“Never eat shredded wheat,” she mumbled.
“What are you whispering about?”
“Nothing.” Cassidy noticed the arrow in the middle had one red end and it was currently pointing at the E.
That must mean something.
She turned and the red end of the arrow stayed where it was, while the directional letters spun beneath it.
“A compass always points north, right?” She turned a little further until the red end of the arrow pointed directly in front of her and the N was underneath the arrow. “So, this must be north?”
She glanced at Evan hoping for confirmation before they set off on their hike. He gave a quick nod and crooked smile.
“You better be sure about this, Cassidy. If you get us lost in the wild, I will eat you to save myself,” Zoe said.
“That’s disgusting. No one’s eating anyone. Besides, it’s a TV show. Are you really stupid enough to think they’d let two contestants, the hunky guy, and a few cameramen all wander off into the woods to get lost and never be heard from again?”
“You still think I’m hunky. I knew it.” Brad snickered like she’d admitted wanting to do dirty things with him.
“You — you know what I meant.” That sounded pathetic, even to her.
Great. Now he’ll think I want to kiss him again. Do I?
“I know exactly what you’re saying, or not saying since you seem to enjoy playing that way.” Brad winked and puckered his lips in a kissing face, teasing her.
“Okay, let’s go.” Cassidy hoped they’d start moving before she said anything else to accidentally encourage Brad. Cassidy hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders, grabbed another bag of gear, and a toolbox. She laughed as Zoe lifted her backpack and almost fell over under its weight.
Brad looped the rest of the bags onto his shoulders like a pack mule. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead before he’d taken a single step.
The group headed out on the trail with Cassidy leading the way. She held the compass in front of her to make sure the arrow always pointed at the N. She took careful steps on her wobbly heels over the uneven ground. This wouldn’t help Evan not worry about her hurting herself again.
After what seemed like eternity, they finally came to the tree she’d seen on the map. They turned left and followed the trail marked with yellow painted rings on nearby trees and stakes with the number five etched into them spaced every few hundred feet.
A few stakes later, a placard with the number twenty-three painted in bright blue appeared along the trailside.
“This is it.” She dropped her gear to the ground and collapsed onto a seat at the picnic table, instantly kicking off her shoes and rubbing her feet. “Thank God it wasn’t any further. I’m not sure how much more I could have carried those packs.”
“You’re telling me.” Zoe sauntered into camp, filing her nails. “These shoes were not made for this kind of abuse.”
“Finally.” Brad staggered into the camp. He dropped Zoe’s backpack to the ground as well as all the other things. “You’re carrying your own bag on the way back, Zoe.”
“No, I’m not.” She flopped down on the other side of the picnic bench and lay down across it like she was sun tanning at the beach.
“Can you move over so I can sit, too?” he asked, standing beside the table.
Zoe didn’t respond.
Cassidy sighed and slid down the bench to make room for Brad. He sat directly beside her, leaving little space between them. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him.
“Thanks, babe. You gonna make room for me in your tent, too?”
Cassidy blushed. “I don’t know. I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. We’re on TV, remember? America might jump to the wrong conclusions.”
“Or the right ones if you ask nicely. Besides, it’ll be great for ratings.”
Cassidy glanced at the bags in a heap on the ground. It had to be nearly lunch by how loud her stomach growled and it could easily take all afternoon to figure out how to set up one tent, let alone four tents. “We should get started on those tents soon. I don’t want to sleep out with the animals tonight.” And I’m not sharing.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” Brad said.
“Great. Um, thanks.”
Cassidy unzipped a tent bag and pulled out a sheet of instructions, studying it. She knelt in the dirt carefully tucking her skirt under her legs so she wouldn’t accidentally give America a peek at anything too interesting while she attempted to erect the tent. She had zero experience pitching a tent since every camping trip with her parents involved a cabin, a bed, and indoor plumbing.
“Hey, Zoe. Do you want to work together to pitch our tents?” Cassidy hoped for an extra set of hands, but wasn’t sure she wanted them to be attached to Brad.
“No, I don’t plan on pitching a tent.”
“Okay, so you’re sleeping with the bugs tonight? Because you’re not sharing my tent.”
“I wasn’t planning on sharing with you.” Zoe arched her eyebrows at Brad.
Brad grinned at Zoe and turned to face Cassidy. “Oh, this just got a lot more interesting. Are you going to let her stake her claim on me like that?”
Crap. What’s the right response?
“I said I was setting up a tent to sleep in. I never once said I’d be sleeping alone.”
Oh, good one.
“My, my, my. The gloves come off,” Brad teased. “No need to fight over me, ladies. There’s plenty of Brad for everyone to enjoy.”
There wasn’t that much, if I remember correctly.
Cassidy pulled hollow poles attached with some kind of stretchy string out of the bag and compared them to the set of instructions on the ground. Where are you when I need you, Keira? I bet you’ll laugh like crazy when you see this on TV.
