Matched (13 page)

“It’s fine, Emma,” Jasmine says. I glance back, and Emma and I share a silent
How the heck did she hear that?

“No fire, just talking. Callie, what’s that mean?” Jasmine asks, sitting up on the edge of her bed. “What’d you
see
?”

Now
Callie looks at me questioningly, seeking approval. Too late, sister. The can hath been opened, so own it.

She reads my mind—or, more likely, my expression—and sighs before focusing back on Jasmine.

“I’ve seen him around, with, well…not you. Several not-yous, actually.”

I start in Jasmine’s direction, hug-ready, when the door flies open, startling us all.

“Y’all seen—oh, hey Emma. What’re you doing?”
In shocking news, he found her.

“Oh no. Cruz!” she somehow manages to say straight-faced and calmly, though she’s looking around the room frantically. “Whew, close one. All the naked men toting drugs, alcohol, and hot sex on a platter hid just in the nick of time.” Still monotone—and freaking hilarious.

He does
not
agree.

“Funny, Em. Hysterical,” he snarls. “I was just checkin’ on ya.”

“As you can see, I’m fine. We’re having girl time, so
you
have to get out of here. Shoo, scram, be gone.” She ushers him with flittering hands, advancing his way and ultimately backing him right out the door.

“Sorry. He’s so…ugh.” She tugs at her hair. “Infuriating!”

“I heard that!” he calls from the hallway.

“Go away!” she yells through the door. “I never get girl time! Do
not
ruin this for me.”

“I’ll sit at the top of the stairs, but that’s it, Emma. No one’s getting past me into that room.”

“Deal,” she sulks in compromise and spins back our way. I bite the inside of my cheek to prevent even the slightest smile.

“I can see how it’d get annoying sometimes—I totally do—but Em, it’s really sweet too. Your brother adores you. I think it’d be wonderful to be that important to someone,” Jasmine dreams aloud, her gaze far off and voice wistful.

“Then demand it, Jasmine. People treat you exactly how you let them,” Callie barks. I cut narrowed eyes at her, thinking her quite the hypocrite.

“What?” she asks. My answer is to exaggerate my eye roll and move to Jasmine’s side, wrapping my arms around her.

“Harlow, what?” Callie persists. “Say it. I’m a big girl, I can take it.”

“Nothing, drop it. Just quit pointing fingers. For every one you point at someone, there’s three aimed back at you.” I think that’s how the saying goes. “We’re all friends here. Let’s not act like the nasty bitches we try to avoid.”

“Whoa!” Callie stands, holding her hands out defensively as she walks toward us. “I’m not trying to be nasty—I
am
your friend, and Jasmine’s. That’s why it pisses me off to see her being used. She deserves better than to be someone’s backup plan.”

Jasmine inhales audibly, obviously pained by Callie’s too-frank words.

I explode. “Callie,
enough
! Tough love doesn’t work for everyone. You need to ease up—and maybe have a look in the mirror while you’re at it.”

“Okay, okay!” Emma jumps in. “Let’s all calm down. We’re friends, damn it! I finally get a solid piece of wood between me and my brother, and we are
not
spending it fighting!”

Callie leans around her, smiling, though without much humor. “Who told you?”

“Told who what?” Emma asks, but I know exactly whom Callie was talking to.

“Told Harlow that I gave your brother a blowjob in the Great Room, on the couch, with my mouth.”

“Jesus, Callie, GROSS!” Emma shoves her. “TMI! T.
Damn
. M.
Puke
. I. You really think I wanna hear about my brother’s
rendezvous?
” She shudders.

“Is it just me, or did that sound like she was taking her turn in a game of
Clue
? ‘On the couch, with my mouth, in the Great Room.’ Next time, take him to the conservatory, with the…lead pipe!” Jasmine cuts in with barely contained laughter, then a snort, and that’s it—we all lose it, cackling like breathless hyenas.

When Emma recovers, she stills with realization. “I didn’t know you and Cruz had a thing.”

I tense and wait for Callie’s reply.

