The Reality Of It All

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

“Hurry, Arnie!” I shouted as he hastily assembled a rickety wooden pole.

He looked at me with unmistakable agitation. “I’m going as fast as I can!”

He continued to fumble with the wooden rods as I looked over at the other large makeshift cage next to us. Eli and Sofia were hot on our tail, but the other two couples had fallen off a while ago.

We were in a series of three cages for this challenge. Each one contained a puzzle we had to solve and a way to retrieve a key to move on. Trace and Danny had been eliminated after the second cage, and Grant and Rachel had been so dysfunctional, they were eliminated in the first cage despite Rachel trying her best to carry the challenge on her back.

“They’re catching up to us!” I hovered over Arnie as he continued to struggle.

My conversation with Eli from last night banged at the forefront of my mind. At the start of today’s challenge, when I had done what I told him I’d do—stick with Arnie—he’d given me a disappointed look. But when we’d lined up for the challenge and he was directly next to me, he’d whispered something right in my ear.

“Guys’ choice next time,” he’d said before winking at me. “Better hope I don’t win.”

So now, despite my natural lack of competitiveness, my previous indifference toward winning had turned into all-out determination.

“Let me try,” I insisted before grabbing the rods from Arnie’s hands.

“Hey! I was finally getting the hang of it.”

Ignoring him, I hastily fastened the stakes together with the pieces of rope also given to us. I pulled tight on the last piece of rope and held up the rod.

“I think it’s long enough,” I said, scrambling to my feet and carefully maneuvering the rod through a wide opening in the cage.

Sofia screamed in the cage next to us. “Come on!” she barked.

We must be close.

I couldn’t risk checking, though. I had to concentrate. My whole back tensed as I focused on the key dangling in front of me. All I had to do was grab the circle keychain with my rod and pull the key into our cage.

We had this.

I needed this.

My rod brushed the side of the keychain and I held my breath as it teetered on its hook. If it fell, this would be a hell of a lot harder. But it didn’t fall; it slid perfectly onto my makeshift pole.

“Hurry, bring it in,” I called back to Arnie, who continued to feed the rod backward hand over hand as we brought the key closer to us .

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Eli and Sofia had their key hooked too, but I couldn’t waste a second worrying about them catching up to us. After pulling in our rod, I seized the key and hurried to our lock. It didn’t slide in smoothly the first time, but after a quick rotation, the key slid into place. My breath quickened as I clicked the lock open and flung it off of our cage.

“Yes!” I screamed, grabbing Arnie’s hand and rushing out of the cage to the mat. “We did it!”

I jumped up and down before embracing him.

Arnie appeared surprised and confused by my sudden drive, but to his credit, he bounced along with me as if he were just as pleased.

Not even fifteen seconds later, Eli and Sofia opened their door and maneuvered their way onto the mat next to us, looking defeated. She placed both hands on her hips and glared at me.

I wanted to roll my eyes. What did she care if they lost? Second place all but guaranteed her that continued partnership with Eli. It wasn’t like Arnie was going to snag her first.

“Are we ready?” I heard Rita hiss to the camera operator as she sashayed toward us in a tight camo jumpsuit. Shay and Brady hovered behind the operator and both gave her a thumbs up as they jotted things down on those tablets they always carried. What I wouldn’t give to read those notes. I wondered what was so noteworthy about us.

The camera panned across Arnie and me. Rita moved to stand between the first and second place couples.

“Wow, that was a close one. But congratulations to Arnie and Calla for winning this round! From third to first is quite the turnaround. And you—” she turned to Eli and Sofia. “Last to second isn’t half-bad either. Perhaps this could mean you’re seeing some real improvements in your connections to your partners.”

I tried to catch Arnie’s eye, but he was too busy fidgeting with his glasses to notice.

“This means that for the next challenge, Arnie has the first pick of partner, followed by Eli.” Rita gestured back toward the two cages at the end where Grant and Rachel, and Trace and Danny, were still stuck. Rachel looked pissed off, and like she was going to rip Grant’s head off if she didn’t get out of that cage immediately. Trace and Danny, on the other hand, were laughing at their poor performance. He seemed like a completely different person with her than he had been with Rachel.

