Day 23
I’ve survivedanother day here. Another week. Three down, hopefully three more to go.
I know our group is getting smaller, but when I look through this week’s schedule, it really hits home how many people are already gone. Tonight we have another group event. The chef on site is going to teach us how to cook. All of us, not just the girls even though we are the ones responsible for dinner this week.
Which I have all planned out as of five minutes ago, when Claudia knocked on my door demanding my shopping list. I was rushing to finish it when she showed up. Not that I’m planning on attempting to cook anything challenging. Nope. I took it easy on myself, and after reading all the information on the guys that was given to me, it wasn’t all that hard to figure out what they would want to eat.
Then on Thursday, we again have a group day. The girls are going to spend the day shopping while the boys... well, I’m not sure what they’re up to. It wasn’t on my schedule. All I know is they’re not hanging out with us. It was made clear that we were to spend the day apart.
“Knock, knock,” Bella calls as she walks through my open door. “You ready to get your ass kicked in the kitchen?”
We went for a late-night swim last night with Jace and Drake. I let it slip that I was a horrible cook and that the thought of having to impress the guys with my skills terrified me. That’s what three of Jace’s concoctions will do to a girl.
Loosen her lips.
Which may have been his plan all along considering he was kissing me every chance he had.
Still, the purple liquid went down smoother than it should have with the amount of alcohol I’m sure he put in it. And, of course, he made sure it had a complimentary accessory. Last night it was a twisty straw, which only made me have to suck harder to get a mouthful.
Realizing what I just said in my head causes me to blush.
“Dirty thoughts?” Bella asks, shooting me a wicked grin.
“Something like that but probably not along the lines you’re thinking.”
“Jace?”
“Not exactly. Well, not entirely.”
“Hmm...” She taps at her chin with her pointer finger, her lips pursed as she tries to appear like she’s thinking super hard about what I could possibly be thinking about.
Grabbing my phone as it chimes in my hand, I say, “I was actually thinking about the drink he made last night and how hard it was to get the frozen goodness through the straw.”
“So you were thinking about sucking and Jace?” she asks, a little too perky for my liking.
Throwing my head back, I can’t help but laugh at innocent little Bella and her dirty mouth. The more I get to know her, the more I like her. She acts like a sweet, southern belle, but she is anything but. I figured that out after about five minutes of being around her when she’s intoxicated. She’s just as messed up as the rest of us.
And so is her story of heartache.
The short version... boyfriend of six years left her for a man. He said some nasty things about never loving her and only using her to figure out if he was really gay or not. Turns out, he’s not. She spotted him with another woman about a week before she signed up for the show. He confessed he lied because he thought it would hurt her less.
“Please don’t tell him that. It might give him ideas,” I beg as I close my door behind me. Courtney and Teegan are waiting on the main path for us.
We’ve decided to become a united front. Yes, we understand this is a competition, but it doesn’t have to mean we have to fight with each other. We made a pact, to accept that we’re probably interested in the same guys. That we’re kissing them. Fighting for them. We’re just not going to be bitches about it.
And we’re certainly not going to talk about it with each other. That would only cause problems.
Courtney kissing Lennon... don’t want to hear about it.
Teegan’s date with Jace later this week... not my business.
What I don’t know won’t hurt me. That’s the stance I’m taking right now. I’d rather have friends than enemies because this place can make you feel lonely.
Even when my phone refuses to stop chiming in my pocket.
Glancing at it before I silence the ringer, it’s another text from Wren. That’s twenty or so that I haven’t responded to or read. I was contemplating letting Jace text him again, but I haven’t seen him since last night. He said the guys wanted to hang out this morning.
I have a feeling they were making the same pact the girls did.