Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3) Read online

  “Next up, egg walk,” The ref boomed as he led the way out of the exit door at the back of the room.

  “Great work, Geegee!” Sean said as he fell in line with her. The other guys were saying the same to Donald.

  “I didn’t think we’d do so well. Our practice wasn’t that good,” Krista explained, ignoring the others.

  “Oh, you’d be surprised with Donald. You tell him something once and you never have to remind him again. You on the other hand…”

  “Har har, funny man. What’s this egg walk? And where are we going?”

  “All in due time. Listen, what are you planning to wear tonight?”

  “I’m planning to wear a pretty, long red dress. It is sparkly and I love it. What Marcus will let me wear is an entirely different story.”

  “I’ve noticed that he’s obsessed with your fashion.”

  “Obsessed is the right word for it! He is like a pageant mom. Why do you ask?”

  “I just don’t think you should look too pretty, is all.”

  Krista’s step hitched. “Sorry, I think I misheard. What?”

  Sean laughed. “That came out wrong. Blake’s got his eye on you. But he’s also got his eye on a couple of the admins. Then there are all the old codgers that think business is no place for a lady. You might keep things toned down like you did last night.”

  “The red sparkly one is cut conservatively. Nothing shows.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.”

  Krista got a surge of adrenaline. Sean was joking, mostly. It was the part that wasn’t joking that nearly made her swoon. He was getting far too close. He was butting up against the soft part of her that was supposed to be closed for renovation.

  “Actually, Marcus will, but thanks for showing an interest,” Krista said to shut off that conversation.

  They were outside the hotel beyond the parking lot in bushes and shrubs and not a lot else.

  “This is the egg walk,” The ref said loudly when they’d all gathered. “You will break off into partners. One partner will be blindfolded, holding an egg on a spoon. The partner will talk the person with the egg through the field and across the line, getting them to walk around and through obstacles using only instructions. Both parties may talk. There will be one point awarded for each group that crosses the line with egg intact.”

  “Partner?” Sean asked Krista. She nodded. “Do you want to be blind folded, or shall I?”

  “I will. I had to explain in the last one.”

  “Fair enough.” Sean collected a blindfold, an egg, and a spoon from a guy walking around.

  Bob and Dean had paired off, leaving Georgie and Donald. Georgie and Bob were putting on blindfolds.

  As Sean stood behind her, fastening the blindfold to her eyes, things got weird. A vivid flashback rocked Krista’s world, working in harmony with her stress and vulnerability from the struggles of the weekend: Jim surprising her right after she’d gotten home one day and blinding her with a sack over her head. He’d then tied her hands, ripped off her panties and rammed himself inside of her.

  She clutched at the blindfold, whimpering, trying to stay calm, knowing it was not real, but unable to relax. Doing this now was all kinds of bad. It wasn’t the time or place to show weakness. They were in the middle of a ring of professionals who all thought she was soft and shouldn’t be there. If she were to come apart at something so trivial as being blindfolded, it would undo everything she was hoping to achieve!

  Acting fast, Sean let go of the blindfold and put his hands firmly on her shoulders.

  “I’m right here, Pet,” he said softly, using his Irish Grandmother’s term of endearment. “I’m right here. You’re safe.”

  How many times had she suddenly woke up in a cold sweat, feeling imaginary hands on her throat, and been stilled by Sean’s soothing voice? Too many to count. She trusted in that now. She let go of the blind fold without ripping it off, and reached out and felt his arm. She felt it move and his hand grasp hers.

  “You and me, remember? Just you and me. I’ll take care of you.”

  Krista sighed and nearly leaned back into his body like she used to. He must have seen it, because he said, “You and me,” and his voice was all kinds of mushy.

  Krista took a few more breaths, heard the people around her chatting and laughing, and relaxed again. She focused herself, got herself out of her nightmares, and let her hands drop to her sides. She couldn’t remember winning ever being so hard.

  Krista felt a spoon enter her hand. She reached her other hand out for the egg.

