Page 33 of Fan Favorite

“Not at all.”

“Fair enough,” Peter said. “But I think you should trust me on this. It’s not really that big of a deal—you kiss all the girls. Obviously, you should never feel pressured into kissing anyone because, as you know,The Keytakes consent very seriously. But, look, it’s easy. You call her name, you give her a little kiss, and in post we make it into a super romantic moment with swirling cameras and romantic music. You have to picture it—every woman in the world who’s ever pined for her ex is justlivingfor this moment, where you, Bennett Charles, are every girl’s dream.”

Bennett stepped closer to Peter. He wasn’t Charlie Bennett anymore. He was a guy who’d BASE jumped in India. Who’d rappelled into an active volcano. Who’d jumped out of a helicopter on motherfucking skis. Contract or not, Bennett Charles wasn’t intimidated by this prick.

“You need to promise me,” he said, looking Peter straight in the eye, “on your honor as a man, that you will never use that footage. From the hall.”

Peter gave him the Boy Scouts salute. “On my honor.”

And then Bennett was shaking out his arms and legs like an athlete preparing to take the field. He bounced on the balls of his feet, repeating his personal mantra to himself.Every mountain teaches you something. Every mountain teaches you something.Some residual soreness from yesterday’s pick-up basketball game with the sound guys shot through his left knee, a rude reminder that he was, in fact, thirty-five.

“Let’s go.”

Peter and Bennett walked out of the kitchen, and Bennett once again took his place next to the podium. He could feel the eyes of all fourteen women boring into him, and a little rivulet of sweat snaked down his back. He ignored it. He was Bennett Motherfucking Charles, and it was time for his speech.

Bennett knit his hands together at the waist and looked at the floor for a moment, as if the gravity of this burden weighed heavily on him. “I believe in this process,” he began. He raised his face to the girls, eyes tender. A camera trucked closer. “I believe my wife is in this room tonight. And my commitment to finding her, to building a life together filled with love and adventure—that commitment has never wavered. Buddha reminds us not to rush anything. When the time is right, all will become clear.” He took a deep breath and picked up the first Key to My Heart. The teeth dug into the palm of his hand. “Bailey.”

Bailey, the Pilates instructor from Santa Barbara, who the girls called Malibu Barbie because she was empirically the most beautiful woman of the bunch, with a ton of blond hair and these big blue eyes and this little nose over full lips, swept down from the risers. Bennett had a major hard-on for Bailey, but he couldn’t imagine a girl as perfect as Bailey ever agreeing to marry him. But her eyes were supportive, so maybe he was wrong. He smiled at her gratefully as he took her hands in his.

“Bailey, will you hold this Key to My Heart?”

“Always,” Bailey said, smiling in a way that was somehow shy, confident, sexy, and demure all at once. They embraced.

“Zo,” Bennett said. After she slinked across the floor to him, he asked, “Zo, will you hold this Key to My Heart?”

“You know I will,” Zo responded. And then she placed a hand at the nape of his neck and pulled him to her, planting a seductive kiss on his cheek and whispering, “Send that bitch home,” in a way that sent shivers down his spine and almost got him hard.

He continued handing out keys to the girls on Peter’s list. Lily, the aromatherapist from Portland with the little yin-yang tattoo on her wrist. Just yesterday, before everything went to shit, they’d been alone for a moment on the group date and Bennett had held that tattoo to his lips. She’d smelled like lavender. Max, the long-distance runner from Kansas City with the purple hair and swole biceps. He could picture her rock climbing in Yosemite with him, and it was hot. Imani, this season’s onlyrealmodel, or at least that’s what she’d told him repeatedly, referencing the appearance of one-third of her torso in the corner of a Gucci ad as “the time I was inVogue.” McKayla, who was always drunk but always fun. Aspen, who’d dry humped him on a pool table. Parker, Emily, Bai, Chantel, and—

Adam Fox appeared and said gravely into the camera, “Ladies, this is the final key of the night.”

Bennett took a deep breath.

“Edie,” he said.

“What?” Edie and a smattering of indignant girls cried.

“Edie,” he said again, tilting his head in a way he knew looked adorable and smiling like,Come on, get over here, silly. He could do this. No big thing. He kissed all the girls, all the time. And when this was over, didn’t he want to break into acting? He’d start now.

She arrived in front of him. He took her hands in his.

“Edie Pepper,” he said, “my oldest friend. Over the years our lives have put miles and oceans between us. But seeing you again, for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m home.” He squeezed her hands. “Edie, will you hold this Key to My Heart?”

“You bet your ass I will,” she said. And the way she was looking at him, amused but also like he was really something special—just like that, something inside him relaxed. Suddenly he felt like he could see her,reallysee her, this friend he’d always known. She smiled—that big smile where you could see all her teeth, and he remembered—hadn’t she always been like the coolest girl to him? And even though he could feel Greg right on his ass and all the girls holding their breath, Bennett felt ready—happy even. He put his hand to her cheek, leaned in, and kissed her.

WHO IS EDIE PEPPER? 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BENNETT CHARLES’S EX-GIRLFRIEND

BY LUCY LYONS

Ex-girlfriend alert!Us Weeklyhas learned that Midwestern copywriter Edie Pepper, 35, has joined the competition for Bennett Charles’s heart in a surprise entrance duringThe Key’s 22nd season, premiering November 3 on RX.

“I’m so flattered that Edie took time out of her life to reconnect and see if the spark’s still there,” Bennett said in an exclusive quote toUs.

Who is Edie Pepper? Here are five things to know.

1. She’s the Oldest Female Contestant in the History of the Franchise

Clocking in at 35 years old, Edie Pepper is by far the most mature woman to ever compete for a Key to My Heart. But is maturity what the extreme sportsman’s looking for? Sources tellUsthat while Bennett claims to be ready for marriage, his wildin’ days might not be over just yet.

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