AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, I didn’t,” Sophie said. “I got up and left, hoping for an explanation and not wanting to cost the group any money. We know we won’t win, and it would be shitty to take the money away from people who might.”
She looked over at Diego.
“I almost ended it,” he confessed, “and I’m sorry, but I’m also not. Soph, I get it, but I wasn’t going to let him take advantage of the situation after seeing how it affected you. I couldn’t let it stand.”
“I know,” she whispered, touching his thigh. “And thank you, but if Oliver and Julie had actually kissed, it wouldn’t be worth saving.”
“Speaking of,” Aaron cut in. “Did you guys see Zander and Nicoletta at the club?”
“No, they must have gone somewhere else,” I said. “The producers must have known the four of us would have stuck together. I think they wanted to throw every temptation at us, and without cameras or other housemates, maybe they thought we would give in.”
“I hope Viv and Zander are okay,” Julie said.
“They will be.” Sophie was confident, and I hoped Zander hadn’t strayed overnight. As time passed, he and Viv grew closer despite his belief that this was just a fun thing to do during the off-season. While at the start, it had been more of a pairing of convenience, the two of them had taken it slowly, and their bond developed over time.
We checked in with each other every morning in the gym, bonding over sweat and hard work. Zander was falling hard for that girl, and she was so good for him—fun-loving and kind, but she didn’t let him get away with half-assing anything.
She presented a unique challenge for a professional football player who had the world laid at his feet. He was always thinking up little things to impress her, and half the time, she rolled her eyes because while that may work on football groupies, it didn’t work on her.
A thought occurred to me. “Did Ryan behave while we were gone?”
“Actually, yeah,” Sophie said, seeming just as confused as I was. “He helped bring Diego upstairs after he tried to end your date.”
“Good on him,” Julie commented.
“Speaking of,” Sophie said with a brow arched, “what’s going on there with you two?”
Julie pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and fidgeted with the ends. “I’m just keeping him a little preoccupied so you guys can have some alone time.”
I felt there was more to it, but that wasn’t for me to pick at. Julie had done us a solid since arriving here, and I owed it to her to let it go.
We chatted longer, then headed upstairs for lunch with everyone else.
Zander and Viv were sitting side by side, their hands intertwined. Nicoletta looked somewhat defeated, but sat whispering next to Cheryl. Ryan tracked our movements as we came in, then zeroed in on Sophie. She nodded just once, and he nodded back—like some unspoken communication had just occurred. He shoved the second half of his taco into his mouth, chewed for a mere second, swallowed it practically whole, and returned to his conversation with Daniel.
The man scared me.
It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that the phone rang.
We gathered in the cabana to hear who had won the weekend away.
If the audience saw the same clips my housemates had, there was no way I was going on that getaway with Sophie.
“Good afternoon, housemates!” Troy greeted when I answered the phone.
“Hi, Troy!” we all echoed back.
“I hope you’ve all had a wonderful reunion and that those who won the night away enjoyed themselves! But it’s time to get down to business.”
Whoops and hollers went up around the cabana, and I gripped the edge of the couch with my free hand.
Gia was louder than the rest. She and Daniel had won the last weekend away and were obviously hoping for a repeat. Honestly, I thought they deserved it. She and Daniel had formed an incredibly deep bond, and they spent almost every moment with each other. It wasn’t hard to see that they would likely go the distance. The stars in Daniel’s eyes hadn’t dimmed a bit since he and Gia first connected.
“Before I announce the winner of the final getaway weekend,” Troy said, “is there anyone you guys think deserves the weekend away?”
Sophie was the first to speak up. “Viv and Zander. They’ve really been putting in the work and doing it right.”
Viv mouthed a thank you to my girl.
