by Morgan Rae
The production assistants fit us with waterproof lavalier microphones. Tonya waits patiently until everyone is camera ready before she speaks.
“Are you ready for your first couples’ competition?” Tonya beams.
“Think the question is, are you punks ready to get your asses handed to you?” Bryce cackles as he tosses his arm around Margo’s lithe shoulders. She adjusts her Ray-bans and sucks her martini from a straw. Bryce and Margo have taken over the open bar single-handedly. I’ve seen Bryce passed out in the sand in various states of undress more times than I care to remember.
Shaya, bless her, sucks air in through her teeth. “Honey, you’ll need more than hot air to lift this bubble butt. Let’s get this party started.”
We pile into the ship two-by-two, like some mass-produced Noah’s Ark. Damien and I tuck in the back of the boat; I learned my lesson on the way over. Shayla squeaks and laughs into Darius as the spray from the bow of the boat splashes her.
The motorboat takes us a little way off shore before it purrs to a stop in front of a tiny floating dock. “Here we are,” Tonya smiles, after one of the production assistants fix her windblown hair so she’s camera ready. “As you’ve probably guessed by now, our next task will involve a little physical excursion, healthy competition, and plenty of teamwork.” The boat bobs lightly on the small swells as she speaks. There is no escaping the sunrays out here and I’m suddenly glad this challenge involves getting in the water.
“Your goal,” Tonya continues, “is to be the first team to get all your flags from one end of the obstacle course to the other. Each pair has two flags, one for each person. Shayla and Darius are team yellow, Bryce and Margo are team red, and Damien and Tomlin are team blue. You must scale the hanging bars, climb over the floating tires, and then swim to the other end of the dock. This will be a tag team race, so after one person goes, the other will follow. You get to decide who goes first. Remember, this will be timed, so choose wisely. The team that wins will receive a special reward in their cabin. The team that loses will be sent home. Now,” Tonya smiles broadens, “Who wants to go first?”
Damien quirks his eyebrows at me. “Lady’s choice.”
I shake my head. “You first. I’ve got to work up to it.”
“Right then.” Damien yanks off his shirt. “I’ll go.”
Painfully aware of the cameras around us, I grip his shoulders and yank him down for a quick kiss. “Good luck,” I tell him.
“Thank you,” he grins. With that, he straightens up and stands on the edge of the boat. “Let’s get this over with.”
A brief, unexpected silence falls over our party. It takes me a second to realize why. No one else has gotten to see Damien shirtless. Both women’s jaws go unhinged as they focus their eyes on his chest.
“Brave soul,” Tonya purrs. “The clock is starting…now.”
Damien tents his hands above his head, lunges off the side of the boat, and dives into the water with perfect form. I don’t know what I expected from him, maybe a lazy, unkempt musician incapable of getting off the couch? Whatever my expectation was, it was not him immediately scaling the ladder and swinging from one rung to the other, like it’s easy.
Everyone on the boat breaks out into whoops and cheers, egging him on. It doesn’t matter that we’re all on different teams right now, this is fun. For a second, even I’m caught up in the spirit of it all and I shout, “Go, blue team! You’ve got this!”
“Whew!” Shayla announces once she settles down at the bench, “How much does Damien bench press, Tomlin? Ya know, for scientific research reasons.”
“I’d let him press me,” Margo adds.
“Girl, you ain’t wrong,” Shaya says. The two women cackle and I feel a stirring of jealousy flair up. He’s mine.
Whoa. Where did that thought come from? He’s certainly not mine, we’re a perfectly good fake couple at best. But the way they look at him, like wolves licking their lips over a leg of lamb, makes a spike of possessiveness shoot through me.
“Relax,” I warn them. “Damien Blaze is closed for business.”
Margo’s eyes flash toward mine. “That’s not what Auden said,” she says before she wraps her lips around her straw and sucks down more margarita. I’m seized with the sudden urge to throw her drink in her face and push her over the edge of the boat.
This reality show is getting the best of me. I’m better than this. I press my lips in a tight-lipped smile, “Right,” I say sarcastically. “Because gossip is always right.”
