Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

BLAKE

By the time I get out of the jacuzzi, I'm so sick of single people I consider skipping the mixer tonight. I suppose if I were here in another capacity, I might feel differently, but it's exhausting trying to ward off female attention, all the while looking for angles for my articles.

The more time I spend with Krista, the more I feel her desperation to get my attention. I hope that Thor and Molly sealed their interest in each other today so I can cut Krista loose before she gets too invested in me.

Once I get to my room, I order a late lunch before setting up my laptop.

I spent the morning zip-lining with several other singles and had a great time. I mean, how can you screw up zip-lining? We were too busy enjoying the sport to do much else, but then came an hour in the jacuzzi. The banter, the flirting, the nervous giggling. It was a lot.

We're only on day two here, but it feels like day ten. There's a desperation in the air to find your person and claim them for your own before the competition moves in, and it's borderline painful.

You can't force a connection with people. I originally thought two weeks was an excessive amount of time when I first heard about Trina Rockwell's new endeavor, but I now feel like it might not be long enough. The pressure to win a partner's attention is real.

I eat my cheeseburger as soon as it arrives and then rent a movie to watch. While I'd love to go snowmobiling, I really don't want to run into anyone else before I have to. Tonight will come soon enough.

I wind up nodding off during my favorite Christmas movie of all time, Die Hard . Then I uncharacteristically nap for the better part of three hours. By the time I wake up, I only have thirty minutes to shower and shave in order to get downstairs in time for the next group get-together.

Being that tonight is more than cocktails—it's a full-on dinner—I pull out all the stops and wear a suit. I do this with some hesitation though, because I cut a fine figure in my Hugo Boss, and I don't want to elicit too much attention.

By the looks of the crowd in the ballroom, I'm one of the last people to show up.

It's clear by just glancing around that the machinations have already begun. Excitement hovers in the atmosphere like a cloud of mustard gas. Comparing these events to an act of war might be a bit extreme, but after this afternoon, there's a real feeling of do or die in the air.

Krista spots me almost immediately and hurries to my side. "Blake, you look very handsome!" She boldly leans forward and kisses me somewhere between the cheek and the mouth.

"Krista, how are you?" I step back, ostensibly to admire her dress, but I really just want some space .

"Good, now that you're here," she purrs.

I try to remember at what point she became so forward. I think it might have been when Kyle's companion said she thought she knew me from somewhere. At any rate, Krista changed, and not for the better.

"Have you seen Thor?" I ask her.

"I haven't looked for him. I was waiting for you."

"Why don't we look for him together," I suggest. Maybe Krista will think I'm interested in Thor and back off.

As we walk around the ballroom, I nod to several people I've already met. Kyle is talking to a new woman, Olivia and Ronald are cozying up together, but Thor is nowhere to be found. A weird hush momentarily takes over the room, and then I hear Krista say, "Is that Molly?"

Turning around, I follow the gaze of the masses and nearly swallow my tongue. What in the world happened to her? Molly looks like another woman entirely. Not that she wasn't beautiful before, because she most definitely was, but this version of her is positively mind blowing.

I feel a pull toward her like we're opposite sides of a magnet and the only scientific possibility is for us to come together. Krista follows closely beside me. When we reach Molly, Krista says, "What have you done?"

Molly inexplicably asks, "Is it horrible?"

"Not at all!" Krista seems disappointed when she says, "You look stunning!"

Molly's shoulders relax slightly. "I got my hair done this afternoon."

And while it's clear her hair looks great, it's the dress that's caught my eye. Or the lack of dress if you're looking at it from behind. There's so much bare skin I can count the vertebrae on Molly's back.

"That dress is to die for," Krista tells her, sounding sincere.

Molly glances at me briefly before leaning in and whispering something in Krista's ear. Krista's eyes widen before she says, "That takes guts."

Inserting myself into the conversation, I announce, "You look very nice, Molly." I sound like I'm complimenting her yard maintenance or something equally mundane.

