by L. P. Dover
She takes in a deep breath and smiles. “Wyoming. I love the mountains out there. They’re so majestic.”
Out of all the places she could pick, that’s the last destination I would’ve expected to hear come from her lips. “Wow,” I say. “I’m shocked.”
Her brows lift. “Why?”
I bump her with my shoulder. “Didn’t take you as an outdoorsy girl.”
She laughs. “It’s been a long time since I’ve actually gone on any kind of vacation, but yeah, I love the outdoors. Hiking is my favorite thing in the world.”
That’s a woman after my heart. I haven’t met any woman who likes to do anything other than shopping in a long time. Every second I spend with Allie, she surprises me more and more. If only she felt the same way about me. There’s still time to make her see that I’ve changed.
By the time we get back to the car, we’re exhausted. We swam in the natural pool for as long as we could and ate our lunch by the water. Bouncing around in a Jeep for hours along with the sun beating down on you can really take it out of you, but it was worth it. We got to see all of Arikok National Park. If Jean and Stan didn’t have to film, I would ask one of them to drive so I could close my eyes right now and take a nap. Allie’s a trooper on our drive back. She talks to me the entire time, pointing out random things on the side of the road, keeping me awake and focused. Sometimes her exuberance is so over the top, I find myself wanting to kiss her. Who am I kidding? I’ve wanted to kiss her since last night. I’d really love for one of our envelopes to say, “Stay inside and play games all day.” We’d play doctor, strip poker, and seven minutes in heaven if I had my say.
The valet greets us when I pull into the hotel. Both doors fly open and we’re helped out of the car. As soon as I step into the lobby of the hotel, I stop and lift my face to the blowing air. Allie’s arm touches mine and when I look over at her, she’s doing the same thing.
“This feels so good.”
“It does. I can’t believe how hot it was out there today.”
“I can’t believe we couldn’t swim in the ocean,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong, the natural pool was awesome. At least we got to cool off there, but it would’ve been nice to swim during our stops in the park. They better give us a snorkeling trip.”
“Give your sister a list of places we want to visit and things we want to.”
“That’s a great idea,” she says through laughter. “I should get preferential treatment, especially since—” her eyes drop from mine.
“Since you were stuck with me?”
“No, I wasn’t going to say that.” But she was. I can see it in her eyes. I should laugh it off and act like it doesn’t bother me, but it does. Clearly, I’m not doing enough to show her how sorry I am for what a jerk I was in high school. Thing is, I never meant to be a jerk. It was just anytime I was around her, I was a dumb jock and didn’t know how to act or stand on my own two feet.
“I’ll meet you at dinner,” I tell her as I walk away. Instead of heading toward the elevators I veer off toward the bar. The thought of staying in there until dinner is appealing, but I want to take a cold shower and try and put some negative thoughts behind me. I find the stairs and take them two at a time until I reach my floor. Thankfully, the door is close to my room and I don’t have to sneak by Allison’s room to reach mine. I’d like to think she’s standing at her door, staring out the peep hole and waiting for me to walk by.
Back in my room, I go right into the bathroom and strip down. I don’t bother looking in the mirror to see my temporary tattoo as turn the shower on and step in. The cold is a shock to my system but a welcome one. I stand there, letting the water rain down on me, numbing my thoughts. By the time I shut the shower off, my teeth are chattering. Of course, it doesn’t help that the air conditioner has kept my room at a cool sixty-five degrees. Instead of dressing, I crawl into bed, set an alarm and doze off. I need some sleep and a fresh mind if I’m going to make it through dinner.
When my alarm goes off, I’m in a foul mood. I didn’t sleep well and could never fully fall asleep. Each time I closed my eyes, visions of Allison filled my mind. I hate the way I left things and I should’ve played the whole thing off. But I didn’t and now I’m paying for it.
