“What crawled up your ass and died?” Courtney asks at the same time Teegan says “Well, we know who’s not getting any.”
“Of course, I’m not getting any. I’m not a slut that wants to have sex on television. I didn’t come here to get laid. I came here for a chance at love.”
“Listen to her,” Teegan starts. “She makes it sound like she’s innocent in this game. Guess what, Bella. None of us are innocent. Just ask Presley.”
With only one leg in a pair of skinny jeans Courtney threw over the door, my ears perk up at the mention of my name, causing me to stumble and fall on my ass.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I scream as I push myself off the floor, stripping the jeans from my leg in the process.
“You know exactly what it means,” Teegan practically seethes, her upbeat and annoyingly perky attitude flipping like someone just turned out the lights.
Or, rather, a breaker just blew and now we’ve all been beckoned to the dark side.
I’m not sure if I want to mess with Teegan’s dark side.
“I’m not sure why you want to pull me into this conversation, but I haven’t done anything.”
Someone lets out a huff of disbelief, kicking my irritation up a notch.
“I have a feeling Lennon and Jace would disagree with you,” Courtney says, tossing another pair of jeans over the top of the door. I catch them before they land on my head and chuck them back over. “Hey!”
Stepping back into the shorts I wore, I gather my things and swing the door of the dressing room open. Bella is sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. She looks miserable and ready to cry. Courtney is leaning against the wall next to her, arms crossed over her chest, her breasts practically spilling out of her tank top. There’s a sinister smile on her face as she glares at me.
“You can think whatever you want to think,” I start, taking a step toward Courtney, the smirk on her face quickly disappearing when she realizes I’m not going to bow down to her. “I know who I am. I know what I want. I know who I want it with. And none of that is your business or anyone else’s. So why don’t you mind your own business and keep your opinion to yourself.”
I’m mere inches from her by the time I’m done.
“If you want to slut it up on TV, we’re not going to stop you,” Teegan says from behind me. When I turn, she’s leaning against the open door of the dressing room she’d been in. “If you could just pick one of them and give the rest of us a chance, that would be great, though.”
Stalking past me, she tosses a pile of clothes in the bin near the exit. Courtney falls in step with her, and I hear her whisper, “Too bad we can’t vote her off. It sure would be a lot more fun without her around stealing all the attention.”
Clenching my fists, I’m caught off guard when I feel a hand on my arm and almost swing at Bella.
“Don’t listen to them. They both know you’re not sleeping around. It’s not your fault Lennon and Jace both want to be with you. It’s also not your fault they’re both bitches and can only be nice when the cameras are around.”
“They weren’t nice a minute ago,” I note, keeping a safe distance from Courtney and Teegan as we follow them out of the store and down the sidewalk.
“That’s because the cameras weren’t in there with us. Why else do you think they went into attack mode? The cameraman wasn’t allowed beyond the entrance, and you just so happened to pick the stall farthest from the door. It was a clear plan of attack on their parts.”
Fuck!
It’s bad enough I’ve been dreading having dinner with Lennon later this week, knowing there’s going to be tension. Now I have to watch my back at every turn.
“Who is it Teegan wants?” I ask Bella.
“Jace, I think. She was watching you two in the hot tub.”
Sucks to be Teegan. She can’t have him. He’s mine. Today. Tomorrow. And long after this stupid show is over.
I wonder if I can quit. I mean, it’s pretty late in the game. It would be like throwing away money at this point. Plus, the girls can’t vote me off, and I get along with all the guys. I feel safe for the most part. Even after screwing up dinner pretty bad last night, I didn’t get the impression that Drake was ready to vote me off.
“Well, she can try for him. You can try for him. Nothing in this game is guaranteed. He could be gone in a few days, or I could. Maybe it’ll be Teegan. Whoever goes home on Sunday, it changes the entire dynamic of how this game is played. I know people are trying to make alliances. I’m not one of them. I’m not using Jace or Lennon to get to the finish line. Hell, I didn’t even want to be here at first.
“So, don’t worry about them, Bella. I’m not going to. Go for who you want to go for. Have fun. Most importantly, make sure you’re just being yourself. The last thing you want is to fall in love with someone who doesn’t really know the real you.”
Bella is quiet the rest of the day as we follow Courtney and Teegan from store to store. The number of bags hanging from their arms grows exponentially while I’m clutching one bag with a gift for Naomi in it. That makes it easy to check my phone when I hear it chime.
JACE: Guys are heading to a bar to listen to a live band play. Want to meet up with us?