“Unfortunately for you four, your fates might be handed to you. Rachel and Grant, since you failed to get out of your first cage, Grant will have the last pick at the next challenge.”

Grant seemed unbothered by this news, but Rachel shook with irritation. “Someone else better pick me. I’m not doing another challenge with this dingbat.”

Rita chuckled. “I see it’s not quite smooth sailing for some couples.”

She held her smile for a fraction longer than felt natural as she waited for the camera to focus on her. She clapped her hands and gestured back to the giant lodge behind us. “Time for you to get cleaned up before meeting back in the lodge. Hopefully, you’ll take the time to learn more about each other, because some of you seem to be struggling to find your ideal match.” She gave us all a pointed look. “Remember what this show is about.”

A sinking feeling took hold in my gut. Why did it feel like her gaze lingered on me for just a little too long? Arnie and I had won, hadn’t we? Surely, we would seem like one of the more compatible couples out here. I glanced at Eli only to find him openly staring at me. He tipped his head in my direction. My face grew hot, the same way it always did when I made eye contact with him.

I didn’t care what anyone said. There was more to compatibility than chemistry and romantic feelings. Arnie and I were a good pair, and we were sticking together no matter what.

“Are we done? Did you get it?” Rita asked, her smile falling.

Shay held up an ‘okay’ sign with her fingers. “Perfect.”

“Great,” she said before pulling out her phone and walking away without so much as glancing at us. Rita had never spoken to us outside of filming. Where did she go all day when she wasn’t out here introducing a challenge?

Eli shuffled toward us and nodded at Arnie before dipping his head to look at me. “Good win.”

“Thanks,” Arnie said. “I don’t know what got into Calla, but she carried me through that challenge.”

My ears burned as my face turned red under Eli’s stare. His lip curled upward. “It did seem like there was some kind of new fire lit under her, didn’t it?”

“I-I just was in the zone today, I guess. It’s easier when I’m not blindfolded.” I forced out a laugh that sounded phony even to my own ears.

The rest of the group joined us.

“What a stupid challenge,” Rachel said. “Grant not only couldn’t figure out the puzzle in the first cage, but I’m pretty sure he actively worked against me to ensure we lost.”

Arnie laughed.

“Why would I even do that? You’re impossible!” Grant huffed.

“Maybe he and Calla should pair up,” Arnie teased. “She basically did all the work today. ”

Rachel’s face softened. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a hell of a lot better at communicating than this clown.”

Arnie blushed as he and Rachel continued to talk. Were they—were they flirting? There was no way. They were the least compatible two in the bunch. She would eat him alive. She’d said so herself when we first picked partners. I was just being paranoid. Besides, she got last place this time, and the guys were picking. It wasn’t like anyone could steal Arnie from me.

“This one figured out the code, but couldn’t figure out how to enter it into the second lock fast enough,” Danny said, hooking a finger next to him at Trace. There was no hostility in his actions. In fact, I thought I detected a hint of playfulness.

“Hey!” Trace giggled and shoved him lightly in the shoulder. “It was hard to focus when you were screaming instructions at me. I don’t work well under pressure.”

He smiled down at her. “Clearly.”

At least one of the pairings was going well.

Hot water—almost scalding—ran down my body as I scrubbed away every remnant of today’s challenge. The girls had been able to do our interviews first this time, and it felt amazing to be able to wash the grime away as quickly as possible. Sighing, I turned around and rinsed the conditioner out of my hair.

Today had been pretty perfect so far.

I had successfully avoided Eli by sitting at the far end of the breakfast table. Then Arnie and I had won the challenge. Even my interview had been the easiest one yet. Brady hardly pressed me at all when I gave short answers; he just asked me how I felt Arnie and I were doing as a pair, to which I’d responded, “Great.” Then he’d asked if we planned to stick together and I had told him we definitely were. I had expected him to push a bit about Eli, or bring up Michael again, but there was none of that. The whole thing had only lasted ten minutes.

I shut off the shower before stepping out onto the fluffy bathmat.

