Page 30 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

We’re joined by Selena and Daniel, and soon I find myself toasting with the two of them. I’m still not sure drinking is a good idea, but when Daniel eyes me after he downs his shot, I know what I have to do. I can’t back down now.

I keep eye contact with him as I tip the shot into my mouth. The alcohol goes down smooth and tastes like strawberries and summer. I don’t break my gaze even after I plant the glass down on the bar with an audible clink and lick the last of the shot from the corner of my lip.

Daniel swallows and looks away.

Ha. I win.

“Hey, anyone up for the hot tub?” Selena asks, her hand in the air.

Daniel slings an arm around her waist. “Sure.”

“I’m in,” Chase says. “Come on, Alice!”

The four of us head over. A few other couples drift into our orbit as we slide into the hot tub part of the huge pool. The glow of the lights in the water throws ripples of ethereal blue across us. My sore muscles welcome the relief of the hot water, and I sink farther in.

“Okay, I seriously had to get away from those two,” Mikayla says, slipping in next to me. She nods over at Dominic and Zya.

“They seem to be looking for trouble,” Daniel observes. Dominic and Zya are arguing with the green-haired Mad Max couple now.

“My advice? Don’t give those clowns the time of day,” Selena says. “In my experience, it’s not worth engaging with people like that.”

“I know,” Mikayla sighs. “But they’re seriously pissing me off. I would kill for access to a meditation app right about now.”

“Girl, same,” Selena says sympathetically.

Mikayla peers at her. “Sorry to derail, but haven’t I seen you before on TV?” Mikayla asks. “You’re Selena Rivera, right? You totally rocked it inHottie Havana.I still remember that episode when you saved Rayleighanne’s life by doing the Heimlich maneuver while blindfolded on a suspension bridge. And weren’t you onBikini World, too?”

“No, but I was onOperation: Bikini,” Selena says with a sunny camera-ready smile and a shrug that’s clearly meant to be self-effacing but looks adorable. Cindy and Tara’s reality TV crash course had includedOperation: Bikini, but we’d skipped the season with Selena in it. Too bad, maybe I would have more intel on her if we hadn’t.

“Wow. I didn’t know we had a professional in the cast,” Brittanysays. “I bet your brain doesn’t turn to cotton fuzz when the cameras are rolling, like me.”

“I wish experience in front of a camera gave me and Trev more of a leg up,” Mikayla says. “But social content just isn’t the same.”

“Oh!” Selena snaps her fingers. “I know where I’ve seen you and Trevor before! You’re Trekayla! I love you guys. Hashtag couple goals, hashtag dream boyfriend, hashtag dream girl, right?”

Trevor beams at her. “Hey, thanks for being a fan.”

“They’ve got, like, over a hundred thousand followers on Insta,” Selena says to the rest of us. “They’ve really made it. They’re living the dream.”

“That’s the idea,” Trevor says. “And if this show goes well, we can keep on living it.”

Mikayla pipes up. “I was nervous about working with Dawn Taylor since all of that drama three years ago, but she’s been great so far. Total girlboss. And can you believe Peter Dixon’s on this? I didn’t even realize this was one of his projects when we applied!”

“What’s the deal with him?” I ask. I’d read about Dawn Taylor’s somewhat contentious career online during my research, but I didn’t really look at Peter Dixon’s background since I didn’t think we’d be seeing much of him. From the little I’ve seen so far, he seems all right. He’s affable in a way that puts me in mind of how the president would behave in a kindergarten classroom. It’s obvious that he and Dawn Taylor don’t see eye to eye, but given her history, maybe that’s not unusual.

“People outside the industry might not know,” Mikayla says conspiratorially, “but Peter’s the secret sauce behind the success of Get Real Productions. He’s never produced a flop before, so this show is guaranteed to blow up—”

“More shots!” Trevor interrupts with a yell. One of the PAs is coming around with a floating tray of shot glasses.

“To winning! And a million dollars!” he cheers, and everyone takes a glass, lifts it, and shoots it. This one tastes more like paint thinnerthan summer, and I resolve to cut myself off.

Chase pumps his fist. “Hell yeah, they broke out the Grey Goose!”

After that, the party really gets going. Ava and Noah, the power couple, head to bed early. So do the obnoxious camo couple and the goth-meets-steampunk couple who were making out at dinner—though I have a feeling they’re going to be doing anything but sleeping. Everyone else, though, isn’t ready to turn in quite yet. I’d love to go to bed, too, but I know I need to bond with the other contestants.

As usual, Chase is the life of the party, handing out fist bumps and doing showy backflips into the pool. Selena matches him flip for flip.

I keep an eye on them, just to make sure Chase doesn’t give himself a concussion, and settle down off to the side, perching on one of the fake rocks that has been artfully sculpted into the pool to simulate a waterfall.

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