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CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Day Nineteen—Seven teams remaining
Lauren
“Uh, guys?”
I heard a male voice followed by loud, dramatic coughing. When I opened my eyes, I squinted as they adjusted to the bright light from the morning sun, and then I saw that Nutter was having a fake coughing fit.
Oh god. I was naked. I was completely naked, and Nutter was right there.
“Archer!” I cried, grabbing at the tarp he’d hung above us to keep the rain off. “Wake up!”
“Hmm?”
He sat up and gave me a concerned look. “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to get the tarp so I can cover myself. Nutter is here. Shit!”
“I tied that really well; you won’t be able to pull it down.” He reached for his T-shirt, which was wadded into a damp ball in the corner of the shelter. “Here. Put this on.”
My face burned with humiliation. This was not what I’d signed up for.
“Nutter, is this going to be on the show?” I asked as I pulled on the wet shirt.
“I don’t work in editing, but they’ll blur the naked parts if they use it.”
I buried my face in my hands. Just great. I’d let my hormones get the better of me last night, and now my entire hometown would be watching from the barstools at Benny’s Tap, their jaws dropping when they saw Archer and I in all our blurred genitalia glory.
I picked up my clothes, wishing for a time machine. When I held up my shredded bikini bottoms, Archer gave me a wicked grin.
“Sorry about that.”
I wanted to die. But all I could do was gather up my bikini top and shorts and head for the ocean.
I dropped my clothes in the sand and walked into the water, going deep enough that I could submerge my head.
What had I been thinking? I’d been half asleep, but I remembered last night well enough to know that the sex had been initiated by me.
Ha. Who was I kidding? I wasn’t just responsible for starting it. I’d ridden Archer like it was my job. Thank god I had a birth control implant. But we hadn’t even talked about it first. We’d just fucked like a couple of horny, carefree bunnies.
When I emerged from the water, Archer was nearby, waist-deep in the water and grinning at me.
“Want to talk about it?” he asked.
Not even a little bit. But I supposed we had to, and since Nutter couldn’t bring the camera into the water, this was our only chance to talk about it alone.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I took advantage of you.”
He arched a brow, amused. “Not at all. I wanted it as much as you did.”
“It was a terrible idea, though.”
His expression turned serious. “Why? You’re single, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but I don’t mean because of that. My family is going to be watching this show. My students.” My eyes flooded with tears. “I could lose my job.”
“For having consensual sex?”
I shook my head. “It’s not a good look for a teacher to go on a reality show with her ex and wake up naked with him the next morning. You know what I mean. Image is a thing in your job, too.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I hear you. It won’t cause trouble for me, but I know you love your job and I don’t want you to lose it.”
“I’m so embarrassed. I try to be a good example as a teacher and coach, and”
He interrupted me. “Hey. I’m not just some guy you hooked up with. We have a past. And if you think it was a mistake, it won’t happen again.”
I hadn’t been expecting the hurt I heard in his tone. I’d thought he’d feel the same way I did. We were here for a limited time, and then we’d be going back to our separate lives. Getting involved in any way that could make that harder was a bad idea.
“I just want us to stay focused on the show,” I said. “I’m so tired all the time and the fewer teams there are, the harder it will be for us to keep winning.”
“I said it won’t happen again,” he said. “Quit trying to sell me on something I already agreed with you about.”
“Okay, sorry.”
I looked away and focused on my feet, squishing bunches of sand between my toes—nature’s stress ball.
What would Layla tell me? If I could call my sister right now and ask for her advice, what would she say?
What’s done is done. She’d definitely say that. She said that phrase all the time. She’d tell me a potentially unemployed teacher had about a million reasons to keep their head in this game and win that money.
I walked back to the shoreline, squeezing water out of Archer’s T-shirt. Since my bikini bottoms were useless now, I pulled on my jean shorts, the long T-shirt allowing me to stay covered as I buttoned them.
I’d have to change into my bikini top later. Nutter was filming from nearby, and I wasn’t about to do it on camera.
Archer left the water and walked back to camp without another word.
Great. He was mad at me. Our future in this competition relied on us working together, and we couldn’t do that if we weren’t speaking.
I walked down the beach, letting the sun dry the water on my skin. When I turned around and walked back to camp, Archer was gone and so was his fishing gear.
Even though things between us were tense, I was relieved to have a break from him. I’d always been a person who valued my alone time, and I needed a couple of hours to get myself together and focus on the game.
Instead, I spent a couple of hours sleeping in the hammock. The humid island climate zapped my energy. I felt like I had less and less every day.
“Have you had water today?” Archer asked me as soon as I sat up in the hammock.
“No, I’ll go get some.”
He walked over and handed me a canteen. It was full, of course. Because even when I’d hurt his feelings, he still cared enough to make sure I was okay.
“Thanks,” I said softly, opening it and taking a drink.
He’d mixed in some Gatorade powder with it. I didn’t know if Archer was taking care of me so he could have the strongest partner possible, or just because he was a good man.
I shook my head, because I did know. Archer would give the shirt off his back to someone in need. He’d always been that way. He was an Eagle Scout, after all.
“I’ll go get some firewood,” I said.
“You don’t need to, Lo. We have enough.”
He wouldn’t even look at me. I hated that I’d made things so awkward between us.
“You always say we can use more, though, and I want to help with something.”
“It’s the hottest part of the day. You need to rest.”
Sweat dripped from the ends of his hair as he cleaned the fish he’d caught. I liked that Archer took care of me, but I didn’t want to be treated like a damsel in distress. It took a lot of work to keep our camp running, and I wanted to do my part.
“I’ll make the rice,” I said.
“Already started it.”
“Well, what can I do?”
“Nothing.”
I walked over and sat down on the stump stool across from him.
“Hey, I need to say something,” I said.
He glanced up.
“I’m really sorry,” I said. “About everything. Last night, and what I said this morning. I never would have thought it was possible, but our time here has made me think that maybe we can be friends when this is all over. I don’t want us to ruin that. I know I’m lucky to have the best partner on this island, and we have a real shot at winning this thing. Can we please just rewind and go back to the way things were? You’re the only person I have here, and I need for us to get along and talk. I don’t think I’ll make it without that.”
He nodded. “I’m not mad, Lo.”
“Then what are you?”
“Honestly, I’m worried about you. You can’t see yourself, but I see you every day, and you’ve lost a lot of weight. You’re tired all the time. I need you to let me haul the firewood and cook the food. You need to rest so you’ve got enough in the tank to get through the competitions.”
