping into his arm, or leg. At one point, I woke up to find his
arm around my waist, and a tingle of anticipation moved through
me.
    But then he shifted and his arm moved away
again. I bit my lip, thinking. Just a fluke, then? Of course it
was. So why had I been so thrilled at the simple touch?
     
    ~~ * * * ~~
     
    Paris, France
     
    "There's the Palais