17. 17 #2
I tried not to roll my eyes as I squeezed between them. Callum’s warm scent infiltrated my senses. It immediately annoyed me.
Ella had been picked to make the toast. “To a fun evening full of new memories and strengthening connections,” she said, sounding more like a politician than someone on the most popular dating show in the United Kingdom.
We raised our glasses, and I took a deep sip of my wine.
Coming into the villa, I had thought little of the two-drinks-a-night rule.
It had even seemed like a great excuse for a bit of a detox.
But now that I was actually here, and actively trying to find someone to date, I was rethinking my stance.
A bit of liquid courage would have been nice.
The group began to peel off and settle around the garden. I linked my arm through Chiara’s, and we walked with Jess over to the fire pit.
I wanted to keep the conversation away from myself and Callum, so I quickly launched into asking Chiara about her and Adam.
“He’s bang on an ace geez,” she said.
I nodded along, pretending to know what she meant. I had come to realize that, with most British slang, if I listened long enough, I could piece together its meaning. I didn’t want to be the girl who kept asking everyone to repeat what they were saying because I couldn’t understand it.
“Our chat today by the pool was pure vibes,” she continued, “And I do like him . . . ”
“Why do I feel like you’re holding back?” Jess asked.
“I was in the kitchen this morning, making a coffee, and Hugh was there too, and we had a nice bit of banter,” Chiara said.
She looked around to make sure Olivia was out of earshot.
“I know Olivia says she fancies Hugh and that they’re crackin’ on, but after this morning I kept catching his eye all day.
I think he was looking at me too, but I don’t know,” she finished.
“Do you think you’ll try to talk to him tonight?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I don’t want to upset Olivia or Adam, but I also don’t want to ignore a potential connection,” Chiara replied.
Jess squeezed Chiara’s arm in reassurance, “Maybe you need to—”
Whatever advice Jess was about to give was cut off by the voice of a producer coming through the speakers in the bushes behind us.
“Can all Bellas please gather around the fire pit?” the producer said.
“What do you think that’s for?” Chiara asked, looking to Jess and me.
“No idea,” I said.
A nervous thrill ran through me. Gathering around the fire pit could only mean one thing: something big was about to happen.
The rest of the cast joined us on the arched bench and after a few minutes, just as I was starting to get a bit restless, a loud voice called out from across the lawn and a lone figure rounded the corner.
“Hello, Bellas!” the voice said.
As the mystery person walked closer, I could see that it was actually a very tall, very attractive man. His blonde hair and blue eyes stood out even from across the lawn, and his tanned arms were covered by a nice, light blue polo shirt.
I realized, with a jolt, it was the villa’s first Showstopper.
A “Showstopper” was an essential part of Bella Amore.
It could be a guy or a girl, sometimes one person, other times two, brought in as the newest Bella.
The time and place a Showstopper entered were never the same; sometimes it was during a cocktail party, but other times it was first thing in the morning or during the middle of the day.
No matter how or when they entered the villa, though, a Showstopper had one singular purpose: to shake things up.
In my binge watch of the show, I had seen Showstoppers break up strong matches time and time again, throwing once peaceful villas into chaos. No one was safe when a new one came into the picture.
Harry’s wiggling eyebrows and suggestive tone about having fun tonight suddenly made perfect sense.
The Showstopper finished crossing the lawn and made his way up the two steps, coming to a stop at the edge of the curved deck. The fire pit in the middle of the space cast a wavy glow in front of him, making him appear almost unreal.
“How’s everyone doing?” he asked the group in an accent that sounded like smooth butter.
A chorus of “Yeah, good. You?” sang out, and he nodded in reply.
“Great, yeah. Happy to be here,” he said.
“Fuck me, he’s fit,” Chiara whispered from my side.
Fuck me was right.
“I’m James,” he continued, “and I get the lovely pleasure of taking two of you girls on a date tonight,” he said, smiling.
An excited energy swept through the space.
He looked around for a moment, drawing out the suspense.
“Olivia, would you want to go on a date with me?” he asked.
The group politely clapped as Olivia beamed at James, nodding her head in acceptance. Next to me, Chiara let out the smallest of relieved breaths. If Olivia and James hit it off, her situation with Hugh would be significantly less complicated.
“And,” James continued, looking around again, “Poppy, would you also want to go on a date with me?”
I had been distracted by Chiara and thoughts of her situation that I didn’t quite comprehend what he had said.
It didn’t click until I looked up to find that he was staring at me, waiting for an answer I hadn’t yet given.
I must have been staring back at him for a while, because Chiara elbowed me in the side, knocking me out of whatever trance I had been in.
“Oh! Yes, of course,” I rushed out.
James laughed. “Phew, you made me sweat a bit there,” he said, smiling again.
I liked his smile. It was soft and welcoming. Plus, he had good teeth that seemed to be very much his own.
Over the speakers, a producer called out instructions, “James and Olivia, you’ll go on your date first. Please head to The Bungalow. Poppy, you’ll be next after Olivia returns. Everyone else go back to chatting around the garden.”
Olivia stood and walked over to James, giving him a kiss on each cheek. They chatted as they made their way across the lawn to the one part of the villa we hadn’t yet been allowed to see: The Bungalow.
The Bungalow, which sat at the edge of the yard between the fire pit and the daybeds lining the deep end of the pool, was essentially a gussied-up pool house with a private patio that was used for fan-voted sleepovers or, in James' case, one-on-one dates.
I was almost as excited to see the space in person as I was for my date.
I leaned back against the fire pit bench, letting out a small sigh of relief.
There was someone new in the villa I could focus my efforts on.
Maybe James would be exactly what I needed; someone I could match with who I didn’t actively dislike.
Someone I could settle into getting to know.
Not too deep, of course. I wasn’t actually here to fall in love.
Thoughts of re-matching had me instinctively looking over at Callum, who had moved to the pool chairs and was chatting with Hugh. As I looked over, they both glanced my way. It seemed I was, not surprisingly, their topic of conversation.
“Are you buzzing?!” Jess squealed, slapping her hands on my knees and drawing my attention away from Callum and Hugh.
I turned to her and nodded enthusiastically, letting myself get swept up in girl talk and blocking out any thoughts of the man across the yard.