Page 20 of Playing With My Heart Strings

baylor

Sworn to Secrecy

The production company reserves two days between the last date of the week and airing day for editing, which means I have two days to ruminate over the kiss with Dusty.

When I heard the knock at my door, I wasn’t sure who to expect.

Daniella had already been at my hotel room earlier that night, so I thought it would be weird for her to be back, especially since the hotel isn’t exactly close to our apartment.

But the last person I expected to see was Dusty.

And I definitely wasn’t expecting him to kiss me. Or for me to like it.

I don’t really want to spend time with the other girls right now, even though I’m probably supposed to.

I just need this time to decompress by myself.

Besides, the producers did say we could spend our days off however we want to, within reason.

Which really means we can do whatever we want in our hotel rooms or at the property SSP is renting, since we aren’t allowed to go anywhere offsite without the whole group—and a slew of producers to watch our every move.

I’m almost confident there are loopholes to that, though, especially if Dusty was able to sneak into the hotel to kiss me.

I pace the carpeted floor of my hotel room a few times before flopping backward onto my bed, the mattress immediately sinking beneath me as I stare up at the ceiling.

I can’t believe Dusty kissed me.

God, I wish I could tell someone about the kiss. But we weren’t even supposed to be kissing. Not off camera at least. As far as production is concerned, the kiss—the spine-tingling, stomach tangling, butterfly-inducing kiss—never happened.

My brain doesn’t comprehend that, though, and the entire interaction replays through my mind like a film reel. The softness of his lips, and the sensation of his mustache tickling my skin, still lingers, even hours later.

If I thought I could confide in any of the other girls, I would tell them.

The only one who I think I may be able to trust with this is Sage, but even then I’m hesitant.

She’s still a contestant on the show, and the girls are all here for the same reason—to win.

Even though I’m not expected to win, I can’t give anyone a reason to stab me in the back. Not with my job on the line.

This will just have to be a secret I keep to myself. At least until we kiss on camera .

A knock at my door interrupts my thoughts. I reluctantly roll off the bed and pad over to the door, looking through the peephole before opening it.

I’m greeted by an impatient-looking producer. “We’re taking everyone to the house today. There’s no reason for you all to stay in your rooms.”

“O-okay. Let me just get ready,” I say quickly before shutting the door in her face.

I take my time getting dressed, but after the producer raps her knuckles on my door again, I pick up the pace a little.

With a few quick swipes of mascara and a couple passes through my hair with a brush, I’m ready to go.

I open the door, strutting past her with a smile, despite the glare she shoots at me.

The producers herd us to the cars with an uncharacteristic urgency. I’m not sure what’s going on for them to want us to leave the hotel in such a rush, but no one bothers to explain anything further.

I’m riding in a car with Abigail and Katherine this time, and conversation flows naturally. I’m sure they were going just as stir-crazy as I was this morning.

As if she can read my mind, Katherine jokes, “How are you guys doing? Going crazy yet?” as she lets out a small chuckle.

It’s pretty boring when we aren’t filming.

Without access to our phones or the Internet, it’s easy to get restless and go a bit stir-crazy.

I know from working behind-the-scenes of plenty of reality TV shows that the rules for this one aren’t as strict as others, but there are still rules in place that keep us disconnected from the world.

Abigail chuckles, and I respond, “I’m doing as well as I can be.”

My stomach chooses to rumble at that moment, and Katherine turns around from the passenger seat. “Did you not eat breakfast?”

I shake my head.

“Baylor!” She looks at Abigail, who also shrugs. “You guys! When we get to the house, I’m going to make breakfast for everyone. I’m not going to let you all starve. Besides, we don’t need any hangry drama.”

It turns out the rest of the girls also hadn’t eaten breakfast. Apparently, Katherine was the only one who had this morning. I’m not sure where she got it. We aren’t allowed to eat in the hotel’s restaurant because of the TVs; maybe she asked the producers to bring her something.

She’s a natural cook, something I lack. Unless Dusty wants to eat burnt toast and extremely crispy bacon for the rest of his life, I most likely won’t be doing the cooking. But, then again, he’s famous enough that he probably has his own private chef.

