Wicked Games by Jessica Clare Read Online

  PARTNER GAMES

By

Jessica Clare

Copyright © 2022 by Jill Myles writing as Jessica Clare

All rights reserved. No office of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any style whatsoever without written permission from the author.

Partner Games

Clementine is happy being the nerdy shadow to her glamorous, successful model sister. They've always been close simply recently Georgie has drifted abroad. Clementine is willing to do anything to bring them close again, including a stint on the reality TV show The World Races. Perchance the challenge volition bring them together and Clemmy tin can finally figure out what's going on inside her twin'due south caput.

What she didn't count on was Squad One Percent and sexy, tattooed Swift. He's tall, night and handsome – and into nerds. But can she romance a guy while on a reality TV prove with her sister? Worse however, what happens when they get to the finish line?

Wicked Games (Games one)

Playing Games (Games ii)

Ice Games (Games 3)

Bedroom Games (Games 4)

Reindeer Games (Games 4.5)

Body Games (Games five)

Partner Games (Games 6)

Pleasance Games (Games half-dozen.v)

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Chapter 1

"I've uh, actually never left the States. Wait, I've been to Canada. Does Canada count?" — Swift, The I Percenters Team, Pre-Game Interview, The Earth Races

As we waited to have our casting photos taken, my sister turned to me and brushed a lock of hair back into one of my brown, shoulder-length braids. "I don't know if I said thank you for doing this, Clemmy, but thank y'all."

"Y'all don't accept to thank me, Georgie," I said, feeling a picayune flustered at her words. "That's what sisters are for. Information technology'due south not similar I was doing anything else, right?"

"Yeah, but I know the camera stuff makes you lot nervous." She gave me another hug. "And that university was stupid for passing you up."

Nervous was an understatement. And then again, so was the university 'passing me up'. Understatements all over the identify. My cute twin Georgie was the social, gregarious one. I was the shy, retiring one that froze up when it came to public speaking and looked similar a deer in headlights in every photo. Every bit for the academy, I'd explained to Georgie a hundred times that the academy hadn't really 'passed me upwardly'. Information technology was simply that universities could but hire and so many paleontologists and the academy of my choice was completely full at the moment. Someone would have to quit, retire, or die earlier I'd go a academy job. And then I had my shiny PhD in invertebrate paleontology and an impressive amount of field time every bit an intern…and no job. I'd applied around, just at that place were more than paleontologists than jobs at the moment, and my hopes weren't high.

Georgie hugged me again, brimming with excitement. "Isn't this heady? I honey traveling." My sister's eyes were shining and she looked livelier than she had since I'd returned to California to meet her.

"Backpacks on," someone in production called out, and Georgie and I separated, shrugging on our vivid ruby backpacks. We wore our team shirts (also carmine) and a pair of matching black track pants with a scarlet stripe downwards the side. Our names were emblazoned across the breast of each item of clothing we carried in our bags (per game rules) and while Georgie'south name was bold beyond her breast, my name – Clementine – was significantly longer and the font had been shrunk to fit it all.

I supposed if I had a bigger breast maybe they'd have had more room. Simply there was i thing the Price girls didn't have, it was enormous tracts of land. Georgie and I were both tall and lanky.

"Next team is up," the production assistant said, and someone waved the states forward.

Georgie grabbed my sweating hand and charged ahead, dragging me reluctantly behind her. This was the function she was good at. I'd let her have the lead. I trailed behind, mentally cringing when nosotros stepped into a staged surface area full of tropical plants and surrounded by a dozen cameras. In that location was a taped X on the grass and someone pointed for u.s.a. to stand up there.

We moved forward together, and when we stood on the X, Georgie put her arms around my waist and smiled for the camera.

"What team is this?" Someone asked. Next to the man with the camera, a adult female flipped through paperwork on a clipboard. "Model and sister, right?" She looked up. "Which one of you's the famous one?"

"Actually?" I murmured sarcastically.

Georgie merely pinched me.