As I applied my minimal makeup and blow-dried my hair, I thought about how this experience might actually fly by if every day were like today. Arnie and I had become friends, and I could easily see myself getting closer with Trace and Rachel. Maybe Piper had been right all along. This could be good for me. Even though Eli made me a little uncomfortable, he’d be easy enough to avoid if we weren’t partners. I was sure he’d eventually get bored of the chase when he realized I wasn’t budging.

I pulled on my favorite pair of light-wash jeans and a cream and light blue checkered sweater that I’d knitted myself ages ago when I had convinced myself that I needed more hobbies. I played with the soft, worn edge and remembered how Michael had told me I should stick to writing. We had just moved in together and it had been our first winter in that apartment. He had been right, of course. The checkered pattern was littered with imperfections, and I’d discovered that I didn’t have the patience for knitting. But I loved this sweater anyway. It reminded me of that time, and I wore it every winter.

Pulling on my boots, I took one more look in the mirror before leaving the peace of my room. My stomach growled softly. No dinner had been delivered tonight. Since Arnie and I had won the challenge, we’d be going on a dinner date shortly. My mouth watered as I envisioned whatever delicious feast awaited us.

When I arrived in the lounge, Trace and Rachel were already leaning against the bar by the massive windows, pouring themselves drinks.

“Great job today,” Trace said.

Rachel pulled out a third glass from the cabinet. “Wine?”

“Just a little,” I said as I perched on a barstool and took in the expansive mountain views.

Rachel followed my gaze and snorted. “You’d think with such a romantic setting it’d be easier to pretend to feel something.”

“I think you’re just feeling pessimistic because you’re partnered with Grant and he’s already found love with himself,” Trace countered, causing them both to go into fits of laughter.

“You seem to be getting along a lot better with Danny than I was,” Rachel continued as she handed us each a glass of red wine. “He was actually laughing when you lost that challenge and making googly eyes at you.”

Trace ducked her head. “You think? He’s so intense and hard to read.” She peeked over at me for reassurance.

“He seemed totally different with you today,” I assured her.

“You tamed the grizzly bear,” Rachel said before clinking her glass against Trace’s.

Trace beamed. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I think there’s something there.”

“There is,” Rachel insisted. “And there’s no way Arnie or Eli is going to steal you and face the wrath of the big guy, so you’ll definitely have a chance to see where things go.”

“Do you really think Eli is going to pick Sofia? Especially since...” Trace trailed off .

“What?” I asked, already not loving the direction of this conversation.

“He just doesn’t seem to like her as much as she likes him,” Trace said carefully.

“Plus, he can’t stop staring at you,” Rachel added bluntly.

“I wasn’t going to say it, but he does look at you a lot,” Trace confessed. “Danny said he wanted you to pick him this last round.”

I guess it was impossible to keep secrets among a group of eight people living together. “He might have said something about that,” I said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. “But it wasn’t a big deal. I think he just doesn’t want to be paired with Sofia.” I lifted my glass in Rachel’s direction. “Maybe he’ll pick you, Rachel.”

Rachel looked to the floor. “Yeah, maybe.”

The rest of the group filtered into the lounge and saved me from answering more questions about Eli. Of all the girls, Sofia had taken the longest to get ready, and it became clear why as soon as I saw her. It was almost as if she had a full hair and makeup team come in and get her glammed up for a red carpet. She wore a plunging sweater that showed off her assets. She sauntered in, trying to keep pace with Eli, but he barely acknowledged her. Instead, his eyes once again found mine before anyone else’s. I gulped and turned back to Rachel who already had a knowing look on her face.

“Pour me a drink, partner,” Grant said, smacking the bar and grinning at Rachel.

She gave him a sour expression in return. “Make it yourself, loser.”

“Is that any way to talk to your partner?” Grant clutched his heart. “When Trace and I lost she wasn’t this hostile.”

Arnie walked around the bar to stand next to Rachel. “I’ll make you a drink. What do you want? ”

Grant relayed his drink order as Eli shuffled in next to me. I barely had a chance to register his presence before Sofia squeezed in between us, almost knocking me off the barstool.

