Making Connections

Jace grabbed Sky by the arm and pulled her back down as she stood up to shout at her twin brother, Sam, who’d entered with the white-haired girl’s team.

“Let go of me.” Sky tried to pull her arm free, but she didn’t put much effort into it.

“There’s no need to make a scene.” Jace told Sky firmly, “Trust me, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to chew him out later tonight.”

A quick glance at the other tables showed that not everyone was quite as level-headed as Jace was regarding the new arrivals. It seemed as if every member of the white-haired girl’s team sent one of the tables into some kind of uproar.

Jace couldn’t help but grin upon seeing a busty blond girl a few tables over roar “Fucking bullshit!” at the new arrivals, to the obvious disapproval of Rex Hardaway.

“What’s Sam doing here?” Izzy asked, leaning forwards to talk to her best friend, Skylar.

“Hell if I know.” Sky rolled her green eyes.

“If I had to guess,” Jace said, looking towards the table where the loud busty blond sat and how almost all of them seemed to be glaring at the white-haired girl, “the white-haired girl assembled some kind of team to undermine all of us, by bringing people we don’t like.”

Jace gestured to a different, closer table where an attractive heterochromatic redhead was positively shaking in fury.

“Like the Injustice League?” David piped up.

Jace was momentarily diverted.

“You’re a comic book nerd too? Em, why didn’t you tell me?” Jace asked.

“Never came up.” Emily shrugged.

“Right. But, yeah, David, like the Injustice League.” Jace nodded, “So, by yelling and getting angry, we’re letting white hair girl win.”

Skylar quirked a grin at Jace.

“You’re kinda hot when you take charge.” Skylar winked, and Isabelle made a surprised **** noise.

“And now, our team captains!” the sensationally attractive Tish Hardaway announced, gesturing her hand towards a table where a very smug looking black haired boy in glasses stood up and waved.

“Plato Quest, from Cherry Cove!” Tish announced. The smug boy, Plato, sat back down, and Tish gestured next to a table where a friendly looking guy with dark brown hair jumped to his feet a little over-enthusiastically and waved.

“Zachary Bishop, from Azure Rocks!” Tish announced.

Tish went next to the table neighboring Jace’s team’s, and a brown haired boy rose to his feet smiling.

“Kenneth Clark, from Greenwall!” Tish announced, and her hand moved next to Jace’s table.

Jace rose to his feet, and waved. He also couldn’t resist winking at Tish, which the woman clearly saw, and she just looked faintly amused.

“Jace Holland, from Amethyst Shore!” Tish announced, and Jace could have sworn she smiled right at him. He sat down feeling good, until he saw Skylar’s knowing look and felt a little ridiculous.

Tish’s hand moved to the next table, and it took a few seconds for that team captain, a blond boy, to jump up and wave.

“Sean Tarver, from Honey Hollow!” Tish announced a little wryly.

Her hand moved to the last table, where an extremely attractive blonde girl jumped to her feet. She had a slim, yet toned figure with large breasts and a curvy ass, and Jace admired her body.

“And last but not least, Demi McNamara, from Redwater!” Tish announced.

The sexy Redwater team captain sat down, and Rex launched into some more announcements which Jace admittedly tuned out.

Jace only tuned back in when Tish started talking again.

“Alright, guys, we’ve talked enough for tonight. For now, you guys should get to mingling. Meet your competitors, and hopefully make some new friends. Competitors doesn’t have to mean enemies.” Tish reminded the occupants of the dining hall.

All around, the different teams began to stand up. The Amethyst Shore contingent rose to their feet, too, and divided swiftly into duos.

Jace and Emily were approached by the Greenwall team captain, Kenneth Clark, and a sexy Asian girl.

Skylar and Izzy made a beeline for Sam, which left David sitting a little awkwardly with Amy.

“So… excited for the contest?” Amy asked a little awkwardly.

“Yeah.” David said truthfully, “I really like mysteries, so I’m hoping we do well.”

“Me too.” Amy smiled, “I’ve always loved solving puzzles and stuff.”

As David and Amy were chatting, up walked Daisy Holland, Jace’s incredibly sexy older sister with very large tits that bounced whenever she walked, no matter how heavy duty her bra was, and her blue-green eyes were kind.

“Hey, you two. I need to bring you somewhere.” Daisy said.

“What? Where? Is this part of the contest?” David asked, growing anxious at both Daisy’s presence and the unknown reason why she was there.

“Nope.” Daisy said, and folded her arms beneath her mouthwatering bosom.

David rose to his feet as abruptly if he had been yanked up, not wanting to disappoint the beauty before him.

Amy gave a shrug and rose to her feet too.

“Follow me.” Daisy smiled, and led the two nerds away.

———

Jace and Emily talked with Kenneth, who preferred to go by Kenny, and the sexy Asian girl, who was his best friend, Mindy.

Emily and Mindy went off together after their conversation, heading out to the fire pit, and Kenny wandered off to talk to someone else, Jace guessed.

Jace spotted Tish Hardaway speaking to a young man a few years older than Jace, probably in his early twenties with short brown hair and glasses. Jace tried to press through the crowd towards her, but accidentally bumped into a very attractive woman who was probably around 24.

She had shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes, large breasts, and a firm ass. Jace gave the woman a warm, apologetic smile.

“Sorry for bumping into you. I’m Jace.” Jace extended his hand. The woman blew some black hair out of her face and took Jace’s hand, shaking it.

“Abbie.” she replied with a smile, “I’m kind of the outdoors specialist around here, me and my brother both.”

“Oh, so you’re the person to talk to about the surrounding terrain.” Jace grinned. Abbie raised a brow.

“Looking for advantages already?” she asked, returning his grin.

“Wouldn’t hurt.” Jace replied innocently. Abbie laughed.

“You got any specific questions, or do you just want me to draw you a map?” Abbie inquired.

“A map would be nice.” Jace nodded. Abbie shook her head, smirking.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, asking for a map.” Abbie remarked lightly.

“Maybe a private tour?” Jace pressed. Abbie gave him a surprised look.

“I didn’t think you detective types would have as much interest in me as you would your next clue.” Abbie said wryly.

“I’m a special case.” Jace shrugged. Abbie laughed, and touched his arm, making Jace smile.

“If you want a private tour sometime, perhaps you can find me sometime tomorrow. Tonight, you need to socialize with the other teams.” Abbie said.

“Sounds good.” Jace said, and he and Abbie separated. Jace looked for Tish, but saw disappointedly that her, Rex, and the young man she’d been talking to had all vanished.

Jace turned around to maybe take another swing at Abbie when he found himself face to face with a busty brunette girl.

“Hi, I’m Hollie.” she said with a smile. Jace grinned at this sexy quirk of fate.