Emily Forbes – A Doctor By Day... (страница 5)

Caesar and Rico had stepped in front of the women, creating some space, and Jake passed them each a black strap, which they fixed around their chests. At the front of the strap, positioned over their sternums, was a hook that looked like a mountaineering karabiner. Jake hoisted the rope from his shoulder and handed it to the Himbos. At each end of the rope was a small metal loop, which Caesar and Rico clipped into the karabiners.

Scarlett’s eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected the rope to be tied around their chests, she’d expected them to hold it, stretched out between them. That would have given the competitors plenty of space to move but once the rope was tied around their chests and clipped into the karabiners it was quite short and didn’t leave a lot of room to manoeuvre. Not, Scarlett thought, that most of the girls would mind, but she had no intention of brushing against half-naked strangers any more than she had to.

Jake waited until the limbo rope was in position before taking the microphone from Rooster and taking over the contest. The girls were asked to line up and after much jostling Scarlett found herself third in line behind two hens, one rather large one and one with an exceptionally long veil. Judge Jake approached each competitor in turn and asked them their name. He showed no surprise when he got to Scarlett and she knew then he’d already seen her on the stage. She just hoped he didn’t think she’d volunteered.

Even in her heels she was still an inch or two shorter than him, and she had to look up slightly when she told him her name. Up close she could see that his green eyes were ringed with brown and he winked at her as he repeated her name and Scarlett felt her cheeks redden. She hoped the tell-tale blush wouldn’t be noticeable but she suspected the spotlight would only serve to enhance the colour in her face.

With much cheering and clapping from the audience Jake got the contest under way. The plump hen went first and she could almost walk under the rope without ducking, she was so short. The next hen, the one with the long veil, wasn’t so lucky. She trod on her veil as she tipped her head backwards to duck under the rope. This pulled her up short and made her fall and she landed hard on her backside. Her faux pas was greeted with laughter from the audience, though not cruel or nasty laughter. Scarlett knew most of them would be laughing with relief that they weren’t the ones lying flat on their backs in front of a crowd.

She couldn’t work out how the hen had managed to trip herself up but as she was sprawled on the floor and Jake was reaching for her hand to help her to her feet Scarlett just prayed that she wouldn’t be as unlucky or as ungainly. She was next in line.

‘How confident are you?’ Jake asked her, as she moved a step closer.

Scarlett looked at the girls around her, including the one already disqualified. ‘I’ve done a few limbos in my time,’ she fibbed. ‘I think I can take this one.’ Her knees felt weak and she wondered how she was going to manage to limbo on wobbly legs but her voice sounded surprisingly normal and strong.

She wasn’t sure why she’d chosen to announce her lies to the room; she could only assume it had something to do with the challenge in Jake’s eyes. She didn’t want to look like a complete klutz in front of him but neither did she want to appear timid and pathetic. She didn’t normally think of herself as a competitive, win-at-all-costs type of person but she didn’t like to fail at anything. She had high expectations of herself and she certainly didn’t want to be beaten by these women.

Jake laughed and announced, ‘Scarlett Take-No- Prisoners, who is standing in for her hen, Candice, let’s see what you’ve got.’

The girls on her table whooped and cheered as Scarlett easily limboed under the rope and popped up on the other side.

After Scarlett were another six competitors, four hens, one with a rather heavy, awkward-looking tiara holding her veil in place, and two chicks. Two more fell on the first attempt and Scarlett thought the success rate was probably indirectly proportionate to the amount each ‘chick’ had had to drink.

As the contest continued and the number of competitors dropped, so did the height of the rope. As the rope descended the Himbos shortened it too, bringing them even closer together and giving the chicks less margin for error. Another two stumbled and were eliminated as the rope was lowered to the bottom of the Himbos’ rib cages.

The girls were being urged on by their friends but despite the encouragement all but two were out of the competition after attempting to limbo under the rope when it was level with the Himbos’ waists. By the time the rope was moved further south to their hips Scarlett’s until-now-unknown competitive streak had well and truly emerged and she had no intention of losing tonight. It was now a two-chick race between her and a girl named Tracey and it was Scarlett’s turn.

