Chapter Ten
Courtney
After I got back to the room, Luna was the first to clock me.
I mean, everyone noticed me walking soaking wet with just a towel wrapped around me.
A few gave me knowing grins; others sneered and turned up their noses.
Luna, though, she practically yanked my arm out of my socket and pulled me out onto the terrace.
Still wasn’t even dressed, by the way. Did she care? Of course not.
“What have you been up to, you little minx?” she asks as soon as she slams the sliding door shut behind us.
I’m tempted to point out that there are very obviously cameras out here, capturing our every word, and that privacy is clearly not a thing while we’re here, but I decide to drop it.
“Minx?” I laugh. “What does that even mean?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s a nice way of calling you a slut. Anyway, what, or rather who, have you been doing?”
My mouth drops open, in full offense, and I definitely don’t want to get into her questioning because though she is absolutely the person I like and trust the most so far… I don’t like or trust anyone, ever, soooo…
“I’m sorry, can we circle back. Did you just call me a slut?” I ask.
Luna pfts at me and flicks her hands like that part doesn’t matter. “You can try to avoid all you want, but I am a dog with a bone.”
“Is that a sex joke?” I ask.
The words of Landon the douche, as I have so rightly named him, play again in my head, reminding me what a shit liar I am. A fact Lily always pointed out as well, so I know he wasn’t bullshitting me.
“Courtney!” she snaps as she claps her hands together. “Focus. Who did you mash your genitals with?”
Oh my God. Mashing my genitals with? Holy shit, I love this bitch.
Quickly, though, I realize playing dumb or avoiding the question will get me nowhere. The quicker I give her something, the quicker I can feel the comfort of clothing once more.
“Noah and I… took a shower after the challenge,” I say before sidestepping Luna.
She’s quick to block me, though, forcing me to look at her as she shoves her purple hair out of her face.
“Aaaaaand?”
“Aaand we got clean?” I guess, as if that’s the answer she is hoping for.
She isn’t letting it fly, though.
Pants… you’re so close, yet so far away.
“Oh my fucking God, you’re worse than my sister. We fucked! Okay? Satisfied?” I demand.
An excited gleam enters her eyes as she rubs her hands together almost mischievously. “I won’t be satisfied until I have my own nasty playtime with one of the fine men staying in this house, but for now I can be satiated with hearing all the details about yours.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” I say as I try to sidestep her.
She blocks me again.
Jesus, I’d settle for a string bikini at this point.
“What’s it going to take for you to let me get dressed?” I sigh.
She thinks for a minute. “Was he hung?”
I balk. “Oh my fucking God.”
I close my eyes, inhaling deeply before blowing out a breath. My gaze meets hers before I ensure that my towel is still properly tucked, then hold out my hands to give a size reference.
Luna shoots me an impressed smirk. “Alright, so it wasn’t padding I saw him working last night.”
A loud, sharp laugh escapes me as she begins chuckling and steps aside to let me to the door. My God. She’s fucking insane. And I think I kind of adore her.
Once I get dressed, I decide to wear a swimsuit with a cover-up skirt before Luna and I go in search of some food.
The rest of the girls are either still getting cleaned up from the challenge or shamelessly throwing themselves at the guys.
To be fair, Luna and I should be doing that too, but you know, priorities.
“I don’t even know her and I already can’t stand her,” Luna mutters as she flips her grilled cheese.
“Who?” I ask as I look up from my plate of chicken tenders and French fries. I found them in the deep freezer.
Luna’s eyes are practically staring a hole into Kiera as she tosses her hair over her shoulder and somehow manages to flirt with Mason, Dallas and Calvin simultaneously. Whatever she’s dishing out, those boys are lapping it up.
I shrug. “She’s just playing the game. No one is locked in yet. The smart thing to be doing is testing the waters with people. Flirting, seeing who would be a good match.”
Luna nods as she moves her sandwich to a plate and cuts it. “True… so what are we doing over here stuffing our faces then?”
I laugh. “I said it was the smart thing to do, not that I want to do it.”
Luna chuckles. “Fair, and you and Noah are basically locked in already. So that just leaves little ole me,” she sighs.