  “Can you do this, or do you want to switch?” Sean asked quietly.

  “I can do it,” Krista replied almost confidently.

  Sean said nothing, which probably meant he nodded, but when he handed Krista the egg, he held onto her hand for an extended beat. She let him, feeling the warmth infuse her body through that point of contact. She felt the familiar stirring deep in her core that she’d thought was gone forever. She relished it, savored it, and felt a longing to cry out when Sean reclaimed his hand.

  It was official—the weekend was warping her mind.

  “Okay teams, there is the finish,” The ref said to the gathered regions. “You will have plenty of time, so be careful, and most important, be safe. Each team will be monitored for cheating, so just relax and have fun.”

  “Oh, thank God, we can’t cheat. Now I can relax.” Krista giggled.

  Sean chuckled, still standing close. “Ready?” His breath tickled her ear.

  Krista gave in to impulse and leaned into him, feeling his body against her bare arm. She felt his hand on her back briefly, then his body heat disappeared. It was show time.

  “Okay Geegee, step forward three paces until I say stop. Walk normally.”

  She did as he said. She heard a raspy male voice off to her right as another team worked their way in the same direction.

  “Stop. Now, one step to the left…No, wrong left…Good. Four normal, but careful steps forward. Follow my voice. Slower please, this is not a race. Good.”

  They kept going. Krista zigzagged back and forth, stepped over small things, and walked around big things. Soon Sean realized she would follow his voice in a diagonal. That made things ten times easier. She had steady hands and balance, so her egg was not in danger as long as she followed Sean’s directions. And that was as easy as eating a slice of chocolate mousse. They reached the finish in no time.

  “We made it. Good work,” Sean said, his voice full of pride. After a beat he said, “You can take off the blindfold now, Geegee.”

  “Oh.”

  When Krista could see again, she took stock of the situation. She and Sean were the first to be done. The closest team in their wake was still halfway through the course.

  “Wow,” Krista said, looking at Sean. He was looking back, longing plain on his face.

  “Stop it.” Trying to hide a flush, she looked back at the struggling groups. “Either they are bad at this, or we are exceptional.”

  “You two are exceptional.”

  Krista jumped and turned around, her egg falling out of her hand. It was Tory with a clipboard. He was wearing a bright red shirt, a hat to keep the sun off his face, and a good-natured grin. “You have broken the record for fastest across the line. Which was not remotely as exceptional, Krista, as your and Donald’s team work. It also broke a record. We’ve taken a picture of it for the books. First time anyone has gotten it exact.”

  “Well…” Krista hedged, “Not exact. Close.”

  Tory seemed to know she was trying to keep the fact that she and Donald thought so much alike under wraps. He gave a humored grin before he turned to Sean. “Before dinner, please stop by my suite. I would like to speak with you regarding some matters.”

  Sean acquiesced.

  Tory turned back to Krista. “Keep up the good work. You are doing splendidly!”

  “Thanks Tory.” Krista beamed.

  “I thought you were impervious to compliments,�
� Sean said, examining every inch of her face.

  She shrugged. “That was before I was thrust into a situation where everyone hated me and wished me ill.”

  Sean got a look of pain, and started to say something, but was interrupted by the next group getting across the line. They were laughing and panting, but their egg was intact. Krista had no idea where they were from, but it was a place without a lot of Sunshine because they were pasty white. San Francisco? She didn’t think Iceland was invited.

  Dean and Bob had lost their egg and were slowly walking in. Georgie and Donald were taking a long time, but were working through it. Donald was giving the instructions and it seemed they were extremely detailed based of the fact that Georgie kept shouting at him to get on with it. They would make it, and being that there was no time limit, L.A. would get a point for them. The region was doing okay so far.

  Chapter Fourteen

  When everyone was in and the eggs, spoons, and blindfolds were collected, they headed back to the hotel as a big horde. It was then that Krista overheard a few guys say, “I would have been first, too, if I had slept with my partner.”

