Page 51 of The Cuffing Game
Mia glanced down the hall. Faint laughter came from the production room on the other side of the house, where her friends were currently finishing up the edits for today. She’d meant to join them as soon as she was done showering but... Celine’s face was drawn tight with worry, in a way Mia had never seen it before.
“Sure.” She stepped aside so Celine could enter the room. “But I have to warn you, I can’t say much. In case it affects the results of the game.”
Celine nodded. “It’s okay. I just need someone to hear me out more than anything else. Shirin’s a good cabinmate but she doesn’t know Noah like you do.”
“Got it,” Mia replied. She sat on her bed and patted the space next to her. “What’s the problem?”
With a heavy sigh, Celine sank onto Mia’s bed. Then, in a rush of air, she blurted out, “Noah isreallydifferent from how I thought he’d be in real life.”
“Different? How so?”
Celine frowned. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’ssohot. And he’s a good kisser too... but he’s more... reserved? On social media he’s such a daredevil and seems so fun and outgoing. But I’m not getting any of that in person. Like, yeah, he’ll say stuff. But other than our second date, it’s been mostly just small talk. Is he like that with you too?”
Mia squirmed. It took all her self-control to get over the thought of Noah being a good kisser and focus on the Noah she knew from class instead. The Noah who annoyingly always had something clever to say about everything, especially during class discussions.
“Maybe he still has to warm up to you?” Mia asked. “He doesn’t shut up when we’re in class.”
Celine’s face fell. “Do you think he’s being like this because of me?”
“No, not at all!” Mia exclaimed, waving her hands frantically in the air. The last thing she wanted was for Celine to blame herself forNoah’sfailings. “Maybe he’s just feeling shy? A lot of people aren’t themselves when they’re being constantly filmed like this, even social media stars like Noah. Whatever the reason, you shouldn’t blame yourself for how he’s acting.”
Celine sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Mia had just relaxed her shoulders when suddenly, Celine burst out laughing. “Oh! By the way, can we talk about how horrible he was at shoveling snow today? It gave me the biggest ick. How can he still call himself a man after that?”
A burst of indignation and discomfort rose up in Mia, surprising even herself. Although she too had made fun of Noah, both in her thoughts and with Alex, it felt odd hearing Celine, the girl he was cuffedwith, the girl that wassupposedto likehim, say mean things about him.
I’m just protective of him because he’s a contestant onmyshow,Mia reasoned with herself.It’s how I’d feel about someone being mean to any of the other contestants.
When Mia didn’t say anything out loud, Celine covered her mouth. “Oops, was I being too mean? Wait, there aren’t any cameras in your room, are there? I assumed not but...”
She looked around, and Mia gave her a polite smile. “There aren’t any, don’t worry. And sorry, I don’t think I should contribute any more to this conversation.”
Celine’s face turned rigid, noticing Mia’s shift in tone. With a tight smile, she said, “Right. Well, it’s late, so I should probably go to bed anyway. Thanks for hearing me out and sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Good night!”
“Good night,” Mia replied, unable to hide the relief from her voice. “Hope you have a better day tomorrow!”
She’d meant it as a friendly send-off, but Celine groaned. “Now you’re making me wonder what sort of random event you have in store for us next,” she complained.
Mia gave her another polite smile before returning to the production room.
The In-Between
Chapter Twenty-One
Noah
Despite going to bed much earlier than he had in the last few days, Noah couldn’t sleep. Without Matías, the room was now completely still and quiet.Tooquiet. He missed his roommate’s booming voice and easy laughter. Hell, he even missed Matías’s airplane snores.
It’d been so easy to forget that they were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by snow and trees, with Matías around. But now, Noah was alone in this room with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company.
Usually when he couldn’t sleep, Noah would look at his phone and scroll aimlessly until his vision blurred. He knew this wasn’t something that was medically advised, but it weirdly helped him. Most of the time.
What would Mia do if I tried to take my phone back?Noah smirked just thinking about Mia’s extreme look of outrage. Her reactions were always so dramatic, overtaking her face and sometimes even her whole body. They were hilarious.Shewas hilarious.
If it’d just been him and Mia, he would have definitely attempted a grand heist of some sort. But since it wasn’t, he stayed in bed. The last thing he wanted to do was derail the show. He had real respect for the crew, Mia included, and he’d hate to ruin all the time, hard work, and money they were putting intoThe Cuffing Game.
He wished he’d brought a book like Matías had. Sure, he had his music, but it wasn’t the same. And if he was being honest, Noah couldn’t remember the last time he’d read a physical book. He usually just read Korean web novels or webtoons on his phone.
