Scene 3 — Cal

Cal held the door for Lindsey, which gave him a good chance to get a close up of her condition. Her blue tank top was stained red from the sports drink and her once white leggings were dark brown across the front from the chocolate. Some of that had also seeped down her thighs. He didn’t think he’d ever seen someone so beautiful.

He had not been quite sure of what to make of whatever Annie and Lindsey had been up to but he’d known from the look Lindsey gave him that he shouldn’t interfere. He’d learned his lesson from yesterday on that one. He figured he could get the full story later, but right now they had work to do. His legs were exhausted after his intense ride. He’d pushed harder than he probably should have but he was ashamed how far behind the swim leg had put him. He knew he was bad, but that performance had been atrocious. They approached the nearby table where Pierre was sitting.

“Well well, Team 2, I shouldn’t be surprised I suppose, but I’m still amazed that you got here last and still leave with the lead,” the man said with grin. “We told you there would be some twists in the third leg and here’s the first. From here on out one partner must be blindfolded at all times.” He handed over a blindfold. It reminded Cal of the kind people wore to sleep on planes.

“Lest you be tempted to peek, we have game cameras along the trail and know what times are typically possible. If we have any suspicions we can check the film, so be good sports and don’t try, please,” he explained. “Good luck, you’ll meet Laurie at the finish line.

“I’ll wear it first,” Lindsey volunteered before Cal could even offer, “you more than have my trust after that last episode, let’s go!” She grabbed the mask and affixed it over her eyes. Cal grabbed her hand and headed down the trail they knew well by now.

The first part of the trail was where they had done the first game yesterday with the HVT. Cal explained this to Lindsey so she would know they could move pretty quickly but had to be careful at the bridges. They experimented with a couple different approaches to moving with one person blind and settled on a light jog being about the fastest they could safely move. They agreed that a quick but steady pace was much better than trying to run and risking falls and potential injuries. They found that the best way for Cal to guide Lindsey was to hold her arm just above the elbow. This way it was easy to guide her both left and right but also to push forward to let her know they could move a bit faster or pull back to let her know they needed to hold up for an obstacle. Cal really enjoyed working together with Lindsey this way; being literally connected as well as her trusting him to guide felt very intimate in a positive, team-oriented way.