  Obviously the douche that said it meant to be overheard. He wanted to put Krista down. He wanted to undermine Sean. Krista, feeling Sean go a dangerous sort of fluid, spoke up immediately.

  “You mean you didn’t?” she asked the forty-something tubby man with a puffy, red face and greasy hair. “Must not’ve wanted it bad enough, huh?”

  Puffy-face’s eyes went wide and everyone laughed as Krista smoothly turned back around.

  Krista caught Tory’s gaze out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to meet it, he had looked away. She took that as a cue to work on her professionalism. She was the youngest there and it showed. Although, if she got in trouble because of it, she intended to use the defense: “He started it!”

  Next was a water balloon throw. Krista was wearing white. She had on a pink bra. She was also poor at catching without a glove. Needless to say, this one had her nervous.

  ~*~*~*~

  Sean, wanting to give Krista a chance to completely win over Georgie, took control of the pairings. He paired those two together, gave himself Dean since Dean was the hardest to control, and paired up Bob and Donald, who would both probably be lost causes in this competition. Everyone stood in a straight line, facing their partner. Then the balloon tosses began.

  Turned out Dean played softball. Sean played baseball. The two of them barely had to talk and certainly had no time to get chummy. Sean threw, Dean caught, and then returned the balloon, etc. until they were done. They were the second ones finished, right behind Jack and Tyler from San Francisco.

  Another ten minutes saw most others out or done. It left only one pair—Krista and Georgie. It was clear from watching for any length of time that Georgie thought the whole thing was a walk in the park. His lobs were right on, his catches were perfect, and he was totally relaxed.

  Krista’s efforts, however, were crap. She was all over the place. Her throws were too high, too low, too far—anything but right on. Her catches made everyone suck in their breath that she’d drop it or clutch it too hard. And if it wasn’t for the amount of fun she was having, everyone would’ve been looking down on the girl that didn’t fit in.

  Instead, everyone wore smiles.

  “Relax,” Sean said in a great imitation of Marcus.

  “Easy for you to say! You know how to play this accursed sport.” Krista spat back with a giggle.

  “If you had talked baseball with us you might be faring better,” Georgie yelled across the field between them.

  “Those who play sports, play sports. Those who can’t or don’t, are cheerleaders,” Donald said to her with a smile.

  “Okay, yes, I said that. But look—look at this fantastic lobbbb…oh God, Geor…CATCH IT!”

  Georgie lunged and just barely grabbed the balloon in a soft catch. Everyone sighed in relief. Sean had no idea he was so good at softball. It made the choice to pair them a lucky one.

  “Look at her. She’s straining!” someone said.

  Krista straightened up immediately, stopping Georgie mid-windup. She turned to the speaker. “Yes, Phil, much like you on the toilet. Don’t think I didn’t hear about your Monday morning blowouts!”

  Everyone started laughing. Phil, who hadn’t impressed Sean at all when he’d met him, and who impressed him even less when the manager tried to immediately turn his back on Krista after moving, said sheepishly, “Sunday was taco night!”

  There was a collective groan. Sean noticed Tory, who was always watching, wearing a scowl. There was a lot of sexual harassment going on this weekend, and Tory was both shocked and worried. He didn’t realize the culture was so anti-female, and he was legitimately worried Krista would sue. He also knew that if push came to shove, Sean would back her, and even press her, along that course. It was disgusting what he’d witnessed so far, and it was hurting business. They were missing the largest pool of dollars in the nation—those controlled by female spenders. It was the first thing Sean set his sights on—besides getting Krista back.

  “Now shut up, please, I am a chick and this is hard for me,” Krista said loftily. She got more laughter. Someone started an “air-ball” chant.

  Georgie gave a perfect lob, right toward Krista’s shaking, out-stretched hands.

  “AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” She cut off her yell with a laugh as she caught it.

  There was another collective sigh and clapping.

  “Take that!” Krista yelled with pride.

