Page 70 of Heart to Heart
I nodded my understanding as Sasha walked back into the mansion to grab her things with Jennifer D., Eleanor, and Jacqueline.
CHAPTER 37
AVERY
I watchedSasha disappear into the mansion. Before each elimination, we were to make sure our bags were packed and ready to go so that we could make a quick exit if we were eliminated. No time for formal goodbyes. Get in. Get out. Get home.
There was a scene at the end of the second of the first Spider-Man movies—the only one that mattered, in my opinion—where, after Mary Jane ditches her fiancé at the altar, she runs to Peter Parker, confessing her love to him and whatever their future may hold. It was a sweet moment, until Spider-Man was needed, and Peter had to swoop out of his apartment, leaving Mary Jane to wait for him. I smiled through tears, knowing that, like Peter, Jay was waiting for Sasha. I imagined her running from the mansion, finally free of this competition. She would jump into his van, and the pair of them would take off, riding into the sunset together with Taylor Swift providing the soundtrack, unless, also like Peter, Jay was some sort of vigilante superhero, which, if I’m being honest, would totally track.
With my best friend in the house gone, I followed the rest of the women from the risers, placing my key pin in the bowlheld by the same frazzled aide who’d had the unfortunate task of delivering the news that would rattleHeart to Heart’s fandom for years to come. In the back of the pack, I was the last to enter the house and was just about to turn to walk toward the stairs when I heard my name called in a hushed voice I’d recognize for the rest of my life.
“Avery,” Tristan whispered from the alcove Sasha and I had hidden in after I’d found out about her and Jay. With a quick glance back at the others, I ducked into the alcove, taking in Tristan’s woodsy smell. Did testosterone have a scent? If it did, this was it.
“Tristan,” I said his name like it was a breath of fresh air and I had been drowning. I threw my arms around him without thinking, and to my surprise, he did the same, enveloping me and pulling me into him. “I’m sorry,” I said, making the most unsexy sniffle against his chest.
“You’re sorry? For what?”
“Everything. If I weren’t here, you wouldn’t have had all the drama this week. I was stupid to think that I could just go out, knowing I would be on this show and not have to worry that there would be consequences. I knew people were taking pictures when they found out I was going to be on the show, but it just didn’t register with me.”
“Avery, you were taken advantage of by some bastard of a bartender who saw his fifteen minutes of fame and took it without the slightest concern over who it may hurt. That wasn’t your fault. You aren’t me, and you shouldn’t have to live your life with the same level of caution.”
I pulled back from him, studying his profile in the waning light, admiring the stubble that added a touch of ruggedness to his handsome face. “It’s just that… when I tried to talk to you after the interview, you seemed distant.”
He sighed, but I noticed he still kept his arms woven tightly around my waist as though he were afraid to let me go. “I’ve been under a lot of pressure.”
“Because of me?”
“Not only because of you. Trying to jumpstart a career that’s been on life support has been stressful. As much as I hate it, I must play by certain rules.”
“If I’m adding to your stress, Tristan, you can let me go.” Even as I said the words, I knew I didn’t mean them. The last thing I wanted was to go back to a world where Tristan was nothing but a memory.
He snickered. “You have no idea how much stress you’ve brought to this competition. My agent is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.” He gently lifted my chin with his fingers. “But if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I just ask that you make it a little easier on me. Is there anything else I should know?”
“There was this one time I…” His face fell, and I had to stop myself from laughing.
“Dammit, Avery.” He groaned.
“Too soon?” I smiled, every molecule of me wishing he would kiss me the same way he had in that hot tub, but an abrupt seriousness overtook him, and I knew that even if I were to wish on every star in the sky, that wasn’t going to happen.
He let go of my waist, turning to leave the alcove but not before looking over his shoulder. “I’ll see you at the finale.”
“I’ll be the one in the ridiculously uncomfortable dress.”
I watched him as he walked down the hall. Here I was, a few short episodes away from achieving exactly what I’d come here to do, and all I wanted to do was break down and cry.
The sun roseover the horizon as our van trekked down the highway to destinations unknown. Our group was small enough now that we were all crammed into one van, and I was a bit saddened, though not entirely surprised, when our driver wasn’t Jay but a far too cheery middle-aged man named Jim who hated silence of any kind as evidenced by the vocal stylings of Mötley Crüe playing in our cabin.
“Where are we even going?” Charlie asked, yawning with her head propped against the tinted glass window.
“I’m sworn to secrecy,” Jim answered, far too loudly for my liking this early in the morning.
“So, you’re kidnapping us, then? Tatiana asked.
“No. I’m just taking you somewhere, and you can’t know where that somewhere is.”
“Sounds a lot like kidnapping, Jim,” Charlie replied.
Well before dawn, we’d been woken up, told to pack our bags, and then ushered into Jim’s van without so much as the courtesy of a good morning. It probably wouldn’t have raised too many eyebrows if not for the fact it wasn’t supposed to be a filming day.