Katherine plates us all French toast, eggs, and sausage before she joins us in the dining room. For a while, we’re all silent, savoring the meal. Either that or no one knows what to say.

Aspen, of course, is the first to break the silence as she pushes her food around with her fork. “Who do you think will get eliminated this week?”

A couple girls shrug, and Sage and I exchange a look that says, Here we go again .

“I personally think that it could be anyone . Especially since no one has immunity this week.” She gives me a pointed glare. “Maybe ‘America’s Sweetheart,’ as our leading man loves to call you, will go home.”

“Who’s to say, Aspen?” I scoff. “Maybe it’ll be you, and then we can all be rid of the shitty attitude no one likes.

” I shouldn’t be feeding into her mind games, but she pisses me off.

I don’t know what she has against me—besides maybe throwing an axe better—but I don’t see her targeting anyone else.

“I’m not here to braid your hair or make friendship bracelets with you, Baylor. If I wanted friends, I would join a sorority,” Aspen sneers. “I’m not here to play nice . I’m here to win.”

“It doesn’t hurt to have a good reputation, though,” I say under my breath. “Especially since viewer voting is a big part of the competition you want to win so badly.”

“They want good television, too. Haven’t you watched other reality TV shows? There’s always a villain. It makes for great ratings.” She tilts her head to the side and bats her eyelashes, an incongruous smile on her face.

I’ve seen more reality TV than you’d probably expect , I think. I know how this stuff works. There are things I’m aware of that I’ll never be able to bring up. Things only people who work on a television set would know.

Also, I don’t think Aspen is acting like a bitch to be the season’s “villain.” I think she just is a bitch, so being the villain comes naturally to her.

But I just hum in agreement, not wanting to throw more gas on the fire.

I know this is exactly what she wants. She wants me to slip up on camera, or better yet, in front of Dusty.

Katherine clears her throat, getting everyone’s attention off me and Aspen. “I can’t believe all the free time we have.” She changes the subject, and I give her a grateful look.

“I really wasn’t expecting it,” Valerie adds. “I thought for sure we’d be filming 24-7. Or at least not have two full days of nothing. But then again, when we aren’t on dates, we’re kind of just hanging around.”

“They definitely make reality TV look more glamorous than it actually is.” Jordan laughs. “They could’ve at least provided us with a list of things to do in our free time, or I don’t know, board games or something.”

We’re driven back to the production studio for the airing of the third episode. Two people will be eliminated tonight, dwindling our numbers down to six.

Producers escort us to the briefing room where we waited during the first episode.

We all split into groups once we enter the room, huddling with the people we’ve become closest with.

Aspen seems to have become friends with Jade, and Katherine and Valerie immediately engage in conversation with Jordan and Abigail.

The episodes span about two hours with commercial breaks, but we have to be here early so we’re ready when they get to eliminations. It also helps keep the tensions high, but that’s not something the producers would ever admit.

“So, what’s the deal between you and Aspen?” Sage asks me, her voice a hushed tone.

I shrug. “ I didn’t have an issue with her until she started running her mouth.”

“She probably sees you as a threat,” Sage points out, and I can’t help but laugh. “What?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head. “I just don’t know why she would see me as a threat. Or why she would really see anyone as a threat.”

“Everyone is technically a threat when you’re all competing for the same thing.”

“That’s true,” I mumble.

I guess I never thought about it because I didn’t care that much. When the competition started, I’d been in it just to keep my job and stay out of hot water with Colette. I never thought too hard about the possibility of actually falling in love.

But then my solo date with Dusty happened. I can’t deny the pull between us in the record store. It was like we reached some mutual understanding that day.

The kiss was another thing.

“Earth to Baylor?” Sage waves a hand in front of my face, breaking me out of my trance.

“Hmm?” I blink a few times. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“You’ve been so distracted the past couple days. What’s going on?” Her eyebrows furrow before she lowers her voice. “Did something happen with you and Dusty?”

“W-what?” I stammer, unable to control my reaction.

“Something did !” she exclaims. “Baylor! How long were you going to keep this a secret?”