Page 43 of Winging It with You

No, IwantTheo.

When my fingers make contact with another key, I hurriedly lift it to the lock with squinted eyes, mentally pleading for it to be the correct one to end this madness. It slides fully into the keyhole and, to my surprise, turns completely.

Did I just—

The lock clicks open, propping the large box’s lid open ever so slightly. The first thing I see is sweet Theo, his poor face filled with more concern than I’ve ever seen in it before, and Arthur and Wyatt flank him, standing at the ready.

“Please. Get. Them. Off. Of. Me.Now.” I hiss at Wyatt, echoing my restless tank companions. I lie perfectly still as Wyatt lifts each snake off me one by one, an agonizing newgame of patience and control when all I want is to dive into a pool of scalding hot water.

Or bleach.

“You can get up now,” Wyatt says, leaning into the tank and offering me a hand. After however long I was locked in there, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes or seven hundred years, my limbs are rigid with stress, so when I clap my hand into his, every muscle screams out in protest.

I can’t believe I did it.

Might as well start calling me Asher “Snake Charmer” Bennett from now until eternity, because not only did I just face the biggest fear of my life, I did so with minimal meltdowns. Well,visibleones. But before I can truly wrap my head around the feat of it all, Theo pulls me into those massive arms of his, picking me up like it’s nothing.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his scruff on my ear.

“I…think so,” I mumble, my lips unintentionally against his throat. He releases me just enough to give me a once-over as if he doesn’t trust my own assessment. I’ve not seen this side of Theo before, and I have to admit, I like it. “I promise. I’m fine,” I add when I see the worry in his eyes. “A little disgusted and very much in need of a shower, but fine.”

His eyes are still surveying me, but they dip down to my lips and for a heartbeat of a second, I think he wants to kiss me.

“Congratulations, Asher, you’ve successfully completed your individual challenge! You and Theo are ea…” Dalton’s voice fades to the background, because now all I can think about is Theo’s lips.

And why they haven’t been on mine yet.

Theo lowers me in his arms slightly, shifting my weight. “You did it,” he beams through the widest and most beautifulof grins. Despite Arthur, who’s now circling us with his rolling camera, capturing every angle of this moment, Theo’s smile is genuine. Just for me.

“I didn’t think I could,” I whisper. Our situation may be convoluted, and the lines of this relationship may be blurred, but there is no denying the authenticity in his reaction. He’s celebrating…me. Because I faced a genuine fear of mine today, and it’s starting to feel like I’ve made him proud.

At the end of the day, this moment might not mean too much for the overall competition.

But looking down at Theo’s smiling face…it also means everything.

“Well, you did amazing today,” he whispers, his voice thick and low enough that only I can hear him. We’resogoing to have to reevaluate our rules. “I knew you co…” he starts, but I interrupt whatever he was about to say by crashing my lips into his—honestly, taking us both off guard, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to do since being stranded on that damn boat.

I can feel Theo’s confusion against my lips.

What are the chances he’s wondering the same blaring question I’ve had every single time he’s placed his arm around me or called mebabe?

Is this for the competition or could this be real?

But I feel the moment he decides he doesn’t care, and honestly, my body melts in relief.

Theo slowly slides me down the length of his body, and the moment my feet are on the ground again, I fling my arms around his neck, pulling myself tighter against him as he kisses me back with overwhelming force.

It’s not lost on me that this is our first kiss, and I’m praying it won’t be our last, because kissing Theo Fernandez is likecoming up for air while simultaneously being set on fire and screamingThank you.

He’s inhaling me with a passion and urgency that some people wait their whole lifetime for and here we are in the middle of nowhere, caked in dirt and sweat and probably snake slime, so when he reaches up, taking my face in his large hands, well…I could just about pass out from the tenderness of it all.

“What are you doing?” he asks against my mouth.

He parts my lips with his, gently sliding his tongue against mine as I claw my fingers into his hair—I want to remember this moment for the rest of my life.

Right on cue, the shuffling sounds of Arthur scrambling to get the close-up shot of this celebratory moment fill my ears and a wave of deer-in-headlights embarrassment rushes over me. Iwillremember this for the rest of my life, because Arthur just captured me throwing myself at Theo like some sex-crazed animal, and he’ll be spending his evening happily editing it into some compilation of today’s events.

“Winging it,” I say, panting because Theo has completely obliterated whatever part of my brain triggers the millions of subconscious decisions needed to inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.

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