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"Last activity, everybody! Listen up!" Coach Simmons sprinted up to the front of the room before continuing. "It's time for the three-legged race!"

"No!" Artemis and Tyler yelled in unison. "We have to run!" I started laughing at their dramatic groaning.

"You deserve this for complaining!" I scolded them. Artemis stuck her tongue out at me and I heard Sam chuckling softly.

We had been participating in group bonding activities for the last hour and a half, and everyone was tired.

"Your partner for this race is going to be the person in the group with the closest hair color to you!" Coach finished.

I look around at our group. Tyler and Trish both had blonde hair, Sam had light brown hair, and mine is dark brown.

Looks like Sam is my partner for this activity.

"Well, Sam and I both have some light brown in our hair!" Trish explained as she moved to stand next to Sam. "I think we should be partners!" her tone was so bubbly that I found myself instantly irritated. She placed a hand on Sam's arm, and he awkwardly looked back at us.

Trish was the fourth member of our group, and she had been flirting with Sam every chance she got.

"Actually, I think that Rachel and I have closer hair colors given that you and Tyler are both as blonde as the sun," Sam smirked.

Trish turned and glared at me, as if I purposely dyed my hair brown to be in a group with Sam.

"Let's go, partner!" Tyler shouted cheerfully as he practically dragged Trish over to the starting line. Sam walked over to me slowly.

"May I have your leg in this race?" he said jokingly as he stuck out his left foot. I found myself giggling at his charm.

"Sure, let's go get strapped in," I smiled and headed over to where Artemis and Erika were standing. They turned and smiled at us warmly. "How did you guys pick the teams?" I asked as I pointed at Tony, who was practically bald.

He opened his mouth wide with surprise that I just made fun of him. Vance let out a jolly laugh as he slammed an arm down over Tony's shoulder.

"Well, the ladies both have brown hair, so we put gray and bald together," Vance joked as he rubbed Tony's head.

"Hey, I choose to have my hair this short, okay?" Tony defended himself as he swatted Vance's hand away.

"That's even worse!" Vance shouted. Sam laughed along, also amused that I teased Tony.

"You're quite funny," Sam whispered to me. "Women with a good sense of humor are very...sexy," he paused before he said the last word, watching my expression closely. I swallowed as I felt my cheeks blushing.

He makes me want to be more confident.

"Oh, I performed stand up comedy on the beaches of Florida to make extra cash in college," I said, smirking at him. His smile turned into a wide grin.

"Did you also perform in just a bathing suit, then?" His gaze intensified as he looked me up and down.

"No, it was too distracting for the audience," I replied quickly as I moved forward in line behind Artemis. Sam's grin turned devilish as he stared at me.

"Ready, set, go!" The whistle went off again as the teams stumbled across the room in between two pieces of blue tape. The line moved again, and Tyler and Trish were up.

"Go Ty!" I shouted as he got into a ready position.

"Ready, set, go!" Tyler immediately took off, dragging Trish with him down the track. She kept up at first, until she tripped and fell, taking Tyler down with her.

"You giant oaf!" she squealed as she tried to untangle her legs from his.

Tyler was laughing hysterically on the floor and didn't look like he was making any effort to stand up. We all laughed along with him, his blonde hair sprawled out over the spiral patterned carpet.

"Brother, you look like a beautiful lily pad!" Sam shouted at him.

Everyone in line with us started laughing. Tyler did look like a bright green leaf in the middle of the room. The race ended and Coach Simmons ran over, a wide smile on his face.

"You two alright?" he asked. Tyler nodded as he instantly undid the band around their legs to free Trish. She jumped up and stormed off without saying anything.

Sam and I were up next, and we were racing against Artemis and Erika, and then Tony and Vance.

"We can beat them," Sam whispered as he stood on my left. He kneeled down next to me and picked up the red rubber band from the floor to strap our legs together. He put his right foot through it.

"How do you know that?" I asked him as I crossed my arms. He touched my ankle, gesturing for me to pick my foot up. I followed and he started to put the rubber band around our legs.

"Because you and I have chemistry," he moved his hands slowly up my calf before gently placing the rubber band around my leg.

My knees started to feel weak at the warmth of his hands, and I found myself wishing he would keep going. He stood up slowly and wrapped his right arm around my waist. My breath caught in my throat when his face got within inches of mine.

"Speaking of which, can I still see you tonight?" The way he asked me made me want to melt. I gently wrapped my left arm around his back.