“We don’t,” she pops, taking a seat across from us on Miles’ bed. “Your brother wasn’t gonna say no and he understood my agenda, so he helped me out. Pretty cool of him, actually.”

My jaw hangs slack; I’m too confused to form a question. Emma’s able, though. “He helped you by
letting
you give him a BJ—so generous of him, by the way—with
what
?”

“My image. I’m looking to muck it up. My mother will finally completely lose her mind and my agent might fine me or quit, but I’m out of fucks to give. I wanna be bad.” She wiggles her eyebrows and does a cat paw-scratching thing. Just like that, we’re all cracking up again.

“Me too! Sign me up for
Girls Behaving Badly
!” Emma squeals, catching us off guard. “You could knit sweaters with the cobwebs growing in my twang.”

I literally roll off the bed, tears of all that is precious about having good girlfriends streaming down my cheeks, a happy stitch in my side.

“Who ya got your eye on there, sexpot?” Jasmine asks between hysterics.

“Court. She likes Court,” Callie answers, no trace of humor in her voice anymore.

“Dude, you’re like
I Spy
—worse than Cruz!” Emma swats her arm. “Court’s nice, and so hot, but no make-a-point BJs planned for me quite yet. Thank you very much, nosy butt!”

“Em…” I
have
to say it. “Your brother will never let it happen. I’d hate to see you get your hopes up. I—”

“Have some weird effect on him? Yes, I’m aware.” She grins, an obvious plan behind her eyes—one that raises the hairs on the back of my neck. “Which is why you should be the leader of your three-woman, distract-Cruz operation.” She points to me, Callie, and then Jasmine. “Any interference you can run to give me some breathing room would be great. Pleeease?”

And now I understand Cruz’s struggle. One puppy-dog-eyed, pooched-bottom-lip plea from precious Emma and you’re all in, despite your better judgment. I’m sure he’s deathly afraid she might use it on the wrong roommate, knowing it’ll work.

“I’m
not
giving him a blowjob, though,” I grumble.

“Bitch!” Callie laughs. “No more blowjobs. Geez, you suck
one
dick—hopefully on camera—and you get labeled.” She rolls her eyes dramatically.

“Um, weren’t you going for a new label?” I point out.

“Fuck yeah. See? It worked! But no more. And no more Jensen. Your pretty shit is on lock, Jasmine—from him, at least. So, we all clear ladies?”

She holds out her hand and invites a pact with a friendly smile. I clap my hand over hers, finally taking a deep breath of tranquility. I’m more than strong enough to survive this house with the power of four. Jasmine and Emma giggle and put their hands in. Callie counts us off.

“No random BJs, no Jensen junk, Cruz control, and screw those skanks. On three…one, two…”

We all yell “Three!” and throw up our hands.

About an hour later, after we’ve sat in a circle and sufficiently badmouthed every ho in the house, the door flies open so quickly we barely have time to flinch.

Oakley hoists me up onto my bed in one move, burying me under him. “Missed you, fiancée. And,” he says, hilarity in his cadence, “what’s-her-name absolutely hates me. Now give me those lips.” He snares them himself, lunging into my mouth. One hand sneaks under my shirt and pulls my bra cup aside, his finger and thumb rolling around my nipple.

He obviously missed the three other people in the room.
Please let them have snuck out.
Not that I’d stop him if they hadn’t, but it’d sure make facing them later less awkward.

Never mind. It doesn’t matter, because we’re crudely interrupted by a voice booming from the PA.

“We need everyone in the Great Room
dressed
for tonight’s Soul Search, please.”

Oakley groans but rights my bra, adjusts his erection, and helps me down. The room is empty aside from us. Hand in hand, we join the others. A fuming Nadia stands at the head of the Great Room beside Tom.

“Now that we’re all here…Nadia, have you decided whom you’ll be sending into the Soul Search tonight?” our host asks her nicely, wasting no time.

She crosses her arms and scoffs before grinding out venomously, “Oakley and Harlow.”

