Body Games (A Games Novel) (10 page)

“All right,” Chip said. “Looks like we still have Teams Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six playing. Seven and Eight sat out, so that means that three teams will go home with fire. Two teams will go back to their beach, empty handed. We ready to play?” He nodded at the silence. “All right, Team Two, you’re up first!”

I cheered silently as Jendan and Sunnie stepped up to the throwing line, scarfing another donut and washing it down with orange juice. I wanted them to win…but a small, selfish part of me wanted them to lose. If they lost, Jendan would still need my help to make fire, but that was a terrible reason to wish a loss on them. I shoved that thought down with another donut. At my side, Kip was pushing entire donuts into his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he chewed. His gluttony made me eat a little daintier. I didn’t want to look like that on camera.

As we ate, the challenge wore on. The sugar I’d devoured made me nauseated quickly, and I switched to sipping orange juice as I watched players alternately knock coconuts down or try to match them. Alys quickly cleaned up. She got to go last and had no partner, so she just swiped coconuts as others knocked them down. She was the first to ten, then Summer and Polly, and then Jendan and Sunnie squeaked into third.

When they won, Jendan’s face lit up into a jubilant smile that made my heart pound…and Sunnie flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, which made me considerably less happy. The clump of donuts in my stomach churned uncomfortably as I watched him hug her back.

I didn’t know why I was jealous. She was his partner. I wasn’t in this game to hook up with anyone so it didn’t matter if he was attracted to her or not.

But I didn’t want him to be attracted to
her
. I wanted him to be attracted to me, which was all kinds of stupid and wrong.

I wouldn’t win the game of
Endurance Island
by hooking up. I already knew that particular strategy was a failure.

Chapter Eight

“I…almost didn’t want to win those fire-making implements. Almost.” — Jendan Abercrombie, Day 6, Endurance Island: Power Players

“Tell us why you’re heading out into the jungle today.”

I hugged my legs and faced the camera, adjusting my body so that my knees covered my tits and my feet blocked any uncomfortable views of my girly parts. Confessionals were a nice break-up in the day. It felt a lot like my own personal diary, and I could rant and rave to my heart’s content and know that no one would ever hear it…until it aired, of course. So you still had to be careful what you said.

“There are a ton of reasons why I’m heading out into the jungle today. I boiled water this morning, so my canteen is full.” I patted it at my side. “I want to check out that waterfall for myself, because my hair feels grungy and sea water isn’t helping. And I want to look for that tree. I need Pandora’s Box. Badly.”

I didn’t mention Jendan. I didn’t know if he’d be out there today, to be honest. He had fire. There was no reason to come meet me again, not really. Not unless he just wanted my company.

“Tell us about your partner.”

I grimaced. “Kip is frustrating. I can’t explain it more plainly than that. He doesn’t do a thing around camp. I have to feed him. I have to fill his canteen. He steals into my shelter if I don’t get there before he does. At least he’s not staring at my breasts any longer. But he’s a liability I have to put up with until I figure out what’s in Pandora’s Box. Then, if it’s something I can use to get rid of him, I’m going to at the first opportunity available.”

“Do you think it’ll make you vulnerable to get rid of Kip?”

“I honestly don’t care. Getting rid of Kip is the biggest goal I have in this game. I want to make him pay for how he treated me last time. If I win, great. If I don’t and Kip doesn’t either? Great. But being his partner is what makes things tricky. I need to somehow get rid of him without kicking myself out of the game first.”

“What about what he wrote on your back in the last Judgment challenge?”

I smiled tightly. “I’m trying not to think about that.”

~~ *** ~~

Once the interview was done, I took my canteen and headed out into the jungle along the same route I’d taken yesterday. There was no path, but with nothing but time on my hands, I had time to explore a bit. If I went the wrong way, it was no big deal, really. We were on a small island; I couldn’t get that lost.

Eventually, I heard the familiar sound of falling water and followed it to a sparkling shallow pool. There, like a glorious shower of Mother Nature, was the trickling waterfall. It tumbled off of a rocky cliff above, a sight for sore eyes if there ever was one. I stood beside the pool, hesitating. It felt weird to not have to undress to get in, but I shucked off my shoes, dropped my canteen and stepped into the flow, giving a little moan of pleasure at how good it felt. Sure, it was cold water and there wasn’t a ton of water pressure, but it was clean and crisp and not sticky with salt. In short: it was amazing. I stood under it for what felt like forever, rubbing my sandy, sweaty, salt-crusted limbs clean, and then just rinsed my hair over and over again. Man, I’d be here daily, because this waterfall was amazing.

By the time I stepped out and wrung my hair out, Jendan still hadn’t showed. I felt a little twinge of sadness that he hadn’t bothered to show up. I shouldn’t have been surprised, though. He had fire; he didn’t need me for help. I slung my canteen back over my shoulder and started to head away to look for the forked tree. This was water, so maybe the tree where Pandora’s Box was buried would be somewhere nearby.

My shoes were dirty and I hated the thought of putting them on my nice clean feet. Going barefoot through the jungle seemed like a more appealing option than putting on grubby sneakers, so I took my shoes in hand. I’d walked a few steps, picking my way across the terrain, when I nearly ran into Jendan’s naked chest.

“Oh!” That was what I got for staring down as I walked.

“Hey.” He grabbed my arm to keep me from stumbling. “You all right?”

“Just focused on my feet. Didn’t see you there.” God, I sounded all breathless. “I didn’t think you were coming.” I looked down and his thumb was mere inches away from one of my wet breasts.

Which made me all the more intensely aware of his naked body so close to mine.

“Not coming?” He laughed. “It’s not like my schedule’s full.”

“Actually I think we’re due to have a Judgment challenge today. It’s still early, though.” His hand was so warm on my arm, distracting me. “Um. How’re things at camp?”

