Chapter Twenty
Courtney
My heart is jackhammering out of my chest. I can’t handle the suspense and the unknown any longer. If Alex doesn’t spit it out quick, I’m going to throw up all over the place. That will for sure get us voted off.
“And the couple who’ll be going home is…” Alex starts, holding for an annoyingly long time before finally speaking again.
“Kiera and Dallas.”
Several gasps echo around the set, and Kiera looks like she’s been punched in the gut as her mouth falls open in shock. Dallas looks stunned as he stares off into space.
“I’m so sorry, you two, but it looks like your journey is over,” Alex continues, grabbing a pair of golden pliers and snipping the bracelets off each of their wrists. “You are officially locked out.”
A cry escapes Kiera as she covers her face, and Dallas just stands there like he wants to do the same.
“Please take a few moments to say your goodbyes,” Alex says before he bows his head and walks off camera.
Savannah and Angel rush to Kiera as some of the guys go to Dallas. All the goodbyes are sorrow filled, and I know out of respect we should go over there, but I don’t think I can move. I’m not sure I know how to walk anymore. Same goes for Landon if I had to guess.
Our eyes meet, and I shake my head at him in disbelief. Surprising me, he pulls me in for a hug. I think it’s more of a grounding technique than for actual comfort, but in this moment I’ll take it.
“Holy shit,” I mutter.
“I know,” Landon says.
“Is this really happening?”
He shakes his head and blinks. “I guess. I thought we were going home for sure.”
“No, same. Guess the tits worked.” I laugh hollowly.
Landon huffs in agreement, then says, “We should probably say something,” gesturing to Kiera and Dallas.
They must hear him or feel our gazes because they look to us with nothing but rage. Then Kiera turns her back on us and stomps away. Dallas shakes his head in disgust and follows her.
Or not.
Luna sprints over to me and wraps me up in a hug that almost takes us both out.
“Oh, thank fuck! I was shitting a brick over there. You have no idea,” she says.
“Oh, I’ve got a clue. I’m not sure my heart rate will ever settle.”
“Glad you’re still here, bro,” Shane says, fist-bumping Landon before pulling him in for a quick hug.
“Same,” Landon says with a nod.
“I bribed a crew member to bring us more booze, you guys want to get fucked up?” Luna says with a smirk.
“How did you manage that?” I ask.
“I have my ways,” she replies with a waggle of her eyebrows.
Shane laughs, then begins kissing her neck. “That you do, baby.”
“Lead the way,” I say, and we all head out to the second-floor patio.
I don’t know why more people don’t hang out up here. It’s covered so it doesn’t get any sun, but there are really comfortable daybeds and conversation pits up here. It’s a cool vibe, and it’s away from the crowd and the wailing drama of Angel and Savannah, upset that Kiera’s gone.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want to go home either, but you’d think someone just killed their puppies right before their eyes given the way they’re falling apart.
Landon and I take a seat when a crew member catches Luna’s eye from down below and waves to her.
“Come help me,” she says to Shane, and they hurry to meet him.
Landon and I sit in silence for a few moments before I make a joke.
“I feel like we’re teenagers sneaking drinks before our parents catch us.”
He laughs. “Yeah, except our parents have cameras watching and recording our every move. This guy sneaking Luna booze will be fired by morning, guaranteed.”
I nod. Not our problem, though.
“I’ve been thinking,” he says before going quiet.
I look over to see his brows furrowed, his lips slightly pursed, as if he’s trying to come up with the right words.
“We lost the challenge because we weren’t working together. We’ve been spending all our time fighting instead of getting to know each other.”
I nod in agreement. No arguments here.
“So, we need to bury it. I don’t know why you’re here, and I don’t need to know, but I have a feeling it’s for similar reasons to me.
I need to be here until the end. I feel like you do too, which means we have to show up better.
For the cameras and in the challenges. It would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to fake it all the time. ”
Again, no arguments.
“Okay. I get it. Yes, agreed. The better a show we can put on, the better our odds are for staying in the game, right?”
“Exactly,” he agrees.
We’re quiet for a few moments, then he says, “So we’re good, then? We’re dating or whatever?”
“For the cameras? Sure,” I say and stick out my hand.
He looks down at it with a disbelieving smirk before shaking it. Then he laughs. “Now, let’s hope they either aren’t monitoring the cameras up here or they decide to cut this part out so America doesn’t know we’re trying to dupe them.”
I shrug. “They could honestly leave it. Everyone loves a good fake-dating trope.”
The next morning comes way too fucking fast. The booze Luna scored wasn’t massive in quantity, but it was tequila.
