Page 52 of Heart to Heart
I studied each obstacle as Tristan introduced them, mentally calculating the probability of me breaking my neck on any of them. If my calculations were correct, I’d be on my way to the emergency room in approximately ten minutes.
“Next, we have the ball pit with inflatable balls that stand five and a half feet tall. To get through the pit, you will have to push yourselves through the field of balls while also trying to maintain your footing on an inflatable ground that is anything but steady. Oh, and the fun part? You can use the balls as ammo to knock your opponents out of the way.”
“Not quite the balls to the face I wanted today,” Sasha muttered next to me.
As hard as I tried to stifle it, I let out a snort-laugh that sounded like a dying pig.
“You okay there, Avery?” Tristan asked, my unintentional squeal taking him off his game.
“Solid,” I answered, trying to regain my composure while also avoiding the smirk I was sure was on Sasha’s face.
“Glad to hear it.” His eyes trailed down to my arm, where a band-aid replaced the gauze he’d so gently applied. When some of the others in the house had asked what I’d done, I told them that I’d tripped in the bathroom in the dark and nicked my arm on the sharp corner of the sink cabinet. With a track record showcasing my inability to stand on my own two feet already fully known, no one even batted an eye. Sometimes, being a klutz had its advantages.
“After you traverse the ball pit, you will climb up another incline—twenty feet, this time. Once you reach the top of that, you’ll grab a rope and swing to the slide, where you’ll slide down into the pothole jungle, which is exactly what it sounds like. Your agility and balance will be tested as you run across a surface filled with ankle-deep potholes. Use the potholes to provide some stability or avoid them altogether; the choice is yours. But choose your strategy carefully. After you make it across the pothole jungle, you’ll run into solid ground and a short sprint to the finish line at the other end of the studio. And that’s it.”
“That’s it?” Juliette protested. “That looks impossible.”
“No, baby,” Kamila said, joining Tristan in front of our group. “Impossible is growing up non-binary in a small town in Alabama. This,” Kamila gestured to the obstacle course, “is a walk in the park. Not to mention, our handsome star here didn’t tell you ladies the best part. Anyone want to guess what it is?”
“We get to nap afterwards?” Charlie asked.
“Not where I was going with that,” Kamila answered. “Although, Charlie, if you would like to curl up and rack out when this is done, no one will stop you.” Kamila put their arm behind Tristan’s waist. “The top three finishers will be rewardedwith a group date with Tristan, while the losers—also known as the rest of you—will be shipped back to the mansion to prepare for a ball later tonight.”
A ripple of excitement spread throughout our group, replacing trepidation, all on the promise of some quality time with Tristan. Even though I knew I was safe, whether I was one of the winners today or not, the thought of being around Tristan again was enough for me to look at the daunting as fuck obstacle course with renewed determination. If not for Tristan, then for myself. Just being here, I’d taken myself out of my comfort zone. In conquering this course, maybe I could show the fans at home that I deserved to be here and that it wasn’t just dumb luck and mishaps keeping me here.
“Okay, ladies, grab a helmet, elbow and knee pads, and a pair of gloves, and line up in front of the rope wall. Oh, and godspeed to you all.”
“The women in the last season had it easy,” Felicity said as we stood in line, waiting for Kamila to start the countdown. “The contestants were sent to a fashion show in Milan, and we get a dusty ass inflatable obstacle course.”
“That happened later in the season,” Tatiana reminded her, “Lorenzo from that season was from Milan, so it made sense they would go there.”
“Well, where’s Tristan from?” Felicity perked up but, like a pin to a helium balloon, was entirely deflated by Tatiana’s answer.
“Omaha.”
“Fuck me.”
“Okay, everyone, take your mark,” Kamila called down to us from a platform constructed next to the rope wall. “Remember, if you feel like giving up, think of Tristan waiting for you at the finish line.”
Hopefully, he knows CPR…or wants to practice.
“Get ready. Get set. Go!”
Kamila blew a whistle, and in a rush of limbs, we all scrambled to grab the rope in front of us. Securing mine, I launched myself at the wall, my feet scrambling to find purchase as I summoned all my upper body strength to pull myself up. In my peripheral, I saw Kennedy and Courtney tumble back down to the mat below in a hail of expletives, almost taking down Taylor and Jacqueline. I felt myself slip down the rope as my focus waned, and it was all I could do to maintain my grip on the rope as I surged forward, my arms and legs already burning.
Think about Guy watching this, rooting for me to fall while regaling his buddies with tales of me tripping up the stairs, or dropping a tray of food in the lap of a prominent local business owner. He’d tell them how he’d traded up for a woman who could stand on her own two feet.
If you want a solid motivator, look no further than pure spite. With my mind focused on Guy and my anger boiling inside me, I charged forward, my legs finding energy they’d never had before as I rushed up the side of the wall, cresting it right along with Charlie, Sasha, Jennifer D., and, of course, Bianca. The five of us only spared a second to eye each other before we all rushed forward, launching ourselves down the slide—which would have been fine had the five of us not done it simultaneously.
But we all had, and our momentum launched us all down in an uncontrolled skid that caused our bodies to slide sideways and then roll into each other like cars hitting black ice on a highway. My knee caught Jennifer D. in the back as Sasha’s arm flew back and smacked me in the face, temporarily blinding me.
“Fuck, Avery. I’m sorry,” she called as she stood up and peered over her shoulder.
The only one who came out of the slide unscathed was Bianca, who had taken off running to the first of the three inflatable mountains.
No way was I letting Bianca get the best of me. The gloating alone would make me want to jump off a cliff. Laser-focused on sparing myself that fate, I leaped to my feet and ran as fast as my burning legs would go, propelling myself forward and grabbing onto the creases that formed the foot and handholds we had to use to climb the mountains. Bianca had already started the climb and was a quarter of the way up, but she’d lost some of her drive. Her movements were slower. This was my opening to play catch-up.
With strength I’d be paying for later, I climbed as if my life depended on it, slowly gaining on Bianca until her feet were within my reach. Below my feet, I could feel the walls of the mountain shake when a few of the others began their climb, and I resisted the urge to look down and lose what gains I’d made. By the time we crested the third mountain, a clear handful of us were left, with the others trailing behind on the first and second mountains.