“Much better now that we have drinking water instead of just coconuts.” He smiled at me, teeth white in his tanned face, and I felt my heart give another little flip.

“So you were able to get the fire going? That’s great. I’m really happy for you guys.”

“It probably doesn’t beat donuts, but one step at a time.”

I flushed uncomfortably. “We looked like real assholes eating those, didn’t we?”

“Not at all,” he said. “I would have done the same thing in your shoes.”

“I doubt that,” I said. “You’re too nice.”

His mouth twisted into a half smile. “So everyone tells me.”

Huh. It seemed like Jendan didn’t care to be referred to as a nice guy. Still…he was. He was one of the nicest I’d ever met. “Was that the wrong thing to say?”

“Nah. Just seem to be stuck with a case of ‘nice guys finish last’ lately.”

“Oh. Did you finish last on your other show?”

“
House Guests
? Came in second, actually.” His smile turned rueful. “First loser.”

“Ouch.”

“Tell me about it. I lost to a guy that played dirty. I guess that’s the kind of game play people respect.”

“Seems like it.” I studied him. He was handsome, but more than that, I liked his face. I liked the way the edges of his eyes crinkled just a bit when he smiled, because it told me he smiled often. So he wasn’t a ‘bad boy.’ Kip was, and look where he’d gotten me. “So are you going to try and play rough this time so you can take home the money?”

“I thought so, but now I’m a few days in and…” he shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s in me to backstab and be a jerk just to get ahead a few spots.”

He sounded like me…except I was still vowing to get ahead those spots. “Yeah, but if it gets you to first place?”

“What’s better, my self-respect or a million dollars?”

“The only person that would say that is someone that already has money.”

He laughed. “Good point.”

That made me curious. “What do you do for a living?”

Jendan ran a hand through his hair. “I probably shouldn’t say.”

“I’ll say if you say.” When he still hesitated, I offered my information anyhow. “I’m a waitress.”

“Isn’t that what everyone says when they’re lying about what they do? Waitress or construction worker?”

His grin was teasing, but I felt a burst of shame. “Well, I was going to college, but I dropped out. Not that that makes things any better.”

The grin faded. “Oh, you were serious?”

My shame deepened. “Sorry if I don’t have some super fancy job. I’ll just go.”

“No, hey, wait—” he grabbed my arm. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be an ass. I just thought you were joking.”

“Waitressing is very respectable,” I said in a hurt tone, not looking at him. “And I really should be getting back to camp.”

“Don’t go,” he said softly. “Please.”

It was that ‘please’ that made me stop. I looked over at him. “I really am a waitress, you know. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“I know. I came off as an ass. I’m sorry.” Those gray eyes pulled at me. “I’m a stunt man.”

I blinked. “Like, the guy they set on fire in the movies?”

His mouth twitched. “I mostly jump out of speeding cars and the occasional building, but yes.”

“Oh wow,” I breathed, imagining that. Then I gave him a curious look. “What the hell are you doing on a reality TV show?”

“Well, for one, I’m not loaded. I’m comfortable, but not loaded. And I tore my MCL last year, which limits the work I can do.” He shrugged. “It’s not a long-term career, you know? So I’d kind of like to open my own martial arts school. Have something else to do when I’m too hurt to do much else.”

“Back-up plans are important. I should have had one for when I dropped out of college.”

“How come you dropped out?”

“Um. Because of how the game turned out last year.”

“How did the game turn out?”

He looked at me, genuinely curious, and I suddenly realized he hadn’t seen the show. Well, damn. I pursed my lips, trying to think of how to explain. Then I remembered the whole ‘lousy lay’ thing and supposed it didn’t matter. “So last year, I had a crush on Kip and he strung me along to get my vote. The TV show edited it to make it seem like I was a bit of a ho.” I crossed my arms over my breasts, feeling a little vulnerable.

Wasn’t hard to do, given the fact that I was standing in front of a hot naked guy, totally naked myself.

For a moment, Jendan looked…angry. “They did what?”

“They, um, edited it badly.” I mean, sure, I’d chased Kip, but we’d done nothing but kiss on the island. I didn’t think that was worth the slut shaming I’d gotten. “After that, I got harassed by some people online and at school and I just thought it would be easier to disappear for a while.”

“So why are you on the show again?” His frown had become fierce, his body language angry.

Well, now I felt stupid. “I guess I don’t learn from my mistakes?”

“Annabelle,” he said, reaching for me. Then he pulled back, as if self-conscious of my nudity. “I’m not judging you. I just don’t like that they’re using you like this and then deliberately setting you up for round two. That’s not fair to you. You’re more than just a storyline, and they can’t wreck your life just because it makes good TV.”

I knew what he was saying was the truth. But I was already here, and trapped with Kip, so it was just pouring salt into a wound at this point. “Preaching it to the choir. But I plan on turning things around this time. I want to show people a different side of Annabelle Tucker. I’m playing different this time. More cutthroat. Less naive.” Hopefully. “And zero island romances.”

Silence fell between us, and I thought of the charged emotions that had been running electrically through my body the moment I came into his presence. So much for that. Now Jendan was going to lose interest, like every other guy that wanted nothing but a quick hook-up.

But he only shrugged. “Sounds like a good plan to me, as long as it allows friendship.”

“It does,” I said lightly, feeling relieved. That was unexpected. “Still need me to help you make fire?”

“I actually have that covered,” he said. “It’s about the
only
thing on this island that’s covered.” And he gestured at his groin.

I laughed, because it was either that or cry, right? Big beautiful hunk of man standing right in front of me, and I couldn’t even look down at his magnificent equipment without being totally obvious about it.

Because friends wouldn’t do that to friends, right? Not even if those friends were totally mouthwatering.