(Trust) Falling For You, page 8
He sat back. “Too much?”
“What’s too much?” Julia asked, bringing the group back together.
Yolanda blinked as she refocused her attention to the rest of the members. “Nothing, who wants to go next?”
Chapter Eight
Here’s to having… fun.
Day Four’s first activity became easier the more Samuel gave up control. He recognized how triggered he got when Julia veered them off course and distracted the rest of the group. But instead of getting annoyed, he took that opportunity to flirt with Yolanda. He would hold on to her reaction for a long time. Apparently, that retort was just as naughty as his “firm hand” comment. What’s more was she liked it. Once Julia interrupted them, he watched Yolanda fluster through the rest of the game. He went back to being a professional, but the pleasure of catching the unflappable Yolanda Watson made him suppress a grin as the last two group members took their turn.
And now, they stood in the same field where the Human Knot game took place. Today’s outdoor TB Activity was The Egg Drop relay race, and their teammates would be the same people from the last activity. The game would be based on speed and teamwork, something he didn’t know if his team would be ready for.
“Okay, gang!” Craig announced. “The rules of The Egg Drop are simple enough. We have lanes set up for each group, with various obstacles blocking everyone’s paths.”
Joanne jumped in excitedly. “Each lane also has three white markings indicating every leg of the relay. Your team needs to decide which partners will start the race, who will be in the middle, and who will finish.”
“Why do we need to have partners for this race?” Dennis from Philosophy asked.
“Well, that’s the fun team-building part,” Craig said in a voice normally reserved for something more exciting. No, quit that. Samuel stopped himself from being cynical and anxious about this. He was trying to have fun. “One TB Buddy will be blindfolded while the other guides them down the lane. So this exercise is as much about communication as it is speed.”
“Aaaand whichever team gets an unbroken egg down their lane the fastest,” Joanne interrupted, “will receive free campus parking for the semester!”
Free parking? That declaration earned Craig a whooping cheer from the participants. Professors had to pay for the privilege of driving to campus to the tune of $100 per month. Even Samuel felt a thrum of excitement. But after doing poorly for the last three TB Activities, he didn’t have high hopes of winning today’s event. And according to Yolanda, winning wasn’t his primary goal. He just needed to lighten up and enjoy the rest of the week.
“Everyone take your blindfolds and spoons before positioning yourselves,” Craig said, waving black strips of fabric in the air.
Yolanda sneaked a shy glance at him. “Who should go blind for this exercise?” she asked as Julia and Brenda collected their team’s tools.
“Good question,” he said. “I was going to ask which leg of relay we should do.”
“Not the middle,” she blurted.
Samuel raised a brow as he looked down at her. “Any reason?”
She ducked her face. “Middle of the road is boring.”
Samuel “So, if you’re not first, you’re last?”
He loved the way she seemed to laugh with her entire body as she clutched his arm and her eyes squinted in the sun. His body didn’t tense when she touched him; Samuel leaned into the warmth of her hand on his bicep. “Let’s go last,” she said, looking up at him with a wide grin. “I can wear the blindfold.”
“Do you trust me to lead you?” Samuel asked.
Her eyes softened. “I think so… You won’t let me trip over anything, will you?”
He shook his head. “Of course not, we’ll go as slow as we can.”
When the groups were in position with their spoons in hand and blindfolds covering their faces, Craig announced the last rule that would make their activity slightly more challenging. “Okay gang, so that this stays a communication challenge: you are not allowed to touch your TB Buddy. You must guide them verbally, but you are allowed to make the transfer from one egg carrier to the next. If your partner drops their egg, you must run back to Joanne for a new one. Everybody got it?”
“TB!”
“Great! Now put on your blindfolds and get your spoons ready!”
Samuel held Yolanda’s spoon while she tied the black cloth over her face. The strip covered her eyes and the bridge of her nose. “Can you see anything?” he asked, waving a hand in front of her face.
She shook her head. “Nope,” her hands extended before her. “Spoon?”
Samuel placed it in her grasp. “Got it?”
“Yes,” she said with a smile. “Are you close by?” One hand was still extended towards him.
“I’m here.” He stepped closer and allowed her to touch his chest. Her fingers lightly grazed against his pecs before finding his bicep. Just that brief touch made him press his lips together and bury a groan.
“On your marks, get set…” Joanne dragged out her pause. “Go!”
“We won’t be able to touch when the egg gets to us,” he reminded her.
“I know,” she said in a low voice. “But for now, I need something to hold on to.”
Samuel didn’t mind being that something. He cherished every moment their bodies were near one another. Being so close to unraveling in her hands, losing his self-control, should have frightened him. Instead, Samuel felt emboldened.
“You should probably talk or something,” Yolanda said, squeezing his arm. “I don’t like the silence.”
He noticed that about her. She could talk enough for both of them, but he didn’t want to leave her hanging in this moment. “What would you like to talk about?” he asked.
Her lovely red lips pursed to one side of her mouth as she faced his general direction. “I want to know how you learned to be so slick overnight?”
