AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Diego and Zander saw me trying to manhandle the sleeping and/or severely drunk Viv and headed our way.
“We’ll help you get her settled,” Zander said as they got closer. “Oliver can take over the babysitting down here for a few.” He looked over at my bedmate behind the bar for confirmation. Daniel had left his duties as bartender and was now dancing closely with Gia, which meant Oliver was now the one filling cups with water instead of alcohol. He waved us off after he and Zander did some weird bro hand communication thing, and we left the party.
“Here, let me,” Zander said, scooping Viv up into his arms like a bride.
“Foreshadowing of what’s coming?” Diego asked. “You look like you’re about to carry her over the threshold.”
Zander laughed it off. “Right. Can you get the door?”
Diego let us into the villa, Zander not even huffing with the exertion of carrying Viv’s deadweight. She was half-asleep in the big guy’s arms, mumbling about ponies who farted rainbows.
“Unicorns, Viv,” Diego said with a sigh. “According to my obscene amount of nieces, it’s unicorns who fart rainbows.”
“Very true,” Zander said solemnly as he stepped through the door.
“I’m gonna be sick!” Viv warned, causing Zander to sprint toward the closest bathroom.
Zander deposited her in the one by the kitchen, and I waved both him and Diego off, assuring them I had this under control. I spent the next thirty minutes on the floor with Viv until she promised she had thrown it all up. At least there were no cameras in the porcelain palaces. I would hate it if that footage of me was out there. The sound however… I looked down at my mic pack and cursed. Poor Jess if she was on shift at the moment.
We climbed the stairs slowly, both of us beyond ready to rest. We showered, changed into pajamas, brushed our teeth—Viv more vigorously than me—and headed into the quiet and empty bedroom.
Taking a peek out the window, I found our housemates on the beach and sincerely doubted Viv would be the only one doing a technicolor yawn tonight.
I heard the restless shuffling of sheets and pillow punches coming from her bed. With a huff and a muttered, “Fuck you, you stupid sheet,” there was a plume of fabric in the air, and I watched it sail toward the middle of the room.
“Ah, that’s better. So, Diego, huh?” she asked, clearly trying to move past being bested by a piece of fabric.
I laughed. “Maybe. It’s the first day, and the point of this is to get to know everyone, right? I don’t want to lock things down with someone until I’ve at least gotten to know the others.”
“That makes sense.” She sighed after a particularly troubling hiccup. I poked my head over the privacy barrier of her bed to check if she was okay. She beamed up at me. “But how was the kiss?”
I paused as I recalled the all-consuming lip lock. “Exquisite,” I said with a grin. “Now go to sleep. We’ll get to know everyone better tomorrow.”
“Deal. And maybe kiss them again…” she said suggestively. I moved to climb into bed with her, but she shooed me away. “I want to snuggle with Zander. That won’t happen if you’re in bed with me. Besides, you’ve got a British hottie in your bed tonight. I’d never deprive anyone of that.”
I reached for Zander’s pillow, threw it at her face, and climbed into my bed. If she threw up again, at least I would be a few feet away. That was Zander’s problem now.
Recalling the kiss from earlier, I let my eyes drift shut. Kissing Diego wasn’t out of character for me, but nothing had ever felt like that before—like I would happily give up breathing if it meant I could keep my lips against his. It had been a fantastic night, and I wondered what I would learn about Diego tomorrow. I hoped the chemistry and the kiss we’d shared were just the start.
I drifted off to visions of drugging kisses, the iguana I’d seen by the bar, and blue seas lapping white sandy beaches.
CHAPTERFIVE
Oliver
Finally climbingthe steps to the villa, I let out a deep breath. The party was amazing, and it was fun to get to know everyone a little, but I was so far out of my element, it wasn’t even funny. I had spent the last twenty minutes alone on the beach, taking in my new home for the next four weeks and trying to relax. The tension stayed with me, no matter how many breathing exercises I did.
This was next-level dating, and while I hadn’t had trouble finding women who wanted to date me in recent years, I was at the stage in my life where I wanted to get serious. I didn’t have too much faith in this show, but as I filled out the questionnaire about my preferences, likes and dislikes, and personality, it seemed this wasn’t just your average run-of-the-mill show where they picked hot people and stuck them on an island for the hell of it. Some serious thought went into this production, and that was exactly what the producers had promised when I inquired about applying.
I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose and said goodnight to Cheryl and Diego, who were sobering up in the kitchen with a pack of crackers. Her last drink had hit a little hard, and while I was making sure everyone had enough water, she’d snagged Diego to help her back up to the house.
They waved, Cheryl still chatting about vacations she had taken in the past, and I headed upstairs. It felt like I had sand absolutely everywhere, and I wanted to wash off before climbing into bed—a bed that I was sharing with a beautiful woman. One I knew absolutely nothing about other than she was gorgeous and had kissed Diego tonight. But I wanted to know more.
The warm water sluiced over my body, clearing my head and all the damned sand. I’d only had two drinks and wasn’t buzzed, but the events of the day were catching up to me.
I felt like I’d wanted at least something to take the edge off, so I’d partaken when Daniel mixed up drinks for all of us. TikTok was the reason I even got a chance at appearing on this show, but I was absolutely terrible with women. Yes, they found me attractive, but more often than not, my mouth ran away with me and I started talking about random things that no one else had any interest in.
Once, on a date, I went into the intricacies of the combustion engine. I could see her eyes glazing over almost immediately, but once I started speaking, I couldn’t bring myself to stop until I finished the explanation. Cars weren’t even a topic that interested me. I just knew things and felt this inexplicable need to share the knowledge.
