I also tried to spend a lot of time with Sunnie. During that first week, the celebutante had bonded with the chef, and they were rarely seen apart, so I felt like I was jockeying for her attention. They tended to talk about the same things over and over again; Sunnie would name drop famous people she’d hung out with, and Jayme would listen with wide, adoring eyes. I could only say “Gee, Sunnie, you’ve really dated famous movie stars?” so many times before I wanted to punch myself in the face. Though if I wanted the scoop about which tabloid celebrity had gone to rehab, Sunnie could give me the dish. Despite us not having much in common, I really did try.
Evenings were the best. Everyone would gather for dinner, and we’d all hang out, laughing and talking together, usually playing some sort of game. At night, the house felt like a big, ongoing dinner party. It was only when it was time to go to bed that it felt like a horror flick.
Unlike Sunnie, I hadn’t heard whispering in my pillow. I did hear the footsteps at night, though, and I’d woken Brodie up once to make sure he heard it too, but he’d only mumbled and rolled over. I thought about taping it, but my recorder was being put to better use in the flower pot of the smoking area.
I kept taping conversations, but most of them seemed to be along the same lines. Casper wanted us out. Sunnie liked Brodie and wanted to keep him. Jendan wanted to keep me for the same reasons. Marla was undecided. Mickey wanted to vote with whoever would keep him around. Fido wanted us out.
We were the perfect targets. At least, Brodie was. I was just collateral damage. And no one gave a crap about collateral damage.
So I did my best to make myself invaluable. I went up to the Power room and hung out. I painted Sunnie’s nails and listened to her stories about Hollywood. I admired Casper’s stories about the firehouse. I helped Jayme clean up in the kitchen when she cooked. I listened to Marla’s anecdotes about her kids. I even let Mickey rub my neck.
Once.
The reward challenge had been a shooting range with crossbows and fake vampire bats that shot across the sky. I’d deliberately failed it and then flattered the heck out of Fido when he’d won, going on and on about how good he was at the challenge to the point I disgusted even myself.
And when I couldn’t stand all the butt kissing any longer, I retreated to the house gym and exercised, venting my frustrations on the stairclimber or on a particularly grueling dance routine.
I was bent over, doing stretches, when Mickey entered the workout room. My ass was in the air, and I immediately straightened. “Hey, Mickey,” I said, pulling a few sweaty strands of hair off of my face. “How are you?”
“Better, now that I just had that amazing view.”
His smile was friendly, but his words were creepy. Ugh. I forced myself to keep smiling despite the fact that I wanted to retreat. I faced the workout mirror and raised an arm over my head and bent to the side, stretching it. “Let me know if I’m in your way.”
“I’m good,” he said, and he came up to stand next to me. As I watched in the mirror, he began to mimic my stretches.
Okay, that was weird. I stretched my other arm, bent to touch my toes, and then shot a quick glance over at Mickey.
Sure enough, he was still stretching his arms, but his gaze was on my ass.
God, that made me feel freaked out.
I straightened again and went to the weight bench.
“You need a spotter?” Mickey asked, coming to my side.
“No, actually, I’m okay.” I grabbed my towel, and even though I’d just warmed up, I decided it was time to leave. “I think I’m going to skip the workout for today.”
“Sore?”
No, your skeezy eyes are drilling holes into my skin. “Something like that.”
“I can give you a massage, you know. I have amazing hands.” He rubbed them in front of me and grinned as if I should be impressed.
“I’m cool, thanks.”
“No, really. I can make you feel better.” Before I could step away, he put a hand on the back of my neck and began to rub. “See? Don’t you like that?”
The guy was giving me the willies. I slid away, acutely uncomfortable. My hand went to my neck protectively, and I clutched my towel in front of me. “Like I said, I’m good.”
“Any time you want me to make you feel good, Kandis, you just let me know.” Mickey’s voice had gotten breathy. “I can give you a massage anywhere you like. I know how to unkink all your muscles. Though you might be the type that’s into kink.”
And he wagged his eyebrows at me.
Really? Really?
I shook my head, clutching my towel and heading for the door. “Really. I’m fine.”
I opened the door to escape the workout room, and I nearly ran smack dab into Brodie’s chest. I gasped and staggered backward.
Brodie smiled, reaching for me. “What’s the rush?”
“Nothing,” I said and sidled past him. “I just…I have to go.”
The smile on his face faded. “You okay?”
I nodded. “I just need to go.” I ran out the door and down the hall, leaving my partner alone in the work-out room with Mickey.
As I retreated, I heard Brodie’s voice rise. “Dude, why the f**k do you have an erection?”
I ran for the showers. At least there, I could avoid Mickey and any uncomfortable questions about why I was running away. The showers were an off-limits area amongst the house guests. We knew they would be filming us, but we tried to give each other privacy enough to towel off and get clean. As soon as the door to my shower shut behind me, I stripped, tossed my barely-used workout clothes in the corner, and stepped under the spray.