It took Cassidy a few minutes to lay the tent out on the ground with long crisscrossing poles on top and clipped to the fabric. Now, she had to raise all four sides at once to make it dome-shaped like the picture showed. Grabbing the poles, she glanced at Evan for encouragement. His head nodded slightly, and he offered her a crooked smile. They were almost in position when one slipped out of her hand and fell back onto the tent, bringing the other pole and Cassidy with it. A muffled chuckle came for the direction of Evan’s camera. She straightened her skirt, determined to prove to herself and everyone else that she could pitch a stupid tent.
A while later, Cassidy stood with sweat streaming down her face and a wide grin stretching across her face. She gazed at the tent she’d erected. It was a little misshapen, but it was up. Hopefully it was secure.
She grabbed a bottle of water from one of the bags they’d carried. She chugged half the bottle in only a few gulps, then tilted her head back and poured the rest of the water onto her face, cooling her off and washing away the sticky sweat and dirt. It meant she’d have to steal a couple of minutes away in her tent to retouch her makeup, but at least she’d be clean.
“That’s reminds me of a shower we took once,” Brad said.
Cassidy’s mind skipped back to the showers they’d taken on mornings after Brad had spent the night at her apartment. She always ended up late for work those mornings. The memory made her smile — until she glanced up to find Evan staring at her. Oops.
Cassidy rummaged through a bag until she found a stash of granola bars. She chose one covered in chocolate — exactly what she needed to recharge. She took a seat at the picnic table to eat and rest while she watched Brad help Zoe with her tent.
A few minutes later, Zoe joined her at the picnic table while Brad tossed sleeping bags and pillows into each of the tents. Zoe had done a good job at playing damsel in distress, which meant Brad had basically erected her entire tent himself.
“I think we’re all set for tonight.�
� He sat at the table. “Now, I don’t want you girls fighting over me too much. You’re both welcome to share my tent.”
“So what’s next on the list for this fun challenge?” Cassidy didn’t want to say anything that would either incriminate her or encourage him.
“I hope it’s a pedicure and massage. I need it after all this manual labor.” Zoe checked her still-perfect nails. “When’s catering getting here? I’m starving.” Zoe peered into the trees like she might suddenly see a Starbucks.
“I don’t think there’s any catering.”
Zoe’s eyes clouded over in panic. “What do you mean no catering? What are we supposed to eat? Leaves? Berries?”
I bet Keira would know how to make a meal out of that. God, I miss that veggie-loving freak.
Zoe grabbed Brad’s bottle of water out of his hands and shook it at him. “Tell me there’s Perrier in that bag. I don’t drink pond water.” She threw the bottle on the ground with a flourish.
“I don’t think there was,” he said in a soothing voice. “But don’t worry. It’ll be okay. This stuff is good, too, and we’re only here for a day.” He put his hand on her knee, gently rubbing it.
Zoe’s icy demeanor melted at his touch. “Fine. I guess I can drink this. I’ve had to do plenty of other crap for shows. Now I need to freshen up in the ladies room. Where do you think that’s hiding?”
Cassidy and Brad glanced at each other, terrified. The only bathroom available was most likely an outhouse.
“Um, I’m pretty sure we passed a port-a-potty on the trail a few yards back.” Brad didn’t look Zoe in the eyes as he spoke.
Cassidy thought Zoe might faint. It wasn’t Cassidy’s ideal situation either, but she tried to make the best of it. It was camping, after all. What could you expect?
Zoe took a few deep breaths while her body visibly shook. When she’d finally steadied her temper, she sulked off in the direction they’d originally come.
“Well, she took that better than I expected.” Brad laughed.
“God help the poor production person who has to answer to her.” Cassidy shrugged. “Some people aren’t meant for roughing it.”
“I sure hope she pulls herself together soon or she might actually lose her mind when she finds out what we’re doing this afternoon.”
Cassidy stared at Brad with nervous anticipation. “Why? What are they making us do this afternoon?”
“Well it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told you. Let’s just say I’m not the only good catch around these parts.”
Oh no. He did not just imply that we’re going to be fishing, did he? I don’t like fish. I don’t touch fish. I don’t eat fish. I don’t touch the bait that catches said fish. I need to change out of these ridiculous clothes.
Evan grinned at her from behind his camera as though he found the idea of her fishing incredibly amusing. She didn’t find it amusing at all.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cassidy stood on the riverbank in jeans, a T-shirt, and sandals. The clear water rushed downstream over boulders and fallen trees strewn along the river’s edge. Just beneath the surface, shadows moved with the current.
Cassidy didn’t like to eat fish and had absolutely no desire to catch one. The only fish she could tolerate were the kind that were served battered and fried to a nice golden brown with a side of tasty tartar sauce. She could imagine Chip enjoying a good laugh when he’d come up with this idea.
It wasn’t enough they had to camp outside, build their own shelter, and use a portable toilet. Nope. They also had to catch their dinner. To prove what, she wasn’t sure.
Beside her, Zoe scowled at the plastic containers of bait. Once again, they shared the same feeling. Weird.
“Okay, Brad. What do I do first?” Cassidy asked.
“I think we take one of these things here, and stick it on the hook.” Brad scrunched up his eyes like he was trying to solve a complicated physics problem in his head.
“Wait. You’ve never fished, either?”
“Nope. Not even once.”