Once I’m dressed, I make my way to the dining hall. This is the only time the cameras are off, which I’m thankful for. Allison is already sitting, and I make my way to her. She’s wearing a white dress, her hair is curled and pinned off to the side. I officially hate her make-up team because they’re making her look irresistible. I suppose that means they’re doing their job.
“Once again, you look beautiful,” I tell her as I sit down.
“Thank you. Is everything okay?” she asks in a hushed tone.
“Yeah, I needed a nap. I get cranky when I’m tired.”
She laughs. “Me too, although I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about what I said . . . well, almost said. I didn’t mean it, Hudson. I’m really enjoying our time together.”
“Me too.” I reach for the box in front of me and shake it. “What’s this?”
“I’m not sure. Each couple has one.”
When the servers arrive with our dinner, I put the box down and dig in. Allie and I make small talk until Ryan enters the room. He stands at edge of the room and taps a fork against his glass.
“Gentlemen, nothing is as it seems. Each of you have a box. Inside the box is an opportunity, a chance to switch things up. The question before you is this—do you want to stay with your match or swap? If you want to swap, open your box now.”
What the actual fuck?
The room is quiet.
The women look pissed.
And the men are confused.
Eight
Allison
There’s a box on the table that has me nervous, but I try to ignore it. Each couple has one on their table, but nobody else opens theirs. From what I can see, everyone is curious about it. Hudson and I talk about our Jeep tour and how much fun we had. I’m starting to really enjoy being around him, but I can’t help but feel like something’s about to happen. We’re on a reality TV show. Everyone knows there’s going to be some kind of drama mixed in at some point.
And just like clockwork, Ryan walks into the dining room with a mischievous smile on his lips, followed by his camera crew. Oh yeah, something’s up. He stands at the edge of the room and taps a fork against his glass.
“Gentlemen, nothing is at it seems. Each of you have a box. Inside the box is an opportunity, a chance to switch things up. The question before you is this—do you want to stay with your match or swap? If you want to swap, open your box now.”
The room falls silent and I’m in shock. Is this what Erin was talking about when she mentioned switching things up? Under normal circumstances, I would’ve been all for Hudson getting rid of me, but now? The thought of him being with one of the other women infuriates me. I don’t like it. There are mixed feelings throughout the room. Some of the men look as if they’ve won the lottery while some of the women are livid. In all reality, I don’t care what any of them decide. My only concern is Hudson. I’m afraid to look at him. I don’t want to see the excitement in his eyes about being with someone else like some of the other men. I search out the room for Makayla and once her dark red hair comes into view, I focus on her face. She’s upset. It’s obvious the douchebag she’s with wants to be with someone else. His hands are on the box and he starts to open it. The same goes for four of the other men. When they open the boxes, there are eggs inside with their names on it.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and open my eyes back up, slowly sliding my gaze toward the dreaded box on the table. I half expect to see Hudson’s hands on the box and the look of contemplation on his face … but that’s not what happens. The silver box has been pushed to the side of the table with the ribbon perfectly intact. When I meet his gaze, he smiles at me with that devilish smirk of his.
“Worried?” he asks, grinning wide
r.
The knot in my stomach eases and I breathe a sigh of relief. “I hate you right now.”
He laughs quietly, but abruptly stops when arguments erupt in the room. A couple of the women storm out, their heels clanking on the marble floor. The four guys who opened the boxes stand together with Ryan while Makayla and one of the other women whose guy picked the box instead of her sit together quietly in the corner.
“I feel terrible for her,” I whisper, nodding over at Makayla. “She’s really nice.”
Hudson glances over at her. “The guy she was with is a jackass. She deserves better.” That gives me some relief, but I still feel bad. It has to be embarrassing to be dumped on TV with millions of viewers watching. “Did you think I was going to trade you in?” he wonders, picking up a piece of his steamed broccoli. He takes a bite and smiles while he chews it. I’m about to speak when he takes another bite, obviously amused with my reaction. “You should know I wasn’t about to let you go. I look forward to showing off my back tattoo with you by my side. Besides,” he says with a wink, “I had a good time today. I’m wearing you down.”
