Page 8 of Never Ever Getting Back Together

—before he makes his call. You can be asked to vacate the premises during anyNotte Infinitaparty. At the end of the sixth week, the Explorer will make his final choice from those remaining. Any loser contestants still residing in the mansion at this point will be required to remain in pre-organized accommodation in Loreux after the final choice and until the live Full Circle episode in the seventh week, where they will appear in the finale episode to cheer on the happy couple!

“Oh no,” I murmur. “This is the worst. This is… I mean, it’s just the worst thing I’ve ever seen. Is this the worst thing—”

“‘Loser contestants,’” Rosie forces out in a high-pitched voice through helpless peals of laughter. “‘Sorry Jordy didn’t pick you, youfucking loser.Time to quarantine in the hotel of shame with the otherlosersand drink each other’s tears of sorrow for sustenance while Jordy runs off with the girl whosatisfied him.’”

“Thank god for college, right?” I ask through helpless giggles.

Rosie tries to calm her laughter with deep breathing. When she composes herself, she shakes her head. “Maya, who’s going to protect those poor girls if you don’t go?”

I’m not laughing anymore, even though I’m not totally sure if she’s still joking or not. “What, like an undercover thing? Go in and thwart Jordy from the inside?”

Rosie nods, slowly, then rapidly, like a bumped bobblehead. “Well, youcould?” My eyebrows shoot up, but that only encourages her from the look of it. “You could change the narrative. No more orphans, no more… goddamn puppies and candy and six-packs. You’ll be the one on camera foronce. You can expose him, Maya. Show the world who he actually is.”

Maybe I’m delirious from all the laughing, but she’s sort of making sense. “Like, tell the cameras my side of the story? Set the record straight once and for all?”

“Yeah! Or get the other girls to compare notes and confront him. You can’t be the only one he treated like that. I’d bet you anything.”

“Or,” I say slowly, an idea forming. “I could satisfy him.”

“Gross, Maya.”

“Rosie, oh my god, shut up. I meant I can beat him at his own game. Make him fall for me again. Make it to the end…”

Rosie shoots onto her knees as it clicks. “And reject his ass on TV.”

“Exactly.”

“You could give a speech,” Rosie says. “Like, list everything he ever did to you. And any other stuff you find out along the way. Because therewillbe stuff. Plenty of it.”

“I’d be giving Gwendolyn the show of her life,” I say. “It’d be the most dramatic finale anyone’s ever seen.”

That settles it. Leaping off the bed, I grab my phone from the desk. “I’m calling him back.”

“You’re actually gonna do this?” Rosie asks, eyes shining.

“I’m actually gonna do this.”

“You’re gonna call Jordy, tell him you’re going on his show, and then march downstairs and tell Mom how it is?”

“I’m gonna call Jordy, tell him I’m going on his show, and then tell Mom how it is some other time when I’m feeling brave and she’s in a better mood.”

“Close enough!”

I pull up my call history, but before I can leap in, Rosie scrunches up her face. I know that look. “Uh, just… be careful, okay?”

I snort. “What’s he gonna do, break my heart again? Like he could.”

“Careful of—all sorts. This is gonna involve TV. Everything that happens will be public.”

“Uh, yeah, isn’t that the point?”

Rosie gives a one-shouldered shrug. “I’m just saying. Whatever you do or say on there, everyone will know. And peopleloveJordy. They might not like someone going on TV to trash him.”

“So, maybe I don’t trash him, then? Maybe I just make sure they see the real him? Light the match, and let him set himself on fire.”

“Fire spreads fast.”

I drop my phone to my side. She’s kind of taking the wind out of my sails, here. “Weren’t you just trying to talk me into this a second ago?”

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