“You know, I don’t think Rachel and I are compatible,” Grant continued, swirling the drink Arnie had just handed him. “Maybe Trace and I can give it another go.”

“Too bad you came in last and have no choice,” Danny said, glaring at him.

“Well, clearly I wasn’t on my best game today,” Trace joked. “You practically had to drag me through that first cage.”

“Athleticism might not be your strong suit,” Danny said, looking down at her as if she had cast some sort of spell over him.

“I’m more of a day-at-the-spa girl,” she responded. They shot flirty looks at each other like they had forgotten the rest of us were even in the room.

Yeah. That was definitely going somewhere.

It wasn’t so much that the sweet, sunshiny princess had captured the interest of the burly, intense bear that surprised me. It was just more of a shock to me that anyone could find something real under these circumstances.

“But hey, congrats to Arnie and Calla for pulling out the win,” Danny raised his glass to us. “You two really turned it around from the last challenge. Although I almost thought Eli had you at the end.”

“Hey, I was there too,” Sofia added defensively. I could feel her glaring down at me but I just kept staring straight across the bar at Danny, clinking my glass against his and Arnie’s.

“I guess I’m more competitive than I realized,” I said.

Eli snorted. “Is that it?”

I chose to ignore his subtle dig .

“And Rachel,” Danny continued. “Seems you went from first to last. I won’t say it was all because of me, but...”

Rachel scoffed. “It most definitely was not .” She pointed at Grant. “It had a lot more to do with his incompetence than any sort of superiority on your part.”

Grant feigned offense and held up his hands to his chest. “Ouch, Rach. I thought we had something special.”

Everyone laughed and I managed to force out a chuckle in an effort to stay present. While I never shined in a group setting, it was usually easy for me to fade into the background and give as little of myself as possible.

“If these challenges keep being as physical as they are, I’m screwed,” Trace groaned.

“I think Eli and I are just getting better,” Sofia said smugly. “Just wait. Tomorrow is when we’ll finally take home the win.”

Eli’s eyes narrowed, as if he were calculating something.

“Well, I apologize to my future partner,” Trace continued. “Unless there’s a singing portion to this competition, we’re pretty much screwed.”

Danny leaned across the bar to get closer to her. “Sing something for us.”

Trace gestured to Rachel. “I’ll sing if she dances.”

“I’m not performing for these guys,” Rachel said, scrunching up her nose.

“I’d like to see you dance,” Arnie admitted softly.

Rachel’s face brightened. “Okay, maybe I’d perform for Arnie, but that’s it.”

“Come on,” Sofia hissed, tugging at Eli’s sleeve. “This is boring. Let’s go talk outside.”

Irritation washed over his features but he did his best to cover it up. “Let’s stay with the group,” he said before catching my eye .

Heavy footsteps approached us from the main entrance as Brady came into the room and joined us at the bar.

“Alright, lovebirds. Everyone continue to enjoy their evening. Arnie and Calla, I need to pull you two for a few hours to film your date.”

Sliding off my stool, I couldn’t help but notice he’d specifically said film your date and not enjoy your date or something that sounded more natural.

Arnie moved out from behind the bar and we both followed Brady as he led us outside the room and away from the group.

“Alright, this is going to be simple enough,” Brady said. “I’ll take you two to your sunset dinner and you’ll just talk. We’ll also pull you throughout the date to get private interviews to interlace with the date footage.”

“Sounds romantic,” I muttered to Arnie. Once again, I felt comforted and glad to know he was on my side in this mess.

Brady led us through a hallway that I hadn’t been down before and to a flight of stairs. We descended them until we came to a glass door. Brady opened it to reveal a small paver patio with a pergola that had been decorated in twinkle lights and soft white fabric. A table sat underneath it. It had the perfect view of the mountains in the distance. The sun already hung low and would be setting soon.

An ache gnawed at my heart. If circumstances were different, this could have been one of the most romantic spots I’d ever experienced. Michael and I had never gotten much of a chance to travel. I’d never cozied up next to him with a breathtaking backdrop like this. The thought forced me to blink a few times as I took my seat.

