Chapter Thirty Mia
Chapter Thirty
Mia
Since the drive to the beach house was not safe without cell service, especially in current winter conditions, Mia returned
the finalists’ phones. As she did, she made them all promise to not check social media or the SPC’s YouTube channel. Most
of them were probably going to do it anyway. But she hoped they would at least think twice about it.
After helping Alex out as much as she could before they shooed her out of the production room, Mia went downstairs. Noah,
who’d also gotten his phone back, had texted her to meet him in the backyard. So while Mia expected to find him outside, what
she didn’t expect was to find him in the hot tub, which was still bubbling and steaming from when they’d left it on this morning.
He was shirtless again, so Mia had a clear view of his wide shoulders sticking out of the water.
This guy can’t keep his shirt on. She swallowed but crossed her arms and did her best to look indifferent as she deadpanned, “Wow, did you quit my show so you could use the hot tub? You know you could’ve just asked to use it anytime, right?”
Noah smiled. “Nah,” he said. “I wanted to enjoy it for a bit before I left. Do you want to join me?”
For a brief moment, his grin faltered, like he couldn’t believe he’d actually asked the question out loud.
Every inch of Mia froze except her racing heart. She definitely couldn’t get in the hot tub with Noah if he were still on
the show. But what were the rules now that he wasn’t? Mia thought about texting Damien, but she couldn’t figure out how to
word the message without being super awkward.
Hey, can I get into the hot tub with Noah? was definitely not a text she ever wanted to send. To anyone.
Damien and Kallie had gone ahead to set up the beach house and double-check shooting locations, so the only other person she
knew for sure was still at the lodge was Alex. She wasn’t sure if all the contestants had left yet, but for now, no one was in sight.
Even so, Mia hesitated. Some part of her knew that if she took Noah up on his offer, there’d be no going back. Having a fireside
chat was one thing. Getting into a hot tub with her crush was a whole other level of intimacy.
“You don’t have to join me if you don’t want to,” Noah said when Mia didn’t respond. “And I can come out from the tub, too.
If that’s what you prefer.”
Her body moved before she’d fully made the decision, taking off her shoes and rolling up her pant legs before her logical side caught up. As she dipped her feet into the water, Noah’s warm brown eyes steadily met hers. Suddenly all she could hear was the beating of her own heart.
From where she sat on the edge of the hot tub, she had the perfect view of his high cheekbones. He was beautiful, and it was
both amazing and infuriating how hot he was.
Mia’s face burned.
Noah’s lips parted ever so slightly. And that was all it took for Mia to imagine what it’d be like to sink down into the water
and kiss him. It could have been her imagination, but Noah seemed to shift closer, ever so slightly.
Immediately, Mia pulled back, gripping the hot tub’s edge with both her hands to avoid toppling over. Noah raised his eyebrows
in surprise.
“So, why did you drop out of the show?” she blurted out before Noah could remark on what had just happened.
Noah also leaned back, placing his arms around the edge of the tub. This unfortunately gave Mia a clearer view of his broad
chest.
“Well, I knew Tiana would much rather cuff with Shirin,” he said. “And I wanted Violet and Carlos to have the chance to be
an official cuffle together.”
Mia frowned. “You didn’t care that you’d be sacrificing your chance to win the game?”
“Nah,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I never really cared if I won or lost. I came here to find love.” The second the words landed, Noah winced. “Wow, that sounded cheesy. It’s a good thing I’m not being recorded right now.”
Mia snorted, and he gave her a lopsided grin that took her breath away. Yup, his real smile was much cuter than his fake one.
She held her elbow up to hide her face and coughed.
Noah’s grin widened, and he slowly looked up at her as he said, “If I’m being honest, I don’t feel that strongly about any
of the Cuffing Game girls. They’re not who I have a crush on.”
Mia let her arm drop and widened her eyes ever so slightly, barely managing to catch herself from having a bigger reaction.
For all she knew, Noah could have been about to say he secretly had a crush on Kyle.
Carefully, she replied, “I thought you didn’t have a crush.”
Noah stared down at the swirling water below before meeting her gaze again, deliberately this time. “I didn’t. But I’m starting
to realize that I do like someone now. And I think it’d have made everyone’s lives easier if I figured it out sooner.”
What is happening? Goose bumps prickled her arms in a tingling wave. Mia had a feeling she knew where this conversation was going. But she asked
anyway, “What do you mean? Who’s your crush?”
At some point during their conversation, it’d started to snow, and now it was just her and him in the hot tub together, surrounded by the wintry quiet as the white flakes fell around them.
She should have never gotten into the hot tub with Noah. They’d crossed into a whole new territory, past a point of no return.
She’d thought being stuck in the cabin with him last night was bad, but this was ten times worse.
Noah’s lips parted ever so slightly as he leaned forward. Before she could stop herself, Mia dropped down to the water and
leaned in as well. Her clothes got wet, but she was beyond the point of caring, not stopping until her and Noah’s faces were
just a few inches apart. He gently placed a hand on her cheek, and the sudden warmth of his skin made her let go of a breath
she hadn’t realized she was holding.
I don’t dislike touching you, Noah had said. Mia swallowed.
With a shaky breath, Noah said something, so quietly that it was more of a whispered prayer than an actual statement.
“Wait, what?” she asked softly.
“You,” he repeated, more loudly this time.
“I have a crush on you, and I wanted to tell you before I left. I thought I hated you at first. You took yourself so seriously in class and I loved making fun of you for it. But then I got to know you better, and I realized you’re actually really cool.