Scarlett sized up the competition. Tracey was several inches shorter than her so Scarlett slid her platform heels from her feet to level the playing field. The rope was very low now and she didn’t need to make this any harder than it already was.

‘Watch out, Tracey.’ Jake laughed. ‘The competition is getting serious, clothing is being shed. What else is coming off, Scarlett?’

His green eyes were challenging her again and something in his expression made her want to challenge him back. ‘Nothing yet,’ she quipped, and was rewarded with a brief spark of something—maybe attraction, maybe anticipation, she wasn’t sure—but there was definitely a light in his eyes. She turned her back, wanting to leave him hanging, and shimmied under the rope. She just managed to scrape under without over-balancing.

Jake had stepped around to the other side of the Himbos and was there to take her hand as she straightened. He kept his elbow bent, which kept her close, and his hand warmed her skin where it wrapped around her fingers. He smelt clean, as if he was freshly showered but she knew that couldn’t be the case. He smelt good.

She could feel the heat coming off his half-naked body and she knew the skin on his chest would feel as warm and soft as his hand. Scarlett’s stomach trembled as Jake continued to hold her hand as they waited for Tracey to take her turn at the limbo. Her body was tingling as Jake’s touch awakened her senses and she could feel the pulse low in her belly starting to beat a little bit faster.

Scarlett knew she could pull her hand out of Jake’s grasp but she didn’t want to. This connection would be severed soon enough and she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. They watched as Tracey almost made it under the rope before falling at the last hurdle, putting her hand on the ground just before she was ready to stand and thereby disqualifying herself.

Jake let go of Scarlett to help Tracey to her feet. ‘I’m sorry, Tracey, you almost did it,’ he said as he helped her up, before turning back to Scarlett. ‘That makes you our winner tonight.’ His smile lit up his green eyes as he added, ‘Would you like to see how low you can go?’

Scarlett watched as Caesar and Rico moved the rope down another couple of inches until it was sitting across their groins. She looked back at Jake. He was now grinning mischievously and she knew he was waiting to see if she was up to the next challenge. She shook her head. She’d let him win this round. ‘I’m done.’

‘All right, here’s your prize.’ Jake reached his left hand behind him and when he brought it forward again he had a handful of fake money that he must have had stashed in his pocket. Scarlett frowned. What was she supposed to do with fake dollar bills?

He held the notes up in the air and Scarlett got another glimpse of the tattoo on the soft side of his arm. At close range she could see that the inky black marks were stars, five of them in total, their arrangement making a pattern that was familiar to every Australian. He had the Southern Cross constellation tattooed on his skin.

Jake kept his arm held high as he turned through one hundred and eighty degrees, showing the fake money to the crowd, who cheered as he called out, ‘Tipping dollars!’

‘Tipping dollars?’ Scarlett repeated. She had no idea what he was talking about.

Jake lowered the microphone and leant in close as he pressed the fake banknotes into her hand. ‘It’s to tip the dancers,’ he explained. ‘Tuck some into the guys’ shorts before you leave the stage and share the rest with your group for them to use later.’

The crowd applauded and cheered again as she tipped the Himbos while Jake escorted Tracey from the stage, but before she could follow the crowd began to chant, ‘Jake, Jake, Jake!’ and she knew she was expected to tip him too. She wasn’t certain but she thought Candice might have been leading the call.

Jake was back by her side again. He didn’t seem surprised or reticent and she suspected he loved the attention. She’d bet his star sign was Leo. They loved the limelight. She tucked a few notes into his waistband and as her fingers brushed against his hipbone she found herself searching his skin for more tattoos. But the skin of his torso and waist was smooth, tanned and ink-free. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she could feel a blush stealing across her cheeks. Somehow touching Jake felt a lot more personal than when she’d been tipping Caesar and Rico.