Margo wants a fight but I’m not taking the bait. Luckily for me, Bryce huffs like a horse and paces the back of the boat. “What’s so great about Damien Blaze?” he grunts. “He ain’t nothing but some redneck Ken doll.”
“That redneck Ken doll sold more albums in a year than you’ve sold in your entire career.” The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.
Bryce turns to me like he’s been slapped. Worse, I know, is that it’s true. Damien did sell more in a year than Bryce has sold ever. How do I know this? Because it’s my job to know.
But right now, it’s biting me in the ass. Bryce corners me and plants his hands on either side of me. He’s right up in my face trying to intimidate me. “You wanna go, little girl?”
“Bryce!” Margo hisses his name. She’s trying to protect me which is sweet, but entirely unnecessary.
“Little girl,” I scoff. “Go back to the frat house and call me when you’re ready to have an adult conversation.” I’m a sea urchin, ready to stick my spikes in the next person who dares say a bad word about Damien Blaze.
Water splashes around as Damien climbs up the side of the ship. He sopping wet, grinning, with the blue flag between his teeth. “Time is three minutes, forty-nine seconds!” Tonya calls out. Damien made it through the obstacle course like a beast, but that’s who he is, isn’t he? Damien sees a challenge and he conquers it.
“Your flag, princess,” he says as he drops the blue flag in my lap.
I pick it up and twirl it. “What are you, part merman?”
“I’d tell you,” he says as he perches on the ledge beside me and catches his breath. “But then I’d have to kill you.”
His wet swim shorts leave little to the imagination. My mouth goes dry and my thoughts scatter. Well, one thought lingers. Holy hell, he’s hung.
“You all right?” his eyebrows knit with concern.
I come back to the real world and quickly pass him a dry towel,. “Here,” I tell him. He thanks me and dabs the sea salt off his skin.
Damien broke the ice and, after that, everyone dives in one by one. The couples holler and encourage each other. So far, the only one who gives Damien a real run for his money is Darius.
Maybe if I were about ten years younger and less inclined to give a damn about my reputation, I would have thrown myself into the fray, laughing and giggling and jumping on the giant inflatable water toys. But I’m too old to pretend I’m in a wet t-shirt contest at spring break. Moreover, I’m working. I detach my gaze from my competitors and focus on the production crew instead.
I notice no one has a stopwatch out. It doesn’t look like anyone is timing these races. So, if we’re not judged on our time then it’s something else. But what?
I put my reporter hat on. This isn’t Survivor, a physical competition like this shouldn’t even be on this show. A feat of strength has little to do with matters of the heart. What spin are they putting on this, exactly? My brain starts spinning.
“Goddammit, Margo!” Bryce barks at his fiancée. “Get those spaghetti arms moving! Put your back into it!”
“I’m trying!” Margo spits back as she clambers up the third tube, but it’s clear by the way her voice cracks that she’s close to tears.
Out of the corner of my eye I see a production assistant lean over and murmur into another’s ear. She nods and her eyes focus on Bryce and Margo with hawk sharpness.
They’re not testing our time,
they’re testing how well we work together. That’s the catch and right now, Margo and Bryce are failing miserably. On the other hand, Shayla and Darius move like a well-oiled machine. If we want to beat them, it’s time I get creative.
I’m up next. I have to think up something and fast.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: DAMIEN
The obstacle course left my muscles burning. It was a challenge, that was for sure, but the physical excursion felt good. Much as I hate to admit it to myself, my body is accustomed to getting laid a couple times a week. Trapped on an island and forced to keep my hands to myself every night while Tomlin sleeps soundly beside me has left me a bit pent up.
I’m grateful to exhaust my energy, even if this whole challenge is damn ridiculous. I rest and catch my breath until Tonya calls the next candidate.
“Tomlin Murray,” she smiles. “You’re up!”