Playfully, I roll my eyes. “Whatever. Keep telling yourself that.” We both laugh quietly and watch the drama unfold across the room. Ryan and the others walk out, leaving all the remaining couples in the dining room. “Guess we finish eating?” I say, taking a bite of my mashed potatoes.
Hudson sits back in his chair. “I can’t wait to see what tonight’s episode will look like. Guess they’ll be showing off the new couples.”
I dread watching it. I have no doubt the camera guys caught all of my expressions. Hudson’s definitely going to see how scared I was, and no doubt, give me grief about it. I like that we can banter back and forth; it’s actually kind of fun. Every guy I’ve dated was serious, and in return, I guess I had no choice but to be that way too. I like being playful and mischievous. Hudson has definitely brought out that side of me.
Once everyone has finished dinner, none of us know what to do until my sister enters the dining room. She waves at everyone and winks at me before addressing us all. “Hey guys. I know we threw you for a loop tonight. We thought we’d spice things up a bit and I think we achieved that. But I am excited that most of you are happy with your partners. That’s the main goal of our show. Hopefully, our new couples will be able to find happiness as well.”
“What do we do now?” I stand and ask.
Erin’s smile broadens. “We’re giving you the night off. Tonight’s live episode will be showing clips of your day dates and then another ceremony where we match the new couples up together.”
The night off? I like the sound of that. Is it bad that my first thought was having Hudson come to my room? Then again, I don’t want the whole world wondering what we’re doing behind closed doors. It’s none of their business. The other couples start to disperse and Erin hurries over to me. “Mind if I borrow her for a sec?” she asks Hudson.
He holds up his hands. “Go for it. I’m going to finish my dinner.” He winks at me and I turn my back on him.
Erin leans in close and turns off her microphone, her voice low. “I tried to give you a way out, but it looks like he didn’t want it.” The cameras could see us, but at least they wouldn’t be able to hear us.
“So that’s what you meant by switching things up,” I whisper back. “You meant that literally.”
She snickers. “Hey, I tried. Looks like you’re not too upset about being stuck with Hudson though.”
I shrug. “Things have changed.”
Her eyes twinkle. “I see that. I’m glad he didn’t take the bait because our viewers love you two together. You’re the most popular couple here.” She nods over at her camera guys for them to leave. “All right, I’m heading out. Just to give you a heads up, the camera guys will still be around the resort. Make sure you tell Hudson before he visits you in your room.”
I snort. “Who says he’s coming to my room?”
Erin bats her eyelashes. “Oh, sweet sister, I know he wants you and you want him. If you don’t want the world knowing what you’re doing don’t let him be seen at your door. Then again, I know the viewers want to see him at your door.” She hugs me and giggles. “Have fun, Allie. I’m glad to see you’re enjoying yourself.”
She lets me go and some of the camera crew follows her out. Stan and Jean are still in the dining room. No doubt to follow me and Hudson back to our rooms. Just because we have the night off doesn’t mean we aren’t being filmed. Hudson stands when I make it back to the table. “Everything okay?”
I nod. “Yep.” But then I lower my voice. “I’ll have to tell you later.”
“Okay,” he says, sliding his hands in his pockets and regarding me curiously. I’m hoping he understands my meaning about later. It’d be nice to spend some time with him without the cameras. With Stan and Jean filming us, I don’t want the whole world knowing that whole switch debacle was my sister’s idea to get me away from Hudson. He reaches out for my hand. “Want me to walk you to your room? Don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”
“Same,” I agree in all honesty, taking his hand. I don’t know if the whole hand holding thing is just for the show, but it feels right. All I know is that I don’t want the night to end. Some of the other couples leave and we all go our separate ways. Hudson and I are the only ones in the hallway heading toward the elevators with Stan and Jean behind us. “I wonder what adventure we’ll be going on tomorrow,” I say as we wait for the elevator.
