Page 55 of The Cuffing Game
Panic shot down Noah’s spine as Kyle whispered into his left ear. His tone was friendly, chill even, but there was nothing amicable about the words coming out of his mouth. Or the tight grip on Noah’s arm. “I know she’s cuffed with you now,” Kyle said, “but come on, man, you can’t have everything, you know? You have the frat... you’re famous. . . let me have a win for once.”
Noah’s head spun, and he broke out into a cold sweat. He glanced over at Celine, who was still talking to Carlos by the edge of the road. Yet another girl Noah had to warn about Kyle. The list was growing by the minute.
Thankfully, Carlos spotted Noah looking in their direction and nodded at him. It took all of Noah’s strength to casually hold out a fist in greeting and call out, “Welcome back!”
“Thanks, man!” Carlos replied.
Damien’s camera turned in their direction, and Kyle finally let go. Noah’s heart was pounding in his chest, buthe briefly closed his eyes and forced himself to smile as Carlos and Damien headed their way.
Carlos bumped fists with Noah, and Kyle went to talk to Celine. And Noah was too rattled to stop him.
“Hoping to last for more than one round this time,” Carlos joked.
Noah laughed, but it came out strangled. “Yeah, best of luck.”
Carlos blinked as he fully took in Noah’s current state. “Hey, are you all right—”
“Okay, everyone,” Mia said from where she now stood in the middle of the yard. “Today’s random event is these new people right here: the Gamechangers.”
Noah gave Carlos a quick, grateful nod. “I am,” he whispered. “Thanks.” And hewasgoing to be okay, now that Kyle was no longer death-gripping his arm. With every new breath, he felt more himself.
“Gamechangers,” continued Mia, “you’re here because you have a crush on one of these original contestants. Well, everyone except Carlos. Carlos, you’re here—”
“Because I was already in the area,” Carlos said. “I know. It’s cool.”
Everyone laughed except Noah, who managed an amused grin.
“We’re glad to have you back, though!” Mia said. “Seriously. Thanks for making the drive up here again. You were the first person to respond when we asked for help.”
And the only person to notice I’m not okay, Noah thought. He clapped, and everyone else joined in. Carlos bowed with a flourish, an amused grin on his face.
“Today, the Gamechangers will go first in choosing who to cuff with, which means they will each ‘steal’ someone else’s already-cuffed partner,” Mia announced. “Since we have an odd number of people, one person will be left uncuffed. This person will be in danger of being eliminated tonight, unless they can somehow take their original partner back by the end of the day.”
Celine gasped. “Ooh, drama!”
Carlos and Violet looked nervous, but Kyle appeared way too excited at the prospect of stealing someone’s partner. From where he now stood by Celine, Kyle shot Noah the world’s most obnoxious grin. Noah clenched his hands into fists.
“Today, in your new cuffles, you will all go on cute winter wonderland–themed dates in the woods,” Mia continued. “We have snowshoes by the door if you want them. But there are also paved trails available if you want to just wear boots. You can make snowmen, take walks, whatever you want to do. Please be sure to stay within the view of the crew and not wander off on your own, for safety reasons.”
She paused to gesture at Kallie and Damien, who nodded back at her.
“At the end of the day, each person who has cuffed with aGamechanger will have a choice. Switch back to the person you were with before or stay in your new cuffle. Whoever fails to cuff with someone by the end of the day will be eliminated, and the final three cuffles will move on to the finale.”
Noah braced himself. There was no doubt Kyle was going to steal Celine from him. Which was fine in and of itself. But not when Kyle was... well, Kyle. Hopefully Noah could warn everyone about Kyle before getting eliminated himself. Or somehow get Celine back so Kyle would be automatically eliminated.
“Okay,” Mia said, recapturing his attention. She was still avoiding him, looking at everyoneelseas she continued, “Is there a Gamechanger who would like to pick first?”
Kyle’s arm shot in the air. Because of course it did.
“Me!” he yelled. “I pick Celine, my crush!”
Celine’s jaw dropped, and a low murmur arose from the rest of the contestants. A pressure built up inside Noah as he felt several pairs of eyes on him. Some people even gave him looks of pity.
Noah kept his face blank. If he spoke out about Kyle now, everyone would just think he was being jealous. The only thing he could do now was watch.
“I’m your crush?” Celine asked. A small, hesitant smile appeared on her lips.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kyle held out his hand in a flourish.
