CHAPTERTWELVE
Day Sixteen—Eight teams remaining
Archer
I scrambledto pick up the fish that had just jumped out of my hands onto the raft, holding him by the mouth this time.
“Slippery little bastard,” I muttered, carefully adding it to the fishing net hanging from the back of the raft.
I could’ve thrown it back; it was my third solid catch of the day and we only needed two. But I liked being out on the turquoise water, hearing only the sounds of splashing fish or birds calling out to each other.
After storming for nearly forty hours, the skies had finally cleared late yesterday morning. Lauren had dozed a little in my arms, but after the storm had passed she’d climbed into the hammock and sacked out for seven hours straight.
She’d even slept through the noise I made while repairing the shelter, snoring softly. I’d snuck more looks at her than I’d ever admit. And last night, we’d gone back to our usual—her sleeping with her back to me.
It was Day Sixteen, which was crazy. Not because we’d lasted that many days in this competition, or because I’d gone that long without a full night of sleep. It was crazy because, since adolescence, I’d never gone that long without getting off. My sexual frustration was real, and it didn’t help that I had to see Lauren in a bikini every day.
“Good job,” Lauren said when I returned to camp with the fish. “I hope you can get a fire going.”
We were both ravenous. I’d worked my ass off fixing our shelter yesterday and hadn’t had much time to fish. All our firewood was too soaked to get a fire going, anyway.
“If I can’t, we’ll have to eat it raw,” I said.
Lauren’s expression fell with disappointment, but she nodded. I wasn’t looking forward to it either, but we had to eat. We needed fuel in our bodies for the next competition.
After half an hour of trying to start a fire, I shook my head. “Sorry, it’s not happening.”
“Well, it can’t taste worse than bull testicles, right?” she said with a weak smile.
“Just pretend it’s sushi,” I said as I started cleaning the fish. “Some people charge a mint for this stuff.”
It did not taste like sushi. Lauren managed a few bites anyway, and I choked down enough to stave off the hunger pangs. Then we set off for the site of today’s competition, and I immediately walked around Lauren to lead the way.
“Why do you always have to be first?” she grumbled.
“I have the map.”
“I can follow a map.”
I had to tread carefully to avoid pissing her off right before a competition.
“Did you learn in the past eight years?” I asked her.
She scoffed. “I was a teenager when you knew me, Archer. I’m completely different now.”
Not an answer to the question, but I didn’t want to poke the bear again.
“I guess I like to lead the way,” I admitted.
She let it drop for once. I’d told her the truth—I did like to be out in front, but the main reason I couldn’t stand following behind her was because just looking at her ass in her shorts, and watching the end of her ponytail swishing right above the clasp to her bikini top, drove me crazy.
It wasn’t a shock that she gave me the silent treatment the whole walk to the competition site. But when we walked up to where the other teams were gathering, Lauren gasped and put a hand on my arm when she saw the competition area.
“Is it trivia?” She grinned at me. “Please tell me it’s trivia.”
It looked like the set of Jeopardy, so it had to be something like that. The production assistants lined up our teams together, Josh took his place in front of the Jeopardy setup, and the camera operators started filming.
“Welcome,” Josh said. “That was quite a storm we had the other night. How’s everyone holding up?”
His question was met with groans and a muttered “you suck” from one of the guys. He just grinned and continued. Cocksucker.
“You are the final eight teams remaining on Exiled. And today we’re not testing your physical strength or your stomach strength, but your brain power.”
“Crap,” Neil said from next to me.
Lauren, on the other hand, was giddy with excitement.
“I love trivia,” she whispered to me. “My team back home, The Smartinis, has been undefeated at trivia night at Benny’s Tap for more than six months.”
I nodded, picturing Lauren at the popular downtown bar in our hometown. I wasn’t sure the questions here would be like ones she was used to, but a little confidence never hurt anyone.
