Chapter 22
I have never lain so flat, so still, or so awkwardly in my entire life.
Then again, I’ve never shared a bed with two men. Two incredibly hot, attractive, muscular men. I know, it should be a dream, but it’s kind of a nightmare.
The air is thick and humid. It’s dark, apart from the light of the moon and the dim glow of the nearby firepit. Somehow it all just makes this seem so much more… intimate.
The two single beds click together nicely – entirely intentional by show bosses, so that people can share beds – and somehow I’ve ended up in the middle.
It’s not exactly big enough for three. Having Ozzy on one side and Lockie on the other is like lying between two boulders. It’s just generally uncomfortable in every way. My spine is flat against the wood – there’s no way I can sleep like this.
I wiggle my legs to wake them up.
‘I think we all need to be on our sides,’ Ozzy suggests. ‘We’ll have more space that way.’
‘Yeah, I think that might help,’ Lockie replies.
I freeze for a moment. Ozzy shuffles, causing the bed to creak beneath us.
‘Lockie, probably best if we both face out – give Cleo some space,’ Ozzy adds.
‘Got it,’ Lockie replies.
Oh, this is all just so awkward and stilted and I can’t stop cringing.
I can feel Lockie shifting on the other side of me, turning his back so he’s facing outward.
Ozzy does the same. Now I need to pick a side to lie on – literally, I need to pick a side.
Who should I face? Ozzy or Lockie? I guess it has to be Lockie, right?
I’ve known him the longest – I’ve been tolerating him for like six months now. That’s got to count for something.
So I do, I roll to him, my face resting just behind his back.
Lockie shifts a little closer – or maybe I imagine it. I take a sharp breath. Does he know what he’s doing? Or is he just that oblivious?
‘Is that okay?’ I ask them both.
‘All good,’ Lockie replies.
‘Yeah, fine,’ Ozzy adds after a few seconds.
Can he tell which way I rolled? He must be able to, right? He doesn’t know I’ve known Lockie for months, but I can’t exactly tell him, can I?
‘I hope that’s your knee in my back,’ Lockie jokes.
I think he’s trying to lighten the mood but I feel my cheeks flush.
‘Can we just try to sleep, please?’ Ozzy asks, clearly not amused.
‘Yeah, sorry,’ I reply.
The hard part was fitting the three of us in the bed. Now for the impossible part: actually sleeping like this.
Lockie shifts again, a slow, maybe deliberate move that brings his feet up to mine, our toes touching. It’s the dumbest, smallest thing, but it feels like electricity. I stare at the back of his head, willing my heart to quiet down and hoping Ozzy can’t hear it from behind me.
With Ozzy’s warmth at my back and Lockie in front of me playing footsie and just, you know, the threat of a tropical storm returning at some point, while we’re stranded on an island, surely anyone would struggle to sleep, right?
Scratch that. Lockie’s breathing evens out, slow and steady, and I’m pretty sure he’s sleeping already.
There, see, it’s easy. I just need to do the same.
And then I feel Ozzy reach around, place his hand on my hip, and give me a brief, reassuring squeeze. And then he leaves me to sleep.
Yep, this is awkward. I think the only way this is not awkward is in a porno, and Welcome to Singledom is really not that sort of show (except according to some snooty reviewers, at least).
I just need to sleep, I just need to sleep. And do everything I can tomorrow to avoid spending another night on this island. I just have no idea what that is yet.