Stuck on You (10 page)

“Uniboob?” Paige looked down at her own chest, offended at the comment. There was nothing wrong with wanting a little support for the girls while hiking and trekking doing God only knows what at each cache.

Zoe picked up one bra, black lacy with a strong underwire and a squishy balloon feeling thingy in each cup. “Start with this one.”

Reluctantly, Paige closed the door, but not without noticing the laughter in Evan’s eyes. When Paige got home, Cassidy was going to get an earful about her soon-to-be-husband’s sense of humor at Paige’s expense.

She disrobed and slipped on the first bra. It fit perfectly, thrusting her boobs up and out with exactly the right amount of separation between them. Huh. Maybe Zoe did know what she was talking about after all.

Pulling her shirt back on, she turned sideways in the mirror taking in her new silhouette. Not bad. Not bad at all. With her breasts lifted and supported, she actually looked slimmer. And her curves … wow.

“Any day. We still have a race to run you know.”

Paige opened the changing room door and stepped out where Zoe and Evan could see her. She did a little spin for them. “Well, what do you think?”

Evan smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Encouraging.
I wonder how Cassy will feel about Evan filming this.

Zoe tilted her head one way then the other, as if examining a piece of art. Maybe this was art to her. Then she cupped Paige’s breasts in her hands and gave them a little lift, shake, and squeeze.

“Hey!” Paige squeaked. “I’m trying to pick up boys, not girls.”

“Oh relax. I’m not hitting on you.” Zoe winked at her. “If I was, you’d already have been picked up, played with, and thoroughly satisfied.”

Paige’s cheeks broke into flames.

“This one is good,” Zoe said stepping back, “but try on the red one next. I think it will give you even better cleavage. And I really think what you’re looking for is the full ka-pow effect.”

“The what now?” Paige called from inside the stall where she wrestled out of one bra and into the next.

“When you walk into the room do you want guys to ignore you or do you want to knock them out cold with how hot you are? That glazed-over look of lust is the ka-pow effect. That’s what we’re going for here.”

Paige reappeared in front of them, waiting to be groped. Zoe felt her up briefly then stepped back again, still evaluating her. Paige didn’t know how to stand under such a scrutinizing stare so she put her hands on her hips like a superhero. Ka-pow did sound sort of superpower-ish — knocking guys out with a single chest-thrust.

“That one is perfect. The lift, the separation, the trajectory, it’s all perfect.”

“I want to look good, not become a torpedo storage device.”

“And look at that cleavage. Stunning, right, Evan?”

He nodded, looking a little pink-cheeked himself at having to speak about his fiancée’s best friend’s cleavage.

Paige blushed and walked back into the stall again. After a few more breast exams, they made her purchases, spending the last of her gift card. As she swiped her gift card through the machine, she banged her arm into her boob, not used to the twins’ new location on her chest.

Not to mention they were approximately two sizes bigger now, thanks to the power of a good push-up bra. She’d always been happy with her mostly perky full B cup breasts, but even she had to admit, looking at herself in the mirror with her larger “ka-pow” breasts paired with her new stilettos, she felt like a new woman. A more desirable and sexy woman.

“Before we get back to the car, let’s input the new coordinates for the next cache in case it’s close enough to walk to.” Paige stumbled as they stepped onto the escalator to the lower floor.

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Really, it’s not that hard. One foot in front of the other.”

“It’s because my new boobs stick out so much,” she said looking down into her massive cleavage. “They’ve thrown my whole center of gravity off balance.”

“There wasn’t that much to push out. How could they throw you off so much? Want me to stuff a cookie or two into the straps near your shoulder blades to balance you out?”

Zoe’s voice might sound sweet and innocent but Paige heard the sarcasm in it.

“Very funny.”

Behind her, Evan snorted out a laugh.

Oh, yes. Cassidy would hear about this.

• • •

Miles tried not to let his frustration show while resting on a park bench facing out to the Hudson River. This should have been one of the easier caches to reach, but the length they’d had to walk from the car was grueling. Not only was it long, it was hot as hell today too.