It was a ridiculous question. You could tell which one of us was the dino-nerd and which one was the supermodel just by looking at u.s.a.. Despite the fact that we were twins (fraternal twins), Georgie and I shared nothing simply a common height. My hair was a boring brown, and I wore information technology in 2 dorky braids to go on it out of the way. I wore a little makeup today (only considering Georgie fabricated me) and had big, square glasses perched on my nose. Georgie, meanwhile, was the pic of glamour. Her pilus was a bleached platinum-blonde that somehow managed to autumn perfectly, her makeup was immaculate, and even our uniform looked ameliorate on her lithe frame than mine. Probably because I was fifteen pounds heavier than her and liked to swallow things other than lettuce.

Even then, she gave the camera-human being a wink and a friendly smile. "That's me. Georgie Price."

"Georgie Price? Shit, I didn't realize." The photographer's face up bankrupt into a smile and I wanted to roll my eyes. Like my famous sis couldn't be recognized because she'd accessorized with a dork. "Y'all're on The World Races this season?"

"I am." She pulled me tighter confronting her. "With my sister. We're the red team."

"Great," he said, peering into his photographic camera and adjusting the lens. "Permit's movement you in front of her, and so."

I obediently let get of my sister and took a step astern. I was used to this sort of matter. Everyone wanted Georgie's movie. Nobody wanted mine.

Only Georgie, bless her middle, frowned at this and pulled me forward over again. "We're a squad of sisters. There's no reason to have her standing behind me."

"It's merely for promo," he began.

Georgie's lean little jaw ready. "No."

"People are going to be less interested in seeing your partner than they are you—"

"I don't care," she said in a firm voice. "Do I demand to call my agent and enhance a stink because you won't photograph me standing adjacent to my partner?"

"Georgie, really, information technology's all right," I whispered.

"No," she said over again. "We're a team or we're not doing this at all." There was a slightly drastic note in her phonation that alarmed me. This was more than just polite stubbornness. I could tell past the expect in her eye and the way she clung to me as she pulled me forward once more.

"Permit'south but do this," the production lady said, gesturing for us to continue rolling. "We have a schedule to go on and we're running backside as it is."

Georgie'due south arm tightened around my waist like a vise. She gave everyone her nearly bright, sultry smile. "Nosotros're ready."

And I stood awkwardly next to my beautiful, famous twin and smiled for the photographic camera.

~~ * * * ~~

After bandage photos were taken, Georgie and I were hustled forth to our pre-game interviews. I wanted to sit down and have a minute with my sis, to ask her what was bothering her. Georgie was my opposite in and so many means, and that included being low-key where I was uptight and nervous. Something was clearly bothering her, merely at that place was no time to talk.

As we headed to the side by side station, I was relieved to come across that there were 2 stools for us to sit down. That was adept, because all these people milling around and staring at usa was making me feel a little weak in the knees. I plopped gratefully on my stool equally we were

encouraged to come up forward. Georgie sabbatum with utter grace, of course.

"All right, ladies," a homo in a baseball cap said. He went to a camera tripod and fiddled with the knobs, and so a blood-red light flicked on. "This is the 'get to know yous' segment. We're going to ask you some questions so the audience tin can get a feel for who you are. Try to exist entertaining."

Somehow, I felt like that was aimed at me.

"So," he said. "What'southward the name of your team?"

Georgie looked over at me. "We're calling ourselves the Wonder Twins."

I smiled nervously at that little red lite on the camera, feeling like an idiot.

"You guys are twins?" He seemed skeptical.

Nosotros got that a lot. "Congenial," I chimed in. "Identical twins are split from the same egg. Fraternal are just 2 different babies that share the aforementioned womb at the aforementioned fourth dimension. We're fraternal. Sororal, if you want to become technical."

He stared blankly at me. Okay, yeah, possibly I'd just shut my dweeby mouth and let my sis talk. I looked at Georgie helplessly.

"You don't similar our proper noun?" She said, reaching over and giving my arm a clasp. "Got a proffer for a better one?"

