Chapter 15
fifteen
RYAN
I stand and open my arms, gesturing to the girls. “Ladies, welcome.”
I pause and glance at Rich, who’s standing off camera. He makes an encouraging face.
I continue. “This is a little adventure we like to call the Compatibility Plunge. I have here…” I hold up the index cards.
“The answers to the questions you wrote down earlier.
If I can guess which one of you wrote the quote on this card, then you and I spend some quality time together in the hot tub.
“If not, you walk straight to that pool over there and take a cold plunge. After you dunk your head under and come up for air, I’ll ask you a question.”
I smile, trying to lighten the mood. “The goal tonight is to give me a better idea of who I’m compatible with. First week, I got rid of Trinity right away because she didn’t share the same values. I knew we were never going to be romantic.
“This week, I’ve spent a little more time with all of you. I’m looking forward to seeing whether we’re actually compatible.”
“Are you ready to go?”
The girls applaud lightly, but no one looks thrilled. I can’t say I blame them. This setup is borderline insane.
I glance at Wren. She has one brow cocked while she stares off into the distance. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I’d bet good money it’s something foul about me.
“All right. Let’s begin.”
I brandish the cards and read the first one aloud. “What’s your biggest fear in a relationship?” I pause. “This one says, ‘Getting ghosted again.’”
I scan the group, considering. No one’s mentioned being ghosted before, so I go out on a limb. “Daisy.”
Daisy ducks her head in her hands. She raises her hand, looking scared.
“Okay. So I go in the cold plunge pool?”
“Yep, that’s exactly what you do.”
She shrugs off her robe and lays it on the wooden bench. Her glittery swimsuit does very little to keep her warm. She squeals on her way in but takes the plunge, surfacing with a shiver and hugging herself.
I read the follow-up. “I’m supposed to ask: What do you look for in a guy?”
Daisy, still dripping and breathless, answers, “Right now? Someone that’s warm-blooded.”
The girls laugh, but her answer feels lazy to me. Still, I nod.
She scrambles out of the pool and a PA hands her a plush terry cloth robe.
“Ready for the next question?” I smile. The girls murmur and nod.
“What’s one thing you’ve lied about in the last week?” I read, “‘I told the crew I’m okay sharing a bathroom, but I’m not.’”
What a self-centered little revelation. I keep that bit to myself.
I look around and bite my lip. “I’m going to say… Nikki.”
Nikki makes a face and shakes her head. “Wasn’t me.”
Divya steps forward, looking sheepish. “That was me. I didn’t realize you were going to read them out loud.”
“Fair enough. Into the pool you go.”
She throws her white robe carelessly on the floor and stalks over to the plunge. Her barely-there bikini is white, matching her light brown skin perfectly. After hemming and hawing, she finally forces herself to jump in, splashing water over my legs and hitting a few of the girls nearby.
Of course, she’s making a scene. Again.
She surfaces, and I glance at the next question. “What’s the last thing you did that scared you?”
Divya doesn’t hesitate. “I drove a car on the Autobahn last month and redlined it the whole way. It was insane. I almost hit someone.”
Yeah. I don’t know what kind of image she’s trying to project here, but I’m definitely never dating someone that self-absorbed.
She hurries out of the pool before anyone even hands her a robe. I turn back to the group, card in hand.
“Okay, ladies. I guess I’m not compatible with some of you, but there are still plenty of questions left to be answered.”
In truth, the challenge is harder than it probably should be. I go through Mei, Nikki, and Raven before I finally hit on a question I can guess.
“What’s something you’d never tell me to my face?”
The answer reads, “You make my stomach do stupid shit.”
It’s charming. My gut says JacqLyn. “JacqLyn.”
She throws up her arms and does a little dance before stripping out of her robe and handing it to Heidi. She makes a beeline for me.
She’s voluptuous and wearing a bright orange bikini that barely holds in her boobs. I don’t really want her to touch me, but I go along with the plan. We both walk into the bubbling Jacuzzi.
She uses the moment to her full advantage. Hooks her arm in mine, brushes her feet against my legs, and kisses me.
It’s stiff. Not because of JacqLyn. She’s doing her best to make it sexy. But I feel like I’m made of concrete when she presses her lips to mine. There is absolutely zero physical chemistry there.
Interesting. I would normally pick a zany, outgoing girl like JacqLyn to hook up with. I guess you can never tell who you’re going to have weird vibes with.
When JacqLyn finally backs off, I swallow and make eye contact with Wren. She’s pointedly looking in the other direction. Two cameramen are actively filming her reaction. Subtle, it is not.
JacqLyn sighs. “I wish we could stay here forever.”
Rich holds up his hand, tapping his wrist like he’s pointing to a watch.
I jump out of the Jacuzzi, then force myself to turn and help JacqLyn out.
“Yeah, maybe some other time,” I say vaguely.
JacqLyn is gorgeous and fun. But honestly, she’s way too much for me to handle. It takes a man with balls of steel to tame a filly like her.
“Okay, last question,” I say, grabbing the index cards again. “How would someone know you were falling in love with them?”
That’s a heavy one.
The answer: “I stop pretending not to care. I let them see the weird parts, the dark parts, the too much parts.”
My eyes travel to Wren. She’s looking at me like a trapped mouse.
Yeah. That one’s hers.
But I don’t want to call her out, so I point at Letitia. “Letitia, I think you said that.”
Letitia puts her hands on her hips. “You know I didn’t say that. I’m way too firm for all that.”
“So who did?” I ask.
For a second, no one responds. The girls glance at each other, some murmuring. At last, Wren raises her hand.
“I said it.”
She strips quickly, revealing a bright pink bikini that hugs her curves perfectly. She walks straight into the cold plunge like she doesn’t even feel it. She dips herself under, then stands up, water running down her body.
She’s so fucking attractive. I can’t stand it.
I glance at the card, my mouth twisting like I’ve bitten a lemon. “What’s something you’d never tell me?”
Without missing a beat, Wren answers, “High school. All of it. Burn it down.”
Yeah. That sounds about right.
“All right. You can…”
She submerges herself one more time before climbing out of the cold plunge. I cock a brow. Wren would be the one who enjoyed a cold plunge. Her icy inner core probably loves the chill of it.
I invite the girls to join me in the Jacuzzi for a few minutes. A few of them do. Most head upstairs to change before the elimination.
When the time comes, I stand at the edge of the set, towel slung low around my waist. Steam curls around my ankles and my heart thuds like I just finished a game.
I’m only supposed to send home two girls, but I already know I won’t get along with a handful of them.
Divya probably shouldn’t be eliminated. She’s what the producers keep calling a villain. But some of the girls are still question marks. If they haven’t made an impression by now, I’m ready to let them go.
I gather up my roses and hand them out to everyone except for Brooke.
“Brooke, if you’ll step forward.”
Brooke doesn’t look surprised.
This is standard reality show stuff. I should quiz all three of them, act conflicted, and then keep one for drama. But I clear my throat.
“I’m opting to send you home.”
Brooke looks stunned. “But I thought we were connecting!”
“I realize I’ve reached the end of the road with you.” I shrug. “I’m sorry.”
I don’t even get to finish before Brooke flips her hair and storms off in a fury.
I’m very careful not to look at Wren. But it’s hard.
I know I shouldn’t care what she thinks. But I can feel her gaze burning into me as she witnesses my charades.
What would she say if she knew how I felt?