“Please, if anyone is going to screw it up, it’s you.”

“Want to bet?”

“Sure,” I say. “First one to misstep has to hand over five of their Nerds Clusters.”

“Only five?” he asks. “Scared you might mess it up?”

“No, scared you might mess it up several times. This is so you don’t lose them all.”

“We’ll see about that.” Then he reaches out his hand and says, “Deal.”

I take it and give it a shake.

Game on.

Easy win ahead for me.

Which is good, because I’ll need all the candy I can get to see me through the next eight days.

“This is stupid,” I say as I stand with my back to Wilder’s chest. Our ankles and our hands are tied to each other, plastering us together and making it nearly impossible to move. “If we fall, we have to roll, or else I’m taking the earth right to my nose.”

“We’re not going to fall,” Wilder says, his lips so close to my ear that his breath tickles me, sending a shiver all the way up my spine and causing goose bumps to spread over my skin. “We just need to communicate when we move. See, like them.” He nods toward Finky and his wife, Lindsey, who are moving through the mini golf course with ease.

There are five holes to play, and said holes are pretty simple, flat, nothing too dramatic when it comes to slope and obstacles. We were told before we started that the best score wins a prize at the end. No one knows what the prize is, but you can bet with a camp full of embroidered vest–loving freaks, they’re gunning for it. And yes, because I don’t want to feel like the loser of the bunch, we’re going for it as well.

“It looks like he’s whispering in her ear as they move along.” Then he points to Duncan and his husband. “Let’s not be like them.”

“Is that dirt in his nose?”

I feel Wilder lean closer to get a better look. “Shit, it is,” he says. “Okay, if we end up falling, tuck and roll and I’ll take the hit. But for the record, I don’t plan on falling. I’m sturdy as an ox. All we need to do is take our time, concentrate, and work together. This isn’t a race. This is about communication.”

“Understood.” I lightly nod. “But given our situation, don’t you think we should bicker a little? You know, to show everyone that we’re here for a reason? But then surprise them when we end up pulling out the win? Like classic chaos on the outside, but when push comes to shove, we excel at everything we do.”