“Are you seriously blaming me?” he yelled back.
“You’re the one out there,” she grumbled before shooting Arnie and me a glare. Clearly someone was a sore loser.
“I can’t believe we weren’t last,” I whispered to Arnie, not bothering to mask my excitement. My face fell when I remembered to look down at myself and took in my mud-soaked appearance. Judging by the barely dirty clothes of everyone else, Arnie was the only one who had sent a partner that route. I spotted the demon goats just left of the finish line. Several of them had climbed on the hay bales that made upthe maze, while some stood around eating grass. Now that I could see them, they were almost cute.
Almost.
“It was hard to pay attention to the other teams when I was so focused on you,” Arnie admitted. “But it did seem like Eli and Sofia were struggling to communicate.”
He was right; Sofia was giving terrible instructions. I even caught her saying left when she meant right. Eli remained calm and carefully went through the motions before finally crossing the finish line a few moments later. He removed his blindfold and scanned his surroundings. His eyes lingered on me.
“Congratulations!” Rita cheered while walking over to us, several cameramen hot on her tail. Internally, I groaned at the thought of my grimy appearance being immortalized forever. If I didn’t find love on this show—which I definitely wouldn’t—this certainly wasn’t going to do me any favors.
She clapped her hands and stood in front of us as we all formed a line by the end of the maze. “You all made it through, despite the obstacles and communication difficulties. You all listened to your partners and you made it out.” She eyed Eli and Sofia. “Some better than others.”
“Whatever,” Sofia said under her breath.
“But at the end of the day, Rachel and Danny completed the challenge first, followed by Trace and Grant. Arnie and Calla had their struggles, but they still managed to finish third. Which makes Sofia and Eli last.” Rita pouted her full lips. “As you know, there are rewards for the winners of each challenge, and consequences for losing. The winning team gets a private date to get to know one another a bit better. Rachel and Danny, you’ll join me out here later tonight for a romantic evening.”
Danny cursed.
“Sounds more like a punishment than a reward,” Rachel said.
“You aren’t happy with your partner?” Rita probed.
Rachel crossed her arms and shook her head. “He’s hotheaded and a complete ass.”
“Me?” Danny exclaimed. “You’re the hothead. You always have to be right. You’re so stubborn.”
“Well, the lack of chemistry is a bit of a disappointment, since you two did win today’s challenge. But as the winning team, you’ll also get to make your first choice of partner before the next challenge. Ladies first, for the first partner swap. Rachel, you’ll be able to pick whoever you want.” Rita gestured to the rest of the women. “You’ll each pick your partners in the order you finished. You can choose to keep your current partner, or to switch.”
Rachel snorted. “I’ll definitely be switching.”
Arnie and I looked at each other with wide eyes, clearly thinking the same thought. We didn’t want to be partnered up with anyone but each other. Now we were left hoping that the others didn’t want us.
“Alright! Great job today, everyone,” Rita continued. “Go enjoy the rest of your day. Get to know each other. And make sure you pick the partner best suited for you, or this experiment isn’t going to work.”
The cameraman to her left swiped his hand across his throat and lowered the camera. Shay and Brady ran in from the sidelines. I hadn’t even noticed them hovering, but I supposed they were probably never far.
“Okay,” Shay barked. “That’s a wrap on the first challenge. Guys, come with us. We’ll get you set up for the first round of interviews. Then you’ll change and meet in the lounge. Girls, you stay put while we get them organized, then we’ll come get you for the second round of interviews.”
Arnie gave me a small wave. “See you later.”
“See ya,” I said absent-mindedly, still concerned about the thought of us being separated.
Grant and Danny passed me as they argued about the technicalities of Danny’s win. Grant was claiming that Danny had pushed him at a fork in the path, and he would have won otherwise. Their competitiveness was further proof that I wouldn’t get along with either of them as partners.
Eli brushed past me. “Good job out there,” he whispered. “I thought I had you.”
“You’ll have to try harder than that.” I’m not sure where that confident answer came from, but I gave myself a pat on the back for it.
He chuckled and paused in his tracks. His clear eyes seared into mine and I tried not to let his attractiveness affect me. I made a mental note to dig up the old movies he’d been in when this was all over.
He sucked in a breath and glanced back at Sofia before returning his gaze to me. “Maybe if I had a better partner...”
“Eli, let’s go. We’re running behind schedule!” Shay called.
He gave her a thumbs up before backing away from me. “Let’s talk tonight,” he said.
