Page 20 of Winging It with You

When Jo mentioned tonight’s mixer, I hadn’t realized it would be this…theatrical. Dalton is clearly the type to thrive on public validation, his ego visibly expanding to dangerous levels with each clap, threatening to suffocate us all.

“It’s so refreshing to be back with you all—my family,” he says from behind an alarming megawatt smile, resulting in a drawn-out collectiveawwwfrom everyone around us. “I can already tell thatthisseason is going to be incredible. Can youfeel it? Because I can!” he asks the crowd. Their applause, now bordering on hysteria, is a resounding yes. He’s in his element, the beloved master of ceremonies taking his rightful place in the limelight, and I’ve got to give it to him—he sure knows how to work a room.

“Before we wrap up for the evening, we’ve got a few housekeeping items to go over. Jo?” he says, turning toward where she’s waiting in the wings before joining him on stage.

Dalton may be Mr. Flashy, but Jo is all business.

And I’m getting the sense she’s really the one in charge around here. She takes the microphone from his outstretched hand, ignoring the strained smile he’s throwing her way. “Thanks, Dalton. First and foremost, we are on atightschedule that doesn’t leave a lot of room for flexibility.” A shared groan ripples through the crowd, but Jo doesn’t skip a beat. “You all have been given detailed itineraries, so please,do me—and yourself—a favor and follow them.Meticulously.”

She flips through the pages of her clipboard, clearly double-checking she isn’t forgetting anything. “We’ve got an early departure tomorrow—our hours are going to be long and tiring, trust me…I get it, so please try to get some rest while you can.”

People must take that as some unspoken cue to leave, because one by one, the chairs around us start emptying. “Can I have the contestants hang back for a moment?” she asks, sitting on the edge of the stage and setting her clipboard and mic down next to her. She waits for the others to leave.

“I’m going to level with y’all…” Jo says, the bite to her all-business tone replaced with something more relatable, friendly even. “You’re about to embark on some of the most tiresome and draining weeks of your life. You didn’t hear itfrom me, but production has made a lot of changes recently, especially to the challenges…” Her brow furrows in a way that makes me think she isn’t at all happy about said changes. “So don’t go into this thinking that if you’ve watched previous seasons of this show, you’ve got it all figured out.”

How reassuring.

“Social media is going to be key to this year’s challenge,” she says, waving her tablet in the air. “We’ve set up each team with a joint social media account that will be managed by their producer. Your success in this competition will rely not only on how well you do in each of the challenges but also on audience participation and engagement and by how you connect with people online,” she continues. “So make sure you put your best foot forward when the cameras are rolling. We’ll be coming around shortly to collect your personal phones, so if there’s any last-minute messages you need to send, now’s the time to do so.”

I already messaged my family earlier, typing up a succinct explanation of the last twenty-four hours, so when the production team member comes around with a container, Asher and I each place our phones inside it without objection.

I can’t say the same for the others. Jenn looks like she had to pry Ellie’s phone from her hands mid–frantic typing.

“Before we call it a night, I want to run through the list of competitors this season,” Jo says, crossing her legs. “Whether you choose to be friend…ly…or not is up to you.” I’m pretty sure she’s looking directly at Asher and me when she emphasizes this point. “Either way, we get a good show, so it doesn’t make a difference to me, I suppose.”

Jo flips through a few more pages on her tablet and begins reading.

There’s Bianca and Jackson Mitchell—a twin brother andsister duo with fiery red hair who look more prepared to go into battle than to mingle with the other contestants. Their pinched facial expressions lead me to believe they’ll be exceptionally pleasant to be around.

We’ve already met Jenn and Ellie, who are waving enthusiastically at everyone. I like them. Jenn is clearly filled with a warmth and kindness that is just so stereotypically Midwestern, and Ellie, well…I can tell she’s quickly going to become a favorite of mine.

Ivan Morales and Eddie Green, a pair of lifelong friends who served in the Army together. Honestly, I could tell they were veterans right away by the way they carried themselves. Despite their age and it no longer being required of them, they still have their hair cut in the classic military high and tight style.

The newlyweds from Florida—Griffin and Alana Peters. They’re allegedly on their honeymoon, but no amount of forced PDA could make me believe those two aren’t secretly miserable.

Garrick and Ivy Conners, a father-daughter duo from the Pacific Northwest, wave enthusiastically before foot-stomping the fact that Ivy was accepted to each of the eight Ivy league schools. How ironic.

Kiara and Ruby Moore are next—a pair of sisters and small-business partners from Nashville who allegedly have an organic candle business they plan to expand upon.

Dallas and Cameron, a pair of Gen Z influencers hoping to use this platform to raise awareness for…I’m not sure what exactly, to be honest.

And then there’s us.

Asher Bennett and the schmuck just dumb enough to join him on this crazy adventure. All I want to do is find some food,take a hot shower, crawl into bed, and try not think about cameras and social media and all the ways I’m going to completely fail at being Asher’s boyfriend.

I’ve never had much luck with that title.

Why would now be any different?

7

Asher

Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard

Waterbury, Vermont

“Neither of you are lactose intolerant, right?”

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