When I heard a floorboard creak again, I pulled the blankets over my head.
CHAPTER THREE
“My god. Kandis is smokin’ hot, but she is the most paranoid chick I’ve ever met. She freaks out about everything. I spent half the night last night thinking she was going to climb into bed with me at every creak in the house…and the other half of the night disappointed she didn’t. I’m only human, after all.” – Brodie Short, Day 3
“How is your first week going, Kandis?”
It was day three, and I was back in the confessional. I rubbed my eyes, thinking. “Well, my partner’s determined to score with everything female, he’s made deals with half the house, Mickey keeps trying to give me massages I don’t want, and I’m pretty sure the living room is haunted. Other than that, just great.”
There was no reaction on the other end, and I felt suddenly awkward.
A moment later, the confessional booth voice spoke again. “Have you made any alliances?”
I shifted in the confessional chair and then tucked my legs under so I wouldn’t twitch and give myself away. “Well, seeing as Brodie’s spoken ‘for’ me to everyone?” I made finger-quotes to show my annoyance. “I guess I also have alliances with half the house. But I’ve only really discussed strategy with Brodie and Jendan. Brodie because I have to, and Jendan because I actually trust him. He’s like a brother to me in here. We have each other’s backs.”
“Any romance there?”
I considered this carefully. Jendan was good looking, charming, and funny. But I didn’t feel anything for him. “Not really? Don’t get me wrong, I really like Jendan, but I think we came in here with the same objective—to claw ahead—and our friendship is strictly platonic. It’s almost like a job partnership. We’re both here to do business and that’s it.”
“And is it business with Brodie?”
I snorted and crossed my arms. “Brodie can go jump off a cliff.”
“Please extrapolate.”
I felt my foot jerk underneath my butt, just dying to twitch in irritation. Good thing I’d sat on it. “So here’s the thing. Brodie knows he’s cute and charming. He thinks that’s going to get him through life and that if someone doesn’t like him? He can just convince them otherwise with a few sweet words and a well-timed grin. It’s total manipulation. The sad thing is that he’s right, though. It’s been three days and he has all the girls here eating out of the palm of his hand. Marla made him breakfast the other day. Lenore loves him. Sunnie spends all her time out by the pool talking to him. He helps Jayme cook. And he’s busy trying to flirt with me on the down-low—not that I’m buying any of it. I think I’m the only one immune to his charm. I just worry that his mouth is going to write a check that he can’t cash, and then we’re really going to be in trouble.”
“How does this work into your plans?”
I rubbed my face, weary. I hadn’t gotten much sleep since we’d arrived at the house. Too many creaky noises and half-seen shadows keeping me up at night. The house was freaking me out, just a tad, and I was having bad dreams. Some of it was due to stress, I was sure, but not all of it.
“It doesn’t work into my plans at all,” I said, and could hear the irritation in my own voice. “My plan was to lay low. Make a key alliance and stick to it. Ride the middle. You know, hold back in challenges until about half the people here were gone. Then, when the odds are better, come out swinging. Dominate. But Brodie thinks the best way to play is guys versus girls, apparently. Or all other guys versus him and the girls.” I rolled my eyes. “So much for laying low.”
“Thanks, Kandis. You can go now.”
I flashed a quick peace sign at the screen, hauled myself out of the chair, and then padded out of the room. Since we were in the house, we’d been asked to wear either slippers or socks so the sound of shoes wouldn’t mess up the audio. Sunnie had a pair of huge fuzzy slippers. A few other people wore flip-flops. I liked bare feet. It was how I worked out.
As soon as I re-entered the living room, I saw Brodie sitting on my couch, waiting for me. The others were nowhere around, likely outside trying to get some sun at the pool or smoking in the designated area. Brodie had a box of cookies and was munching on it thoughtfully. As soon as I emerged, he made a small gesture with his hand, indicating that I should join him on the couch.
Oh, here we go. Another strategy talk.
I headed to Brodie’s side and snagged the box of cookies from him and then slid onto the couch next to him. I didn’t recognize the box of cookies—and the bored houseguests had gone through everything in the pantry yesterday out of boredom. “Where’d you get these?”
“Liam and Katy,” he said. “They got a basket of food up in the Power room.”
I snagged a cookie and handed the box back to him. “And let me guess, since you’re allied with them, they let you have your pick of goodies?”
“Actually, I didn’t ask.” He grinned. “I just went up there and snagged this. Katy won’t be too mad.”
I wanted to shove my cookie into his face until it crumbled. “Brodie Short,” I snapped. “We have to freaking live with these people all summer. It is day three. Don’t start a fight over cookies.”
He shrugged. “Like I said, they’re not going to care. Katy likes fresh-baked goods more than anything. She hates this packaged crap.” And he stuffed another whole cookie into his mouth and winked at me. “You’re free to eat.”
I hesitated, and then took a dainty nibble of my forbidden cookie. “It’s good,” I admitted sourly. “Still doesn’t make it right.”
“Relax, Kandis. You’re so uptight.”
“So what are you doing out here?” I took another bite of cookie, ignoring his ‘uptight’ comment.
