Accidentally Amy(14)

An amused look crossed his face, a slow smile, and it looked ridiculously good on him as he said, “I'm sure I can--”
“You’re not listening.” She cut him off. “You’re an AVP who wears suits that probably cost more than our rent every month. Billboard Assholes is not for you.”
“Well, I’m in,” Blake pronounced, giving her bossy eye contact that made her a tiny bit flustered. Probably because he was standing close enough for her to smell his cologne and stare directly at his throat, which was somehow very appealing. “And you’re going to be my partner.”
“Whoa - this is Partner Billboard Assholes?” Izzy shook her head and said, “No way - that’s even worse. I can’t let you play.”
“What are you--”
“Shhh.” She cut him off with a violent head shake and said, “These guys are cutthroat, and they play for high stakes. If you lose, there’s no getting out of paying the price.”
“Are you trying to protect me?” he asked, his eyes narrowed marginally.
“Kind of.” She cleared her throat and said, “See, Josh and his friends bought a few billboards around town as an investment package a few years ago. But there’s one billboard that’s in a terrible location so they can never lease the space.”
“So…?” he said, his eyebrows cocked together.
“So they use it for their own entertainment.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and said, “The loser of Billboard Assholes gets their face put on the billboard for an entire month.”
“No shit?” he said, his mouth sliding into a grin. Wow - there really was a mischievous side to him that she wouldn’t hate exploring if he weren't her boss and she wasn't a company peon. He asked, “What does the winner get?”
“To write the caption.”
He started laughing, which made her smile, but then she said, “No, no - I get it. It’s hilarious. But now you can see why someone like you can’t play.”
He looked irritated by that. “Someone like me.”
“My face was up on the billboard in August 2021 with the caption The Face of Herpes Can Take Any Form - get tested.”
He looked horrified as he laughed and said, “Dear God.”
“Very not vice presidential, right?”
He seemed to consider that for a moment before saying, “Well I’m not going to lose.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, you totally will.”
“How could you know that?”
“It’s a very complex game,” she said, wishing the overconfident hottie would just trust her.
“Hey.” Josh came into the kitchen and said, “In or out? We want to get started.”
Izzy looked at Blake, who winked at her before saying, “We are so in.”


    “Wrong.”
Kyle, Josh’s best friend, smiled from across the kitchen table and said to Blake, “Haribo eventually found success with gummi bears, but Hans Riegel’s first product was actually hard, colorless candies.”
“Dammit,” Izzy muttered, impressed by Blake's knowledge of trivia but irritated by his unwillingness to consult her before just blurting out an answer.
“That means the point goes to us,” Kyle said, looking smug as he put the card back into the box. “Unless you want a physical challenge.”
“We’ll take the physical challenge,” Blake said, looking unfazed. He probably assumed it was something easy, a random athletic task that someone muscular like him could do in his sleep.
“No, we won’t,” Izzy said. “We’re only down by one - no need to panic.”
“Too late - he said it,” Kyle said, reaching into the red box for a card. “Physical challenge it is.”
Izzy groaned.
“I’ve got this - no worries,” Blake said.
Izzy just shook her head and sighed. Typical man, assuming he knew something about something he knew nothing about.
Kyle said, “Your challenge is as follows. The two of you must crab walk down the stairs, side-by-side, without falling. You must have hands and feet on the same steps at the same time. For example, four hands must be on the same stair at all times, as well as four feet on the same respective step. Also, you may not speak to each other during the challenge; non-verbal is the only acceptable form communication.”
Blake asked, “Did you say crab-walk down the--”
“Also,” Kyle continued, ignoring Blake, “you must sing Someone Like You by Adele throughout the entire challenge. Any questions?”
Blake looked speechless, which made Izzy want to scream I told you!
Blake asked, “What if I don’t know that song?”
“Only one team member has to sing. But how do you not know that song?”
Blake looked at Izzy and said, “Do you know it?”
She looked offended by the question. “Of course I do - how do you not?”
Josh started singing Adele at the top of his lungs, and everyone else - who wasn't Blake or Izzy - joined in. There were a total of 10 people playing - Izzy knew four of them - and they’d definitely all hit the booze harder than Blake and Izzy.
“Can we have a one-minute conference before time starts?” Izzy asked.
“Forty-five seconds,” Kyle said.
“Can you show us the crab walk?” Izzy knew what a crab walk was from gym class, but hopefully this was some sort of forward-facing deviation she was unfamiliar with.
Josh dropped to the floor, propped himself up on his arms and started moving backward. He looked ridiculous, pale and shirtless and crab-walking around the living room, and if she weren’t so tense, she’d be cracking up.