  “Two more lobs.” The ref called.

  “Party pooper,” Krista muttered darkly.

  More laughs.

  Krista was completely herself. The crisis of wanting to do well, of working with Georgie, of heading toward a common goal with a team that hated her, all disappeared and it was just Krista, trying to catch a balloon. It was refreshing. The guys around her, regardless of what rumors they believed, loved her right then. They thought she was a gas. They laughed at her jokes and shared her moments of pride. She did what she’d always done best—she held them all at a personal level and stripped away the titles.

  Krista focused on Georgie, bent like she was bowling, swung her arm, and gave the balloon a giant lob. The toss went too high with not enough projection—it would be short. Georgie wasn’t allowed to step forward, and if he did, they would lose. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to reach. The crowd held their breath.

  Georgie poised on the balls of his feet, balanced just right to reach as far as he possibly could, his hands straining toward the falling balloon…and he caught it! He closed one hand around the blue orb, had a moment of swaying where he almost lost his balance, and stuck it! It was an amazing catch.

  “Oh thank God!” Krista breathed in relief. She turned to the guy to her right. “I thought I was going to screw the pooch on that one!”

  “It was a great catch,” Bill from Chicago said, nodding.

  Krista and Georgie each took a step back. This was the final throw. If Krista caught it, they would get the point.

  “Ready?” Georgie called.

  “Okay—no, wait.” Krista did a dance like a boxer right before a fight. She shook out her hands and returned to the ready position. “Okay, go. Easy, Georgina! Be nice to me!”

  “Just hold out your hands like I showed you and cushion it when it comes. No sweat.”

  Krista groaned loudly. Everyone around her was smiling. Everyone around Georgie was engaged, looking like they were the ones doing the throw.

  Georgie gave her up a nice, big lob.

  Krista started repeating, “Oh crap, oh crap, oh CRAP!”

  The balloon fell into her hands, bounced once, wobbled violently—everyone sucked in their breath—then settled.

  “I did it!” Krista shouted with glee.

  She turned to Sean, her smile jubilant.

  “You would think we won the Super Bowl!” Georgie said as he walked up.

  Krista gave him a big
hug.

  “I’ve never made it through one of these. It is BIGGER than the Super Bowl!” Krista laughed.

  Georgie and Krista started walking back to the hotel after the crowd, everyone collectively in a good mood. Sean fell in beside them immediately.

  “That was big time Krista! Nice work,” Georgie said.

  “Thanks Georgie. Seriously couldn’t have done it without you. You’re a pro. But I’ll tell you—I probably wouldn’t have seen it to the end if I wasn’t so worried about it splashing on me and exposing my pink bra.”

  “I’m married, Krista, don’t tell me those things. Question for ya—why do Sean and Marcus call you Geegee?”

  “When I found her…” Sean began.

  “Met me, Sean. All you had to do was open your eyes in the copy annex to find me.”

  Sean looked from Krista to Georgie, and then said, “Like I said, when I found her…” Sean grinned and Georgie laughed. “She was the only Researcher that actually worked. The Research department where we used to work had a bunch of antisocial, incompetent employees, not to mention boring and fairly hideous. Anyway, after she joined my team, Marcus started calling her Geek Girl, for obvious reasons. It was Geegee for short.”

  “And we started calling him Captain,” Krista joined, “because he wasn’t technically our boss, but we were supposed to do whatever he said—at work, obviously.”

  “Nice slip up.” Georgie chuckled. “So is it true? You two were…or are…an item?”

  Krista looked at Sean. He looked around. There were a couple people in earshot, but they were arguing about football. “We were for a short time at the end of her employment at the last company. There has been nothing between us since. She made the move and got this position on her own. I got mine on my own.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Krista felt a stab of pain and looked away to hide it in case it showed on her face. To hide her discomfort, she said, “Don’t lie—you got your position by sleeping your way to the top. I hope you thanked Emily for sharing Tory!”