Hudson squeezes my hand. “Hopefully it involves some beach time. Gotta show off my perfect tan.” We both laugh and I’m not going to lie, I want to see his back. “You aren’t going to be embarrassed to be seen with me, are you?”
The elevator doors open and we all walk inside. “Not in the least,” I reply. “Next time don’t fall asleep around me. There’s no telling what I’ll do.”
He snorts. “I’ve already learned my lesson on that, cupcake.”
It only takes about fifteen seconds for the elevators to open up on our floor. We walk out and slow our pace on the way to my door. Stan takes the lead so he can get a front shot of us. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” Hudson says, stopping at my door.
I nod. “Yes, you will. And thanks for not opening the box.”
He smirks. “You’re welcome. I wasn’t about to give you up.”
If only he really thought that way. A part of me really hopes he does. Once this is all said and done, he’s going to be a celebrity with his sexy smile and hard ripped body. Ladies are going to be throwing themselves at him. I hate to admit it, but it makes me jealous.
“Goodnight, Hudson,” I murmur softly.
He pulls me into his arms. “Goodnight, Allie.”
Breathing him in, I don’t want to let him go. He slides down toward my neck and places a gentle kiss on my skin. “Answer your phone.” He says it quickly and so low I don’t know if he actually said it or not. Letting me go, he winks and turns on his heel. I watch him walk down the hall, but then I wave goodbye at the camera and open my door, shutting it quickly behind me.
A few seconds later, my room phone by the couch rings. I rush over to the couch and answer it as I sit down. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me,” Hudson says.
“What’s going on?”
He chuckles. “You said you were going to tell me something later. It’s later now. What did your sister want?”
With a heavy sigh, I close my eyes. “Don’t get mad, okay?”
“Uh-oh. That’s not something I want to hear.”
“It’s not that bad. Well, I guess it is depending on how you look at it. Then again, you know how much I hated you at the beginning.”
The line goes silent for a second. “Are you saying you don’t hate me now?”
I roll my eyes. “You know I don’t, Hudson. We’ve had a breakthrough. You’re not as bad as I thought you were.”
He laughs. “That’s good to hear. What did you do? Ask your
sister to come up with a way to get rid of me?” Biting my lip, I can’t even form a reply. I didn’t expect him to guess it that easily. My silence confirms it. “Wow, Allie. I’m impressed. You’re really handing me my ass on this show.”
Luckily, he doesn’t sound angry. “So, you’re not mad at me?”
“Hell no,” he replies with a laugh. “I’m just glad you didn’t want me to open the box. I could see it on your face. It gave me hope.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I lay down on the couch. “Thanks, Hudson. You’re starting to grow on me. I just want all of this to be real. It’s hard to be ourselves in front of millions of viewers.”
“It is real, Allie. Who I am right now with you is who I’ve been my whole life. You have no idea how many times I’ve wished you could see it.”
Butterflies flutter in my stomach. I haven’t had those feelings in a very long time. “I do see it.”
“What are you doing right now?” he asks.
My curiosity peaks and I sit up. “Just sitting on the couch. Why?”
“I’m coming over.”
I gasp. “You can’t. Stan and Jean will be out there waiting for one of us to leave. The last thing I want is the world thinking we’re sneaking around.”
He laughs. “Well, aren’t we?”
“You know what I mean.” Everyone will think we’re sleeping together. Even if we were, it’s not something I want the world to know. It’s none of their business.
“I get it,” he replies, his voice playful, “your virtue’s at stake. Don’t worry, no one will see me. I have a plan.”
“Which is?” I ask, feeling excitement shoot through my veins. I really want to know what he’s up to.
“You’ll see. I’ll be there in a minute.” He hangs up and I set the phone down quickly before rushing to the door to look out the peephole so I can open the door fast. My first thought is that he’s going to be in a disguise. Hudson was a jokester in high school so anything’s possible. About five minutes passes and then another five more. I start to doubt that he’s even going to come.