“And I didn’t even notice, so it’s on both of us.”
Aliona’s eyes sparkle. “Interesting. So you’re saying it was a team failure?”
“No,” I say at the same moment Yumi says, “Yes.”
I look at her. The watercolor light softens her features, but not her resolve. “What I mean,” she says, “is that we are a team. Noelle likes to carry the weight of the world on her back, but I’ve been working out.” She flexes playfully. “I can take a turn holding up the sky.”
I chuckle, casting my gaze down as my face heats.
“Noelle wasn’t the only person on today’s Adventure. Getting the items was separate from the challenge—I could’ve helped with that without us getting in trouble, and I didn’t notice it, either.” She says this last part directly to me, emphasizing the words.
“How did it feel racing Bee and Logan to the finish line?” Aliona asks, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees.
“It was terrifying racing Bee and Logan to the finish line.”
“I think I saw my life flash before my eyes,” Yumi adds.
“Does this kind of experience bring you closer as a couple?”
There’s a moment of silence as Yumi and I exchange a glance.
“Uh, absolutely,” Yumi says, then corrects, “The Adventureversehas absolutely brought us closer as a couple.”
I nod quickly. Probably too quickly. “This show is a pressure cooker. We’re definitely closer now than we were, say, nine months ago. You know, before we started dating and everything,” I say, trying not to look at Yumi, because I’ll burst out laughing and have to explain myself.
“You two are some of the youngest contestants we’ve had on the show.”
“Except for the Bring Your Child toAdventureverseseason,” I interject with the affectionate nickname the fandom has bestowed on Season 21,Family Ties.
“Yes, exactly. How do you feel like your relationship stacks up against people who have been together longer, like Clyde and Cora, who have been together thirty years?”
I furrow my brow. Putting aside the fact that Clyde and Cora probablyshouldn’thave stayed together for thirty years, I feel a surge of defensiveness for Yumi, for our friendship and our fake relationship.
“We’re still young, but Yumi and I have known each other for a long time. We’ve been through a lot together. I don’t think you can judge a relationship solely on number of years.”
“But wouldn’t you say that people who have public relationships, like Rania and Kendell or KC and Gabriel, experience more together than two girls in high school?”
It’s bait. It’s such bait. I take it anyway. “I don’t know what Rania and Kendell have experienced, because social media isn’t real.” I smile at the camera. “They could be totally faking it for the camera, and the world would never know.”
Yumi’s hand brushes mine, not to stop me, but to steady me.
“I’m not saying they are faking it, but the only people who know the depth and strength of a relationship are the people inside it. And I’m telling you that Yumi and I have roots that go deeper than the fucking lupines in the Hekla forest.”
Aliona smiles beatifically. Once again, she’s lured me into being Good TV. “Do you think you two will still be together in ten years, then?”
I look at Yumi. She looks back at me. The pause isn’t hesitation, it’s reassurance. She holds eye contact as she says, “Noelle and I will be playing shuffleboard in the old folks’ home.”
Did I say beds? Plural? Because apparently we get to sleep inbedtonight. Singular.
We’ve slept together countless times, but never like this. We kissed today, don’t go thinking that I’ve forgotten. Don’t think I ever will. And while, yes, we did share a sleeping bag last night, it was dark in the labyrinth. It is decidedly not dark here in Iceland. There isn’t a light to turn off, so I have to watch as Yumi putters around in the fluffy white robe the hotel provides with every room.
The (one) bed is lofted on a platform above the igloo’s central heater and a tiny bathroom. Though the sun isn’t aware of the time, the temperature is. It’s dropped significantly in the past few hours, and the warmth from the heater is a welcome companion.
“It’s just that a tarp isn’t atool,” she complains, preparing her pack for the morning.“Ask anyone. Ask your dad if he uses a tarp to install wiring or whatever.”
He probably does use tarps, but I don’t say that.
“They worded it like that on purpose to trip us up.”
