Page 62 of Bumping into You

“Ouch, okay, okay, I get the point,” he rubs his arm in mock pain.

Rolling my eyes, I say, “Oh don’t be a big baby. I didn’t hurt you.”

“You’re right, but maybe you could kiss it and make it better,” he whispers in my ear.

A shiver runs through me at the mention of a kiss. My mind jumps back to the multiple kisses we’ve shared now, the sounds of the room disappearing, and my cheeks heat.

“G, what’s the answer?” Holly asks me.

Looking around, I blank. “I . . . what was the question?”

Holly looks at me curiously as Niall tries to hide hisamusement behind his hand, and I catch Margot giving me a smile.

After they repeat the question, I give them a quick answer.

The last question gets asked, then the host goes over the rules for scoring. Cheers and groans fill the air as correct and incorrect answers are revealed. The room echoes with the sounds of laughter and a good time.

Three teams tie for first place, including our group.

“Alrighty, we will ask one final showdown question,” says the host. “Our three teams that tied for first will give an answer and the one who is closest to the correct answer wins. Ready?”

We all cheer then huddle closer together so no one overhears us when we discuss the final question.

Grinning, the host does a drumroll on the top of the piano before saying, “For the grand finale and the chance to win these logo cozies: How many countries does the equator pass through?”

“There’s Ecuador,” I start us off, “Colombia, and Brazil.”

“And Gabon and Republic of the Congo,” adds Greg.

“Don’t forget about the Democratic Republic of the Congo too,” says Margot.

“I’m pretty sure Uganda and Kenya are both in that general area,” adds Trent

“Somalia, Maldives, and Indonesia,” Holly continues, adding tallies on her paper. “That’s eleven. Is that correct? Are there any others we missed?”“Two more, I believe,” says Niall. “You left out Kiribati and São Tomé and Príncipe.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of those before,” says Margot.

“Alright teams, ten seconds,” announces the trivia host.

“Eek, hurry,” I say, my competitiveness coming out again. “Let’s add them all together, what does that give us?”

Holly quickly double checks her notes. “Thirteen. Okay, that’s our final answer.”

We put down our pencil right as the host calls time.

“Alright, will one member of the winning team bring up their paper to show me their answers?”

Holly practically runs over to the host. The other two teams’ representatives head over as well.

Once all three teams have given their answers, the announcer reviews them.

Holly sits down as the announcer says, “Everyone was very close but only one team got it right. The question was: How many countries does the equator pass through? The correct answer is the equator passes through . . . thirteen countries. Holly, congratulations, your team is tonight’s winner.”

Laughing that we got it right, we share triumphant high-fives and fist bumps.

“See, Rose. I told you we had this!” says Niall.

“Alright, alright, you were correct,” I concede.

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