Tomlin delicately pulls her shirt off and folds it up beside me. She looks good in a bathing suit. She has a beautiful body with full curves and I feel the impulse to wind my arm around her, pull her against me, and cover her in light kisses. Unfortunately, there’s a time and place for that and right now is not it. The nerves roll off of her every time she tucks her hair behind her ear.
“You’ll be alright,” I tell her.
Tomlin hooks her arms around me then and pulls me into a hug for good luck. Her lips meet my ear as she whispers, “I can’t swim.”
“What?”
She pulls away from me quickly and scales the side of the boat to get down to the starting dock. She has a look of utter determination on her face.
“Whew, Tomlin! You go girl!” Shayla shouts.
Unease tingles over my skin.
“Ready, set…go!” Tonya calls out.
Without hesitation, Tomlin begins to climb the bars. She’s struggling, but making remarkable effort. Quietly, my chest swells and I find I’m proud of her.
“Hey, stud,” I can feel Margo’s eyes on me as she flops down beside me. “We have a bet going. How much can you bench press?”
She drapes herself over the back of the boat and pushes her chest out. I can smell the alcohol on her breath as she tries to lure my eyes away from Tomlin. A week ago, I would’ve fed right into it, but now my eyes are fixed squarely on Tomlin as she descends the ladder and rubs her arms in preparation. If she can just stay on the course, she’ll never have to even touch the water.
“Another time then, yeah?” I brush her off brusquely, my gaze never leaving Tomlin. I hear Margo huff moodily before she pushes off to go join Bryce on the other side of the boat.
Just then, Tomlin’s hand slips a rung. My nerves spike with fear and a collective gasp rises. She tries to save it at the last second, but her fingertips only graze the next bar before she falls straight into the water.
“Dunked!” Margo laughs. The others cackle, even though they all fell off the obstacle course at some point themselves. I’m not laughing. My eyes are stuck on Tomlin in the water. She’s floundering, trying to get to the floating landing, but it’s a good few feet away from her and she’s just barely treading water.
My heart hammers in my chest.
“Uh…guys?” Shayla is the first to stop laughing. “Is Tomlin okay?”
“Holy shit,” Margo says. “She can’t swim.”
I’m already on the edge of the boat. I don’t waste another second before I dive. I cut straight through the cool ocean water and swim to Tomlin. When I get close, I can hear her spluttering and choking. Hang on, baby, I’m almost there.
I reach her in seconds flat. She’s slapping at the water and I wrap an arm around her to pull her up as I tread my legs. “Calm down, I’ve got you,” I tell her.
Her wide eyes fix on my gratefully, but she’s still coughing too much to say anything. I turn towards the boat and move her hands to my shoulders. “Hold on,” I tell her.
She does, winding her arms around my throat like a child. It constricts my breathing slightly, but I’m just glad she’s hanging on. With swift, sweeping strokes, I swim back to the boat with Tomlin on my back. I carefully untangle her once we get to the ship and help guide her up the steps. I’m quick on her heels. As soon as she gets inside the boat, Darius hands her a towel and she flops down on the floor of the boat and cowers in it.
I lower myself down beside her. Everyone crowds us, but my attention is solely on her as she coughs. One of the cameramen hands her a bottle of water and she thanks him between coughs.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
She turns to me once she catches her breath. She looks like a wet kitten, small and shaken. “The flag…”
The flag. It’s so endearing, I would laugh if I weren’t so concerned. “Screw the flag,” I say. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”
She shivers and curls up against my chest, the towel wrapped around her like a blanket. I’m only vaguely aware of the cameras zeroing in on us, capitalizing on her misery. My attention is solely on her and I hold her tightly, protectively, and listen for the steady rise and fall of her breaths.
“That’s a wrap,” I hear Tonya tell the cameramen. “Let’s get back to shore before we lose light.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: NANCY
The truth? I can swim. Actually, I’m a great swimmer. I was on the swim team in college.
But if the producers of Destination: Desire want a love story, then a love story they’re going to get. Me, the hapless victim, Damien, the knight in shining armor. It’s perfect.
