“You’re tilted,” I whisper, my lips brushing her ear. I fend off a smug smile at Yumi’s indignant huff as I step away and return to my seat.
Aliona, pleased, gives me a measured thumbs-up. It’s the cardinal rule of reality TV: Breaking the rules is okay, as long as the drama is worth it. Knowing the cameras are on me, I paste a smile on my face and watch Yumi complete a flawless run-through of her tango. But mentally, I’m a million miles away, thinking of the last time I was that close to her face-to-face.
Yumi is my girlfriend, I remind myself, even as I hear the loop ofNo. This is a bad idea. Disgust crawls its way up my back,hundreds of roach legs scratching against my skin. I cringe away from myself, like my body is something I can escape.
To untilt her, I have accidentally tilted myself.
And that’s why, when Yumi comes barreling toward me holding the purpleAdventureverseenvelope, I don’t answer her noises of delight and relief the way a normal person would.
No. When Yumi goes in for a hug, I, Noelle Breland—culturally illiterate American swine, incapable of human interaction—stick my hand out for a handshake.
Cool.
Chapter 21
Icarus
Aliona narrows her eyes likeshe’s going to present us with some deep, thought-provoking question. Instead, she asks, “How do you feel, going from top three in the First Adventure to bottom three in the Second Adventure?”
What does she expect us to say? It feels great? Dream come true?
I take this question. “This Adventure was a bit of a struggle for us, but there’s no difference between first place and seventh place. The only goal today was not to be eighth, and we weren’t.”
“Well, there’s a time advantage,” Aliona points out unhelpfully.
“A time advantage is nice, but we had a time advantage today and it didn’t help us.”
We stand on a wooden pier over the Rio de la Plata. Closer to land is the Club de Pescadores, the large Tudor-style fisherman’s clubhouse that JSP’s mat is stationed in front of. A gentle breeze off the water carries the scent of Yumi’s pineapple-and-melon hair cream to me.
Here’s the thing about Yumi’s pineapple-and-melon hair cream—it is genuinely the best thing I have ever smelled.Now, Noelle, I hear you say,you only think that because you were down bad for her for so long. And no, incorrect. You know when you’re sitting behind a girl whose hair is still damp from her morningshower, and when she takes it down, you get a momentary whiff of her shampoo? It’s sweet and light and dissipates quickly. That’s what this hair cream smells like, except it doesn’t dissipate. It hovers there, at the edge of just-enoughness. You inhale, wanting to fill your lungs with it before it blows away, but then you inhale again and it’s still there, delicious and greedy-making.
“Noelle?”
I snap to attention. Aliona and Yumi stare at me expectantly. “Sorry, what?”
“I asked how it felt to watch Yumi struggle learning the tango.”
I shift so I’m not directly downwind from my teammate’s distracting hair-care products. “I know Yumi, so I know she feels guilty for her stumble today. But genuinely, she shouldn’t, and I would say that even if she weren’t my partner. Sometimes, an Adventure just doesn’t go your way. We didn’t go home, and that’s what matters.”
“Noelle, how did you know what would help Yumi? Give our viewers some context into what you were thinking and what you said when you went up to dance with her.”
I love when truth overlaps with a Good TV answer. “When I saw Yumi starting to spiral, I knew I had to break the pattern or we’d be stuck there forever. I figured flirting with her would be enough to get her out of her head.”
Yumi pokes her finger into my ribs, causing me to jump. “That was flirting?” she asks playfully. “I thought you were just nerding out onAdventureverselore.”
“Two things can be true when you’re a superfan,” I say, unable to suppress a goofy smile.
“Great, girls. I’m glad to see you two getting more comfortable on camera; I was really starting to worry. We’re gonna transition to some backstory, but keep this chemistry right here. Like you can’t wait to get back to your hotel room and make out.”
I feel the blush spreading across my cheeks.
“Let’s start with…” She looks down at her tablet, swiping at the screen with her middle finger. “How did you two meet?”
I let Yumi explain her first day of school as my mind whirs, because it occurs to me that Aliona is about to ask how we started dating. How did we not prep for that question? Shit. Okay. Sticking close to the truth, I guess I could say—
“And how did you start dating?”
Goddamn it, Yumi. Terrible job stalling.
