30. 30
As the third week of Bella Amour slipped by, Callum and I rolled along with it, settling into our newly formed truce.
We were by no means on the fast track to becoming best friends but, still, the ice had most definitely thawed, and I could feel our previous tension gradually dissipating.
I was also thrilled to find that whatever brain blip had thrown me off during the live show—spiraling about Callum’s warmth, I mean, come on—had disappeared as well.
That line of thought was ridiculous, and I was happy to chalk it up to a stress-induced, one-time glitch.
Callum and I needed to focus on the task at hand—selling our “slow burn” love story to the viewing public at home. In an effort to do so, we developed a routine to be followed each day.
In the mornings he would make me a coffee—iced with cream and two sugars. “Exactly how I like it!” I would exclaim, my body positioned in direct line of a camera, making sure the entire world knew Callum was nailing the whole “devoted match” thing.
In the afternoons we would go for a swim, floating side by side on the large, heart-shaped pool floaties that production had brought in when it became clear that most of the cast preferred to be in the pool for hours at a time.
We’d make sure our floaties were always touching, creating the vision of a couple who couldn’t bear to be apart.
And when the sun set and the cocktail party kicked off, we would separate from the group, claim one of the empty daybeds, and “go for a chat.” I found it surprisingly easy to talk to Callum, the flow of conversation meandering across an array of subjects.
I learned that he went to Trinity College, played rugby on the weekends, and was seriously afraid of spiders.
I told him about New York and my old jobs.
We never went very deep, never got into how or why we each ended up in the villa.
The reasons we both needed to be here remained a mystery to each other, but that was fine by me.
It was enough simply to get along.
***
Two new Showstoppers, Mike and Lola, entered the villa midweek, surprising us all during our morning debriefs.
Mike was nice enough, but I made a concerted effort to avoid doing anything that could be construed as flirting.
In the end, my efforts didn’t even matter as he hit it off with Jess right away.
I was thrilled for her; after a journey full of “friendship matches,” she had finally found someone she really liked.
Lola, unfortunately, didn’t click with any of the guys and was sent home after only being in the villa for two days.
***
The end of the week brought with it a heat wave.
The garden was steaming, the sun beating down mercilessly. I had been hoping production would let us stay inside during the afternoons for safety reasons, but they insisted we proceed with filming as normal. Clearly, the Brits didn’t believe in heatstroke.
“You’ll be fine,” Harry tutted at me as I took cover in the sweet relief of the air-conditioned Love Shack.
I protested, telling him that I’d give a full blown tell all of Callum’s and my kiss the week before if I could just stay in the confessional a bit longer.
Harry merely leveled me with a stare and said, “We can talk about how you haven’t kissed since. ”
It was enough to have me scrambling up and out of the room, Harry laughing at me as I went.
Perfectly curated daily routine be damned, I thought.
It was clearly not helping our case if, despite the expertly made coffees and strategically placed pool floaties, Harry was mentioning our lack of affection.
We might have been spending more time together, but on this show, if there wasn’t a physical progression to go along with the emotional one, it wouldn’t matter.
I should have known this would happen. As a viewer, the steamy bits were the ones I longed for as well.
It was something I’d have to talk to Callum about.
That can be a tomorrow problem, I told myself as I walked back outside and into the oppressive heat. I could leave it for a day when it didn’t feel like my skin was going to melt off under the cruel sun.
***
But the heat didn’t let up the next day, and the whole cast, not just myself, quickly grew cranky and lazy, not wanting to do anything but take cover in the kitchen, munch on popsicles, and talk about all the ways in which it was simply too hot outside.
Production must have finally realized it made for rather boring television.
“All Bellas report to your dressing rooms,” a voice sounded out across the garden speakers.
This was a development. Something new was happening, and it jolted the villa with a much-needed burst of energy. Despite the heat, we all buzzily made our way inside and to our respective rooms, chatting away about what we could be doing.