Ben had been doing his best during the entire first week of the competition, but even still, they were far behind most of the other teams in their cache count with a mere thirty. No matter how well they thought they’d done each day, when they’d returned to camp, there would inevitably be some other team who had gotten at least double the number of caches they had. Usually it was Team Firefighters, although a couple of other teams were doing really well too.

Then there were teams like Zoe and Paige who also seemed to be struggling a bit with the caches, coming in at only about forty for the first week. But they were most likely still figuring out how to work together since they’d been thrown into this thing so suddenly. Once they got their groove going, they’d pick up the pace too and then it would only be Ben and Miles left at the back of the pack.

“I’m doing the best I can, I swear,” Ben said quietly. He splashed his face with bottled water and looked up to the sky.

“I know you are. This is way harder than it sounded.”

“Not for the other teams.”

“Depends on the team.”

“The good ones are getting a ton of caches. I really think there’s no way for us to catch up. We may as well give up now.”

Miles head shot up from where he’d had it resting in his hands. “No way. We’re not giving up. We have as much chance of winning as anyone else.”

Ben shook his head. “We don’t. This is a waste of our time. We’re never going to win.”

Miles felt sick. This was not the same Ben he knew. This was some other guy who was beat down and broken. “Was it a waste of our time when we hit the peak of K2 just because there was no one there to give us a million dollars?”

“That’s different and you know it.”

“Except it isn’t different.” Miles shook his head. He had to find a way to get through to Ben. He had to find a way to prove there was something worthwhile about completing what they set out to do, regardless of whether or not they won. “Damn it, Ben. This doesn’t even have to be about winning. Proving we can do it is enough. Together. Like we used to.”

Ben stared out at the river, saying nothing for few minutes. He stood and started down the path again. “Well, get up. We’re not going to prove anything with you lazing around all day without a care in the world.”

Miles smiled, knowing he’d gotten through, at least a little.

• • •

“Pull over,” Zoe demanded from the backseat.

“What’s wrong? You’re not going to throw up or something are you?” Paige swerved to the side of the road and into a free parking spot.

“Get out. We’re making a pit stop.”

Paige climbed out of the SUV, wobbling as her spindly heels hit the pavement. Some how she’d managed to forget she had them on while driving, but walking was a whole other story. As she closed the driver’s side door, the weather-stripping rubbed against her newly expanded chest. Thankfully it didn’t leave a mark on her shirt. She didn’t need anything else drawing attention to her boobs.

“This way,” Zoe said, trotting down the sidewalk.

“Okay, but to where exactly?” Paige caught up just as Zoe pulled open the front door to a store. “We don’t have time for more shopping. We’ve basically wasted the whole day as it is.”

“Oh, this isn’t really shopping. It’s more like research.”

“Research?”

They stepped through the front door and it took a moment for Paige’s eyes to adjust to the indoor lighting. When it did, she almost wished she couldn’t see. Everywhere she looked, men stood around looking at various outdoor related paraphernalia. Fishing poles, tents, and an entire row of rifles lining one wall.

Paige grabbed Zoe by the arms, turning her until they were face to face. “This isn’t any kind of research we need to do for the game, we already have everything we need provided for us. We’re not even allowed to get any other kinds of equipment, or we’ll be kicked out of the competition.”

“We’re not here to buy new equipment,” Zoe said with a smile. She popped open the top button on Paige’s shirt, showing off another inch of cleavage. “We’re here to test the equipment we already have. And what better way to do that then with a few guinea pigs?”

Paige moved to do up the button on her blouse, but Zoe batted her hand away. “You want to get his attention, don’t you?”

“Yes, but only one specific man’s attention, not a bunch of random guys’.”

“Trust me. I know Miles — guys like him.” Zoe looked away. “And all of the guys in here are the same. If these guys respond, he will too. Just walk down the aisles and see what happens. I guarantee you’ll turn heads.”

“I don’t know about this,” Paige protested as Zoe forced her down the first aisle. As predicted, the couple of men immersed in their shopping were now interested in more than bait and lures. And they weren’t too worried about hiding their drool either.