“Ugh, then why in hell are they making us do this? I thought this was something you loved. At least if it was one of your hobbies or something I could understand. But if you don’t even go fishing, then this is simply to make us look bad on national television.”
“It’s fun.” He laughed. “We can be fishing virgins together.”
Brad handed her a rod, then took a worm from the bait jar and handed it to her.
“Careful. Don’t push too hard, you don’t want to skewer your finger. Ouch.” He cried out and stuck his finger in his mouth. “Damn it, that hurt. My finger tastes like bait.”
Cassidy laughed at Brad’s clumsiness and slid her worm onto the hook. She heard quiet laughter from behind her and turned to see Evan trying very hard not to laugh at Brad. He failed miserably. She held up her hook with the worm on it and smiled at the camera.
“I did it.” Cassidy wished she could talk to Evan instead of to the camera. “What now?”
“Now I think you cast it into the water,” Brad said.
Cassidy glanced between the rod and the water. She’d seen fishing on TV a few times, but there wasn’t much fishing talk in New York. She sighed feeling foolish for not knowing how to cast the line, but she honestly didn’t. On TV, it looked like you wave your arm and the line sails out in a beautiful arch and lands gently in the water.
Easy as catching a cab on Fifth Avenue, right?
She held the rod in one hand with the hook dangling out to the side. She bent her arm back and then threw it forward like she was throwing a baseball. The hook swung forward, landing in the mud along the shore.
“I guess I didn’t do that hard enough.” She’d spoken out loud, but no one except Evan seemed to be listening.
And laughing, she noted.
She bent her arm back again and threw the rod forward as hard as she could, trying to make it to the water. The rod slipped out of her hand with the force of her throw, landing in the water with a splash.
Cassidy heard a distinctive snort from Evan’s direction, but was too embarrassed to find out if he was laughing at her or with her. Stupid fishing pole. Stupid fish.
She perched on the edge of the river and reached forward as much as she could to try and grab her fishing rod without actually stepping into the water. She touched the end of it right as it started to float down river. She wrapped her hand around the rod and pulled it toward herself as she stood. She was halfway up when the rod pulled back against her hand and she lost her balance, falling face first into the cold river with a rather large splash.
“For the love of all things holy! Again, I make a fool of myself. Can someone help me out of here?”
Brad came to the edge of the water and pulled her to her feet. “You didn’t have to make such a splash to get my attention. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Wet and humiliated on TV again, but fine.” Her wet shirt clung to every contour, making her feel like she was standing there naked. She tried to pull the shirt away from her body, but as soon as she released it, it suctioned right back against her like a second skin.
Awesome. Let’s give the people a show, Cassidy.
She scanned the surrounding area for a private place to change. Thank goodness she’d planned ahead and figured with her track record, something like this was bound to happen and had brought extra clothes. Otherwise, it would have been a long, cold, revealing afternoon of fishing.
“I need to get out of these wet clothes.”
Brad winked at her with a lopsided grin spreading across his face. “I can help you with that. It’s not like I haven’t seen it before. In fact, I’ve been seeing a lot of you in my dreams lately.”
“Thanks for sharing, Brad, but I’ll just go find a big bush to hide behind.”
&nb
sp; Cassidy wandered into the woods away from the stream with her extra clothes in hand. Evan followed behind her with a huge smile on his face.
“What are you smiling at? Do you think you’re going to see me naked? Think again.” She wandered behind a tall bush before taking off her top and putting on a clean, dry T-shirt.
“Or maybe you’re laughing at my clumsiness again. That’s it, isn’t it?” She pulled on a fresh pair of jeans. “You’re laughing because this is another challenge I suck at. I’m trying my best.”
Evan pushed his lips together into a tight line but she could see he still fought not to laugh. Every few seconds a snort escaped and his face turned a brighter shade of red from lack of oxygen.
She stormed back around the bush, gripping her wet clothes in a fist and breezed past him. “I’m going to try again and this time I’m going to catch a stupid fish and prove you wrong. Got that?” She turned to face the camera head-on. “Did you hear me, America, I’m going to catch a fish.”
“You know you’re not supposed to talk to the camera, right? That’s like reality show 101,” Zoe said.
“Oh, shut up, Zoe.”
Stomping back to the edge of the river, she picked up her fishing rod. She checked to make sure the worm was still secure on the hook. Then she reached back her arm, held tight to her rod and threw it toward the river. The line sailed through the air with a zing and plunked into the water ten feet away.
“Nice one, Cassidy.”
“Wow.” Zoe voice dripped with venom. “She threw a hook in the water. Let’s see her catch an actual fish without needing another change of clothes.”
“At least I’m trying.”
Zoe grabbed her rod and came to stand beside Cassidy. “Brad.” Zoe fluttered her eyelashes. “Can you help me?”
“Sure.” Brad moved to aide Zoe again.
Brad fed the worm onto the hook for Zoe then showed her how to hold the rod. He stood behind her and put his arms around her waist, placing one hand over hers to help guide the rod. Together they flicked the rod forward and back a few times, shifting their weight with each movement. Finally, they threw the rod forward and sent the line sailing into the river.
Unscripted Love: The Complete Reality TV Romance Collection Page 20