Last night after our debriefing at the studio, I had driven Alice home. It was perhaps a little odd that she wanted me to drop her off at a coffee shop, but she claimed to be meeting a friend.
I hoped it wasn’t that she was nervous telling a strange man where she lived. Even though there was a definite physical chemistry between us, we’d only just met. That didn’t stop me from thinking about her every single moment through the night.
I’d never been so infatuated with a woman before. I didn’t even know that I had it in me. This fluttery uncomfortable feeling was
what I imagined schoolboy crushes felt like, but I’d never experienced one before.
We met up again at the studio in the morning to get the microphones and cameras set up for our next challenge. Alice looked so beautiful in figure skimming black pants, and a light purple top that showed off those round breasts to perfection.
It was impossible to stop staring at her, but there was nothing wrong with a man admiring his wife and hopefully she’d just think I was acting. She didn’t need to know that I was quickly becoming obsessed with her.
“Hi,” she said, waving with one finger at the camera in my lapel pin. “Did you get the briefing on our next challenge?”
“Yeah, we’re buying a house,” I said. Looking around, I quietly asked, “Any idea how the others are doing?”
Alice stood closer beside me, glancing at the other two teams across the dim studio. I honestly couldn’t believe that Darlene and Gary hadn’t sprung for some more light bulbs at the very least.
“The two in jeans are Michael and Britta,” she said in a low voice. “They’re in way over their heads. I think they’re students too, but they’re completely awkward around each other. Britta put her hand on his shoulder and he almost jumped out of his skin.”
Chuckling darkly, I wrapped an arm around her waist. “Good to know. What about the others?”
She looked up at me and rolled her eyes. “Eileen and Eric. She’s an actress, super full of herself, assumes she’s going to win automatically. He’s some dopey guy I swear they pulled randomly off the street.”
Seeing that Gary had been desperate enough to call me, I wouldn’t put it past him. “Do they work well as a team together?” I asked.
Alice shook her head slightly. “Not really. They’re playing a newly engaged couple, implying that they’ve only been dating for about ten months. They think that’s going to cover any missteps.”
“They don’t have our chemistry,” I said, giving her a squeeze. Her soft giggle did something strange to the center of my chest.
“She bosses him around terribly, too,” Alice whispered. “Seriously, she’s a total bitch. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just quits.”
I would have bet anything that Darlene and Gary had something in the fine print of the contract that the contestants could not quit due to personal differences. I happened to know that they had some lawyers who would take care of such things.
“So it sounds like we’re in the lead already,” I said. “You’re much more competitive than I thought. How did you hear all this?”
Alice looked up at me and fluttered her eyelashes. “My secret supower is that I’m so quiet and still that people don’t notice I’m there,” she smiled shyly.
“You lurk.”
“Please. I collect information and use it for a higher purpose,” she said snottily, then burst out laughing.
“You’re amazing. Well done.” I said.
We drove quickly to the appointment with the agent, discussing our cover story of being newlyweds who wanted to get comfortable in a new house before having children.
As I took Alice’s hand, walking up to the front door of the charming if not overly lavish two-story red brick house, I couldn’t help imagining doing all of these life events with her for real someday.
The front door swept open before I even knocked. “Welcome, Alice and Taylor.” An overly made up woman in a dark green power suit swept us into the front hallway. “I’m Karen, and I can’t wait to show you around your new home.”
We took a slow walk around the first floor, making casual comments about the chandelier, the moldings, and the large living room.
“Look, honey,” Alice said, gripping my arm. “We could put some cushions in front of the fireplace, and curl up with a bottle of wine on a Saturday night.”
I nodded, slipping my arm around her. “Yes, it’s a beautiful fireplace, until we have children. Then we can put in one of those flickering electric light logs until the kids are over ten.”
Alice snuggled right into my side. “You’re right. I didn’t even think about child proofing. But that’s a great idea.”
We walked into the kitchen, where Alice pointed to the espresso machine. “Well, we know there’s room for your industrial-sized coffee maker.”