No. It can’t be. The cameras and the nonstop microphones are one thing but… could it be?
When my gaze lifts to the man, he looks impatient, and his brow is raised in a suspicious manner that has me racing to come up with something. If he’s this persistent about asking, if he isn’t outright accusing, that means he truly doesn’t know. Which means denial is the angle to play.
“We found a cool waterfall. Obviously, things got a little heated,” I say, gesturing to my drenched clothes with a laugh.
His gaze narrows like he doesn’t believe me, so I lay it on a little thicker, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms like I don’t have a care in the world. “I was chasing her and accidently tackled us into the water. We made out a little, swam around. We weren’t there long when we got cold and decided to head back. That’s when we were picked up.”
I can see the doubt creeping over his face. Like he isn’t sure whether to believe me or not. I know he’s on the edge, all I need to do is drive it home.
I lean forward and rest my elbows on the desk, looking him straight in the eye. “Look, I’m really sorry. I had a feeling that maybe we weren’t supposed to be there. I honestly thought someone would have stopped us immediately if it was an issue, though. I was just trying to take my girl for a little alone time away from all the others. I didn’t mean to break a rule, and I am sorry. Don’t you think all of this is a little much, though?”
He doesn’t say anything for several moments; he just stares at me like if he does it for long enough, I’ll crack.
I won’t.
Slowly, he nods in acceptance. “Next time you have a feeling, you should listen to it.”
“Oh, believe me, I will,” I say, nodding.
Truly.
The instant he waves me away with a dismissive hand, the door opens, and the same dude from before comes in, hauling me out of my chair, then leading me back up the stairs. When we get up to that hallway from before, Courtney is standing there with the guy that walked away with her. Relief fills me once I see her, and she practically leaps into my arms, which I wrap around her.
Our reunion is cut short when the guys drag us back through the garage and out to the side of the house. We pass by the trail path we took, then the guys practically shove us in the direction of the back patio. Courtney stumbles, and I help stabilize her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as she tosses them a nasty look.
“What did you?—?”
I shake my head roughly, silencing her as we walk up the stairs to the side entrance. A few people are scattered around, sitting by the pool, at the bar or up on the top deck. Luna and Shane wave us over, but Courtney and I give them polite nods and waves before making our way into the house.
Wordlessly, we weave through the house before making it to our room. As soon as the door shuts, I see Courtney is about to speak, but I shake my head again and pull her towards the bathroom. She follows me in, and I strip off my wet clothes before helping her with hers. Then I turn on the shower.
She shoots me a questioning look, but I push her into it, only admiring how fucking hot she is for a second before closing theglass door behind us. I crank up the hot water as high as possible, and the glass instantly begins to steam up.
“You didn’t turn on the fan,” she says.
“It’s fine,” I say, waiting for the glass to completely steam up until I know the cameras can’t see anything but shadows.
I step into the water and gesture for her to follow me, then I place my hand over my microphone necklace and begin rubbing my fingers against it. It’s probably creating insane feedback, which is exactly the point. Courtney catches on to this and does the same as I lean forward and whisper into her ear, “What did you tell them?”
She shakes her head and whispers, “Nothing. The woman interrogating me was a fucking cunt. She kept asking what we were doing out there, even asked what we saw.”
My heart skips as I lean into her. “What did you say? Word for word.”
“I said that we went out there for a walk, and you were confessing your feelings for me before we fucked around in the water.”
Confessing my feelings? Is that what I was doing?
Yeah, I guess. Maybe.
Somehow, knowing that no one heard or saw us makes it a little… I don’t know, better? More intimate. Also, the fact that we were clearly out of range for the microphones to work is a fucking blessing because I didn’t even think about that part.
“What did you say?” Courtney whispers into my ear.
“Same thing actually. Like exactly.”
She nods. “That’s good, right? I mean, obviously they split us up to see if we had different stories.”
“It’s very good,” I agree, still rubbing my microphone.