And after seeing you work on the show and witnessing firsthand how much you care about everyone and everything .
. . I tried my best to ignore my feelings for you, but I can’t deny them anymore.
It might sound impossible, but I really admire you, Mia. And I like you.”
She pulled back. This was a dream. A nightmare even. How could the star of her own reality TV show fall in love with her? How could her secret crush like her back? “You can’t like me,” Mia said. “It’s been less than a week!”
Noah blinked in confusion. “Okay,” he replied, drawing out the word. “That’s a little hypocritical for someone who created
a six-day-long dating show to say, don’t you think?”
“First of all, that part wasn’t my idea,” Mia said. “The SPC set that short time period since it’s more affordable. Second,
this is different. Most of the contestants on our show knew their crushes for a long time before they came on here, either
up close or from afar.”
Noah crossed his arms to his chest. “But what about the people who didn’t know each other before? Like Violet and Carlos?
Compared to them, you and I have known each other for much longer.”
He made perfect sense. And Mia knew it. But at the same time, she couldn’t get past the sheer, ridiculous notion that he liked
her back. Or that, within a few days, he’d done a complete one-eighty from pestering her in class.
She had no idea what her face was doing, but whatever it was made Noah’s expression soften.
“Mia,” he said gently, slowly reaching a hand toward her. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that I like you? You’re amazing.”
Pressure built up inside Mia’s chest. Her hands shook.
Some part of her wanted to shout Guess what, Noah, actually, I’ve had a crush on you for as long as I can remember.
That’s the entire reason why I created The Cuffing Game in the first place!
But she didn’t. He’d changed his mind so quickly about her, like he’d changed his mind about Celine . . . too many things
had happened for her to ignore.
Mia opened her mouth, and then closed it again, fully parsing out what she could and couldn’t say. Finally, she decided on,
“Noah, what about Celine?”
He frowned. In a low, confused voice, he asked, “What about her? I can’t like you just because your friend had a crush on
me?”
“Well, you kissed her.”
He sighed. “Yeah, but that’s before I knew better. Celine didn’t even like me for me. She was only interested in me because
I’m famous. She knows it, too. Which was why she dumped me the moment she found out what I’m really like, which is hilarious,
since her new guy wants to be me.”
Mia made a face of disgust. She’d heard him say that to Celine in yesterday’s footage, too, but she had no idea what he meant.
“Why are you so adamant that Kyle wants to be you? Because you’ve got more followers? You’re so full of it.”
Noah ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “He used to be in Alpha Tau, and I had some weird interactions with him in the past. There’s a reason why he got kicked out of our fraternity. But I don’t want to get into all that right now. I want to focus on us.”
“Noah,” Mia said, “there can’t be an us. Not before we figure the other stuff out. Celine—”
“Can we please stop talking about Celine?” Noah cut in. “I know she’s your friend, but she literally threw herself at me the
moment we got here, confessing I was her crush and not even giving me a chance to talk to anyone else. During speed dating! But the moment she got to know me, the real me, she lost interest. No, she wants a real ‘gentleman.’”
His tone was pure ice now, his voice mocking and cruel in an all-too-familiar way.
Anger rushed into Mia, replacing whatever hot tub–inspired feelings she’d been previously experiencing. Could she really like
someone who saw people this way? Who looked down on people like Noah did with Kyle, Celine, and even herself back in school?
“You do realize you sound like a complete jerk, right?” she asked.
Noah gritted his teeth. “I’ve been nothing but honest with you,” he said, practically growling. “And you’ve listened to me
and nodded along like you understood this whole time, until now. Why are you bringing up all this other stuff instead of just
believing me when I say I like you?”
Mia couldn’t take it anymore. “Why should I believe you? You’re a rude, pretentious frat boy turned influencer who negged me all semester before wildly doing a one-eighty.
And you always act like you’re better than everyone else, while the only reason you’re attending film school here in the first
place, even when you have zero respect for real cinema and barely pay attention in class, is your daddy’s money!”
Noah flinched back like she’d slapped him.
Mia’s mouth dropped open in shock. She couldn’t believe she had said that hideous jumble of thoughts out loud. Her gut twisted
with guilt.
“Noah, I’m sorry. I went too far,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I just panicked—”
Noah jerked back so roughly that water splashed up. His face twisted with anger and hurt. “Is that what you really think of
me? After everything I did for you and your show? After I literally eliminated myself so other people could get a chance at their happy ending?”
Mia remained quiet. The snow was coming down in full force now, an overwhelming blizzard that made it hard to see the world
around her, slowly erasing Noah bit by bit. Before, when she was all flared up, she hadn’t felt the cold. But now the wind
seemed to cut through her.
Noah took a long, shuddering breath. And then, as Mia watched, his expression flattened out, becoming the emotionless mask she’d seen many times in his videos. It was terrifying how he could switch it on and off.
“I’m going back to LA,” he said, turning away from her. “Sorry, this whole conversation . . . it was a mistake. After last
night, I thought maybe, just maybe, you might like me too. But I clearly read you wrong.”
He shivered as he got out of the tub. Without looking back at her, he said, “God, it’s cold. Don’t stay out here like that
for too long, Mia. You’ll get hypothermia.”
After all that, he’s still looking out for me.
She grabbed his hand, finally fast enough to make contact. “Wait, are you okay to drive like this?”
Noah froze. Still expressionless, he stared down at their joined hands until she let go.
“I am, thanks,” he said flatly.
He walked away, and Mia watched in silence as he was swallowed up by the snow.