Page 45 of The Cuffing Game
Everyone laughed as the two friends linked their arms together.
“All right,” Mia said. “That leaves Celine and Noah. Are you two going to cuff with each other?”
“Yup,” Noah said. He drew his lips into a tight smile as he linked arms with Celine.
Celine also looked a bit tense, but she smiled back at him.
“Fantastic!” Mia exclaimed. “Well, thank you, everyone. I wish you the best with your new cuffles. We’ll break for lunch and then head to the slopes at two. Please take some time to relax a bit before we go. We want y’all to be alert and energized so no one gets hurt this afternoon.”
She raised her eyebrows at Noah, as if saying,Especially you.
When they finally stopped recording, Noah let out a sigh of relief and stared down at his newly blistered hands. Celine had looked so disappointed in him when he came in dead last. Now none of that mattered.
The truth was, he probably would have done a lot better if he hadn’t already been so sleep-deprived. But mentioningwhat happened between him and Mia last night on camera seemed like a recipe for disaster. Especially when he himself was still trying to figure out what it all meant. For now, it was easier to just pretend that nothing had happened.
Noah’s stomach growled. He was starving, but more than that, he was exhausted. After grabbing an Uncrustable from the kitchen, he went back to the room, only to find Matías hiding under the covers of his bed.
“Wow, Jack was right,” Noah remarked. “You’re fast. I didn’t even see you go back upstairs.”
“I bolted as soon as we stopped recording,” Matías replied, his voice muffled by the sheets.
Noah sat on the edge of his own bed. “Why?” he asked before opening the plastic wrapper and taking a big bite out of his sandwich.
Matías let out a big, loud sigh but didn’t say anything.
“You okay?” Noah asked when he’d finished chewing.
Matías pulled his covers down so Noah could see his face. “I don’t know. What if asking Jack out was a mistake? What if the date goes horribly, and I embarrass myself in front of the thousands of people who tune in to the show?”
Noah frowned. After he’d eaten another bite of the sandwich, he asked, “Why would you? Jack said he was interested in you. Just have fun. What’s the worst that can happen?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Matías said with a nervous laugh.“I could embarrass myself so badly that I start crying loud enough to cause an avalanche?”
Noah made a face. “Is that... something that has actually happened to you before? Wait, is that even scientifically possible?”
Matías groaned. “Probably not but who knows? I’m a loud crier, Noah. Areally loudcrier. And what if Jack only said yes because he didn’t want to embarrass me in front of the cameras?”
Noah winced. Well, that sounded familiar.
“Nah,” he said. “Jack doesn’t seem like the type. He already rejected Bethany and sent her packing, remember?”
And he definitely seems like a more honest person than me,he added to himself.
When Matías didn’t respond, Noah went on, “The guy literally came out on TV to say he was interested in you, too. You should give him more credit.”
Matías’s eyes widened.
“Wait,” he said. “No, you’re absolutely right. I’ve been out since before I can remember, so coming out doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to me, but it’s huge for Jack. Thanks for reminding me.”
“No problem.” Noah finished his snack, rolled the wrapper into a ball, and tossed it. The ball of trash flew into the garbage can with a satisfying whoosh.
“Nice,” Matías said. “Kobe would be proud.”
“Thanks. I’m gonna take a nap.”
“Yeah, you look pretty tired.” Matías reached down to get out his book from underneath the bed. “You go ahead. I’m too nervous to sleep right now.”
Noah didn’t need to be told twice. The second he lay back in bed, Noah fell into a blissful sleep.
