Sparks Will Fly Read online

  “Which time?” asked Nikola.

  “The last time.” On various occasions throughout the day, Blue and his guys had utilized GREENbikes to get around the downtown area, picking them up in one location, and dropping them off at others. It was quicker than trying to find parking for every single challenge. Downtown Salt Lake City took pride in their bike friendly streets, after all.

  “My cousin’s pizza place, remember?” said Jeremy.

  “That’s right,” said Blue. “In the alley voted most likely for someone to be killed and/or raped. It’s like an architect designed it to trap unsuspecting tourists.”

  Jeremy said, “Hey that alley was also voted most likely to let us park for free.”

  As they walked down the street to the nearest GREENbike station, Nikola said, “Check it out!” He swung his phone around so the rest of the team could see the video of them delivering a check for over $2,000 to the International Rescue Committee office. Before Questival had even begun, Nikola had spearheaded a fundraiser for the refugee center. Delivering the funds had been the highlight of the day for Nikola, and checking off another challenge was the cherry on top. If that didn’t earn major peer voting points, Blue didn’t know what would.

  “That’s llamazing,” said Blue, reaching out and swiping to the right. Left was just good, and didn’t give any extra points, but a right-swipe gave the submission the Llamazing tag and earned them peer points.

  Next up for judging was a video of a woman in a hot pink shirt, pulling her arms inside her shirt. Wait! That was the Red Hot Lobo Llamas. It was the little redhead who Nikola had hugged. Sheila, was it? Within seconds she produced a pink bra that matched her pink shirt and traded with a woman on another Questival team for her bra. Without looking at the top of the screen, Blue knew it was the ‘Trade an article of clothing with a stranger.’ Unfortunately there was no sign of Lucy in the background of the video.

  That was a pretty extreme trade. The Blue’s Bachelors had traded a sock and thought that was gross enough. If the Red Hot Lobo Llamas were willing to get that intimate, they might be tough to beat after all. Blue swiped right.

  “What are you doing?” asked Nikola. “That’s our competition!”

  “It was amazing. I mean llamazing.” He still didn’t really understand why Questival was so llama-obsessed.. Blue pulled his own phone out again and went to the peer judging. Only the top ten teams qualified for peer judging, so in theory every tenth pic or video would be Lucy’s team.

  “Oh, great,” said Jeremy. “Blue picked a fine time to go traitor.”

  He ignored them and swiped a few other teams, mostly good, a few llamazing, until they reached the bikes. Stone swiped his card for each of them since he had the GREENbikes account, and they pulled bikes from the racks and took off toward the pizza place, Blue bringing up the rear.

  On a single lane road with a more than adequate bike lane, a driver behind Blue laid on their horn. A woman shouted, “Hey, Wide Load, mind if we get around?”

  It was a little early for drunks to be cruising. Blue was too tired to be up for dealing with it, so he just waved them around.

  “I don’t know,” said another female voice. “I kind of like the view from back here.”

  Wait, did that voice sound a little familiar? Blue did a quick head check and saw the lovely Latina he’d kissed on the steps of the Capitol! The car pulled up beside him, Lucy riding shotgun.

  The late evening air was cool and the sunset was pink and orange in ways Blue didn’t know if he’d ever seen. This woman who he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since they’d met, who he thought he’d never see again, was close enough to reach out and touch. A group of guys riding through the city on bikes; a carful of women playfully flirting. And more than anything, the magnet of her eyes that made Blue scared he was going run into something. It was like a cheesy music video, and Blue was thrilled to be smack in the middle of it.

  He told himself to snap out of it and said, “If it isn’t the 2017 Questival Salt Lake City runners-up.”

  Lucy didn’t miss a beat. “You must not have checked the final standings.” She looked back into the car. “Should I break it to them, girls?”

  The rear window rolled down. “I will,” said a blonde woman. “Red Hot Lobo Llamas are in second and your sorry Blue’s Clues butts are in third.”

  “Peer judging will change that,” countered Blue. And Blues Clues? Where had that nickname come from?