Almost too perfect. Damien holds me against his strong chest as the boat thumps and growls on the way back to shore. I’m keenly aware that despite everyone being on the boat, all the cameras and mics are aimed at us. It’s a bizarre feeling and it makes my skin buzz. So, this is life on the other side of the lens. I’m no longer watching the fairytale play out. I’m starring in it with Damien playing the prince that breaks me out of my self-inflicted tower.
Maybe I’m starting to believe my own fantasy, but I can’t help curling up tighter against the warmth of his bare chest. I can hear his heart, beating steadily against my ear, and it lulls me.
We get to shore and the bonfire is already roaring at the beach. Time for another powwow. We all leave the boat and file around the fire. There’s an empty spot where Chase and Auden used to be, a blaring reminder that life on this beach is not to be taken for granted. The rug could be pulled out from under our feet at any moment. For a second, panic grips my chest.
What if I pushed our luck too far? The move I pulled was incredibly risky. Yes, we put on a good show, but we’re also the only couple that failed to get both of our flags back on the ship. My heart hammers against my ribcage.
“Listen,” I tell Damien, “if we get kicked off today, I’m sorry—”
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Damien says quickly. He cups my face and presses a soft kiss to my lips. The touch of his mouth cools the anxious heat in my veins and calms me instantly. When he breaks the kiss, he adds, softly, “It was a hell of a ride.”
I let out a breath of a laugh. How can he make me laugh even when my stomach is clenched with nerves? No sooner have I pulled myself together than Tonya clears her throat. All the other couples have been chattering anxiously but as soon as Tonya makes a noise, everyone goes silent. The tension hangs like smog in the air.
Tonya is prim and proper and she breaks into a perfect smile. The cameramen pace around the circle and focus the lens on her. “Today,” she announces, “everyone engaged in a test of physical strength and emotional resolve. As you know, we promised the winner of today’s challenge a very special reward.” Between her fingers, she lifts a set of two large, old-fashioned keys. “Each of your bungalows has two locked boxes. These keys will open the box and reveal your own, unique prize to help you learn more about your partner. The losing couple must pack their bags and take the boat back to the mainland tonight.”
She dangles the keys temptingly. I’m itching with curiosity
to know what is in those damn boxes. “Now,” Tonya says, “for the results.”
Everyone holds their breath. The bonfire crackles and spits embers as the cameraman hands her a piece of paper and she unfolds it to read the results.
“Shalya and Darius had the best time, retrieving both their flags in six minutes, twenty-nine seconds.”
Shayla screeches while Darius slaps her palm in a high five. I can’t be mad at them, they’re both so damn cute together.
“Meanwhile,” Tonya continues, “as we know, unfortunately, Damien and Tomlin failed to complete the challenge. Therefore, they have the worst time.”
I intake a sharp breath. That’s it, it’s over. It’s bizarre, I have no horse in this race, I’m not losing anything, really. I can still whip up a damn good story about a reality show gone wrong. But the thought of leaving this show makes my heart ache. It occurs to me I don’t want to leave Damien. I don’t want to stop playing this game.
Damien gives my hand a tight squeeze. When I look up, he’s giving me a smile. I give his hand a squeeze back and rest my head on his shoulder.
“However,” Tonya says suddenly, interrupting, “today’s challenge was about more than physical strength. Today was a test to see how strong you stood as a couple in the face of competition and adversity. Although Damien and Tomlin failed to collect their flags, there is no questioning their devotion and support of each other. Meanwhile, Bryce and Margo failed to work together and constantly went head to head, to the point that Margo nearly broke into tears. In light of this, we have decided to call Damien and Tomlin the victors of this challenge and award them the keys to their rewards.”
I can’t believe it. Excitement buzzes through my blood and a wide grin stretches across my face. When I turn to Damien, he’s wearing the same dumb grin.
“Oh my god!” I laugh and throw my arms around him. He squeezes me back and I can feel the relief settle in between us.
“Keys,” Tonya reminds us.
“Yes, of course. Thanks,” Damien says as he unwinds himself from me just long enough to grab the two sets of keys.