Page 15 of Heat & Hard Candies

Including me.

I had to wonder how it would feel to be liked that much. To be that good at socializing. To enjoy being around other people to that extent.

I wanted to ask him, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen.

Anyway, the day passed by slowly. I spent the night curled up in my own shelter, away from the men. The show had started treating the compatible females much better after the first two seasons, so I had a heap of blankets, a couple of pillows, and a small tarp that had been spread over my sleeping space. It wasn’t a bed, but it was far more comfortable than it could’ve been.

The next day passed the same way the first had. At the council that night, most of the votes were against Kaden.

I remembered the way Kyle had told me he thought I would get along with Kaden, and had to bite back a smile when I realized that was why he’d been voted out.

Our eyes met over the fire for the briefest of moments as Kaden walked away, and Kyle winked at me.

He was so damn good atSurvival.

five

LAUNA

Keepingto 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 theSurvivalspa. 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.

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