  The blonde rolled her eyes. “You think one little make-out session is going to change that? Don’t count on it. We uploaded the same challenge, remember?”

  From in front of Blue, Jeremy jumped in. “Our fearless leader’s conquering of a Hot Wolf Woman was just the beginning of our epicness. Don’t look at the peer judging page of the app unless you want to cry yourselves to sleep tonight.”

  The banter was fun and everyone was smiling, but in truth Blue was a bit worried about how the standings would settle. He couldn’t forget Lucy running up all those steps carrying her teammate with the sun itself acting as a spotlight. Just like Blue’s Bachelors, these ladies had gone over and above. “I have an idea,” said Blue. “Why don’t we all meet at Pineapple’s and compare.”

  “Wait,” said Lucy with a devious grin. “Are you saying you’ll show us yours if we show you ours?”

  Blue felt his eyes shoot open and he about crashed his bike from the shock. Inside the car the ladies were cackling.

  “If you’re talking about Questival videos, then yep,” said Blue once he recovered. “If you’re talking about something else, well, I’m sure we’re not that kind of guys.” He winked and added too loudly, “Except for Stone.”

  Lucy smiled adorably and her dark eyes caught every color of the sunset. On its own accord, Blue’s bike was drifting closer, carrying him back to her lips. Taking control of the matchmaking bike, Blue straightened it and got the bearings of his surroundings again.

  “Pineapple’s it is,” said Lucy. “Can we follow you there?”

  “As much as you like the view,” said Blue, forcing a blush onto Lucy’s face this time, “it’s a little far to bike. It’s up in Park City.”

  “Oh. How far is that?”

  Hm, she wasn’t from around here. Why would she do the Salt Lake City Questival if she wasn’t from Utah? Even people from southern Idaho, western Wyoming, or eastern Nevada had a general idea how far Park City was from Salt Lake. He had a whole lot to find out about this beauty. “On bikes? A couple hours. But our car is only a few blocks away. You can follow us.”

  The feisty blonde showed them her phone screen. “Found it. Pineapple’s Bar and Grill on Main Street in Park City. We’ll beat you there.” She tapped the driver and started rolling up the window.

  Lucy leaned out her window as the car accelerated. “Not worth following you if we don’t get the view!” She winked and blew him a kiss. The car took off.

  Blue felt like he could catch the kiss and then beat them the twenty uphill miles to Park City. If it was the only way to see Lucy again, he’d do it, but they said they’d see him there. He couldn’t wait for the chance to find out if she was as interested in him as he was in her.

  “C’mon, boys,” said Blue, picking up the speed and taking the lead.

  “What?” said Stone. “Afraid some other buff fireman is going to get to her first?”

  In honesty, that’s exactly what Blue was worried about, but he said, “I don’t want to lose to them.”

  He’d already let her get away once. If there was anything he could do to prevent that again, you better believe he’d do it.

  4

  Pineapple’s turned out to be a very cool, local place; exactly the kind of place Lucy liked to go to in the evenings when she traveled occasionally for work. It was decorated with t-shirts from fire departments around the country, no, from around the world. The crowd on a Saturday night was all ages, but mostly it seemed to be people in their 20s. A few of the tables had groups of fit-looking
hotties laughing, eating, and drinking.

  Lucy and the other Red Hot Lobo Llamas were stuck in the waiting area. A table of nine on a Saturday night was going to take a while. They hadn’t thought to call ahead.

  Beth was browsing a menu while Sheila and Jazmine browsed their phones. Lucy found herself browsing the front door, wondering how much longer she’d have to wait for her hottie.

  Lucy couldn’t believe how forward she’d been with Blue. Hopefully he didn’t get the wrong idea about her and think she was ready to hop into bed with him. In reality, Lucy’s life was more like this: by day—boring office worker.

