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five

LAUNA

Keeping to myself on the island was pretty easy. I spent my days avoiding the fae guys, sitting on the beach or in the ocean, and daydreaming.

Mentally, I replayed books I had read. When I got tired of that, I mentally ran through my research, trying to come up with new angles or things I hadn’t considered before. I figured out a few different things to look at, and said them aloud so they’d be on camera in case my hunger affected my memory.

Being hungry sucked, but I adjusted after day three. It felt like weakness more than anything else. We had enough rice to eat a small portion twice a day, but it barely helped.

On day 5, we finally went to the second challenge. It was a puzzle, so as soon as I saw it, disappointment set in.

Kyle wasn’t going to win.

He was a big, loveable bastard, but he was shit when it came to puzzles.

Sure enough, I was on a boat with Ev an hour later. It was taking us to the Survival spa. Technically it was the second Survival spa, because the first had been left behind when the show changed locations after Erin’s season. But that didn’t really matter.

Ev tried to start conversations, and I ended all of them with one-word answers and looking away uncomfortably. He’d given up by the time we reached the spa.

It was going to be a long twenty-four hours alone with him, but at least Jordan was there as backup.

Ev really wasn’t a bad guy, so I felt kind of guilty for trying so hard not to interact with him. But there was no point in leading him or anyone else on.

So, I tried not to feel bad as the silence set in.

We both took showers before dinnertime. Part of me worried that Kyle would get booted while I was gone, but logically, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

No one saw him as a threat to win, and everyone wanted to get to the end with him.

The spa provided robes and clean underwear, so I put mine on and tied my robe firmly in place. Though I would’ve preferred to keep my own clothes, I knew the spa would wash them for us, and I wanted them clean.

Ev tried to make conversation again while we ate all of the food (it was free of gluten, nuts, and dairy, thankfully), but I shut him down again.

After we were done with the food, we were led to another room for our massages.

I left all of my clothes on, and plopped down on the table face-first. When I heard Ev’s clothes rustling, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Awkward.

It was so, so awkward.

After the massages, we were led to the bedroom we would share.

More discomfort ensued.

When Ev sprawled out on one side of the bed, I padded over to the large couch on the other side of the room and got cozy.

His huff of frustration was impossible to miss.

He grudgingly offered me the bed, saying he would take the couch, but I politely told him I was happier where I was. He grumbled a little more, but eventually, started snoring.

It took me a while to fall asleep, but I managed.

The next morning consisted of more awkwardness.

They gave us facials.

Head massages.

Foot treatments of some kind.

It was more pampering than I’d ever had, and I was highly uncomfortable with all of it. But, I gritted my teeth and made it through.

When we finally got on the speedboat and headed back to the island, I was so relieved I could’ve cried.

I wanted to feel Kyle’s arms around me, like I had during our reward, but it wasn’t an option.

So, I just held tightly to the handrail beside my seat and gritted my teeth.

Only twenty days left.

I would survive it.

The ride wasn’t too long, and soon enough, we were back on the Survival beach. Ed, the only fire fae currently in the game, had been voted out. He was a decent guy, but I wouldn’t miss him.

Kyle caught my gaze as some of the other men started walking off, and there was a bit of a question in it. He seemed like he was asking if I was okay.

I gave him a small smile and a nod before I headed back to my usual spot on the beach.

Only twenty more days.

It would be fine.

Three more days passed slowly.

Another puzzle challenge, too.

And another reward with someone other than Kyle. That time, it was with Oz, the game’s only air fae. I could tell Ev didn’t try to win the challenge. He was smart enough not to want to go on another reward with me.

Oz seemed much more comfortable with silence than Ev, and didn’t push me to talk too much. That made it a lot less awkward.

We spent a day and a half on a yacht, exploring a few different gorgeous locations. There was tons of food, snorkeling, and swimming, and our room was comfortable.

I really just wanted a good book to curl up with, but I tried to enjoy the experiences anyway. I didn’t know if I’d ever do anything like that again after Survival ended.

On the way back to the island, Oz asked me about books.

I admitted I loved them, and tried to end the conversation—but then he asked if I’d read a certain fantasy romance book.

One of my favorite fantasy romance books.

I couldn’t help but lean toward him, asking if he’d read it.

When he confirmed that he had, we had a long discussion about the pros and cons of the whole series. The conversation continued, loudly, on the speedboat back to the Survival island.

It caught me off guard when we arrived, because I was so excited about the chat.

My gaze caught on Kyle’s as we got off the boat, and I found his eyes narrowed.

Shit.

He was usually calm and collected, no matter what.

He had to know that I wasn’t interested in Oz—I just liked having someone to talk about books with.

But I couldn’t come out and tell him that. If we went off alone, red flags would rise immediately. That wasn’t even an option.

So, fear clenched my abdomen as I watched him force his usual laid-back demeanor.

He smacked Oz on the shoulder to welcome him back, then winked at me before sauntering off with the other guys.

My stomach clenched tighter.

I hadn’t even checked to see which guy was gone, but I didn’t give a damn. I needed to talk to Kyle… and I couldn’t.