The cheap kind unfortunately, which meant it went down rough and came up even rougher.
Landon and I were fighting over the toilet last night like that one movie where everyone got sick at the bridal store.
Not either of our best looks, but the good thing is, there’s nothing romantic going on between us.
After we passed out in bed together, he ended up wrapping me up at some point.
One moment, I was on my side, facing away from him, and the next I was sprawled on top of him.
His muscles were firm against me, and for a moment, my pussy forgot who was attached to the muscles and got a little excited.
Don’t worry, I put a leash on her and built a little pillow wall between us for good measure, but I haven’t been able to forget the fleeting thought.
Now, my head is throbbing, and I open my eyes to find the bed empty. God, of course I would lock in with an annoying early riser.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I call it a win when I’m able to stumble to the bathroom and pee all by myself.
After that, the next big feat is coffee, and it’s not one I’m sure I’m up for tackling, but try I shall. Looking down at the tank top and sleep shorts I barely slipped on before passing the fuck out, I decide it’s fine enough for camera. Look at me in all my glory, America.
I make my way down the hall, my eyes only half open, and find a majority of people inside.
Blinking slowly, I see that it’s pouring outside.
It looks like we’re in the middle of a hurricane or something.
Honestly, rainy days are the best days for hangovers, so I’ll take it.
As long as it’s not an actual hurricane and we all die or something.
I’m from Seattle. We don’t get extreme weather.
“You look like hell,” Bella remarks.
I give her a fake-as-hell smile because I can’t be bothered to respond, then slump down on the couch across from her. I don’t see Luna or Shane, which tells me they too are probably still dying in bed, the way God intended honestly. Why did I get up again? Oh yeah, coffee.
It takes all the effort I can muster to look towards the kitchen, the coffee maker my one true goal. Before I push to stand, though, a figure appears beside me, filling the air with the smell of a dark roast and… pancakes?
I force my eyes open further and find Landon standing in front of me, shirtless, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a stack of pancakes in the other.
“What’s this?” I ask, looking up at him.
“Sustenance,” he says, handing me the coffee before setting the plate of food down beside me.
“Why?”
He laughs like I’m making a joke before leaning down to press a kiss to my cheek. Instead of kissing my cheek, though, he whispers into my ear, “Playing the part, remember?”
Shit, yeah. I forgot that we don’t hate each other’s guts now. Or maybe we do but we’re trying to not let it show.
I take a sip of coffee and readily welcome the warmth as it snakes down my throat. I go to take another when Landon grabs my free hand and pulls me to stand.
“Hey, what—”
Before I can finish, he’s taking my seat, then pulling me down into his lap. He places a possessive hand on my bare thigh before relaxing back into the couch as if this is something we do every day.
I’m not the only one that picks up on it as Bella, Connor, Cora and Andrew all look at him like he’s grown two heads. Looks like he can’t carry this act all by himself.
“What?” I ask the group.
Cora shakes her head slowly. Her yellow rabbit is in her lap, and she mindlessly runs her hand over its ears.
“Nothing, I just… don’t you guys hate each other?”
“I knew a good hate-fuck would have you both coming around,” Luna murmurs as she stumbles into the kitchen.
God, I love her.
She reaches into the cabinet and grabs two cups before making a new batch of coffee.
“How was it?” Kenzie asks from the couch behind me, leaning forward to insert herself into the conversation.
I play along, smiling coyly before I shrug. “You’ve seen the man, do I need to elaborate?”
Kenzie looks Landon over and nods like she can imagine, and it’s actually cute how it fires up Calvin. He pinches her cheeks together and pulls her face away, pressing his lips against hers as he grumbles something under his breath that has her chuckling.
Landon takes that opportunity to grab the plate he set down beside me and put it into my lap. Then he cuts up a huge forkful before holding it in front of my mouth. “Eat.”
I lift my eyebrow at him because if this man thinks I’m going to respond to caveman commands, he’s got another think coming. His gaze is unwavering, though, and he pinches my inner thigh in a way that has me yelping before I open my mouth and let him feed me the bite.
Someone makes a little “aww” sound, and as I’m chewing the surprisingly delicious pancake, I realize how far and how long we’ll have to sell this image to achieve our goals. Losing clearly isn’t an option for either of us, so we’re in it for the long haul.
Landon begins gently caressing my inner thigh with his thumb as he cuts me off another piece and another, and I chew them in between sips of coffee.
I suppose there are worse arrangements than tolerating a man who makes me coffee and breakfast before feeding me.
On second thought, when you spell it out like that, this isn’t a half-bad deal.