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“You know I can’t be a part of the game.” Stella turned and walked towards the snack bar.
Avery excused herself to the restroom. The beer was sitting heavy on her bladder. She wanted to say something to Stella but wasn’t sure what good it would do. What were they doing, anyway? This give and take didn’t seem to have an end.
As Avery washed her hands, the door to the bathroom opened, bringing with it a shot of noise that hurt her eardrums. Stella stood at the door, eyes searching hers. For what, she wasn’t sure, but Avery ached to reach out.
“I just—I need to use the bathroom,” Stella mumbled as she walked toward the stall.
“Stella.” Avery’s voice came out pained. To her surprise, Stella stopped and turned back towards her.
Two steps. Two steps were all it took for Stella to reach her. For her to push Avery up against the mirror and bring their lips together.
The earlier kiss with Quinn flew out the window. Avery’s body ached for Stella. It reached out to her, and sought her at night while she slept. Everything was right with the world when their lips touched.
Stella was the one to break the kiss. She rested her forehead against Avery’s, who was still recovering from the onslaught of emotions.
There wasn’t anything they could say. They both knew this was a stolen moment. Even knowing that, Avery still hurt as she watched Stella walk into the stall and close the door without another word.
“Are you serious?” Stella paced her room. She rifled around in the desk drawer for her headphones since her arm was cramping from holding the phone to her ear for so long.
It was two days removed from the bowling incident, which meant Stella had spent two days going over the incident every way to Sunday. Sleep was elusive. As if to prove the point, she walked past the mirror in her room, where bags under her eyes greeted her.
“No, I haven’t seen anything untoward between those two. I mean, they are close, but all the women are. It’s shocking that they would try something like that so close to the show's end.”
Stella listened to Neil, who was justifiably upset. This would hurt the timing of the finale.
“I hear you. I’ll deal with it. Yeah, go ahead and call Monica and Lou. I’ll wait for them. Thanks, Neil.”
She hung up the phone, pissed at what she needed to do.
A little bit later, Stella opened the door for Monica and the crew to come in. “Ladies, please keep this area clear,” Stella called, waving in the crew from outside.
The contestants knew something was up when they saw everyone filter through the door. Stella purposefully tried to keep her eyes away from Ocean and Denver, but whenever she tried not to do something, the harder that thing became. Her eyes flitted to the two women who were looking around nervously.
Everyone started whispering, knowing something was happening since the last time this crew was here, Echo had been kicked out of the house.
“What’s going on?” Quinn whispered, standing at her side.
“Come on, we’ll meet with them first.” Stella locked arms with Quinn as the crew walked upstairs.
Stella had done some soul searching in the wee hours of the night, trying to figure out how to feel towards Quinn. Her jealousy wanted to rear its ugly head, but it wasn’t Quinn’s fault. She was trying to find love; why wouldn’t she kiss the contestants?
In the meeting room upstairs, they talked about how to handle the expulsion. It was clearly stated in the rules that the contestants couldn’t fraternize with each other, which was precisely what Denver and Ocean had been caught doing on camera.
Quinn slumped in her seat when she saw the footage. “That sucks. I liked them.”
“Are we all in agreement?” Stella asked the group. Everyone nodded without saying much more.
“I’ll go get them.” Lou stood.
“No, let’s go to the living room. That way, the cameras can capture everyone’s reactions,” Monica suggested.
Stella nodded her acceptance of the idea, knowing it would make for better TV if they captured it on camera.
Everyone settled in chairs around the room. The contestants wiggled around, looking nervous. Stella took a moment to make eye contact with everyone. Her heart sped up when she landed on Avery.
Cleaning her throat, she said, “Everyone here knows the rules. They are here for our safety, the success of the show, and to keep everything fair.” Stella paused, letting her words sink in. Denver and Ocean exchanged glances, guilt coating their faces. “Two of you have a good idea why we are here.”
Ocean leaned forward, her hands balled into fists. “We’re all adults here.”