A clothing rack with five red one-piece bathing suits was set up in the middle of the glam room. The suits were identical, all high cut and extra cheeky, with “Lifeguard" written across the chest. It was like they had gotten them directly from the set of Baywatch.
The realization of what was happening slowly hit me and was verified moments later when a producer’s voice from overhead instructed us to change into the one-pieces and meet by the villa’s front door.
I had seen this on past seasons: elaborate challenges set up for the cast to participate in like some kind of game show.
There was always a theme with a corresponding group costume, and—just like the games we often played around the fire pit at cocktail parties—always a winner who really didn’t win anything.
It made fantastic television.
Sure enough, once we were dressed and made our way to the villa’s front door, the boys were there, waiting in their own matching red swim trunks. Ben was standing in the entryway, and as soon as we were all together, he ushered us out and to our set for the day: the front driveway.
Only now it had been transformed into a Baywatch-themed obstacle course.
On a two-foot-high platform spanning the entire width of the driveway, a replica of a lifeguard tower had been built with a waterslide in place of the ramp.
At the bottom of the slide was a blow-up pool filled with life preservers, and in front of that was a long Slip ‘N Slide that ended in yet another pool, that one filled with inflatable sharks.
Along each side of the platform were water guns, aimed at the course.
Now this was the production design I’d been expecting from such a massive show.
We lined up along the platform’s edges, boys on one side and girls on the other, as production assistants flitted about around us.
There was quite a big production set up, with a video village by the villa’s doors, producers huddled behind it, likely comparing notes on what drama they hoped unfolded, and three Steadicam operators with cameras strapped to their chests, ready to film the action.
They even had a camera mounted to a crane that was swooping back and forth above us.
Harry climbed up onto the platform and began yelling out instructions.
“You’ll each go up the lifeguard tower’s ladder, down the big slide, into the pool, where you’ll have to find the life preserver with your name on it.
Then, slippy-slidey all the way across to the second pool, where you’ll fish out the shark with your partner’s name on it, and .
. . ” he trailed off, looking around at all of us and wiggling his eyebrows. I swear he even shot a wink my way.
I didn’t have time to try and figure out what he was so excited about because he came right out and said, “you’ll take your shark over to where your partner is standing and give them a kiss.”
The girls around me squealed in excitement, but all I could do was nod along and try to keep a smile on my face.
A kiss. I’d be kissing Callum.
My stomach turned over in anticipation. No wonder Harry looked so thrilled.
“You’ll be timed, and whoever collectively has the fastest time wins,” he continued. “Boys versus girls, obviously, and the opposing team can use the water guns to slow down or distract the other team.” Harry let out a breath, nodding at us and then jumping off the platform.
Chiara was the first to go, and as we all watched her run the obstacle course, I tried to calm the wave of anxiety threatening to wash over me.
I had kissed Callum before, and I knew, especially after Harry’s comments from yesterday, that I would have had to kiss him again eventually.
I just hadn’t anticipated it happening quite so soon.
It’s just a game, I told myself as Chiara finished her turn by making out with Hugh. It’s all just a silly game.
I could give Callum a kiss. We were trying to sell ourselves, after all. That was the whole point.
But as I watched the rest of the girls go, one by one, and looked on as they all made out with their partners with quite a bit of fervor, my self-determination waned, until all I could tell myself was a very measly, You can do it.
Not much of an inspiring pep talk.
When it was finally my turn, I tried to ignore the nerves and anxious anticipation swirling in my gut and simply focus on the task at hand, one step at a time.
I climbed the lifeguard tower and slid down into the inflatable pool, resolutely ignoring the way my already high cut bathing suit had ridden even further up my butt.
I scooped out the life preserver with my name marked across it, proud of myself that I found it in only a few seconds.
I slid across the Slip ‘N Slide, trying to look remotely graceful while also avoiding getting water up my nose as the other Bellas sprayed me with water guns. I landed in the second inflatable pool and fished out the shark with Callum’s name on it, holding it up high in the air as if I had won a prize.
