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Oh. I hadn’t even thought of that. I frown at the floor as Maya shoves the last few things in her bag.

“Okay. I’m pretty sure I’m ready,” she announces, and I snap my head up and force a smile.

“Have fun!”

“I won’t,” she chirps back. Then, she studies my face, her eyes flickering from my eyes to my lips. Her expression is serious.

“Skye?” she asks.

“Yes?”

“I know we’re just hooking up—”

“Yes, definitely,” I say over her.

“—right. Well, sounds like I know the answer then, but I wanna cover my bases. Would it be weird if I kiss Jordy tonight? Or anything?”

As soon as the question leaves her lips, I’m hit with an irrational rage. Why should Jordy get to kiss her when he’s done nothing but hurt us? Why can’t he choose her as the winner next week without needing to rub his tongue all over hers tonight? Can’t he just pick her based on her personality? Her humor? How much fun she is?

But it doesn’t work like that, and I know it. Especially when Perrie’s already kissed him.

“Not at all,” I say. “You do whatever you need to do to win this. It’s not weird.”

“Okay.” She picks up her suitcase, then hesitates. “It’s just, I could make an excuse if it’s weird. I could say I have a cold sore or something.”

“I said it’s not weird, Maya,” I snap. Where did that come from? I didn’t give my voice permission to come out like that. “I promise,” I add, much more pleasantly.

“Okay. Great. I’ll… see you tomorrow then, I guess?”

“See you tomorrow.”

With that, she’s gone, and I’m left alone in my room.

Finally, a night to myself. That’s what I’ve wanted from the start, right? Some alone time?

I crawl onto my bed, and stare at the ceiling for a while. Then, I climb down the ladder, flop onto Maya’s bed, and roll onto my side. It’s easier to be down here until I go to sleep, so I don’t have to climb up and down every time I leave the room.

The pillow smells like her.

I breathe in, until the lump in my throat finally loosens.

I don’t mean to fall asleep on her bed.

But…

TWENTY-SIXMaya

The best thing about a couple’s massage is the blessed break in conversation.

It’s not as relaxing as I would like—it’s kinda hard to chill out when you’ve got a camera panning back and forth along the length of your body, several producers staring at you silently, and your nemesis lying on a bed a few feet over from you—but I do my best.

Until Jordy ruins it by making conversation. Like he ruinseverything.

“How are you enjoying things at the house?” he asks. “Hopefully there’s not too much stress to knead out of your back.”

My masseuse digs his elbow into a sensitive spot at that moment, like he’s trying to make a point. I wince through it. “It’s been great,” I say. “Kind of like a monthlong sleepover party. Movies, the pool, wine. Endless, endless wine. Perrie and Skye are bigger on the whole ‘wine’ thing than I am, though.”

“Not a fan?” Jordy laughs.