Yeah!
I get to go home, plan my wedding, and be alone with my man whenever and wherever I want! I don’t need instructions—I sprint to get my safe while Oakley grabs his key.

But on my walk back, the strangest thing happens. I stop and look to Jasmine, who’s clearly wavering between happiness for me and sadness at watching me go. And Emma, also smiling in my joy yet obviously sad at losing a member of the coveted alliance. And then there’s Callie—one of a kind, whose left hand is giving me a thumbs up, her right flipping off Nadia.

You really don’t know a good thing until it’s gone. This house, the new experiences, new friends, branching outside my own self-imposed barriers…it’s a little bit good.

I never would’ve imagined.

“Baby? Come on, let’s do this.” Oakley shatters my trance, slinging a guiding arm around my shoulders. “You excited to see where they’re gonna send us, or just ready to go home?”

He doesn’t wait for me to answer, his smile contagious as he continues. “You’re probably excited to plan us a kickass wedding. Man, I can’t wait to see how you decorate
our
pad. And oh, damn!” His face somehow lights up even more. “Home cookin’. Been way too long. You still a great little cook, hm?”

“Huh?” He lost me at decorating our pad. Since I’ll be living with him, it makes sense, but I don’t have time to finish my degree
and
play Betty Homemaker.

I force a weary smile. “Sorry. I mean, yeah, I can still cook.” Not that I love to, but I will for him.

Oakley pulls me closer into his side. “That’s my girl.” He kisses the top of my head and I shake out of my daze, seeing we’ve somehow made our way back into the spotlight.

“First off, congratulations on the engagement, you two.” Tom claps Oakley on the shoulder, and we both thank him. “Okay, sir…unlock your soulmate’s safe.”

Oakley leans in and kisses me, then inserts the key. My heart drops before I even see his eyes do the same.

No, no, no.

“Turn the key over, babe,” I choke out.

“Yeah.” He exhales with new life, then tries it that way. Nothing.

I swear I can hear a pin drop somewhere in, say…Virginia.

“Tom, this my key?” Oakley asks shakily, despite seeing his name engraved on it.

Oakley shows it to him anyway, and the host actually looks sullen and nods his head.

“I’m sorry, you two. Our computers did not find you to be soulmates. This means no one leaves the house, and the prize for the next challenge goes down to $40,000.”

The safe drops to the floor; several people flinch from the loud, abrupt clang. Oakley grabs me and kisses my hair, whispering to me that it changes nothing—that he loves me, and that it’s just a game.

A heinous cackle bites through the suffocating room and I turn toward the satisfied sound of Nadia. “Guess you should’ve tasted bare pussy I showed you tonight?”

I don’t lunge for her, or even say a word. Instead, I muster the energy to move my feet and head to my bed, oblivious to what Callie and Jasmine are screaming at the slut right now.

Oakley Abrams, my fiancé, is not my soulmate. And all the world—tuned in every week, on whatever night, at whatever time—will soon know it.

Confessional: Peyton Price

“Hello, out there. I’m Peyton Price. I’m thrilled to be a part of Date, Mate, Fate, and have the chance to earn lots of money for well-deserving charities. I was asked to bring a plus one, and the lovely and talented Ivy Malone agreed to join me here in Seychelles. She also happens to be my costar in the upcoming romantic comedy Always Was, which I hope you have a chance to get out and see.

“I’m having a great time being here with the beautiful scenery, unbelievable hospitality, and excellent cast. It’s truly an honor to be included in such a worthy cause. And I think I’m getting closer to having things figured out…I just need to win a main challenge or two to test out my theories.

“I have to admit…Harlow and Oakley not being a match threw me a curveball and I had to go back to my data and move some things around. But I’ve always loved puzzles and analytical games, so I’ll get it eventually. Every day, something or someone gives me another piece of information.

“Oh, looks like I have a couple questions here to answer. It’d be my pleasure. ‘Have you figured out your match, and if so, who is it?’ I’d love to tell you, but that wouldn’t be quite fair to those who love a surprise, now would it? So please keep watching to see how things unfold.