I roll my eyes. “Please, you had Dallas eating out of your palm last night.”
“True,” she replies as she takes a bite of her sandwich.
Somehow, even eating two pieces of grilled bread with cheese in the middle, she still looks like she belongs on the cover of a magazine. Luna is drop-dead gorgeous in a way that just oozes sex appeal. And she knows it too.
As she continues eating, she makes eyes towards the group of guys and catches one stare in particular.
Calvin looks to her and smirks, slowly moving away from Kiera like he’s being drawn to Luna.
Seriously, do all of these women have, like, seduction superpowers?
They can just move men with their mind or what?
Shane seems to notice and wraps his arm around Calvin’s shoulder, whispering something into his ear before the two of them start towards Luna.
“Looks like your woes are over,” I say, smothering one of my fries in ranch.
“Hm,” she responds with a knowing smirk before pressing her tits together and conveniently leaning over the bar-top counter of the outdoor kitchen.
“What do you two troublemakers want?” Luna asks with a tilt of her head.
“Looking for some trouble to get into. Now which one of you is named trouble?” Shane asks with a wink.
Luna laughs while I scoff.
Shane’s eyes cut to me, clearly picking up that I’m not amused, while Calvin rounds the counter to come closer to Luna.
“What?” Shane asks.
I shake my head and attempt to pacify him. “Nothing. You’re hilarious.”
“I am,” Shane says proudly. “Clearly, you don’t agree, though. I’ll have to rework my stuff.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “You’re funnier when you don’t try.”
He frowns. “I’m not sure I like that.”
I shrug. “Hate to break it to you.”
I finish my last chicken strip, then rinse my plate and put it in the dishwasher. When I go to move, I notice that Shane is now several feet closer, his elbows resting on the bar top as he looks up at me beneath his gorgeous eyelashes that go on for two miles.
“Can I steal you for a conversation?”
I look around us dramatically before glancing back at him. “Aren’t we conversing right now?”
“Man, are you always this tough?”
The smile on his face tells me he doesn’t mind it, and I’m glad to hear it, because yes, yes I am.
“So I’ve been told.”
He grins at me and sighs dramatically, looking up at the clear blue sky. The warm breeze brushes against my skin, and I swear it sways my decision more than he does.
Wordlessly, I move past him and head for the sunbeds to our right. I hear him follow me, keeping a few feet back before I pick a bed and lie on my front. I flip my sunglasses over my eyes as I turn to look at him, then tuck my hands under my face.
“Go ahead, converse,” I say as Shane takes a seat on the bed next to me.
“Alright, alright. What’s your favorite thing to do?”
“Sleep,” I answer immediately.
He laughs, tossing his head back in amusement before sighing. “Damn, girl, you really won’t give an inch, will you?”
“I take a lot of warming up,” I say in a matter-of-fact sort of way.
“I’ll bet you’re worth it, though.”
I sigh and turn away. “Do you always come on so strong? It gives disingenuous.”
“Fuck, that’s a word of the day,” he mutters.
I shrug, still turned the other way. “What can I say? My brains are almost as big as this fat ass.”
I shake my ass a little and hear Shane laugh in response. He doesn’t say anything for a moment or two, then I feel a presence standing over me. Looking up, I watch him crouch beside me.
“Sometimes it’s easier to be the loudest voice in the room. No one looks too hard if you give them more than they asked for, you know?”
Wow, that was out of left field.
I stare at him for a moment, then nod. I mean, I can’t relate to the whole being-the-center-of-attention-to-not-get-attention thing.
Actually, when you say it that way, it sounds kinda stupid.
But the way he said it makes sense, and it also makes me look at him in a different light.
You can tell that some of the guys are here for all of the predictable reasons.
Fame, money, and, well, pussy. Then there are others like Noah and Shane that seem to genuinely want to make a connection.
I keep telling myself that I’m just here for the money too, but I can’t lie, it feels nice to be wanted. For someone to pay attention to me, to want to get to know me. I never realized how lonely I was until I got to this deserted island. Go figure?
This is literally only day two. All of us hardly know one another, but I think I can judge a person’s character well enough to know when someone is a good one. Shane is definitely one of the good ones. And he’s stupid hot, so that helps too.
