“It’s not a competition,” Trace said, reading my mind.
“Isn’t it literally a competition though?” I countered.
She thought about that for a moment. “Not in the way you’re thinking.”
I wanted to tell her what I’d overheard after she went to bed last night, but there were too many nearby ears.
“Are you alright?” Arnie mouthed at me.
“I’m fine,” I mouthed back.
My heart swelled with appreciation for him. Even when I thought this place was about to swallow me whole, I could always count on him to be sincere.
“Morning,” a smooth voice said from the doorway.
Goosebumps pricked the back of my neck as Eli took the other seat next to me. My first inclination was to look down the table to see Sofia’s response. She had a huge grin on her face as she wiggled her fingers at him. Their talk last night must have gone well since she wasn’t acting like a scorned lover any more.
Eli reached across me to grab the coffee carafe and shot me an apprehensive look in the process.
“Where were you last night?” he asked, close to my ear. “I waited hours for you.”
“Hours?” I kept my voice light. “You should really get some sleep or we’re never going to win any challenges.”
He just stared at me.
“I mean...not like sleep is the reason we’re losing, anyway. We’d probably need a miracle for me to somehow start performing adequately,” I rambled.
My joke fell flat as his eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s still early and I’ve hardly consumed any caffeine. I didn’t meet you last night because I actually slept through the night for once.”
I hoped he didn’t examine my exhausted appearance and call me out on my lie. In reality, I had gotten approximately four hours of sleep before another dream of Michael had startled me awake around three a.m. Once again, he had been hurrying me to get somewhere and, of course, I couldn’t do it. Then at the end, Michael had turned into Eli, and all of a sudden, we were rushing to make it to the next challenge. If we didn’t win that one, we’d lose the whole competition. We never made it, naturally, and I’d woken up in a cold sweat yet again.
Concern was evident on Eli’s face, but thankfully he didn’t press the issue.
“I’m glad you slept well,” he said instead. “I almost went and knocked on your door, but I talked myself out of it. I probably paced outside for, like, fifteen minutes before I finally gave up.” The corner of his lip curved up and I instantly felt guilty for lying. But even after waking up, I just hadn’t been able to stomach going to see him. Not after what Trace said, and not after overhearing him and Sofia.
Eli had tangled me effortlessly in his web, but now that I was starting to feel something, alarm had set in. All of my fears were coming true. I had found myself making thedangerous choice—the guy that anyone would bet on as the most likely candidate to break my heart. He had gained my trust and chiseled a hole right through my guard without me even noticing.
I had to step back.
“Y’all have any guesses on today’s challenge?” Trace asked over the dull chatter and the clinking of silverware.
“Probably another physical one,” Arnie said. “I didn’t realize when we started that this show would be quite so intense.”
“Good thing you’re more than just a big brain,” Rachel teased, nudging him with her shoulder. Arnie’s face turned scarlet.
“I, for one, am ready for today,” Grant said. “I’m sensing a shift in the winds. Something’s going to be different.”
Danny snorted. “Probably not your ranking, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I just hope I survive this one,” I added in another attempt at a joke. It didn’t land, and I turned to find Eli wincing.
“I’ll make sure today goes smoothly,” he promised.
“Hey, I’m an unathletic, accident-prone, anxiety-ridden klutz. None of my performances have been your fault.”
He brushed my knee with his under the table and my whole body felt hot at the simple touch.