Because she couldn’t see him, he allowed a smile stretch over his face. He had hoped that his comments weren’t completely ridiculous. Samuel’s attempts with flirtation were off the cuff, and he was still quite self-conscious. “Slick?”
“‘Put your lips together and blow?’”
“I like movie quotes,” he replied, watching the race around him. The team closest to Craig and Joanne had already dropped their egg during the first leg. The other team was slower than Peter and Chris, but not by much. “Did I do well?”
She nodded. “You can be very charming when you want to be. I hope you take this energy back to school this semester.”
Yolanda’s suggestion rang in his head. It wasn’t a bad idea; he liked this light feeling in his chest. Could most days at Franklin University be like this? The promise of another smile in his direction, or a kiss, drove him mad with an excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time. “Would you like to keep that energy with me?” he finally asked, watching her face.
Yolanda went quiet. Her mouth became a small “o” at his question, but her fingers tightened on his arm. “What are you asking?”
“Nothing too different from last night,” he said. “We were going to kiss, possibly more… Do you think you’d still want to do that?”
The amount of seconds it took for her to answer was terrifying. How he now hung on her every word made him uncomfortable. It was as if he sought her approval in all things “fun.” It was her sly grin that made him breathe easy. “I did promise you a kiss… I should probably make good on that.”
“Only if you’d like to,” Samuel said.
“I’d like to,” Yolanda replied, squeezing his arm again. “If you’re okay with it.”
With her vision obscured, Samuel felt comfortable spilling some of his feelings. He still had time with Chris making the gentle hand-off to Julia. “I’ve wanted to talk to you for a while,” he admitted in a low voice. “I was just afraid to get to know you. We’ve been at odds since last year… Kissing has felt like the furthest thing from my mind until now. But I do want that. Does that sound silly?”
She shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”
He sighed. “Well, that’s how I feel.”
“Thank you for trusting me with that information,” Yolanda said as her hand slid down to his forearm. “I appreciate it, as your TB Buddy and colleague.”
Samuel chuckled. “Thank you. Now, how do you feel as a regular woman who’s not my TB Buddy?”
She joined in on his laughter. “Regular Yolanda would really like to make out with you like a teenager at summer camp,” she lowered her voice, “I’d even let you get to third base.”
He was glad she couldn’t see him blush. “While I’m very excited to hear that, I need you to get ready for Julia.”
Yolanda’s body tensed. “Is she close?”
“Close enough,” he said, pulling away from her grasp. “I’ll help with the hand-off, but I need you to be calm, and follow my voice.”
“Are we in the lead?”
Samuel thought twice before answering her. Yes, they were in the lead, but an overly competitive Yolanda didn’t need to know that. “We’re doing well,” he said. “Don’t worry about that.”
She chuckled as she held her spoon aloft. “I really want that free parking spot.”
“Would it help if I took your mind off the race?”
“Definitely,” Yolanda said, nodding. “Keep being slick.”
He watched Julia draw nearer to them and tried to suppress his laughter. “It’s difficult to be slick on command, Yolanda.”
“You work best when you’re teasing me,” she said.
Samuel moved closer to her ear. “I would imagine the teasing would make you more slick,” he whispered.
Yolanda gasped. “Oh my god, you did it again.” The unobscured parts of her face darkened with an embarrassed blush.
Sam delighted in seeing her bite her bottom lip and duck her head. “You have a point though,” he said. “It works better when I feed off of you.”
“It’s good to know you’re not averse to feeding off me,” she said with a straight face. “I really enjoy it as a TB Activity.”
For the first time since meeting Yolanda, Samuel let out an undignified snort of laughter. His face was on fire, but he still delighted in her ability to catch him off guard. “Team-building or third-base?”
“Pick one,” she challenged.
“I’ll think about that later, but for now, Julia’s here with an egg.”
“I’m ready,” she said, jabbing her spoon in the air.
“Okay, we’re here,” Brenda said to Julia. “We’re handing it off!”
“You guys better not fuck this up with your arguing,” Julia said, holding the egg out.
“We’re not arguing,” Yolanda promised.
Samuel carefully plucked the egg from her spoon and transferred it to Yolanda’s. “You’ve got the egg,” he said. “And I’m right beside you; just follow my voice.”
Yolanda held her spoon still and took her first steps forward. “Are we winning?” she asked in an excited voice.
“We’re not going to focus on anyone else,” Samuel replied. “We’re just going to run our own race.” He meant it. As much as he wanted to win free campus parking, this moment was more important. He wanted to work well with Yolanda, making up for all the other times they weren’t on the same page.
Her nose scrunched. “You’re not going to tell me who’s in the lead?”
“Do you trust me?” he asked, following her timid steps forward.
“Is that from Titanic?”
“Maybe.”
“Jesus…”
She set a good pace: not too slow and not fast enough to jostle the egg. Up ahead, a cardboard box obstructed their path. “In a few feet, I’ll tell you to stop so we can get around the first obstacle.”
“The box?” she asked.
“Yes, you’re going to come to a gentle stop,” he warned.
“Okay…”
“Stop,” he said in a quiet voice.
She halted. “Where do you want me to go?”
“Take three small steps to your right.
