Page 33 of The Cuffing Game
“At the end of the night, you may choose to either cuff again with your current partner or cuff with someone else. And yes, this means that you can theoretically ‘steal’ someone else’s partner, as long as the person you want to cuff with agrees to cuff with you, too. So be thinking about who you want to cuff with as you mingle!”
A chorus ofoohs and laughter came from the contestants.
“All right, let’s get started!” Mia exclaimed. “Noah andCeline, please sit back down in front of the fire. Everyone else, please return to the lodge.”
When Noah and Celine had settled around the firepit, Kallie repositioned her camera so it was pointed right at them. Celine looked excited and happy, but Mia couldn’t help but notice how Noah squirmed in his seat. Eyes wide, he looked like he was having an existential crisis.
It was already turning out to be a fun night.
Chapter Thirteen
Noah
Noah was trapped. What had started as a simple act of kindness had escalated out of control. There was no way he could uncuff from Celine now, not when they had been voted the most popular cuffle. Not when they were supposed to have an intimate one-on-one fireside chat tonight that thousands of people would later watch from their homes.
He supposed he could still dump her since, technically, there wasn’t anything stopping him from doing whatever he wanted. But that could potentially create a lose-lose situation. He would embarrass Celine,andhe could quite possibly make things hell for himself. There were too many dating shows out there with contestants getting villainized all over social media just because they’d been honest about how they felt. Noah didn’t want to be that person.
Sweat prickled his forehead as he warily glanced at the camera. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this nervous about being recorded.
“Hey, Noah,” Celine said when they started filming. “How are you doing?”
Get ahold of yourself,Noah thought, shaking his head from side to side.
“I’m doing great,” he lied. “How about you?”
Seemingly oblivious to Noah’s inner turmoil, Celine beamed. “Amazing! I’m so glad we’re getting this cute date.”
Movement in his peripheral vision made him look up. Mia was staring at him from behind the camera, like she always was. She’d strangely been more smiley than usual today, but now, when their eyes met, she furrowed her brow and jerked her head at Celine, as if telling him to pay attention to the date.
Noah glanced back at Celine, just as she said, “So I know we talked about a lot during our first date. But one thing we didn’t talk about is our hobbies. What do you like to do besides school and work?”
He nodded, grateful to all that was good that at leastthisquestion was one he could answer easily. “I like watching movies and TV shows, especially Hollywood ones, which is how I ended up going to film school here. And I like dancing, working out, and making content, so in my free time, I’m always going to the gym or driving around, scouting new shooting locations around SoCal.”
Celine stared at him like he’d sprouted an additional head.
“Um,” she said. “So basically, you have no other hobbies besides work?”
“Well, like I said, I like to work out and dance...” He trailed off, remembering how he’d definitely made videos of himself doing both. “Ah. Yeah, I guess I don’t have much of a life beyond watching and making content.”
Noah saw some movement again. He looked at Mia out of the corners of his eyes. She was covering her mouth, and her shoulders were shaking. Was she... crying? No, she waslaughing.Mia was laughing at him. For what? For being honest?
Anger flashed inside him. The urge to get up and call it quits, to loudly declare to the camera that he couldn’t do it anymore, rose up in his chest. But just as he was about to stand, Celine said, “I like watching movies, too, but older ones, likeRoman HolidayandSingin’ in the Rain.They’re comfort watches for me on hard days.”
Okay,nowCeline had Noah’s full attention.
“You love old classics?” he asked, looking back toward her. “I like those, too. I watch everything, really, from horror to rom-coms to anime. But I have a special love for old Hollywood movies, too, since I grew up watching them with my mom. What’s a recent favorite movie of yours, though? Like, from the last ten years.”
Celine scrunched up her face in a cute way. “Ooh, if I had to pick... Does it have to be a rom-com?”
“No, any movie.”
“Okay, then,A Star Is Born.The one with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Not really a comfort movie, butstill good. I cry every time I watch it. And the music is amazing!”
Noah smiled. “Oh, yeah, of course. I really thought that movie deserved more Oscars.”
“Youdon’t agree with theOscars?” Celine asked in a teasing way. “Who do you think you are? Snob!”
Noah gave her a mischievous grin. “Hey, when you watch three to five movies every week for school, you form opinions, okay? I talk about cinema all the time with my fraternity brothers, even the ones who aren’t in film school. I even talk about movies while playing beer pong.”
