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But it was intense, seeing all those near-champions. Meeting and shaking hands with so many other great teams I’d watched and followed over the course of the show. I was a little star-struck at times, especially when I found out the network had reached all the way back to the season one runner-ups, the Boston Banshees.
The whole thing was intimidating for sure. I had to remind myself how far my own team had come, and being cast in the most recent season I was still fresh in everyone’s mind. I fielded a hundred questions about where the rest of my team was, and how I ended up merged with the guys from Minnesota. Toward the end of our inaugural breakfast, I switched over to just smiling and nodded my head.
Minutes ticked by, and conversations on the plane died down. I noticed Devin’s eyes had already closed. I was wondering if I should follow his example when Reese started back up again.
“One thing I’d forgotten about was all these cameras,” he swore from beside me. “They’re all over the damned place. Everywhere you look.”
“It’s oppressive,” agreed Hayden. “I remember getting home last time and feeling really weird and lonely. For the first time in a month, nobody was watching me.”
His observation made me laugh. “They do everything but follow us into the bathroom,” I agreed.
Looking over both shoulders, Hayden leaned across the aisle and smiled. “Which is why we’re gonna need to sneak in there from time to time,” he said in a low voice. “To keep our little ‘streak’ going.”
His insinuation made my already queasy stomach do a flip-flop. I hadn’t really expected anything physical with the guys beyond our time on the island, especially with all the cameras watching our every move. But ever since they dropped the bomb about Melissa on me, I’d always wondered.
Did they really do her during the race?
It was tough to say. I hadn’t seen anything on the show or even the bonus footage to indicate anything solidly romantic. It could’ve been cut out by the censors. Or the cameras could’ve been so pervasive that being intimate — at least without the whole world knowing — was a physical impossibility.
“Gonna be hard to keep a streak going,” I replied glibly, “with twenty-four seven coverage.”
Beside me, Devin grunted a laugh with his eyes still closed. I was so sure he’d drifted off that my mouth actually dropped open.
“That sounds like our hardest challenge yet.”
