The ride through the hallways and down the elevator took only a few minutes, but having Claire so close, with her arm brushing his, was enough to scramble his concentration.
The film crew set up the first shot in the hallway and had Fiona march ahead of Fin and dramatically point to the training room. Fin maneuvered into the space and looked at Fiona, waiting for further instruction. She patted the small couch along the wall and motioned for him to sit. He complied with his leg extended over the rest of the cushions. She slid a pillow under his ankle, then shook her fin at him. He hung his head and did his best to appear chastised.
Fiona nodded and turned away, busying herself with some of the equipment on the opposite side of the room. Fin picked up his crutches and kept twisting toward her, checking to see if she noticed him moving. Then he stood and hobbled into the hall. He hopped to the golf cart and started it up, continuing to glance over his shoulder. The cameraman backed up to capture both Fin's escape and Fiona exaggerated surprise as she watched him drive away and then ran after him.
Laughing hard, Liam reversed his movement and came to a stop by her side. "Nice job in there. I think our first video was a success. That one will play in well with Fin sneaking on the field."
"True." She climbed into the cart for the short ride back to the training room. "Fiona needs to pull out some tricks to keep Fin where she wants him."
He nudged her shoulder. "And where do you want me?"
"I... I mean Fiona probably wants to chain Fin to the training table."
The scene unfolded in his mind—only the table became a bed where he and Claire wrestled for control. "I would fight the chains. Unless you stayed with me."
Her breath hitched and then she cleared her throat. "You mean Fiona. Fin would fight unless Fiona stayed with him."
"Right." He eased back and climbed off the cart, remembering at the last second to grab his crutches. The last thing he needed would be to take another tumble. He blamed the blood flowing south for his momentary lapse in judgment.
The next scene called for Fin to sit on the trainer's table, leg extended. Claire stood by his side while the crew readied themselves. "I don't want to hurt you. It is really okay if I touch your leg?"
"As long as you don't smash a mallet over it, I think it'll be okay."
She rested her covered hand on his shin, light enough to barely register, but he could easily imagine the touch without the layers of fabric separating their skin. "You joke around a lot."
He shrugged. "Not always. But it's hard to be serious when we're both wearing giant shark costumes."
"You have a point." She stepped back. "And I have an idea. Would you be okay with Fiona tying Fin to the table with a few exercise bands? We could have two of the players come in and distract Fiona while another helped Fin escape."
"I'm all for it. Adam can distract you while Slade and Dom help me escape. I'll need them both if I want to move fast." He loved getting his friends in on the action and with them there, he'd have more of a distraction from Claire.
They recorded a few more videos until his friends arrived dressed in uniforms amid loud footsteps and laughing banter. From his place on the table, Liam instructed someone to lock the door so he and Claire could remove their masks for a moment, and then made the introductions, first pointing to his oldest friend. "This is Dom Torres, center fielder. Next to him is Adam Hudson, today's starting pitcher. And you know Slade."
Slade waved at Claire as she slipped her mask in place and then surveyed them with a wide grin. "You two look adorable."
Liam threw a towel at him and missed by a mile. "Shut up. But yeah, that's the idea."
Dom came to the center of the room. "Where do you need us?"
Claire pointed with her soft fins, looking far too charming in her costume for her own good. "Adam comes in first with an injury and while I'm checking him, you and Slade sneak in and untie Fin and carry him out."
Adam's laughter rang through the room. "That's great. Maybe the cameras can follow the guys and they carry him into the clubhouse."
"Easy for you to suggest when you're not the one carrying him." Slade lobbed the towel at Liam. "I like it."
Dom dramatically wobbled his knees and staggered forward. "We'll try not to drop you."
Liam shook his head and fixed his mask in place. He was surrounded by comedians. "Maybe we should stick with the golf cart. Let's get started."
The guys left and Liam adjusted his position on the table. Once the camera was rolling, Claire again came to his side and shook her fin at him. Liam lifted his arms into a shrug with fins upturned. Then she held up the exercise bands she'd tied together. The sound engineer would add in suspenseful music during editing. Liam forcefully shook his head in exaggerated movements, with the camera closing in on his face to give Claire time to slip the band over his torso and grab the other end from the floor.
The camera backed away, panning out as Fiona tied the ends, and then Liam did his best impression of a flailing fish flopping around a boat.
Adam walked in, holding his side and grimacing in