She offers a pained smile in return. Then we all stand there like we have no idea what to say next. Luckily, that's when Thor finds us. He's with two new women. Boy, this guy really gets around. He says, "I'd like you all to meet Brooklyn and Emily."

I shake their hands before introducing Krista and Molly. Meanwhile, Thor nods his head at Molly in a friendly manner and tells her, "I like your dress." He doesn't appear to be nearly as dazzled as I am.

Molly barely makes eye contact with him while mumbling, "Thank you."

The air between them is weird. It makes me wonder if things didn't go well for them after Krista and I left. Turning to Thor, I ask, "What did you do this afternoon?"

"I worked out in the gym and then went for a long walk."

"Alone?"

Emily, one of the women he brought over, announces, "I went with him. We met at the gym." I can't for the life of me figure out why he and Molly didn't spend more time together, but I clearly can't ask him here.

Before things get weirder, Trina taps on a microphone at the front of the room. "Welcome to our second event! I'm guessing some of you might have already found some interesting prospects, but it's early days, so I'm going to continue to make suggestions. Ladies, take the hand of the man who's standing at your right side and lead him out on the dance floor. Don't hesitate, just do it."

Despite the fact that I'm on Molly's left, she reaches out for my hand. She practically pulls me away from our little group before demanding, "What's wrong with me?"

Absolutely nothing . "What do you mean? "

"I mean, what's wrong with me?" she repeats. Luckily, she doesn't ask why I didn't invite her to join me in the hot tub, but it's clear that's what she's thinking,

The music starts to play, so I open my arms to her. The problem is that I'm not quite sure what to do with my hands. Molly's entire back is bare, and as much as I want to, I should not touch her like that. I quickly readjust my position and take her hands before answering, "There's nothing wrong with you. He just wanted to work out." Then I slowly try to lead our dance which is not easy while also trying to keep her at a distance.

"Why didn't Thor ask me to work out with him. I can work out," she says heatedly.

"I don't know why he didn't ask you," I tell her. "You're quite lovely."

"You didn't ask me either," she accuses. Oh, but I wanted to, Molly.

"I thought you and I were friends," I say, all the while not feeling in the least friendly toward her. "I didn't want to hog your time and keep you from finding a real prospect." Her posture slags, so I know I've just hurt her feelings again. But in the long run, this is a much better scenario than dating her for real and then writing about it for all of Chicago to read. She'd never forgive me for that.

"Why did you friend-zone me so quickly?" she wants to know.

I can't tell her the truth, so I lie. "I guess I just felt like we had a strong friend chemistry. I figured we could both use a pal of the opposite sex while we're here."

"I'm not sure I'm going to keep coming to these things."

"Really, why?" Also, yay! Not only will I not have to write about her, but maybe then I can be honest with her and let her know I'd be interested in dating her. I'm tempted to tell her that either way, but if she gets mad and outs me to the other people at the event then my job might be in jeopardy.

"I'm not sure this is my kind of thing." She sounds dejected.

"You might be right." She widens the distance between us, and I belatedly realize she thinks I'm rejecting her again. The rest of our dance is spent in painful silence.

As the music ends, Trina approaches us. She's with Kyle. "Molly, I'd like to introduce you to Kyle. I think the two of you might have a lot in common."

Molly rolls her eyes. "Kyle was the ex I was telling you about."

"Oh dear," Trina mutters. Then she looks at Kyle and accuses, "You left Molly for another woman?" She says this like it's the most unbelievable thing she's ever heard. I agree.

Kyle's face flushes a deep red. "To my great shame." I'm guessing he says this to try to lessen the horror of his crime. To my surprise, Molly appears to be buying it.

"Contrition looks good on you, Kyle," she tells him.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" he asks her.

No, you can't. But before I say that out loud, Molly side-eyes me and asks him, "Why not?"

While I like Kyle well enough as a human being, and only earlier today determined to put him in Molly's path for the entertainment of Chicago Wind 's readers, he's nowhere near good enough for her. I thought she was smart enough to know that.