Page 10 of Tour Wars
She fought back a surge of irritation. If she let him set the pace, they’d spend all day running behind schedule. “Idowant to get it over with. Being a guide sucks. Having to wait for your slow ass sucks even worse.”
He glared at her. “I’m trying to do my job. If people in my group have questions, I don’t want to ignore them, like you do.”
Did he have to sound so self-righteous about it? True, she didn’t take the time to answer every question, but she needed to keep things moving. They only had so many hours to get through all the stops on their itinerary. On days when they had to do two tours, back-to-back, they couldn’t afford any delays.
She jabbed a finger in his direction. “It wouldn’t be a problem if you could give short answers, but you bombard them with more information than they need. You’re just showing off.”
Paulo chuckled. “You two are always fighting. What’s that saying in America—why don’t you bang it out of your system?”
Marie wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Really, Paulo? Eww. They’re not together.”
“You’ve been reading too many of Marie’s romance novels,” Emilia said to him. “There’s nothing between us.”
TJ placed his hand on Marie’s arm. “Just because Em and I are the only two Americans here doesn’t mean we like each other. Back in the States, we’re not even friends.”
Paulo waggled his eyebrows. “I don’t believe it. You worked together at Troy last summer, no? Did something happen then?”
Why did he sound so amused about it? If anything, he should be jealous. Maybe he was excited at the prospect of stealing her away from TJ.
Spurred on by the thought, Emilia answered his question with a sly laugh. “Well, since you asked…I can’t deny it any longer. During the day, TJ and I fought constantly. But at night, we gave in to our deepest urges. Sneaking off to the site after hours. Having wild, passionate sex inside the giant wooden model of the Trojan horse. Keeping it hidden from the rest of the crew all season long. The fear of getting caught made it a total adrenaline rush.”
In theory, it could have happened since tourists were allowed to climb up the ladder of the forty-foot wooden horse and clamber into its belly. Once inside, they could pretend they were Greek soldiers, waiting on the signal to attack Troy. But Emilia didn’t think anyone had ever entertained the possibility of using it for after-hours sex.
Marie, however, appeared to be taking her seriously. She flashed sad puppy-dog eyes at TJ. “Is that true, Theo?”
Theo?As far as Emilia knew, the only time TJ went by his real name was when he was giving an academic presentation. How had Marie earned the privilege of using it?
TJ’s mouth set in a grim line. “No. Em’s just being obnoxious. Nothing happened.”
As the train continued its journey, the rocking motion made Emilia drowsy. She gazed out the window at the rows of apartment blocks rushing past and tried not to think about TJ.
Focus on Paulo. He’s hot, he’s into you, and you know he’d be up for a fling.
Next week, she wouldn’t sign up to do any tours. Instead, she’d ask Paulo if he wanted to get away for the weekend. All she needed was a night alone with him. Then, she could banish the memory of TJ’s kiss forever.
CHAPTERFIVE
During the train ride to Ercolano, TJ couldn’t stop himself from imagining the scene Emilia had planted in his brain. Sneaking away with her at Troy, getting naked inside the Trojan horse, and indulging in hot, furtive sex, like some kinkyIliad-inspired fantasy. They’d have to bring blankets to prevent splinters. Maybe some booze to loosen up. And they’d have to keep quiet so they wouldn’t be discovered by a roaming security guard.
Though he’d never attempted anything that bold before, the idea was titillating.
Get serious. Like Em would ever have sex with you?
Besides, she’d clearly concocted that Trojan horse fantasy to mess with him. Had she said it out of jealousy? Did she think he and Marie were hooking up? The thought had crossed his mind, particularly when Marie had asked him to join her in Positano last weekend, but he hadn’t acted on it.
Not because of Emilia. If anything, she was more combative than ever. When they’d first arrived in Pompeii, they’d gotten along, albeit grudgingly. Since they were no longer competing for the same jobs, their rivalry had eased up a little. On the site, they each had their own specialties. She worked with Paulo and three other members of the archaeobotanical team, who were tasked with studying the ancient plant remains, while TJ and his group focused on the bronze and iron artifacts found on the site. Occasionally, they conferred together, but they kept their interactions professional.
But once he and Emilia had been assigned to work together as guides, they’d started squabbling again. She claimed he spent too much time showing off, while he resented the way she rushed her groups through each spot on the tour.
When the train reached Ercolano, the four of them got off and headed toward the hostel. In addition to the sixteen archaeologists living there, the place housed a motley mix of digital nomads and scruffy Europeans traveling on the cheap. It offered a breakfast buffet, a decent bar, and a rooftop patio where people gathered at night to hang out and drink beer.
While TJ enjoyed the lively atmosphere, he was getting a little old for this shit. He wasn’t a twenty-year-old backpacker bumming his way through Europe. He was a professional archaeologist with a PhD from Harvard. As fun as the hostel was, it was a far cry from where he could have been living if he’d gotten a job as a college professor in the US.
No whining, remember?
At least he’d found work in his field, which was more than he could say for some of his colleagues. Instead of toiling away at a minimum-wage job, he’d scored a gig that made use of his archaeological training and looked good on his resume.
The walk from the train station to the hostel took twenty minutes along paved sidewalks lined with small shops and apartment buildings in muted tones of yellow, peach, and orange. Compared to a bustling city like Naples, Ercolano was far more low-key. Located on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it was a popular spot for people visiting the ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum, but it wasn’t as packed with tourists as the towns along the Amalfi Coast.