"I think casting suggested 'Dazzler and the Geek'. No i'southward going to look at yous and think you're twins."

Georgie fabricated a face. "Let's stick with Wonder Twins."

"Arrange yourself. We can't make the other teams call you that." He glanced downwardly at a cue card. "What's your profession? Both of you?"

Georgie'south hands went to her breastbone. "I exercise modeling. I've been in a little fleck of everything, from Sports Illustrated to Victoria's Secret to the embrace of Fashionelle." She looked over at me.

And here was where the geek came in. "I'm a paleontologist. Actually, an invertebrate paleontologist. There are different kinds of paleontologists but I specialize in the Devonian era. My chief focus is ammonites and the related ammonoidea."

"She has a PhD," Georgie said proudly. "She'south the smarts of our team."

"And what is your partner'due south biggest forcefulness?" The guy asked. "Permit's start with Beauty's reply."

Georgie's smile faltered at his words, but she recovered quickly. "Well, Clementine'south definitely the brains. She's great with puzzles and she'south very particular-oriented. She'll keep us on track and if there'south something that needs to be figured out, I have no doubts that she tin do it."

"And Geek? What'southward your partner's biggest strength?"

I ignored Georgie's scowl. I'd been called worse than 'geek' before, though information technology seemed lazy for him to call us that, considering that our first names were sprawled across our chests. "Georgie's a really good people person. It's something that I lack skill in – being friendly and open with people. She's non agape of anything: non crowds, heights, snakes, bugs. Null scares her. And she's traveled all over the earth with her job, where I haven't really left united states before. I've been all over the Midwest on intern trips, but I've never officially left the states before today."

"Okay ladies, what'south your partner'south biggest weakness? Dazzler?"

Her jaw set a little and she looked similar she was going to comment, but I gave a small-scale shake of my caput and a pleading await. I just wanted to be done with the interview so we could go on with the game. Georgie sucked in a deep jiff and then answered. "I recall Clementine'south a fiddling shy. She could stand to let her pilus downward and live a trivial."

I stiffened, waiting for Georgie'southward inevitable teasing virtually how I was a shy virgin at the ripe quondam age of twenty-eight. The last thing I wanted was for my sexual condition (or lack thereof) to be recorded on national Tv.

But she said naught, and turned to me. Oh, give thanks God.

"And Beauty's biggest weakness? What's that?"

She'south secretive, I thought, just didn't say that out loud. Something was going on with Georgie, my sweet, beautiful, easygoing twin, and I didn't know what information technology was. She'd nearly lost her temper twice this morning, and that wasn't like her. But I didn't want to confront her on camera, non when nosotros were supposed to be a team.

So I reached over and grabbed one of Georgie'southward skinny arms. "Look at this," I said, holding information technology upward. "She's skinny as a rails. There's no musculus strength behind these twigs. If there'southward stone hauling or anything that requires physical strength, we're both screwed."

Georgie laughed wildly. "I'm a model. I'm supposed to be skinny, you dingdong."

"I wish yous'd eat a dingdong," I exclaimed, warming up at my twin'due south laughter. "Something other than tofu and lettuce! We need to bulk upward if we're going to compete with these great big guys."

"We'll merely have to outwit them and then stun them with our beauty."

"Yep, I'll tackle the outwit part. Y'all can handle the other."

The cameraman chuckled. "All correct, ladies. Thank you. I think I've got what we need. Your production assistant will be along shortly to show you to the next expanse."

Sure enough, we were collected by another frazzled homo wearing a headset and a The Earth Races baseball game cap. He gestured for united states of america to follow him, and then led us to a tiny ruddy-and-white striped tent, only large enough for the ii of us. "Put on your backpacks and delight remain quiet until you're called out to the field. Once you are, step to the starting line that'due south designated for your team. When everyone's lined upwards, the host will arrive. Understand?"

We nodded in unison, and he left, exiting out of the front of the tent flap. It slapped closed with a rustle.