  That was it. No crazy nightlife, no boyfriend, no propositioning hot bike-riding guys in a strange city. But Questival had brought something else out in her. Add to that being on vacation and out on the town with the girls, and she was likely to do anything that wasn’t illegal or immoral. Actually, illegal wasn’t completely off the table, depending entirely on how illegal. It was exactly like her days as the mascot for the University of New Mexico. No one who knew her from class would ever guess she was the crowd-surfing, cartwheeling, fearless girl under the mascot suit. But when the crowd was cheering and she was hidden safely behind a furry, fanatical persona, she felt alive and it showed in the way she danced, cheered, and generally acted as if the team’s success depended wholly on the actions of a girl in a mascot suit.

  Lucy had always thought—or at least hoped—that when she found the right guy it would be the same. That around him she would be fearless and fun, all while feeling safe. Not safety in anonymity, but in being known so thoroughly that she couldn’t hide her inner self if she tried.

  She hadn’t expected to find anyone on this short jaunt to Utah that fit the bill, and maybe it was just a halo effect of the whole Questival experience, but something about Blue had her going in a way she’d never felt before. Could it all be because of the kiss? She’d definitely never been kissed like that before, and honestly she wondered if she ever would be again. It had made fire run through her veins in such a good way and thinking back, the memory of it seemed impossible to ever achieve again.

  “I’m freaking starving,” said Beth, turning over the paper menu for the fiftieth time. “I’m ordering everything on the menu. And don’t any of you tell me you aren’t going to chow down in front of Blue’s Cuties.”

  In order to stay competitive in Questival, the only thing they’d eaten in 24 hours besides trail mix was food that could earn them points in challenges. The twelfth thing on the menu of a roadside diner. Some international cuisine you’d never heard of before. Food from a food truck that you had to feed to a teammate using only your elbows.

  The door opened, but it was only a young couple.

  “I’m talking to you, Luce,” said Beth. “I know the only thing you’ve eaten today was that worm we dug up at the lake.”

  “And that hot guy’s tongue,” added Sheila, sending the four of them into hysterics.

  As unexpected and yummy as the kiss had been, the worm had been the exact opposite. It hadn’t been a little tequila worm even, but a full sized fishing worm they’d dug out of the ground at their lake-side campsite in the mountains outside of Salt Lake City. “Thanks for reminding me about the worm,” said Lucy. “There goes my appetite.”

  At least she hadn’t eaten two beetles like Sheila.

  The door opened again and Blue was the first one through. Lucy shot to her feet before she knew what she was doing and saw a look of relief on Blue’s face when he saw her. That slightly crooked grin was already driving her crazy in a good way.

  “Hey,” they both said. She gave a little wave and he nodded.

  His crew had filed in behind him and the European guy said, “Well that was anti-climactic after your last greeting.”

  “Yeah really,” said Sheila. “I expected you two to be on second base by now.”

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “What is this? Junior high?” She couldn’t remember exactly which base was which, but the thought of any more bases with Blue made her heart start pounding.

  “It’s going to be a while for a table,” said Beth. “You guys sure you want to eat here? I’m hungry enough to eat out of the dumpster of a health-department sanctioned Taco Bell.”

  “No worries,” said Blue, stepping over to the hostess.

  “Hey, Blue,” said the cute, blonde hostess.

  “I swear you work more hours than I do,” he told her, giving her that GQ smile. “You’re here every time we come in.”

  “Maybe I just schedule my hours around when you are coming in.” She winked at him.

  Lucy couldn’t tell if it was true flirting or just friendly playing around, but it made her sweat a little.

  “Hey, is Pineapple around?” asked Blue.

  “Yeah, just a sec.” she disappeared around a corner.

  “You know the owner?” asked Lucy.

  “Yeah, all of us do.” He indicated the other members of his team.

  A stocky Polynesian guy came around the corner, a huge friendly smile on his face. “Hey, what’s up, fellas? Ladies?”

  Blue and Pineapple grabbed hands and pulled each other into a quick hug.

  “Hey, you mind if we take our standard table?” asked Blue.

  It didn’t make sense to Lucy. This place wouldn’t have a nine-top sitting empty just in case Blue and his buddies wandered in with four extra.

  “You bet,” said Pineapple. “And it’s about time Blue’s Bachelors bring some girls around. I was starting to worry about you guys.”

