“You’re withholding and not even being rewarded with any money…” she taunts, resting her hand on my leg.
“Which means, I should’ve gone on that island because I would’ve won!” I gloat.
Cami shakes her head. “You just wait.”
“Wow…” I say after all the participants are introduced. “So they picked the absolute most shallow people they could find on the planet, grouped them together at a beach house with nothing else to do besides sunbathe and work out, and they have to try not to jump each other’s bones?”
“The goal is to form a connection that isn’t based on sex.”
“Precisely what I suggested we do…” I counter.
“Yes, but they all literally just met. We’ve known each other for a long ass time,” she argues. “So…”
“But we only kissed days ago. You can’t go from hating each other’s guts to getting naked in a matter of days.”
She turns and faces me. “You really hated my guts?”
I look at her, frowning. “Well, I’ve always had underlying feelings for you, but when you called me out for being poor and made me feel like I wasn’t good enough for you, it was hard to like you as a person. Yet for some reason, I couldn’t get you outta my head. Or my heart, apparently.”
“I was an awful teenager, I know.” She lowers her gaze.
I tilt her head up until her eyes meet mine again. “We fed off each other’s hostility. I don’t blame you. I provoked you just as much as you provoked me. There was tension because something was bubbling between us that neither of us understood. But I do now. The chemistry and connection, it’s real. It always has been, and I’m glad we can use this time to get to know each other better.”
“Yes, I agree. But we can also have some fun while doing so.”
I sigh with a small chuckle. “Okay, so what are the guidelines for your drinking game?”
“Every time a couple breaks a rule, we take a shot and mimic their offense.”
“You mean, do what they did?”
“Right!”
“Cami,” I warn, easily seeing right through her.
“Don’t worry. We don’t actually see them having sex or doing anything more than touching and kissing.”
“Baby, listen…I like your intentions, but I don’t trust you with this one.”
Her hand slides up my thigh. “Did you just call me baby?”
“Don’t interpret that as me giving you the green light to jump me,” I tease.
“Fine, but you can’t stop me from wanting you to whisper that in my ear while you’re inside me. I’m definitely gonna be imagining that very thing while I’m in the shower later.”
I grab her hand and stop her from going higher. My dick is well aware of her presence and doesn’t need further temptation. “You can fantasize all you want, baby…” I bring my mouth close to her ear. “But that’s all it’s gonna be for now.” Pulling away, I smirk at her pouty expression.
“You won’t even kiss me?”
“I’ll kiss you,” I tell her. “But you can’t get handsy.”
“We’ll see. I played your stupid drinking game, so now, you gotta play mine.”
“Did that girl really just admit she’s ditzy?”
“She’s actually one of my favorites,” Cami replies. The longer this show goes on, the more I know it’s going to be painful to watch.
“The rules should be to take a shot every time one of the girls flips their hair.” I snort after we meet the sorority chick who flipped hers six times in thirty seconds.
“I didn’t think you’d want to be hammered by the end.” She chuckles.
Taking her hand from my leg, I interlock our fingers.
“David is my reality husband, by the way. He’s my number one.”
“Really? So he’d be your celebrity free pass?”
“Can you blame me?”
“I mean, if rock hard abs and a chiseled jawline are your thing…” I snicker.
Cami looks over at me. “You’re quite comparable.”
“Am I? Would I still be in the running to win your heart then?”
“Yeah. I mean…” She shrugs casually. “Probably.”
“Probably?” I remark, bringing my hands to her sides and tickling her.
“Stop!” She laughs, collapsing on the couch. I tower over her, digging my fingers under her arms.
Bringing my mouth to hers, I brush it softly without quite kissing her. “That’s what you get for making me watch this ridiculous show.”
She pushes me until we’re both sitting again. “It’s payback, so deal with it.”
I smirk, knowing she enjoyed that crazy documentary even if she’s denying it.
“I love how everyone’s in their bathing suits, showing off ninety-five percent of their bodies, and this guy waltzes in looking like Jesus.”
“Just wait till he takes off the hat…”
He finally does, and I nearly choke when he reveals his bun and starts taking it down. “So that’s me? I'm Jesus.”
Cami laughs. “Well, I imagine there’s a lot of Oh my Gods in bed with you.”
I nearly blush, but I don’t tell her that. “I might actually like that guy.” Then the scene continues. “Okay, then. Never mind…” I say when Jesus claims he doesn’t believe in monogamy and wants to spread his seed to as many women as possible.
“He’s Jesus on the outside, but the devil on the inside.” Cami chuckles.
“Okay, this show is making us dumb, and it’s only been ten minutes.” I groan.
“It’s about the journey. You’re supposed to see their growth throughout, so of course they all look like morons in the beginning.”
“The best part of this is the narrator’s jokes. Even she knows it’s ridiculous.”
“She’s actually a comedian and is pretty funny. No one is there to explain to them what’s going on—that we see anyway—so they’ll meet their virtual host soon,” she explains.
“So how long until one of them breaks the rules?”
“Keep watching…”
More time passes, and my brain cells start to dissolve. There’s a dressing room where they get ready and do their hair and of course, gossip.
“What are they supposed to do all day? What are they preparing for?”
Cami glares at me, and I shrug. I thought those were valid questions…
“Did he really just say four weeks was considered a long-term relationship? Oh my God, I can’t.” My head falls back in agony, groaning as we continue watching. “Wait. She climbed on his lap after just meeting him. Oh shit, now they’re kissing!”
“It’s technically not breaking the rules because the ban hasn’t started yet,” Cami explains.
“Because they just arrived!” I hold out my hand. “This is absurd.”
“Have you never watched a reality show before? They go from zero to sixty in an hour. That’s the whole premise, and why there’s so much entertainment value in trash TV.”