Immediately, Georgie moved frontwards and began to peek out the tent.

"We're non supposed to do that," I whispered.

"They won't be able to tell," my twin said. "Don't worry. I only want to come across who nosotros're racing against."

Her backpack was blocking my power to squeeze in side by side to her then I shifted on my feet and waited patiently. "Yous encounter annihilation?"

"Someone's coming out of a yellow tent at the far end of the field," she told me. "Or whatever this identify is."

"It's non a field," I told her. We'd been blindfolded earlier coming in to the staging area, simply I'd guessed that this was a circus of some kind, and our tiny tent was pitched under a much, much larger one. "I think we're in a big top tent."

"I hope there'due south no clowns. I hate clowns."

"Merely tell me who you lot run into! Who'south in the yellowish tent?"

"I will, goober! Just calm down." She peered out of the slit and shifted a little, her haversack jostling me even further astern. "Looks like a pair of ladies. Middle aged. They're moms or something." She squinted. "Kristi and….looks similar Mary. I bet nosotros tin can vanquish them in a foot race. They've got a bit of jiggle on them."

I rolled my eyes. To my waifish sis, i hundred and twenty pounds was someone with a bit of 'jiggle'.

"Oh, the next squad is coming out," she said. "Ho, Jesus, and they're scary looking."

"They are? What?" I pushed at her backpack, trying to force my way in.

"I'1000 guessing their team colour is black. They look like biker dudes. One is Swift, and the other is Plate. Those aren't names!" She laughed. "That is so weird. They're carrying leather jackets and they're both wearing black bandannas on their heads. Definitely bikers."

"Weird," I said, since Georgie probably wanted a reply. I gave up on trying to squeeze in adjacent to her and but mentally filed the information away. Black squad was 2 bikers. I was picturing a pair of big, disguised, scary dudes. Probably with equally big, scary guts. And spikes. Somewhere, they were probably wearing spikes.

"Here comes blue," Georgie whispered after a moment. "Dad and his son, I think. Old dude and a younger dude. They look pretty fit." She snorted a moment afterwards. "Younger guy's name is Bingo. That has to exist a nickname. I hope."

"Ameliorate than Clemmy," I teased, reminding her of her nickname for m

e.

"You hush. Oh, hither come a pair of ladies in red hats and majestic team uniforms. Gray hair. We can totally beat them."

"Are yous stack ranking us?" I said with a smile. "I had no idea y'all were so competitive."

"We're in this to win this. Ooo, green is some hot looking dudes. I wonder if they're athletes."

"Sounds like green is the team to beat out and then far," I murmured.

"And black, don't forget them."

Beards and bellies? Really? I shrugged. She was the one with the view.

"Teal is a married couple, I think. Or dating. Guy and girl. They expect pretty fit. Oh, and there's a pink team. I'1000 kind of sad we didn't get pink."

"What'south pink expect like?"

"Mmm, two women. Not so fit, but they look like they're having a proficient time. Jen and Alicia. And brown is another dating couple – I recall their shirts say Gwen and Elon."

"All correct, ruddy," a voice piped into our tent. "Come on out and expect excited."

Y'all didn't have to tell my sister twice. She poked over at me, grabbed my hand, and then we burst from the tent together, running forrard. Georgie waved her free hand in the air wildly to the clapping of the other teams, while I tried to look Not-Terrified.

Nosotros divisional forward and Georgie hopped onto our red line, smile at the other teams. We were surrounded by cameras. Everywhere, there were cameramen and product people zipping around, and all the teams were lined up in a half circumvolve. My breathing grew rapid with nervousness and I began to get dizzy. This felt similar being on stage — my worst nightmare.

Georgie squeezed my hand. "You're going to exist fine, Clemmy. Just chill."

I blinked speedily and nodded. "I've got this." Taking a deep jiff, I focused on the person standing directly across from me.

It was a guy, dressed totally in black. No biker beard. Instead, he was incredibly fit and rather gorgeous. His breast said Swift. Oh damn. That was one of the bikers?

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