Aggie took a minute to speak. She first straightened the collar of her maroon and white long-sleeved polo shirt before she cleared her throat. “I think we’ve all formed tight bonds with our partners. Even if we didn’t get along with each other in the beginning, we’ve grown.” Aggie hesitated, then added, “Although I suppose some bonds are stronger than others.” She then looked pointedly over her shoulder at Isla. Then to Tamsyn.
Vivian noticed, because she missed nothing. Not that Aggie was trying to be subtle. On the contrary, she couldn’t have pointed a bigger, brighter sign toward them.
“Isla, any idea why Aggie looked specifically at the two of you like that? Why would she think your bond is stronger than everyone else’s?” Vivian asked.
Isla felt her cheeks heat up as if she were standing too close to the fire. And maybe she was. Maybe she was already burning. Beside her, Tamsyn fidgeted with the tassels on the right sleeve of her leather jacket. If she tugged a little harder, she’d rip the fringe clean off. Was now the time to come clean? Or would that be exactly what Aggie wanted?
“I’m not quite sure,” Isla said. “I can only assume it has to do with us sharing a teepee, but then again, Aggie has spent just as much time in there as I have. So, I’m assuming she’s referring to the overnight reward challenge.” Isla faked a smile. “We clearly bonded over all the amenities of that luxury villa.”
A few people snorted.
Isla would’ve felt smug, but instead her insides were overcome with panic. What if Aggie decided to retaliate? What if Aggie told Vivian and everyone else that she knew all about Isla and Tamsyn’s history?
But then, as luck would have it, Vivian flicked her gaze toward Barra before anyone could say anything else. “Barra, Dominique, have you made your decision about the reshuffle?”
Barra rose slowly, as if her knees were eighty years old. She brushed nonexistent dust from her shorts while Dominique remained seated on the stump with her elbows digging into her thighs. She was staring straight down. Which wasn’t a good sign.
Barra cleared her throat. “After long thought and careful consideration, we’ve decided that in the best interest of the game, there will be no reshuffle.”
For a moment, no one said a word. Even Vivian looked caught off guard. Isla didn’t blame her; she felt like she’d been smacked in the face and then apologized to. Who on earth would get an advantage like that and not use it?
But if Vivian had any questions, she didn’t ask them. Instead, she straightened slightly and said, “Okay then, let’s vote.”
ISLA AND TAMSYN WEREback on their flat rock in the middle of the night, sitting side by side on the pile of clothes Tamsyn had once again borrowed and strewn out in a makeshift picnic blanket. A rogue zipper pressed into Isla’s hip, but she didn’t move. She was too busy spiraling.
“What the hell was that double vote?” Isla muttered, tipping her chin toward the sky. There were no stars tonight. The thick grey cloud that was stretched overhead like a pulled sheet felt like it swallowed them whole. It was the coldest it had been since the game started, which had felt fitting after that crazy Sending. Even the sky had been scared cold. Isla’s thin cotton sweatshirt did absolutely nothing against the breeze filtering through the clearing. She shivered and then said, “It just sucks that Frankie and Kendall got voted off. I mean, I get it. They’re a much bigger threat than Aggie and Josie, but still. I feel like Barra and Dominique pulled one over on us.”
Before the whole reshuffling advantage, the next vote was always going to be three against Aggie and Josie. The fact that Barra and Dominique had changed their minds at the last minute and instructed Isla and Tamsyn to vote for Frankie and Kendall was a shocker. “I’m still buzzed,” Isla said. She even lifted her hand up to show Tamsyn her shaky fingers. In fact, her entire body was trembling, and only twenty percent of that was due to the chill in the air.
“I know,” Tamsyn said as she shrugged off her leather jacket. “I was shocked when Vivian announced suddenly that a whole pair was going home tonight. I thought I misheard her.”
“Do you think she did it because Barra and Dominique didn’t use the advantage?” Isla asked, though Isla knew the answer. The only person who could make such big decisions was Elise Mercier, and as far as she knew, Vivian didn’t have Elise talking in her ear. Isla had checked for any ear device.
“Maybe,” Tamsyn said, though she was probably just saying it to amuse Isla. Not that Isla was in any state to appreciate it. She couldn’t even relish the part where Barra and Dominique had confided in them. They could just as easily have blindsided them.
“But I think this season is all about the shock factor,” Tamsyn said. Then she draped the jacket over Isla’s shoulders without ceremony. “It still smells a bit like cookies,” she added with a chuckle. “I think there are quite a few crumbs left in the pockets.”
Isla couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something so chivalrous. It caused her to experience a knot of guilt. Tamsyn was left in just a thin T-shirt while she was all warm and cozy. “Aren’t you going to be cold?”
Tamsyn shook her head. “I’m warm-blooded.”
Isla smiled, but her lips didn’t curve like they usually did. Whatever had happened tonight had sent a ripple of fear through her so intense she didn’t think she could ever be warm again.
“Are you worried?” Tamsyn asked, slinging her arm around Isla’s shoulders before she pulled her close. She rested her head against the top of Isla’s.
Isla snuggled into the nook of Tamsyn’s neck and couldn’t imagine a better place to be. But even then, it was like sitting inparadise with newly done hair, worrying about the storm cloud overhead. She couldn’t help but be bothered. “Aren’t you?”
Tamsyn didn’t answer at first. Then she drew in a long breath through her nose, her lungs expanding fully. “I think we got too complacent,” she said.
“More like distracted,” Isla said.
“We’ll just have to be better from now on.” Tamsyn kissed Isla’s temple.
“Agreed,” Isla said, already feeling slightly better. Things always felt better after a kiss.
“Let’s not talk about strategy anymore,” Tamsyn said. She kissed Isla’s head again, and Isla felt like the only woman in the world.
“What do you want to talk about?” Isla asked, in a voice that had gone syrupy with sleep. Her arms and legs felt heavy in the best possible way. If she didn’t want to cherish every alone minute with Tamsyn, she would’ve gladly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
