Alaric

"No way, De Villier," Nico’s annoying voice sounded in my ear as he leaned closer to me until I could feel his breath on my face.

I slightly pushed him backward. "You made that rule, so why the hell are you surprised?" I scoffed. "If you are not doing it, then let me lead us."

Nico let out an irritating laugh and clapped his hands together. "Oh goodness, you always surprise me, Alaric De Villier. If I remember correctly, you called this a child’s game a few seconds ago, and now you are changing your mind?"

"Let’s get it over with. Rock, paper, scissors."

Nico laughed again, but at least it wasn’t as irritating as the last one. "Are we going to play tag next? Should I fetch you a juice box?" He rolled his eyes so far back I thought he’d see his own thoughts. "So you are actually serious?"

"Deadly," I replied, my hand already balled into a fist. "Just like last time. The winner takes the lead."

Nico let out a long groan, but he held out his hand. I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist a challenge—it was his greatest flaw and my favorite weapon.

"Rock... paper... scissors!" I shouted, and we both stretched forth our hands.

I threw scissors. Nico, the predictable brat, threw paper.

"Yes!" I burst into laughter. "That settles it. I am leading now, so follow me. We go left."

"Oh, fuck this," Nico said through gritted teeth. "I blame the stupid logistics, the brand. I am going to sue them once we get back to Monaco!"

"Quit whining like a child and let’s get out of here," I told him as I started walking forward.

Nico joined me, our shoulders brushing. "I am sure you cheated. You probably used some weird French psychological trick on me."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh, come on now, Park. You can’t always win every time. Just accept that I won this time and quit complaining."

Nico said nothing after that.

For the next forty-five minutes, we barely exchanged any words as we tried to survive the rain while managing not to kill each other.

"It’s too far to the left," Nico complained, pressing his wet shoulder into mine. "My left side is completely soaked. Do you have a spatial awareness problem?"

"My spatial awareness is the reason I have three world titles, Nico. If you are so bothered, feel free to step out into the rain and find your own way. I hear the crabs are very welcoming this time of year."

"I have two titles, and I am currently about to have three this season," Nico shot back, his voice rising over a crack of thunder. "Maybe your spatial awareness is why you ended up in a wall two years ago."

The words hit me like a physical punch, and I stopped dead, turning to look at him. I pointed my phone light at his face and caught the defiant yet slightly guilty look in his eyes.

For a moment, neither of us spoke, but I broke the silence before he could.

"That," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerously low register, "was below the belt, even for a bottom feeder like you."

"I..." Nico started, but I didn’t give him a chance to apologize. I walked away from him, moving straight ahead on the path I had chosen for us.

My heart hammered hard against my ribs as I thought about what he had said, and it hurt knowing how I had ruined my family due to the accident.

"Alaric, wait!" Nico shouted as he ran after me.

I didn’t listen. I was too angry to hear him.

Then suddenly, I stepped onto a patch of what looked like solid earth, but the Maldivian soil had turned into a slick, deceptive slurry. My left foot slid, my ankle twisted with a sickening pop, and I started falling.

"Merde!" I roared as I went down, the umbrella flying from my hand. I tumbled down a small embankment, my shoulder hitting a tree trunk before I finally came to a stop in a heap of mud and ruined silk.

"Alaric!" Nico’s scream tore through the rain, sounding genuinely terrified. I heard him sliding down after me, pointing his phone light at my face. "Are you alright?" he asked as he reached me.

He tried to touch me, but I slapped his hand away. "Don’t touch me," I gasped, clutching my right ankle. The pain was a throbbing pulse that made my vision blur. I tried to sit up, but the world spun. "Oh goodness... fuck this place."

"Are you alright?" Nico asked again.

"I... I am fine. Just give me a second."

"You are not fine, you idiot! I heard your bone crunch from up there!" Nico was on his knees beside me, his hands hovering over my leg, trembling. "Let me see. Move your foot."

"I said I’m fine!" I yelled and tried to stand, putting the slightest bit of weight on my right foot. I immediately let out a strangled cry of agony as my knees buckled, and I collapsed back into the mud, my pride stinging worse than the injury.

Nico groaned, then hissed as he leaned closer to me. "You are a stubborn, arrogant Frenchman," he muttered as he touched my ankle, and the slightest contact sent shocks surging through my bones. "You sprained your ankle, you idiot. I don’t think you can walk."

"I will crawl then. I will do anything to get out of here," I snarled, trying to push myself up with my arms.

"No, you won’t." Nico stood up, wiping mud from his palms onto his soaked joggers. He looked at the trail ahead, then back at me. "Get on."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Give me a break, Alaric. I am giving you a piggyback ride. It’s the only way we are getting out of this gully before the water rises."

"Hell no!" I snapped, the very idea sending a flush of humiliation through my chest.

Me getting on his back was something I would never do.

"I am not getting on your back. I am twice your size in ego alone. I will not be carried like a child."

Nico let out a loud scream. "Oh, for the love of God! Alaric! Look at the sky—the rain is picking up. The driver said the bridge is out. If we stay here, we are going to get swept into the lagoon and we will die! Now are you going to get on my back, or am I going to have to knock you unconscious and drag you by your ankles?"

"You couldn’t knock me out even if I gave you a head start," I muttered, though who knew what Nico could do since he sounded so desperate.

Nico frowned as his eyes met mine. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, then sighed. "Well, just take it the same way you helped me during the turbulence and get on," he said, crouching low in the mud. "I don’t like owing people anything, so I do this and we are even."

I hesitated for one more second, then reached out, my hands trembling as I settled them on his shoulders. The contact was electric. Even through the wet fabric, I could feel the solid, lean strength of him. I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and hooking my legs around his waist.

Before I was ready, Nico surged upward. I let out a small, involuntary squeal—a sound I would deny if he ever asked me.

"Hold tight, De Villier," Nico grunted, his hands locking firmly under my thighs. "And try to keep your knees out of my ribs."

"Alright," I whispered into the crook of his neck, my face buried against his damp skin to shield myself from the intensifying downpour. Nico held the umbrella up again and started walking.

"I have to admit that you are heavy," Nico said as he moved forward. "What do they feed you at Ferrari? Pure ego?"

"Aerospace-grade discipline," I muttered, my grip tightening around his neck.

Nico suddenly slapped my ass.

He slapped it.

"Nicholas Park!" I yelled. "How dare you—" I was cut off when he slapped my ass again. "What the hell is wrong with you—" he did it again.

"The more you talk, the more I slap your ass. Just shut up, Alaric De Villier."

I wanted to scream at him, but knowing that he had the upper hand, I couldn’t. All I could do was mumble some incoherent words.

"What was that?" he asked, but I gave no response. "That’s what I thought," he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and clenched my jaw hard.

Just you wait, Nicholas Park. I will make you pay.

We walked for about thirty minutes until we saw the lights that led to the inn.