Yolanda took three timid sidesteps until she cleared the box. Samuel stifled the urge to reach out and touch her, guide her through the course, keeping his hands by his sides.
“Now you can go forward,” he said. “Keep the same steady pace. You’re doing great.”
“How are we doing?” she asked.
No one else captured his attention in that moment because Samuel’s primary focus was the woman in front of him. Her half-shrouded face kept him so transfixed, he could ignore the busy race around them. “We’re doing well, Yolanda, just focus on me and my voice.”
A bright smile lit her face. “I will.”
There was one last obstacle that blocked their path; a small fence that was about a foot from the ground. Yolanda couldn’t sidestep this one, she’d have to go over it. “In about five feet, you need to stop again so you can step over a small fence.”
“My arm is getting tired,” she complained.
“You’re almost there. Okay, gentle stop.”
She paused just as the team beside them shouted: “Dammit!”
“Did someone drop an egg?” Yolanda asked.
Samuel laughed as he stepped over the short barrier. “I’m not paying attention to them,” he said. “I only have eyes for you, Yolanda.”
“The Leo in me loves hearing that,” she said in a low voice. “You’re probably looking at my tits.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not focused on your… breasts.”
“Shame,” she sighed. “So, what should I do now?”
Samuel ran a hand over his mouth and thought about how to direct her without upsetting the egg. “Tap your toe against the barrier. Just see how high it is.”
Yolanda lifted a leg, running her sneaker against the wooden fence. When her foot rested on the top, she pushed forward and straddled the obstruction.
“Slowly…” he warned.
After both feet were on the right side of the barrier, Yolanda faced the wrong way. “Now what?”
“Now turn ninety degrees to your left so you face the finish. You’ve only got a little more left, TB Buddy.” Samuel finally glanced at the two other teams. He and Yolanda were in the lead! The first team’s egg upset had slowed them down in the second leg, while the other team had just returned from Joanne with a fresh egg. He looked back at Yolanda, who was unaware of what was happening around her. “Easy does it.”
“No more obstacles?” she asked.
“Nope, we’re just walking now.”
“Strolling?”
“It’s a gentle promenade.”
“I don’t need to go faster?” Yolanda asked. “I feel like I should move faster.”
“Not at all. The goal is just to finish without dropping the egg.”
Yolanda frowned. “No, the goal is to finish first without dropping the egg.”
Samuel stepped over the finished line and waited for her to follow him. “And you’ve done that,” he said as soon as she walked across the threshold. “You can stop.”
Yolanda froze in place with a huge grin on her face. “I did it?” she screeched.
“We’re finished!” Samuel shouted. “Hearty TB!”
The rest of their team ran down the lane towards them as Craig and Joanne cheered. “Go Fox Cabin!”
Yolanda wrenched her blindfold from her face and looked at her egg. “Oh my god, we did it!” she screamed. “I can’t believe we did it!”
Craig came jogging up to them to confirm their win. “Yolanda has a safe egg!” he called out to the others. He plucked it from her spoon and held it aloft like it was Excalibur. “We have a winner.”
The other teams groaned in disappointment while giving a weak applause. Before Samuel could react, Yolanda jumped on him with a fierce hug. “Thank you,” she whispered. “We actually worked together for once.”
He caught her after a stumble and hugged her midsection. “Of course.”
Over her shoulder, Samuel saw the rest of their team approach. Julia’s grin paired with a curious expression as she watched their embrace. “Good job, you guys,” she said. “You just saved me a couple hundred dollars this semester.”
Yolanda released him, but kept one arm draped around him as she faced the team. “We all did this,” she said. “You got it to us in no time at all.”
Her arm wrapped around his middle, her fingers brushing against his ribs, branding his skin through his shirt. Clearly, she had no problem with this display of camaraderie in front of their colleagues. Was Samuel supposed to lean into her touch? Was he allowed to show how much he liked it?
He tried not to think; he just wanted to feel.
So he pulled her closer against his side and lifted his hand to his teammates for a round of high-fives. “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Chris and Peter were quick to reciprocate. “We’re parking like kings this year!” Peter shouted.
Brenda hugged the other side of Samuel. “Thank you guys for keeping it together.”
And for the first time since he began working at Franklin University, he felt like he belonged. The people whom he’d rushed past in the hallways were now congratulating him for the silliest competition that had nothing to do with research or teaching. It felt… nice.
* * *
Samuel tried to busy himself while Yolanda was in the bathroom. He heard water running when he fluffed his pillows and put his shoes by the door. Nervous energy coursed through his body as he contemplated how to approach her.
Continue being slick?
His nerves had plagued him all evening. While they ate dinner and gloated over their prize, he half listened to Yolanda recount how well he’d done to guide her. He was more focused on the brightness in her eyes as she laughed with the others. Yes, they had done a good job, but Samuel was more focused on making good on the flirting she’d chided him about. Every time she caught him staring at her, she’d throw him a wink before returning to the rest of the group.
Their walk back was quiet and awkward, as he had run out of things to say. His mind was on this moment, pacing the cabin, trying his best to relax. Yolanda would walk out of that bathroom soon, and he still didn’t know how he would sweep her off her feet.
