I have no idea what the cosplay is about, but the crowd goes wild as he does some faux fencing moves.
“Is Marco wearing a costume?” Paula asks. She is leaning forward, listening intently, but obviously, she can’t see what’s happening.
“Yeah,” Owen is sitting up straighter now, taking it all in. “Marco is wearing the hell out of that cape and swimsuit,” he says.
“I hear it swishing. I can picture it,” Paula grins.
And then Marco launches into the song, except he subs in the name of the rival lover. Instead of “Jessie," he sings “Owen.”
“Shut. The. Front. Door.” Alexis exclaims.
Marco continues to belt it out, overenunciating everything and mispronouncing every third word as he acts the song out in melodramatic pantomime. As he sings, Paula sways back and forth. Her smile is beatific. Spontaneously, the entire crowd in the bar starts clapping to the beat, and several people sing along. For the grand finale, Marco stands on a chair, leaps onto our table, and falls to his knees in front of me and Paula.
The crowd goes wild. Even wilder than they did for Ryker and Darwin. Marco takes Paula's hand and smothers it with kisses.
“Thank you, mi amore, Bella Paula,” he says. “For helping me understand the true nature of love.”
Marco leaps down and takes a bow, clearly enjoying the clapping and cheering. He mugs for the camera and does one last flourish, waving his cape before heading to the restroom to change back into his clothes.
“I think I’m just going to hit the hay,” Paula says, once he’s gone. She wiggles out of her seat and reaches for her cane, motioning for us to remain where we are. “Don’t get up, I’ll be fine. I’ll have someone get me a golf cart to get back to the room.”
We all freeze.
“Are you sure?” Owen asks. “I could walk you back.”
“No, Owen. You stay here,” Paula insists. “I’ll see you at the final ceremony tomorrow night. You stay. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You sure?” Owen asks
“Totally sure,” Paula insists.
We all watch as she makes her way across the bar. Marco, still wearing his cape, meets her by the door, and the two of them slip out together.
“Well, well, well,” Alexis whistles. “I hate to tell you, Owen, but I think you may have just been dumped.”
“Yeah,” Owen says, “about that… I think I’m gonna be okay.” He threads his fingers through Alexis’s and pulls her closer, kissing her on the neck. She colors and looks around.
“Owen! Aren’t you afraid they’re going to kick you off the show?”
“What do I care if they do?” Owen laughs. “I came here to meet someone special, and I did. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all good.” He pulls Alexis in for a passionate kiss, and it’s completely apparent that it isn’t the first one. I can see from the way he’s stroking her and she’s practically purring that this has been going on for a little while already. My mouth drops open. How have I missed this?
I clear my throat.
“What about Paula?” I ask Owen a little pointedly. “Looks like you’ve been playing a little shell game.”
Pun intended.
Of all the contestants, Owen was probably the last one I would have expected to be cheating.
“I swear I wanted to end things yesterday at the Shell Ceremony, but Alexis wouldn’t let me.”
“Isla, can you imagine if he’d dumped a blind girl?” Alexis asked. “The whole country would hate him. Not only would we both have been sent home immediately, but he’d have a hard time finding a job.”
“But now she’s the one dumping me,” Owen grins. “I think we’ll all be fine. Just fine. And on that note, what say we get out of here, Alexis?” His hand is already halfway up her shirt.
“OMG, Ihatekaraoke,” Alexis says. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
“Me too, my spicy cocktail, me too,” Owen says, pulling her to her feet.
