Page 53 of The Summer Show

Stupid boots tripped me. I tumbled heels over head, landing flat on my face with a thud. Air shot out of my lungs. Winded, I let out a pained oof. I couldn’t even pull in enough oxygen to cry about my busted face.

Was I going to die like this, accidentally killed for climbing a ladder?

Probably not.

Nothing had cracked. Small mercy. Only my pride was busted. Foiled by my own footwear. How lame was that?

Then something hard and unrelenting grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet.

Nick.

In my attempt to right myself, I flailed. Nick wrapped his arms around me like he was auditioning for a role as a zip tie. He pulled me away from the set piece so quickly that this time we both lost our balance.

I landed on top of him.

Straddling him with my hands on his chest, to be precise. Well, breast plates.

Was it sexy?

For a split second, yes. And this moment would fuel my romantic fantasies for years.

His gaze connected with mine. His pupils, tiny under the set’s harsh lights, dilated until his irises were more black than caramel. His breath was coming hard and fast.

Probably a normal reaction when someone’s backside is pressed up against your groin.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey yourself.”

Reality swirled back into the mix. The cameras, the judges, everyone else on the set. And of course, our co-hoplites, who were still smacking each other around with pointy sticks.

“This is a bad idea.”

“Bad for whom?”

“You know when to use whom!” I said, delighted.

“My sister is a teacher. She beat it into me.”

“Ana beat you?”

“Like a drum.”

“I don’t believe it. Ana is made of rainbows and cotton candy.”

Nick rolled, dislodging me. He pulled me up with him, holding me hard against his body. “My sister can throw a punch with the best of them. Ask her husband. Ask our mom.”

“Wow, you really didn’t want me to get that flag,” I said, my voice shaking.

“Is that what you were trying to do?”

“Well, yeah. This is Capture the Flag even if they don’t call it that.”

We both looked up at the flag on top of the palace. Twenty feet off the ground. Only way up was the rickety ladder that was basically two sticks with the rungs strapped on with string.

Nick released me. I brushed dust and dirt off my costume.

“You shouldn’t have gone after it.”