I kept going, crawling my way out of the pool and then crossing the platform, until I stood right in front of Callum.
I let out a small huff of breath, trying to expel any last nerves over our impending kiss. Then, finally, I looked up into his eyes, and what I saw nearly caused me to drop the shark clutched in my hand.
Callum was smiling. A real smile too, not the one he put on for the cameras. Somewhere along the way, over the last few days of getting along, of really spending time together, I had learned how to differentiate between the two. I knew this smile, the one growing wider by the second, was genuine.
I didn’t have time to think about it any further, because the next thing I knew, his hands were around my waist, pulling me into him.
And then we were kissing, my arms wrapped around his neck, his hands pressed into my lower back.
My skin was on fire as I leaned into him, his palms sending chills up my spine as he held onto me.
The kiss was . . . everything. It was intense and deep but also light and easy.
It was the kind of kiss that would have made me weak at the knees had Callum not been holding me to him so tightly.
I wasn’t sure how long we stood like that, making out for all to see, but I eventually grew aware of the cheers of those around us and pulled away.
I couldn’t look at Callum, having just been so intimate with him, so instead turned right around and walked back to my spot in line with the girls.
“That was quite the show,” Jess said from next to me, squeezing my arm and shaking me back and forth in glee.
I wasn’t ready to say it out loud, but it had been an incredible kiss. It was as if my body already knew his in ways I couldn’t begin to comprehend.
It was for the cameras, I reminded myself, trying to get my breathing under control. It’s all to look good for the cameras.
I might have been able to keep my wits about me and move along from our scorching make out had Harry not piped up from down the driveway at that moment, letting us know it was now the boy’s turn to run the obstacle course.
Which meant, of course, that I’d get to kiss Callum again.
I ignored the thrill that ran through me, the anticipation swirling in my chest and seeping out into my bones.
This is fine. Totally and completely fine! I told myself as I watched and waited for Callum to take his turn, trying to focus on anything but the warm, fuzzy feeling that was currently residing in my gut.
When it was finally his time, I tried my best to remain calm and collected, not to stare at him so blatantly.
The intention was short-lived.
Maybe it was the heat frying my brain cells and making any kind of disciplined thinking obsolete as I all-but ogled him as he slid down the plastic tarp, his wet abs and broad chest glistening in the sun.
I was nearly vibrating with anticipation when he pulled the shark with my name on it out of the water and then came to stand in front of me.
Looking up at him, I was struck, once again, by the magnetism in his eyes.
It was that same pull toward him I felt during After Show.
The one I thought had dissipated this week.
Boy, was I wrong. It was it back, and we were both soaking wet and decidedly less clothed, so it felt impossibly more electric.
I realized then, with a jolt in my gut, that my palms had moved on their own accord and were resting on his abs. The warmth of his skin radiated into me, and my head spun as Callum leaned down so we were face to face.
“Hello, again” he whispered, just for me to hear. The husky tone of his voice sent a shiver across my skin. I arched closer to him, breathing in that intoxicating scent of his. He didn’t wait for me to reply; he simply closed the space between us and pressed his lips to mine.
The kiss was just like before, hot and electric, but we both had a little more sense about us this go around and only made out for a respectable amount of time. When he pulled away, he simply smirked at me and then jogged back over to where the other boys stood.
I let out a shaky breath as I watched him from across the platform.
Was his heart rate spiking like mine? He seemed totally fine, laughing and chatting with the guys as though nothing of interest had just transpired and it was just another day in the villa.
Was he totally unaffected by whatever little moment we had just had?
Could I even consider it a moment?
No, no I couldn’t. It wasn’t that at all. It was just part of the game, part of the chaos that was Bella Amore.
Come on, Poppy, I chided myself. It’s the act: to look good for the cameras, that’s it.
Still, I couldn’t ignore the warmth that his kiss left in my gut.
It lingered long after the game was over.