Page 64 of Surviving Love

What are you winking at me for, of all people?

I kept my gaze firmly away from Jack’s. I didn’t want to get sucked into this conversation. It would have been awkward enough, even if Jack and I hadn’t had that intimate moment with each other.

“Are you keeping secrets from us?” Jack teased.

“No.” Julia’s freckled cheeks tinted pink.

“Hmmm.” Jack looked unconvinced.

I cleared my throat. “What we should talk about is who goes next, if we lose the next challenge.”

Jack nodded. “True. What do you guys think?”

“I say Rob.” Harold sounded very certain.

“He’s strong in the challenges though,” I said. “I don’t really like the guy, but we need to win right now so we get more food.”

“I agree.” Jack nodded.

“We could vote Billy. I don’t trust the kid.” Harold shrugged.

“Yeah, but he’s good at the challenges too.” Sherry frowned. “What about Lydia? She was with Rob and Luciano, and she’s notthatstrong at challenges.”

“True. Mary is better, and she’s twenty years older.” Jack crossed his arms and glanced at me. “What do you think, Mason?”

When all eyes turned on me, I felt myself flush. “Oh, well, uh… I’m fine with voting Lydia out.”

“Okay.” Jack pursed his lips. “Then let’s vote Lydia if we lose tomorrow’s challenge.”

Everyone nodded agreeably.

“Hopefully, we’ll win,” I said quietly. We had a great chance of winning, now that Rob and Luciano weren’t in control of the game. Our tribe was strong, and there was no way I’d throw the challenge like before. That had always felt wrong to me.

Once we’d come to our decision, we all split off in different directions. The rest of the day, I didn’t see much of Jack. I was a bit surprised that I almost missed talking with him. He had a certain charisma, and when he focused his attention on you, it was a bit exhilarating. Now that I didn’t hate him, like before, I could admit that. He could be charming when he wanted to be.

When night fell, I found my spot between Jack and Harold again. Things had changed so much between Jack and me, I now felt more comfortable facing him instead of Harold.

“That tarp is a godsend,” Jack said softly.

“Definitely.” It was only sprinkling lightly, but I had no doubt it would start raining harder during the night.

“I’ll bet you two are glad to be back at camp,” Harold said from behind me.

“No question,” I said to him over my shoulder.

“What did you two do to pass the time?” Harold asked casually.

I tensed at the question but then forced myself to relax. No one would ever know what had happened between Jack and me unless we told someone.

“We talked,” Jack said gruffly.

“Yeah.” I forced a laugh. “I now know more about Jack than I ever needed to know.” I figured it was best to at least pretend Jack and I still had a bit of an adversarial relationship. It certainly couldn’t hurt.

“Back at you, Mason.” Jack shifted his position, and his face was easier to see. His eyes glittered as he watched me. “In fact, I found out that apparently our buddy Mason here has asthma.”

Shock rolled through me as those words left his lips, but fury quickly took its place. I gaped at him, speechless with anger.

“What?” I heard Sherry say softly. “Is that true, Mason?”