Chapter 189
Chapter 189
As he spoke, Harrison snatched up a cushion and tossed it onto Luke Holloway’s back.
The look he shot Luke brimmed with disdain.
A nearby teacher interjected, “Mr. Vaughn, adding a cushion will make it harder for the person on your back to stay balanced. I don’t think you should use one.”
“Adding a cushion ups the challenge. If we make it harder, we get an extra point!” Harrison had fully appointed himself the rule-maker for this game. The teachers exchanged baffled glances-who was the adult in charge here, and who was the parent?
Felicity spoke up, “Do we really need a cushion?” She honestly just wanted to sit directly on Harrison’s back.
But he was stubborn. “I want the extra point.”
The teachers figured Harrison was just trying to make up for falling behind in the score tally, so he was looking for ways to push himself.
One of the teachers finally relented. “All right, if Damien’s father says so. Add a cushion, and you get one extra point.”
Daph piped up, “What if we add two cushions? Do we get two points?”
Selene, ever practical, turned to Daph. “We don’t need to pile on the cushions. We’re not desperate for an extra point or two.”
Harrison bristled at that. “What, you just can’t wait to sit on your brother’s back instead?”
Selene grinned. “Mr. Vaughn, did you join the neighborhood watch lately? Since when are you so nosy?”
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She added, “And by the way, I’m not sitting on your back. So kindly keep your mouth shut.”
She couldn’t help noticing how often both Harrison and Dames were glancing her way today.
It was getting impossible to ignore.
Harrison let out a haughty, mocking laugh, his sharp eyes narrowing. “Insulting me, are you?”
The old saying goes: the deeper the love, the deeper the grudge.
If she was still taking the trouble to insult him, surely there were still feelings there.
A smirk tugged at Harrison’s lips.
Meanwhile, Luke Holloway lowered himself onto a yoga mat, bracing his arms to support his weight.
He looked up at Selene. “Stack the cushions-three of them. I can handle
it.”
So Selene did as he asked, laying three cushions across Luke’s lower
back.
Harrison, determined not to be outdone, got into position on his own mat and barked at Felicity, “Put the cushion on.”
Felicity grumbled, “So every extra cushion is worth a point, huh?”
“I said put it on!” Harrison snapped, and Felicity, not wanting to make him any angrier, obeyed. She set the cushion on Harrison’s back, then, holding Dames in her arms, sat down gingerly on top of the cushion.
A whistle blew-the signal to start. The competition was simple: whichever family could do the most push-ups in one minute would win.
The kids’ excited counting rang out across the gym.
2/4
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Harrison and Luke Holloway matched each other, push-up for push-up, neither giving an inch.
Quentin, on the other hand, barely managed two before collapsing flat on the floor, unable to move.
Clarissa shouted, “Come on, get up!”
Quentin, utterly spent, just waved her off. “You’re too heavy. I can’t do it.”
Clarissa flushed red, bristling. “It’s probably because Penelope’s put on weight again! I told you not to eat so much!”
Penelope hung her head, too embarrassed to argue.
Before the minute was even up, several parents dropped out of the game, panting and defeated.
At the end of the round, the two teachers in charge of counting called out in unison, “Fifty-two!”
Harrison and Luke Holloway had both managed exactly fifty-two push-ups
in a minute.
They locked eyes, neither willing to stop, and instead started moving even faster, determined to outdo each other.
Luke Holloway’s face stayed impassive-he’d clearly been training for years, and the combined weight of Selene and Daph was nothing to him.
“Harrison, you’re amazing!” Felicity cheered, excitement bursting in her voice. Just imagining how strong his back and stamina must be made her cheeks flush-she wondered what it would be like to put him to the
test elsewhere.
Harrison’s jaw tightened, his breath coming harder now.
He knew Luke Holloway was a natural athlete-maybe even gifted. But he refused to lose to him.
“If you ever let Selene down, I’ll take her away from you.”
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Luke Holloway’s warning, spoken years ago when Harrison first married
Selene, echoed in his mind now, stinging sharper than ever.