"Well, I only said yes because I was impressed by your magic trick." I smirked at him. His eyes were locked on mine, waiting for my response. "So I guess you'll just have to win this race."

A wide grin spread across his face, revealing his perfectly white teeth.

"Okay, the teams are all ready!" Coach Simmons began. Sam and I turned our attention to the track in front of us.

"Good luck, chumps," Artemis said as she pointed at us.

"Get ready to eat our dust!" Vance shouted back. Sam and I giggled, trying to focus on Coach.

"Ready, set, go!" the whistle sent us flying down the room. Vance and Tony were a few feet in front of us on the left, and moving steadily towards the finish line. Sam and I were catching up, but I started to stumble slightly. I felt Sam's arm lift me up and prevent me from falling.

"I've got ya," he said reassuringly. I leaned into him and let him guide our steps towards the finish line. We started gaining on Vance and Tony, but they crossed the tape before us.

"Whoo hoo!" Vance cheered as he pumped his fists in the air and chest bumped Tony.

Sam and I finished second, and turned to watch the others as they ran together. Artemis and Erika were against one other team now, and both were struggling hard.

"It's like a beautiful waltz, Erika! Move with me!" Artemis and Erika looked like they were wrestling. I started giggling at them.

They awkwardly ran together and just barely made it across the finish line before the other team. They came crashing towards Sam and I, unable to slow the momentum they picked up.

"Uh oh," I began to say, until I felt someone pick me up around my waist and spin me around. Artemis and Erika fell down right next to me in a pile of laughter. I turned to see that Sam had his arms planted firmly around my waist. He let go slowly, running his palm along my hip. I took a small step away from him and adjusted my clothes.

"Are you alright, darlin'?" he asked me as he rested his hand on my elbow.

"Yeah, yeah, thank you." I cleared my throat a few times, trying to hide how turned I am by his charm. There were still butterflies in my stomach from when he picked me up.

"Thank you for your amazing participation, everyone!" Coach shouted at us as people started to head out.

"We are finally done!" Artemis exclaimed. "That was a fun last event, though."

I checked my watch and saw that it was after three o'clock now.

"When do y'all fly out?" Vance asked, walking behind us out the doors.

"Tomorrow morning!" Erika answered cheerfully. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed just as suddenly, as if something bit her. "We have to go shopping!" she buzzed at Artemis and Tyler. Tyler stared at her blankly for a moment before understanding.

"Do you not have clothes for tonight?" Artemis asked as Erika punched her in the arm. I rolled my eyes at their failed attempt to be secretive.

"I know what you guys are doing," I replied plainly. "And you don't need to get me anything," I pointed at them sternly but they just waved me off.

"Oh, no, what? We aren't going shopping for you!" Tyler replied awkwardly. "It's my...umm...my niece's birthday in a couple of weeks so, I need help with that." Erika and Artemis stifled laughs as they listened to Tyler try to lie to me.

"Is it your birthday?" Sam asked as he moved around to look at me.

"Not until the twenty-fifth," I replied and shook my head.

"I will make note of that," Sam said as he tapped the side of his head with his index finger. I blushed at him and looked back at my friends.

"What am I supposed to do if you are all out having fun in Seattle shopping?" I pouted at them.

"Okay, don't make that face at me, you look like a lost puppy," Artemis said in a motherly voice as she cupped my face in her hands. "I think you need to buy a dress for tonight, anyways." Artemis winked at me and then glanced over at Sam. "Where are you taking our precious math genius tonight?" Artemis asked as she held my head to her shoulder, like she was protecting me.

"We have reservations at the Space Needle Restaurant for seven." He gazed at me excitedly, waiting for my reaction.

I remembered seeing photos of the restaurant on the brochure for the conference. We saw the Space Needle when we were driving here from the airport, and it wasn't too far away. I had never been anywhere that fancy, especially for dinner. Sam's eyes were still locked on mine. I smiled at him, embarrassed.

"Well, that's if she still wants to go with someone who lost to two buffoons in a three-legged race." Sam pushed Tony and Vance around.

"You don't have to take me there," I said timidly. He took a small step towards me before continuing.

"You obviously haven't been treated the way that you deserve," Sam said this so intensely as he stared at me that I was speechless.

"I'll see you tonight, beautiful," he finished before shooting me one last award winning smile before heading down the hall with Vance and Tony.

"Is anyone else dizzy?" Artemis asked as she fanned herself. Tyler's laugh broke the tension and I could finally breathe. "You need to pick something extra sexy for tonight," Artemis poked my arm and began pulling me back towards our room. "Let's go shopping!"