We were sent to stand behind our assigned podiums together, one per team. Each team member was given a separate buzzer to hold.
“Do you guys want to know what the prize for today’s winning team is?” Josh asked.
Each team’s response lacked the normal amount of enthusiasm. It seemed Lauren and I weren’t the only ones who were feeling run-down after the storm.
“How does a beachfront pizza party sound?” Josh asked.
I groaned and looked at Lauren, who was biting her lip. Fuck the party. I’d give my left nut to eat pizza next to a dumpster right now.
“The two top-scoring teams will have unlimited pizza, salad, beer, and wine on the beach tonight,” Josh said. “So sharpen those mental pencils and let’s get started. Each team gets a point for every correct answer, and a point subtracted from their total score for every wrong answer.”
I held my finger just above the red button on my buzzer, hoping for some sports questions.
“Which part of the Constitution of the United States established the Supreme Court and its authority?” Josh asked.
Lauren pressed down on her buzzer, but the light behind Maksim Ivanov and his partner, Irina, lit up first.
“The preamble!” Maksim blurted.
“I’m sorry, but that is incorrect,” Josh said. “We’ll reset the—okay, it looks like we already have another answer. Archer and Lauren?”
“Article Three,” Lauren said.
“That is correct,” Josh said, nodding.
I put my arm around Lauren’s shoulder and pulled her against me, kissing her temple. She smiled up at me and our eyes locked. I felt the urge to go in for a real kiss, which made me immediately drop my arm. Where the hell had that thought come from?
“Next question,” Josh said. “Who was the first American to go into space?”
“Neil Armstrong!” Shayla said.
“I’m sorry, but you have to press your buzzer to answer,” Josh said. “And it looks like the first team to buzz in was Archer and Lauren.”
“Alan Shepherd,” Lauren said.
“That is correct,” Josh said. “Two points for Archer and Lauren.”
“Smug bitch,” Shayla muttered.
My muscles tensed in the same way they did when one of my teammates took a cheap hit. I wouldn’t stand for anyone talking about Lauren that way.
“What did you just say?” I asked Shayla.
“Archer, it doesn’t matter,” Lauren said.
I glared at Neil’s partner. “You want to say that again?”
“Are you gonna fight her over it?” Neil asked, rolling his eyes.
“How about if I knock you flat instead?”
“Okay everybody, let’s move on,” Josh said, looking uncomfortable at the growing animosity between me, and Shayla and Neil. “And Shayla, this is your only warning. If you use profanity toward another contestant, you and Neil will be eliminated from this competition.”
“Yeah, whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“The next question is a hockey one,” Josh said. “On March 24th, 1936, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Maroons 1–0. With 16:30 on the clock of the sixth overtime, who scored the winning goal?”
I was all over that one, my pulse racing as I pressed the buzzer. I wanted that pizza bad.
“Archer and Lauren,” Josh said.
“Mud Bruneteau,” I answered.
“You are correct.”
Lauren grinned and offered me a high five. I gave her a gentle one, folding my fingers into hers afterward.
“Okay, time for another question,” Josh said. “What is the world’s biggest island?”
Maksim was the fastest on the buzzer this time.
“Maksim and Irina,” Josh called out while pointing over at their team. Maksim responded with a cocky grin.
“Australia,” he said.
“Australia is a continent, you dildo,” Irina said, burying her face in her hands.
“That answer is incorrect,” Josh said.
Lauren excitedly pushed the red button on her buzzer, but it was Jack and Moira who buzzed in first.
“Greenland,” Jack said.
Lauren groaned.
“That is correct,” Josh said.
The game continued, and while I answered a couple more hockey questions correctly, and other contestants managed to get one answer every now and then, Lauren simply dominated. She answered questions about chemistry, math, the Bill of Rights, geography, and pop culture like a fucking boss. I was proud of her when Josh announced we’d won with twenty-one points—more than twice as many as any of the other teams. And just like that, the last place team was out of the competition.