Arnie’s forehead crinkled with concern. “You alright?” he asked, looking at my crestfallen face .

“Of course. This is beautiful.” I drew lines in the condensation of my water glass.

The worry in his eyes didn’t quite go away, but he returned his attention to the sunset. “That view is stunning. We don’t have anything like this back home.”

“Where did you grow up?” I felt guilty that I hadn’t asked him yet. In my defense, between all the filming, challenges, and group settings, it was hard to get to know someone. Ironic, considering we were on a dating show.

“Ohio, near the Michigan border. The sunsets weren’t bad there, but nothing like this,” he added. I tried my best to intently listen to him and ignore the cameras that I’m sure were closing in on our faces.

Thankfully, the camera operators were always further away than I would have imagined. When I watched TV, I had always assumed they were right there—so close you could lean down and hit your head on a piece of equipment. But in reality, they were on the other side of the patio, close to the door.

“Do you still live there?” I asked.

He told me that he’d moved to Indianapolis for work. That he was a software engineer, but robotics were his true passion. He told me that he was currently at a bit of an impasse. He’d left his previous job to work on his own things, and his current living situation left much to be desired. He still lived in the same apartment he’d first shared with his fiancée. Now, though, everything reminded him of her.

“I can relate to that,” I said. “When Michael—once he was gone, I couldn’t stay in that apartment. I paid a small fortune to break my lease, but I had to get out of there.”

“They made you break the lease, even though...” His voice trailed off.

“Landlords aren’t exactly the most sympathetic people.” I kept my tone light, but I could feel the subtle shift in the moment. We sat in silence for a little while, just watching the sun descend and sprinkle color across the mountain range.

Two workers dressed in catering uniforms wordlessly emerged from the lodge and set down two small plates of pasta in front of us.

My stomach growled at the sight of the food, even though the small portion was laughable. Maybe there would be a second course. I pierced a few pieces of penne with my fork and shoveled it into my mouth. I took a few bites and winced, forcing myself not to spit it out.

“This is cold and. . . kind of gross,” I whispered. It tasted like it hadn’t been seasoned at all before being left out for hours.

Arnie finished his bite and made a sour face. “That’s awful.”

Brady took a step forward from behind the cameras. “Excuse me. Excuse me,” he said to get our attention. “The food is more for visuals than anything else. If you choose to eat it, please take small bites. No one wants to watch you shove food in your face when you’re supposed to be on a romantic date.”

Arnie and I eyed each other and then looked back at Brady.

“I’m starving,” Arnie said, glaring at the inedible dish.

“They probably keep us hungry so we’re more pliable,” I said bitterly.

“No talking about the logistics of the show please,” Brady added. “Please go back to talking about your lives. Okay, no more interruptions. Go.”

It felt like we were on the set of a movie, but I knew the more we talked, the sooner we’d get out of this strange situation.

“I’m so glad I’m here with you,” I admitted .

Arnie’s face flushed at my compliment. “Everyone here is great,” he responded.

“I feel the most comfortable around you,” I continued. “We’re similar in a lot of ways.”

“Maybe too similar,” he added. But when he saw my taken-aback expression, he quickly backpedaled. “I just mean, we seem to both keep to ourselves a lot. The two of us as a couple probably wouldn’t experience many new things, or take a lot of chances.”

“I disagree,” I said slowly. “I think people who are alike make the best matches. You can understand the other person and empathize with them in a way others can’t.”

“You hardly need to be similar to empathize with someone,” he pointed out.

Suddenly my throat felt as dry as parchment. I reached for my water and took a gulp. Why did it feel like Arnie was letting me down easy?

“I couldn’t do this without you as a partner,” I said, hoping he would provide some sort of reassurance.

“I know you don’t feel anything for me. I would totally understand if you wanted to pick someone else.” Arnie’s words were hurried.

“No!” I exclaimed before bringing my demeanor down a notch. I couldn’t panic like this. “I’m glad we’re sticking together. I need us to stick together.”

Arnie looked at me for a while and finally nodded, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe there was something he wasn’t telling me.