In the next row over, a man looking at camping tools dropped a small hammer on his foot as they passed. He didn’t even flinch.

Okay, so maybe Zoe had a point.

“I think we can go now,” Paige whispered.

“One more test, just to be sure.” Zoe winked then walked over to counter in front of the rifles. She ignored the gawking men and sidled up to the counter like she belonged there. Paige followed, attempting to mirror Zoe’s attitude and control of the situation. Zoe’s attitude right now was exactly what Paige needed to learn. No time like the present.

“Can I help you, ladies?” the man behind the counter asked.

“Sure you can,” Zoe said with a sticky sweet voice. “My friend here is in the market for a new toy. Maybe you can show her a couple to see what she likes the feel of in her hand.”

What toy? And why did it sound so dirty?

“How about this one right here?” Zoe clicked her nail against the glass counter top. “Oh, or maybe that one over there. Paige, honey, can you point out the one I mean to the nice gentleman?”

Paige looked from Zoe to the glass counter. Underneath, handguns of all sizes and colors lay on display. Toys? Hardly. But she would play along if it meant they could get the hell out of here faster.

“This one?” she asked Zoe, pointing to the tiniest handgun she’d ever seen. It didn’t even look real.

Zoe shook her head. “No, no. The one over there, way in the corner.”

Paige slid her hand along the counter, stretching to point at the gun furthest away from her. “This one?”

“That’s the one. Hold right there while this nice man gets it for you.”

Paige glanced up to see the man behind the counter frozen in place, his gaze not anywhere near the gun she pointed at. She turned the other way. The men further down the counter stared, watching her too, only their eyes weren’t focused anywhere near her face. Funny, she’d forgotten just how tight these jeans were until right now when she could feel the back seam riding up between her cheeks.

She stood straight and resisted the urge to pick her wedgie while waiting for the man to retrieve the gun she had no desire to hold. A low rumbling of conversation began around her again as the other shoppers apparently had decided to remember they had brains rattling around in their heads and not just life-sized googlie eyes.

“Here you go, honey. Now this is a gun you can be proud to carry.” He put the firearm in her hands, the metal colder and heavier than she’d expected.

Paige fingered the gun cautiously for a minute. It really did feel strange to hold one. She’d never done that before. She’d never had reason to. “It’s not loaded or anything, right?”

He chuckled. “That’s right.”

She took a step back from the counter and gripped the gun like she saw in the movies, standing with her feet slightly apart and her arms outstretched in front of her. “Freeze asshole.” She laughed.

The sound of something crashing to the floor startled her and she shrieked, almost dropping the gun. One of the men further down the counter crouched on the ground, picking up the pieces of a tackle box that had spilled its contents all over the floor.

Zoe whispered in Paige’s ear. “You can give the gun back now. I think our research here is conclusive.”

Miles stretched out in the armchair, his head resting against the back and his feet propped up on the coffee table. It probably wasn’t the most socially acceptable way to sit in a shared space with basically strangers, but he was past the point of caring. After the day he’d had, he needed to relax and not think about anything for a while.

The day hadn’t been fun or even comfortable with Ben. There’d been no easy camaraderie like he was used to. No inside jokes or laughs of any kind actually. Only hours and hours of walking, driving, and logbook consulting. He’d had dentist visits that had been more fun than today.

And tonight wasn’t proving to be much better.

Even though Ben had said he’d keep trying until they reached the end of the competition, he didn’t seem to have much fire in him. It was as if the spark was gone. Fizzled out and replaced with lackluster nothingness. It was probably the worst condition he’d seen him in since right after the accident.

He raised his head from the back of the chair so he could drink his beer, finding Zoe and Paige chatting quietly with Ben off in the corner of the room at one of the tables.

What were they up to?

By the way their heads were all shoved together he had to assume it was something sneaky. Or at least something they didn’t want everyone else to hear. But what?

Time to find out.

He pulled himself from the couch and grabbed another cold beer from the kitchen fridge. As he was heading over to join the conspiracy at the table, Eve stepped in front of him, blocking his path.