Page 71 of Bargain with the Bachelor
Following the loose script Hap had given us, we went through the motions of working, discussed the “software” we’d allegedly designed for the show’s competition and argued a bit.
Hap said some conflict was important to keep things interesting and maintain the tension of the episode, even if we had to manufacture it.
When it came to Kristal and me, the tension was a hundred percent legitimate.
We weren’t fighting. No, it was far worse than that. She’d been nothing but pleasant and polite for the past week since our ill-fated date.
But she was distant. She rarely spoke to me directly and avoided eye contact.
When I’d asked how her job search was going, she’d given me a breezy one-word answer, “Fine,” and found some reason to leave the room.
When I asked how her photos from the sunset cruise had turned out, she’d told me she hadn’t had a chance to look through them yet.
We’d agreed to keep our relationship limited to friendship, but honestly, it didn’t feel like we were even friends anymore.
Even the other guys had noticed.
“Okay, cut. Let’s take a break everyone. Back in thirty minutes, okay?” Hap said.
Tuck, Aiden, Josh, and Paul dashed for the kitchen where craft services had laid out a spread. Several crew members filed out the back door to smoke on the terrace, and Kristal headed for the stairs as usual.
When she wasn’t at work, shooting photos, or filming the show, she was in her room these days.
Once she was out of earshot, Hap turned to me. “What isupwith you two?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re moping around, and Kristal’s like a phantom. Neither one of you has said more than a few words the past few days. Did you have a fight or something? Did she shoot you down?”
“I hope it’s not my fault,” Reid interjected, walking over to join us. “I didn’t mean to mess up your game, man. I hoped the thing with the yacht would help make up for the way I acted before, but I guess it didn’t work.”
I shook my head, my eyes downcast. “No. It wasn’t you. It was me. The yacht was great. The whole night was great.”
There was a pause before I said, “But I told her we should be friends.”
“Excuse me,what?”
Hap’s arms flailed, and his eyes bugged out. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. This whole thing was because you wantedoutof the friend zone. Although I’m not complaining about doing the show now that it’s about to be picked up by the network. But I don’t get it.”
“Why would you say you wanted to be just friends?” Reid asked, looking truly dumbfounded. “You’ve been drooling over that girl since the second she moved in. What—she’s not as great as you thought she was?”
I gave him a sharp glance. “No. She’s incredible. It’s just… we’re not right for each other.”
“Does this have something to do with your dad being in jail?” Hap asked.
“Keep your voice down,” I hissed. “I don’t want her to know about that.”
Just then the sound guy called out to Hap to come over and listen to something, holding out a pair of headphones for him to put on.
“Be right back,” Hap said.
Reid laid a hand on my shoulder. “You love her, huh?” he asked in a low voice. At my continued silence, he said, “Look, if there’s one thing I know… it’s unrequited love. It sucks, man.”
“Is that why you started StillYours-dot-com?”
Reid shot me a forbidding glance. “We’re talking about you and Kristal, not me and Mara. So… do you love her or not?”
What was the point in lying? The answer was already obvious to Reid and probably anyone else who had eyes.