  In a loud whisper, Blue said, “The only one I’d worry about is Jeremy.” He gave the friendly restaurateur a wink. “Hey, thanks, brother.” With a twitch of his head, he motioned for everyone to follow.

  As soon as they entered the main dining area, three guys at one table, called out, “Blue!” He waved at them even as another table, this one with two men and two women repeated his name. The other guys all waved and nodded at various people around the room.

  “Wow,” said Lucy. “Talk about going where everybody knows your name.”

  “I work with most of those guys.”

  “Oh, I see what’s going on,” said Lucy, catching on to the firefighter decoration theme. “You and the other Blue’s Clues are obviously cops.”

  Blue laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think cops are even allowed in here. There’s a pizza place where they like to hang out. Of course that’s after the donut shop closes.” He led the group through the dining area and into a room with green turf as flooring. On one end of the room, a young couple was playing pool. The rest of the room was open, but there were some games stacked against the wall that looked like yard games. Bocce ball, for example, Lucy recognized.

  She said, “I guess we could fit nine people around the pool table, but that couple isn’t going to be happy.” The guy was doing the classic move of reaching around the girl to show her how to use the pool cue.

  “Nah, that’s not our reserved table.” Blue and his guys went to a closet door and pulled out a folding table and enough chairs. Unfolding one of them, Blue said, “Will this table do, ladies?”

  “So kind of you,” said the youngest guy of the group, sliding into the chair.

  Beth took her own chair and said, “It beats waiting another half an hour.”

  Blue pulled out another chair and Lucy hurried into it before someone else could steal it.

  As everyone else got arranged, the European guy hurried out and returned seconds later with a stack of menus.

  “Introductions,” said Blue. He pointed at the quiet guy with gray-blue eyes. “The strong, silent guy is Stone. We call him Stone Cold.”

  “Look at those emotionless eyes,” said Jeremy leaning forward for a straight on view. “He hates that nickname but you’d never know it since the ice running through his veins hides all his feelings, huh, Stone Cold?”

  Sure enough, Stone just stared back at them.

  Blue went on. “That dark-haired devil with the fake exotic accen
t is Nikola.”

  In a very formal, stifled accent, Nikola said slowly, “Yes. This is how I normally talk. Thank you for ruining my secret.” He sounded like a Hispanic guy trying to mimic a Texas accent and everyone chuckled at him.

  “Dax is that well-dressed, metro guy sitting next to you. He’ll flirt with any woman, any place, any time, but he’s harmless. And the baby of the group who stole your chair is Jeremy. He’s our prankster.”

  With a wry smile, Jeremy said, “And you two are BluLu. No, you’re Blucy.”

  “No,” said Blue immediately. “Stop right there. I hate smashed together nicknames.”

  Lucy liked her name being smashed together with his, but agreed that neither of those had a good ring to it. “And Blue?” she asked. “A nickname?”

  “Nope,” said Blue. “Blue Reed. It’s on my birth certificate.”

  It fit him, and somehow made his personality deeper, more interesting. “So that’s the Blue’s Clues team,” she said. “I’m Lucy, and that’s Sheila, Jazmine, and Beth.” They were intermingled with the guys, but Lucy had been paying too close attention to Blue to know if anyone else was hitting it off.

  “Uh, it’s Blue’s Bachelors, not Blue’s Clues,” corrected Blue with a grin, before Lucy could go into clever introductions of her friends. “I don’t know what Blue’s Clues is but I can tell that you ladies find it pretty funny.”

  “You’re kidding me,” said Lucy. “You’ve never seen that kid’s show? Look, we got a letter from our friends!”

  Sheila added, “We just figured out Blue’s Clues ‘cause we’re really smart!”

  “No idea,” said Blue, his face blank.

  “Are you kidding me?” said Jeremy, the young guy.

  “No way,” added Stone.

  “I think he’s serious,” said Dax.

  Blue spread his arms. “Saturday morning cartoons in my house was football pregame shows.”

  Nikola raised a hand. “If anyone cares, I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.”

  “You have an excuse,” said Jeremy. “You didn’t live in this county the first seventeen years of your life.”