Shane gives me a shy smile, ducking his head like he’s suddenly embarrassed, and I grin at how adorable it actually is when another person walks up to join us.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Noah says, smiling.
He’s also changed into a swimsuit, and I can’t say I hate the view. His body is perfectly toned, and my mouth practically waters as he swaggers towards us. I don’t miss the quick glance he gives Shane, his brows knitting together in disappointment before the expression melts away in an instant.
“Here I am,” I say, my heart jumping in my chest like it seems to whenever he’s around.
“Mind if I steal her?” Noah asks Shane.
Shane pauses for a moment, like he absolutely minds, before smiling easily and holding his hands up. “By all means, you can try.”
That earns a disbelieving chuckle from me, and Shane sends me a wink before heading back towards the kitchen, where Luna is now eccentrically talking with her arms as Calvin, Connor and now Shane hang on her every word.
“That guy,” Noah scoffs, shaking his head before taking a seat on my daybed, pulling my legs into his lap.
“You don’t like him?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I don’t know him. Seems nice enough.”
Noah begins rubbing my feet, and I roll over onto my back to take full advantage of this special treatment when he pauses momentarily.
“Do you?”
“Do I what?” I ask.
“Like him.”
“Shane?” I clarify, glancing over at him. Luna rests a hand on his chest flirtatiously, and he grins like a maniac, eating up every bit of her attention.
“He’s a nice guy. Better than some in here,” I say, my gaze naturally landing on the man I dislike the most, who currently has Savannah perched on his lap. Landon and Savannah, match made in hell, if you ask me.
“Yeah?” Noah asks.
That one simple word holds a host of emotions in it, and I can’t help but give him a teasing grin as I push myself to sit up, leaning back on my hands.
“Noah, are you jealous?”
“Pft, yeah.” He laughs like he hates admitting it as much as he hates feeling it. “Don’t love finding some douche flirting up my girl.”
“I thought you said he was a nice guy,” I point out with a raised brow.
Noah stares at me for a moment before shaking his head and smiling up at the sky. “That’s the part of the sentence you latched on to?”
I know what he’s playing at. He was testing the waters with that little line, and I didn’t take the bait. I’ve never been one for playing games when it comes to relationships, though, so if you have something to say, I’d rather you just say it.
“What part would you like me to focus on?” I ask.
Okay, maybe I like to play games a little, but only when men don’t have the balls to say what they’re really thinking.
Noah huffs out a heavy breath as he resumes my foot massage. Ah. Suddenly, all is well in the world once more.
“I like you, Courtney.”
“I like you too, Noah.” I smile simply.
Was that so hard?
“The shower… being with you. It… it means something to me.”
I try to suppress my grin, but come on, this man is seriously adorable. He seems to struggle with his words, but he takes his time and delivers each one beautifully.
“I don’t know when they’ll have us choose our partner, but I just wanted you to know that if it was up to me, I’d choose you.”
“You barely even know me,” I say softly, attempting to keep him at arm’s length.
That’s proving to be really fucking difficult right now.
“I know enough to know that I could see… something special between us,” he says earnestly, his blue eyes sparkling under the midday sun.
“Me too,” I admit quietly. “To all of that, really. Ditto, if you will.”
Jesus. Could I be more awkward? Not even if I tried.
His teeth are dazzlingly bright when he grins, pulling me towards him for a kiss. I immediately sink into his embrace, swiping my tongue against his lips. He parts for me instantly, running his tongue along mine as we deepen the kiss.
Slowly, he shifts, laying me down fully as he crawls between my legs and lays his body on top of mine. I’ve seen what he can do in a shower, I can’t wait to see what he can do on a bed.
A few catcalls and whistles sound around us, but neither one of us pay them any attention.
Actually, we’re so wrapped up in one another that one of the crew members has to tap Noah’s shoulder and have us break things up.
I guess the network only allows showing so much, and the way my hand is in his pants, gripping him, I guess isn’t quite deemed appropriate.
I’ll be honest, I don’t even remember grabbing him.
My hand was clearly wrapped up in the moment too.
Whoops.