Chapter 16
The luxurious bath I’d planned on wasn’t nearly as relaxing as I’d hoped it would be. It certainly didn’t help that I was rock hard for the first half of it, but I couldn’t get those last few moments with Parker out of my mind.
Had she seriously meant what she said earlier about her being willing to share me? There was no way, right?
And even if Parker was willing, there was no way Sadie would accept an arrangement like that. I couldn’t help myself, though, and for a moment I thought of what it might be like to be in a relationship with both women at the same time.
What would that look like?
No.
I quickly shook the thoughts away. There was no point in daydreaming about it because it wasn’t ever going to happen. I wasn’t even sure if Sadie wanted something serious with me, so there certainly wasn’t a possibility she’d want something after she learned I’d also matched with Parker.
Either way, I still needed to tell her the truth. I just needed to work up the courage to do so, because I didn’t want to put any strain on our current relationship.
I spent the rest of my bath trying to come up with the best way to bring it up to her, and I spent so much time in there thinking that by the time I finally got out of the water, my fingertips and toes had wrinkled and pruned.
I dried myself off with the towel and carefully slid back into my bodysuit. I made sure to check that the metal ball was still in my pocket, and sure enough, it was still safely tucked away.
I wasn’t sure how to drain the pool or get the bubbles and foam out, but I figured the aliens could take care of it. So, I left everything as it was and moved back into the hall to find where everyone had gone.
I found Tyler, Claire, Sadie, and Parker all in the theater room together trying to figure out how to get the movies to play. I didn’t know where the hell Kyle was, and frankly, I didn’t care.
“Hey, Liam!” Tyler called to me when he noticed my entrance. “Are you going to stay and watch the movie with us?”
Sadie glanced over at me with a wide, genuine smile, and Parker shot me a knowing look. I had to fight back thoughts of our almost-kiss all over again, otherwise I’d risk showing a bit too much excitement in front of everyone else.
“I guess it depends,” I said as I returned Sadie’s smile and glanced back over at Tyler. “What are you guys planning to watch?”
“We were thinking of starting with a good horror movie,” Parker replied. “Just for fun.”
“Yeah,” Sadie added. “And then we were going to watch a comedy to help lighten the mood and end on a positive note.”
“Well, then, how can I refuse?” I smirked. “I can grab the snacks. What does everyone want?”
“Chocolate,” Sadie requested.
“Popcorn,” Parker said at the same time.
“Claire and I already have our snacks,” Tyler said without looking up as he fiddled with a remote. “Thank you, though.”
I grabbed Sadie’s chocolate and filled a popcorn bucket large enough for the three of us to share before I moved to the couch. Sadie scooted over to provide a place for me to sit, and I plopped myself down between the two women.
The couch was super plush, but it still offered a good amount of support. Tyler finally got the remote to work, and before I knew it, the lights in the theater room went out, and the massive screen lit up as the movie ‘The Thing’ began to play.
“Nice choice, Tyler,” I chuckled when I realized what movie it was.
“Yeah, I thought an alien movie would be appropriate for our current situation,” he replied, and even in the dark, I could see the proud grin he shot at me.
“Wait, this movie is about aliens?” Sadie whispered, and Parker leaned forward to see around me.
“Have you seriously never seen ‘The Thing’?” she asked. “It’s a classic.”
“Uh-uh.” Sadie shook her head. “I don’t typically watch scary movies.”
“I don’t, either,” Claire said. “This will be my first time as well.”
“Well, it’s a good one,” Parker assured her. “But just so you’re prepared, there are some pretty gross and creepy parts.”
“Great,” Sadie mumbled, and Parker laughed.
“Don’t worry,” I murmured as I found Sadie’s hand and gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze. “It’s just a movie, and you can look away at any point.”
We all settled in as the first scene began, but I was only half-able to pay attention to the movie in front of me because my mind kept wandering to think of what may come tomorrow in the final game.
Sadie did pretty well for her first, real horror movie, and she only flinched and looked away twice throughout the entire film.
Parker seemed to thoroughly enjoy the movie because every time I glanced in her direction, she had her eyes glued to the screen, and her expression matched whatever the mood in the film was.
Once the movie finished, Tyler started up a comedy to help lighten the mood, and both Sadie and Claire seemed to enjoy it much more. It was a welcome distraction for me as well, and I felt like I was finally able to truly relax and enjoy my time with everyone.
