Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“You’ve got this, Archer!” Lauren yelled. “Finish strong!”
She continued cheering me on as I started the sprint, and I hauled ass, finishing first. Rod came in a close second, and three others finished behind him.
Which was only five. But there were six teams left.
“We have our five top finishers,” Josh announced. “I’m sorry to say that Maks fell on the hurdles and cut his forehead. He’s getting medical attention now and being checked for a concussion. As a team that was unable to complete the challenge, he and Irina have been eliminated from the competition.”
I met Lauren’s gaze and we shared a smile. Maks and Irina had finished behind us, but I hoped she’d still want to compete hard against the remaining teams. The money we were hoping for was well within reach now.
What would she do if she won half a million dollars? Would she go back to her teaching job? My life would stay the same whether we won or lost, but Lauren’s life could be very different after the show.
Did she want it to be different? The more time we spent together on this island, the more unanswered questions I had.
Once the fuss about Maks and Irina had passed, the remaining five teams were loaded up and driven to a new site where everything for the cookout was set up. Spirits were high as we ate, drank, and celebrated together. Lauren sat next to me during the meal, but then sat with the other female contestants on the beach later, all of them sipping piña coladas from coconut shells and chatting like old friends.
“What’s up with you two?” Rod asked me.
I shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Did she reject you?”
I gave him a look. “No.”
“Andrea rejected me. But I get it. Hooking up here doesn’t mean the same as back home. And she and I live in different states. We broke up for a reason…you know the drill.”
I nodded, watching Lauren as she laughed about something. She was so pretty when she laughed; the corners of her eyes scrunched up and got all wrinkly and her smile was nothing short of dazzling.
I did know the drill. Everything Rod had said applied to me and Lauren, too. Our time together would eventually come to an end and we’d return to our separate lives. And that would be easier if we kept things platonic for the rest of our time here.
Easier in the end, but right now, staying away from her was the most difficult challenge I faced.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Day Twenty-Three—Five teams remaining
Lauren
Archer carved a mark into our camp tree, marking the start of Day Twenty-Three on the island. After our competition and cookout on Day Twenty, we’d spent two long, hot, and boring days alone at camp. I hoped today wouldn’t be our third, but that would be up to the show’s producers.
“I didn’t have any luck fishing this morning,” he said, sitting down on a stump stool. “I almost had a big one, but it slipped off my line at the last second.”
“We’ve got plenty of rice,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, but I’ll go fishing again later. It’s not like I’ve got anything else to do.”
I pressed my lips together, forcing myself not to blurt out something that would ruin the platonic chemistry it had taken us a few days to get back after our night of sex in the rain. It didn’t help that I’d almost kissed him last night.
When I woke up in the middle of the night, I’d seen the outline of his face in the moonlight. He was asleep on his side facing me, and I’d reached out to gently touch his short, dark beard. That had led to me staring at his lips, which had led to me remembering how it felt when he kissed me.
I’d briefly considered something absolutely mad—waking him up with a kiss and asking him if he wanted to have a “night fling” with me. I wanted him so badly that I’d convinced myself it made perfect sense. During our camera-free time from one to five in the morning, we’d do anything and everything we wanted. But when our first camera operator arrived for the day, we’d go back to being just partners on a game show. Our night fling would be our little secret.
Of course it was a terrible idea. We could easily fall asleep and get busted naked the next morning, just like the first time. So as much as I wanted it, I’d closed my eyes and let the sound of the crashing waves lull me back to sleep.
“Who’s that?” Archer squinted at a golf cart that was approaching our camp on the beach.
“Is it Sal?” I asked.
“It might be, but there’s someone else, too.”
I went to stand next to him, both of us trying to figure out who it was.
“It’s Josh,” Archer said when they got close enough for us to see. “Sal’s driving and Josh is in the passenger seat.”