Sofia pressed her lips into a thin line. “It’s his loss. He’ll regret it soon enough.”
“And why did you pick Calla?” Rita asked.
Eli glanced down at me. “There’s something here.”
I pretended thousands of butterflies hadn’t just taken flight in my stomach.
“Do you agree with that, Calla?”
I froze, remembering that everyone would be watching my response. I didn’t want to seem either cold or eager. Play it cool.
“Maybe,” I said, praying she’d move on to the next pick.
Thankfully, she did. Danny picked Trace. Then, by default, Grant selected Sofia, who continued to sulk.
Realistically, Grant and Sofia might be the best matches for each other, so I wasn’t sure why she was fighting it so hard. Maybe he came off as a little bit insufferable, but he was attractive. I hated to call them both shallow, but it did seem like they shared a lot of the same priorities.
Rita walked away after the selection was over and Robert stepped in, followed by a few other staff members from the lodge. He held up a safety harness.
“Alright! How do you all feel about heights?”
“I don’t thinkI can do this,” I said through quick and shallow breaths.
“You’ve been doing great so far,” Eli insisted, ducking his head so that we were at eye level.
We stood about twenty feet off the ground, clinging to a wooden platform built into a tree. Well, I was clinging. Elistood there nonchalantly, completely unaffected by the fact that only a thin cord kept us from tumbling to our deaths.
It turned out that the best way to test our trust in each other in this idiotic alternate universe was to complete a high ropes course.
“I’ve only been doing great so far because we were only six feet off the ground! This is too much, and we still have to go higher.”
“Hey, just breathe.” Eli placed a hand on the back of my neck, trying to ground me. I flinched at the touch and he quickly dropped it. “Shit, sorry. I’m just trying to help you calm down. Look at me, Calla.”
I sealed my mouth shut and inhaled deeply through my nose before letting out an audible exhale.
“Let’s just take a moment and forget where we are. When you’ve calmed down, we can try to move on.”
“But we have to hurry,” I protested.
“Says who?”
“Said the show. We’re being timed.”
Eli just shrugged as if he had forgotten all about the challenge. “Who cares? We’ll get it done when we get it done.”
Something about his casual attitude had already started to calm me.
“You’re scared of heights, huh? I’m glad we’re getting this out of the way early on.” Eli smiled down at me. “I promise, no elaborate helicopter dates in the future.”
“I’m not scared of heights,” I argued.
Eli’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Your panicked expression says otherwise.”
“I’m not!” I insisted. “But this—” I gestured to the thin rope that was attached to my harness. “This is giving me absolutely no confidence that this is safe. I doubt this could even support my weight.”
“Calla,” Eli said in the same voice I would expect a kindergarten teacher to use with a student. “I’m sure it’s safe. Countless people have gone across this same exact maze. This cord” —he reached over and pulled on mine— “is secure. You’re not going to fall. You’re psyching yourself out right now.”
“What if they just built it for us,” I argued.
