“That I did, Bella, and you’re so beautiful I just couldn’t stay away.”
She looks unimpressed with his clapback, and I watch everyone very carefully as he continues.
“I’m sure you all can guess why I’m here. It’s challenge day!” he exclaims like it’s a great thing.
Shane, being the golden retriever he is, cheers in celebration, and Alex loves every minute of it.
“A huge part of a great connection is knowing your partner, from the little things to the big things. Today, we’re going to test that knowledge. Ladies, you know us men have a terrible reputation for remembering things, so the guys will be the ones who have to step up for this challenge!”
The cameras cut, and they begin ushering us out and down the beach.
“Oh my God,” I mutter under my breath when I see the setup. Landon’s hand slips into mine, squeezing it tightly.
Somehow, they’ve managed to set up crane systems with harnesses hooked to them, dangling off one of the tallest cliffs around. Of course, the harnesses are dangling over water and are at least four hundred feet from the surface. Oh, did I say surface? I meant a sharp rocky beach that’s straight out of a nightmare.
Shaking my head, I take a step back as all the other girls line up to get hooked up to their harnesses.
“No, no, no, no—I can’t do this.”
Landon pauses, blocking me from everyone as he cups my face in his hands. “Yes, you can.”
“No,” I say as my entire body begins shaking. “I can’t, Landon. I can’t do heights.”
“I know. I know.”
His lips mash together for a moment before he shakes his head. “We don’t have a choice. If we forfeit, we’re in the bottom two. There are five couples, Courtney. Wecan’tbe in the bottom two.”
I know what he’s saying, hidden behind his words, and I know he’s right. Especially if our fears are true. I just… I don’t think I can physically do this.
“Come on,” Landon encourages gently, ushering us towards the group, where one of the showrunners is issuing instructions.
“Girls, you’ll all start out at the same height. The goal is to make it to the platform for safety,” she says, gesturing to the built-out platform off the cliff. “For every right answer your partner gets, you’ll be raised up a notch. For every wrong one, you’ll be lowered. The two couples that are the lowest at the end will be up for elimination. There will be no single winner of this challenge.”
“What? That’s not fair,” Savannah whines.
The woman gives her a bored look before she nods to the crew to finish hooking us all up. I recognize the guy hooking me up as the one who took Landon the other day. I do my best to smile at him, but I think it comes out as more of a grimace. He doesn’t acknowledge my existence, though.
Before they hook me up to the crane, Landon walks over, yanking on each point to make sure it’s tight before he nods in satisfaction.
“It’s gonna be okay,” he says.
“You sure you know enough about me?” I laugh nervously. “I don’t like the idea of being lowered, or raised, actually, but in this case I’ll take getting higher. So, just in case, my favorite color is blue, my favorite animal is a panda bear and if I could visit anywhere in the world it would be?—”
“Courtney, you never shut up. I’ve got this,” Landon says reassuringly.
I let out a shaky breath and nod before Landon presses a kiss to my lips. It’s meant to be a quick peck, but I throw my arms around his shoulders and hold him tighter. He doesn’t fight it, and we sink into each other, so many unspoken words between us when we pull away.
Someone comes by me and clips a hook to the back of my harness, and soon I’m being lifted into the air beside the other girls. Luna is on my left, and Bella is on my right. Angel and Savannah are to her right, and as one, we’re all moved until we’re hovering over the water before the crane slowly lowers us at least a hundred feet away from the safety platform.
The first breeze that hits us forces me to sway back and forth, and my stomach bottoms out as I close my eyes tightly.
Oh fuck. Oh fuck. God, I hate this so much.
Alex addresses Shane as he reads off note cards. “Shane, what’s Luna’s last name?”
“Proctor,” he replies confidently.
There’s a slight delay before Luna’s pulled up about twenty-five feet or so. She wiggles for a moment, swaying from side to side, and my stomach turns as it takes everything in me not to look down. Holy shit, this is like my worst nightmare.
