Chapter 22
MISSY
“What’s happening?” I say to the screen in the cockpit that is no longer showing a clock or reward icons, but is now as transparent as glass. My heart beats frantically with what I don’t know. Did Colton and I both pick safety? Did we win? Did we lose? “Hello?”
Just then, the PA system crackles to life, and Niall’s voice comes through the speaker once more. “Congratulations to the following three teams.”
My heart jumps to my throat. Please say Team Teal.
Please say Team Teal. I’m fresh out of bracelets to squeeze the life out of, so instead, I grip the leather edges of my seat, letting my nails sink in.
“Team Amber, Team Fuchsia … and Team Teal. You have made it to the finals of Sunsets and Sabotage.”
I’m so happy I think I’ve grown wings, because suddenly, I’m floating out of the cockpit and embracing Simon with a giddy hug. “We’re in the finals! Can you believe it? We’re in the finals!”
I let out a squeal, then take off for base camp, flying through a forest of twining roots and leafy branches, certain that not even my sore foot can bring me down at this moment.
Somewhere during my run through the jungle, I register that Team Lime has been eliminated. And while Tyrone did try to sabotage us yesterday when he attempted to get Colton off the pole in the ocean, I know without a doubt that I’m going to miss him and Joseph.
By the time I spot bits of base camp through the treeline, my heart is a strange mix of excitement and loss, realizing that I will never see Team Lime on that beach again.
I’ll never hear Joseph as he wakes up at the crack of dawn to go for his morning swim before getting a fire started for breakfast at precisely 7:15 a.m. And I’m going to miss Tyrone’s infectious woodpecker laugh and the way he turns everything into a comedy show.
I feel the shift of environment beneath my feet, my shoes graduating from the hard dirt path and melting into the grainy sand.
I look down the stretch of familiar beach and find that my drone and I are the only ones here since Simon parted with me several minutes ago to return to wherever the staff comes from.
Then I see a tall, handsome figure step out of the jungle near the airplane. Just the sight of Colton skyrockets my excitement back up to a hundred.
“Missy Jean!” Colton starts running toward me, his smile beaming, and I can’t help it—I frolic.
Yes, frolic, because there is no other way to describe the giddy run-bounce I’m doing as I meet Colton, matching his wide smile with my own.
Without thinking, I leap into his embrace, my arms wrapping tightly around his neck.
His strong arms encircle the small of my back, lifting me off the ground.
“We did it!” he says with all the excitement I feel.
“We did it!” My happiness spills into laughter. “I can’t believe it. That really happened.”
His warm laugh fills my ear as he eases me to the ground. My shoes sink into the sand once more, but our arms remain around one another, our breath mingling.
I feel the moment come. The moment where two friends would let go of one another—but daring to hope, I let it pass, not moving.
My eyes find Colton’s. Suddenly I’m swallowed whole in his electric blue gaze.
The way he looks at me makes me feel as transparent as glass—like he’s seeing all of me.
My fears, my hopes, my flaws, and yet, he pulls me closer.
“Colton,” I say, breathless.
I watch his eyes dip to my lips, then light with a desire that makes my stomach flutter. My chin tilts upward, willing it to happen. Wanting it to happen.
But … I can’t ignore the warning voice in my head. It reminds me of the drones currently homing in on us and how the last time Colton and I talked about a relationship between us, we’d made it clear it was all for show.
What if Colton is still acting? What if I am the only one waking up to see him smile or going to sleep to find him in my dreams?
Suddenly, my flutterings are replaced with an undeniable fear that makes my stomach feel like a sandbag.
I take the briefest of steps back and look skyward.
Above me, I see the drones and imagine myself from their perspective—my arms draped over Colton and him holding me close.
We’ve created a perfect moment for the hundreds of thousands of voters who are eager for a good romance.
And we need them. America’s votes always determine which teams get an advantage during the two-day final challenge.
But even for the votes, I can’t. Because one glance at Colton makes me certain that I can’t pretend anymore, not when I have real feelings involved.
I drop my arms from Colton’s neck and my feet step back on their own accord, breaking from his grip and widening the gap between us.
Colton’s eyes flash with confusion before they flick to the drones.
With a crease in his brow, he looks back at me, closing the space between us one step at a time, but every step forward makes me question if he’s moving closer because he wants me or because the cameras are here and we need votes.
Colton is a Downing, after all, and Downings get what they want at whatever the cost. Am I that cost?
The pounding of my pulse competes against the incessant buzz of the drones. I want to cover my ears and hide far away from them, from Colton, from my fears, but instead, I’m stuck in place, weighed down by my warring emotions.
“Missy.” Colton’s fingertips graze the skin of my cheek, instantly flooding my body with heat.