When the second movie ended, we all remained in the theater room to joke and talk, and we stayed there until the disembodied voice instructed us to report to the lounge area.
When our group entered the lounge, Kyle was already seated at a massive table. This one was even larger than the table I’d grown accustomed to, and it was piled high with every type of food imaginable.
I noted breads, pastas, salads, lobster, steak, chicken, potatoes, steamed vegetables, and even lamb. And that was just to name a few.
As each of us filled our plates, I couldn’t help but note the variety and quality of food offered, and I felt like we were being offered our last meals.
The thought wasn’t a particularly pleasant one, so I shoved it aside and tried to focus on the delicious food in front of me instead.
I ate juicy, roasted chicken, fluffy bread, fresh salad, and buttery lobster. I even tried a few of the sweeter options like the jello salads and puddings. Everything I tasted was delicious, and I ate until I couldn’t possibly stomach another bite.
There wasn’t much talking while we ate because everyone was so focused on their plates, so when we all finished our meals, the robotic voice was the first one to break the silence.
“Please choose a room and retire for the night,” it instructed.
Kyle stood up wordlessly and moved down the hall to claim a bedroom, while the rest of us lingered by the table.
“Well,” Tyler finally said. “I guess this is it. Get some sleep and good luck out there tomorrow, everyone. We’ll all see each other in the morning.”
We all said goodnight in the hallway before we headed into our separate rooms. Kyle had taken the blue room I saw earlier, so I settled into the furthest room at the end of the hall. This one had a pale green theme that reminded me of Parker’s eyes.
I was just about to get settled into bed when there was a light knock on my door.
Who could it be this time?
I moved to the door and silently hoped it wasn’t Kyle again. I didn’t think I had the patience to have another confrontation with the guy so soon.
But when I opened my door, I found Sadie on the other side.
“Hi,” I said as my eyebrows rose in surprise.
“Hi,” she said sheepishly. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Uh, sure,” I said, and I quickly stepped out of the way to let her pass. “What’s up?”
I wasn’t sure why I was suddenly so nervous about her presence here, but my brain immediately went to the worst-case scenarios.
Did she find out about my match with Parker?
Had she seen us in the bathing area earlier, or had Kyle mentioned something?
Was she here to tell me she no longer wanted anything to do with me?
My brain raced through the possibilities, but nothing in Sadie’s posture or expression hinted at anger or resentment of any kind.
“It’s not really anything important,” she replied as she moved across the room and sat down on the edge of my bed. “I guess I’m just… nervous about tomorrow, and I’m looking for a little reassurance.”
Oh.
“That’s completely understandable,” I said as I relaxed and moved to sit beside her. “I think we’re all a little nervous for tomorrow. Quite frankly, I’d be concerned about your mental state if you weren’t.”
“I guess that’s fair,” she giggled, and her laugh seemed much lighter, but then her expression grew serious again as she turned to look at me.
“What do you think the trial is going to be? The aliens said it’s the last one, right?
So, I’m assuming it’s going to be the hardest and most dangerous one by far. ”
I would’ve loved nothing more than to reassure her at that moment and tell her I thought the trial would be easy and simple.
But I couldn’t.
“Probably,” I admitted. “But we’ve survived everything so far, so I think we have a real shot at winning this.”
“We’ve had a lot of near misses, too,” Sadie pointed out as she wrung her hands in her lap. “Those didn’t feel so safe.”
“Perhaps not,” I conceded. “But we work well as a team, and collectively we each have a lot of unique skills and abilities. If anyone has a chance of winning, it’s all of us.”
“Do you think Kyle will be willing to team up with us?” Sadie joked.
“Kyle is Kyle,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “He’ll do whatever he thinks will best aid in his survival, and if that means teaming up with a bunch of people he despises, then yeah, he’d definitely do it.”
“If we do survive tomorrow…” Sadie mused. “What do you think will happen then? Will the aliens let us go?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But I certainly hope so.”
The truth was, I’d been thinking a lot about that today. And the thought had continued to niggle at the back of my mind ever since I saw the hidden room with all the monitors.
We weren’t the only people playing these weird games, and there were individuals from all over the world who were chosen to participate. We had to have been chosen for a reason, and I simply didn’t believe the trials would end tomorrow.