God, I was totally creeped out. Mickey had come on to me so hard that it had left me feeling dirty. Some guys didn’t take no for an answer or get subtle signals. Mickey didn’t seem to grasp signals at all, and I hated the thought of spending more time with him in the house. I scrubbed at my wet face, wishing I could wipe the memory of the last few minutes out of my mind. Jesus, I hoped that Brodie didn’t think I’d been coming on to Mickey. I wanted to gag at the thought.
“Coming in,” Brodie called, startling me out of my shower reverie.
“What?” I sputtered, wiping water out of my eyes. “Don’t come in here! The shower’s in use! I—”
My words died as Brodie entered the shower, ignoring all my protests, and stepped under the stream with me. He was wearing nothing but a pair of his workout shorts, and as I watched, he peeled those off and kicked them aside.
Well. Brodie wasn’t shy.
I crossed my arms over my br**sts and hunched over, my legs tightly crossed so he couldn’t see my lady parts. “Get out of here,” I hissed.
“Chill out, Kandis,” Brodie said. “You see my parts, I see yours. That’s not what’s important right now. We need to talk, and this is pretty much the only place we can do so privately.”
Water splattered my face, and I tilted my head to the side, trying to get out from under the stream. “What about?”
Brodie leaned in and whispered in my ear, his voice barely audible over the water. “Mickey. Was he harassing you?”
“You mean like the way you’re harassing me right now?” I sputtered.
“Get serious, Kandis. I’m not even looking.” His gaze remained on my face. “Okay? I just want to know if you’re okay. You looked freaked when you left the gym, and Mickey had a boner, and I know he’s been kind of handsey to you lately.”
I said nothing for a long moment, still feeling weirdly awkward about standing nak*d in a shower with Brodie, neither of us looking away from the other’s face.
“Come on. I have a sister,” Brodie said quietly. “I know some guys won’t take no for an answer. Mickey seems the type. I’m just trying to look out for my partner. I don’t like that he was bothering you.”
“He was coming on to me,” I admitted. “Grabbed my neck and tried to massage me again. Staring at my ass.” I shrugged and glanced away, staring at the tile wall. “The usual stuff.”
“Yeah, but he cornered you in a room by yourself and the dude had a boner. That’s not cool in my book.” When I looked back at him, he shook his head. “You leave his ass to me. I’ll handle him.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Don’t you worry,” Brodie said. “You leave that ass to me. He’s not going to bother you again.” And before I could reply, he stepped back out of the shower and shut the door, leaving me alone in the stall once more.
Well, that was…bizarre. I tiptoed to the edge of the door and peered out, watching Brodie’s nak*d, wet ass as he strode across the bathroom to grab a towel.
He hadn’t even looked at my nak*d body once. Huh.
~~ * ~~
“Sunnie and I have Power this week,” Casper said, fingering the ‘P’ necklace that hung around his throat as the next live episode was taped. “And it’s time for us to make a decision as to who should stay and who should go.”
We all sat on the couches, nervous, waiting for the nominations. I chewed on my thumbnail, my foot fidgeting a mile a minute. I just wanted this over with already. I stood a pretty good chance of staying if our team was nominated. They’d probably get Brodie out of here over me, right? So in theory I should be okay. But…I couldn’t help but be anxious. And part of me wanted both of us to stay. I didn’t trust Brodie as far as I could throw him, but I liked Brodie as a person.
It was hard not to like him. He went through life as though everyone loved him and would put up with any of his schemes. And because he acted like that…it was impossible not to like the guy. He was charismatic, fun, and always up for a conversation, flirting, or even just a round of cards or checkers to beat the boredom.
I looked over at my partner, but he was smiling at Sunnie, who giggled and flipped her long red hair. I frowned. Sunnie would vote to keep Brodie. She’d been all over him like glue this week. It had been obnoxious the first week to see them casually flirting with each other, but this week it was like every time I turned around, they were off in a corner, whispering and laughing together, or swimming together.
Not that I’d noticed. Not that it bothered me. Not that I thought he should be spending his time with me, his partner. Oh no.
“This was a difficult decision for Sunnie and me to make,” Casper was saying, drawing out the drama. The expression on his face was intense. “But ultimately, we feel it’s the right one.”
I closed my eyes, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“And so, we’ve decided to nominate…Mickey.”
My eyes snapped open. I looked over at my partner in surprise. Brodie didn’t look shocked at all. In fact, he looked…smug? Had he somehow set this up?
I watched, mystified, as Mickey headed to the nomination chairs, frowning.
“Mickey, since you are the only one left on your team,” Becky called out sweetly from the TV screen, “that means you are automatically eliminated. Please exit the house.”