I step back, pulling my face away from his dangerous touch. “Colton. I—” How to explain myself with so many people watching and listening? I retreat one more step and feel myself stumble on the sand. Colton’s hand wraps around my forearm, saving me from a humiliating fall.
“What is it?” he says, his eyes capturing mine. “What’s wrong?”
As much as I want to ask him the truth, I can’t with so many listening. Instead, I look up, motioning to the drones with my eyes. “I know what we’re supposed to do,” I say, referencing the plan we’d put into motion so many nights ago. I swallow hard. “But I just can’t.”
Supposed to do? he mouths, as if puzzling out what it means. Suddenly, his eyebrows shoot up in realization, and both his hands grip mine.
“Missy.” He shakes his head. “Missy Jean, look at me.”
Timidly, I meet his gaze, and the intensity I see there pulls me in.
“Listen.” For a moment, he breaks our physical connection and lifts both hands to either side of my face, sending an electric pulse all the way to my toes.
He dips his head until all I can see is him and all I can feel are the sparks between us, ready to ignite.
“Missy, have you ever wondered why all these years we professed to hate one another, and yet, whenever we’re in the same room, we can’t help but find each other?
” Colton breathes out a laugh, a smile lifting his lips.
“I am drawn to you, Missy Jean. I have been since the day I met you.”
I can feel my breath slow as my heart rate increases. Every ounce of his sincerity crushes my shards of doubt and fear, breaking them into little pieces that drift away in the breeze. Once more, my body feels weightless. I want to laugh, but instead a tear slips from my eye.
Gently, Colton brushes it away. “I’ve told you I’m here to win, but I know now that I can live with losing this game, but what I can’t live with is not seeing this through.
” He pauses, capturing a strand of my blonde hair that twists in the wind.
He twirls it around his finger before tucking it behind my ear and combing my face with his deep-blue gaze.
“I can’t live without seeing us through. ”
With his words, my walls are utterly broken. His thumb lightly brushes my bottom lip, and I know I’m done for. In one glorious second, his mouth finds mine.
His lips are careful at first, as if he’s savoring every morsel of this fragile moment.
My hands slide around his back, needing more of him, more of this heart-pounding, head-reeling sensation that is Colton Downing.
Gone are the days of our silly feuds, and in their place is my heart, open for him to take.
As if in response, he pulls me closer to him, a hand wrapping around my waist while the other threads through the hair at the base of my neck. His strong embrace is like a familiar blanket. And now, I never want to unravel from it.
Every press of his mouth against mine makes me wonder how I’ve gone so long without this. Without choosing to be with him. Because here, in Colton’s arms, I feel wanted and I feel safe.
Our kiss slows, shifting into something that transcends the physical, making me wonder if I’ll ever feel whole again without this man right beside me.
“Mija!” Maria’s cheerful voice breaks through the jungle, sounding about as sharp as her sudden gasp.
Both of which do a thorough job of popping the bubble of bliss I’ve been engulfed in.
“Oh, oh no. Back, Bill. Back. Back. Back. Back.” I hear the sounds of crunching leaves and hurried footsteps as Maria and Bill retreat back into the jungle.
“Why? What’s going … Oh.” I hear Bill’s voice followed by more rustling leaves.
Colton’s lips smile against my own.
“I think we’ve been caught,” I say, slowly adjusting to reality.
Colton and I both turn toward the jungle to find Bill and Maria peering at us through the massive leaves of an elephant ear plant.
“Maria, Bill, we can see you.” Colton chuckles, and we put a little more distance between us.
“Oh boy, our timing couldn’t have been worse.” Maria sighs, popping out from behind the bush and making her way toward us with Bill on her heels. When she reaches us, she fans her face dramatically. “Is it extra hot today, or was that kiss fuego?”
Colton and I both laugh, but I feel a blush explode across my skin.
And then I remember all of America just saw that kiss, and my whole body takes on the persona of Miss Piggy, pink skin from head to toe.
Colton and I really must have sent our friends into shock this time.
I can only imagine the questions they’ll ask when we get home.
Bill gives Colton a congratulatory pat on the back while Maria leans into me.
“I see you’ve chosen the perfect kindling, Mija. Good for you.” She winks and straightens, clapping her hands. “Well.” Maria glances between me and Colton. “Now that Bill and I have completely killed the moment, how about we all make good on the food rewards our teams just won?”
My stomach growls in agreement.
“Great idea, Mi Amor,” Bill says, wrapping an arm around his wife. “Let’s get some good fuel and then let’s all get to bed. Tomorrow’s the start of the final Mayday Challenge. We’re going to need all the strength we can get.”