“Waiting for you so we could talk.”
“Oh? What about?”
Marla strolled through the living room in her swimsuit and a towel, returning from the pool. As soon as she saw Brodie and me, Brodie immediately pulled me into his lap, pretending to tickle me.
I squealed, trying to jerk out of his embrace, but he held me tight, his fingers fluttering against my sensitive sides. “No! Don’t!”
His laughter echoed in the room, and he pulled me close against him, trapping me against his big body and sprawling me across his lap. His blue eyes were bright on me and he grinned. “Ask me nicely—”
“Screw you—”
He began to tickle me all over again, and I screamed and twisted in his arms, unable to stop laughing. “Mercy! Mercy! I give up!”
Brodie laughed and stopped tickling me, and I gasped to catch my breath. He leaned in. “Okay, she’s gone now.”
I sucked in a deep breath, surprised. So that had all been strategy? Why was it that I felt all hot and bothered at some simple tickling? I shifted, acutely aware of my body’s response and not sure how I felt about it. Part of me was irritated, and part of me was…I don’t know. Flustered. He seemed to be affected, too. You came into this game to flirt, Kandis. Flirt, dammit. I forced myself to sit there and ignore the awkwardness of the moment. “So what did you want to talk about?”
“I was talking to Katy and Liam,” he whispered. “They’re afraid of rocking the boat because they know they have targets on their backs. So when the reward challenge for this week comes up, they’re going to nominate whoever comes in last.”
The reward challenges happened on a weekly basis in previous seasons of House Guests. We’d have to do some sort of goofy competition for an equally goofy prize. Okay, sometimes the prizes were pretty good, like cash, but a lot of the time they were for food or house privileges. Sometimes the losers had to wear stupid costumes for a day. “So…their strategy is no strategy?”
“Pretty much. They want to go with a World Races strategy. You know, whoever comes in last gets the boot. What do you think?”
I blew a breath out, wiggling my bare toes and thinking. The angle I was sitting in was uncomfortable, but I knew that squirming again would just make me more aware of
Brodie’s body, and I couldn’t afford to be more distracted. “I’m trying to decide if it’s a smart plan or incredibly stupid.”
“I think it’s stupid,” Brodie said bluntly. “I tried warning them, but Liam didn’t want to hear of it. I told him he needed to nominate his biggest enemy in the house.”
“And who’s the biggest enemy?” I asked.
“Marla. That’s why I didn’t want her to see us talking.”
I said nothing, thinking. Marla was friends with Jendan, and I had Jendan’s back. It worked for me if they weren’t nominated. “But if Marla and Jendan get last, they’ll still go up for nomination, right?”
“Yeah, but they need to ensure it. They’re not thinking strategy. This isn’t the Race.” He sounded frustrated. “They need to use their brains and not their hearts.”
“Gee, it’s almost like we shouldn’t have allied with them, don’t you think?” I said sarcastically.
His fingers twitched on my sides again, threatening another tickle. “Come on. You really think anyone would buy me not allying with them? Katy’s my sister.”
“Yes, I saw how well that worked for her on The World Races.”
He grinned. “Sisters are very forgiving creatures.”
I’ll bet. I shifted off his lap and pushed at his hands, indicating he should free me. He let me go, and I stood up, straightening my clothing. “Well, thanks for the intel. So that’s our team’s goal for this next reward challenge? Just don’t be last?”
Brodie nodded.
“So…what happens if we are last?”
He grinned. “Then I talk Liam and Katy into putting Marla and Jendan up for eviction.”
I crossed my arms, thinking. “I see.”
“I know you’re buddy-buddy with Jendan, but don’t go running off to tell him about this, okay? It stays between you and me.”
I made a ‘cross my heart’ sign over my chest.
Brodie got up and adjusted his jeans. “Now, I think I’m going to go take a cold shower.”
I laughed and picked up the box of cookies he’d discarded and pulled another out. “Have fun.”
“Yeah, cause that’s what you do in a cold shower,” he said sarcastically and left the room.
As soon as he disappeared, I set the cookies down and raced to the backyard. I had to warn Jendan about what Katy and Liam were planning. I didn’t care if Marla stayed or left, but it suited my plans for Jendan to stay.
He wasn’t in the backyard, so I shielded my eyes and pretended I needed sunglasses, then headed back in. A quick search of the house revealed that he was in the workout room, hitting a punching bag.
I moved past him and picked up a pair of small dumbbells, waiting to see if anyone had followed me in. When all was clear, I approached Jendan. He stopped punching and looked over at me, curious. I leaned in. “Remember how we said we’d have each other’s backs in this game?”
He put both hands on the bag to stop it from moving and shot a glance at the door to make sure we weren’t seen. “I remember.”
I did an arm curl with the weights. They were way too light, but as long as it looked like I was doing something, maybe it wouldn’t be so obvious. “So I found out that they’re not going for a strategic nomination. Basically, they’re going to play World Races style. Whoever comes in last in the reward challenge is who they’ll nominate.”
Jendan blinked at me and then frowned. “Huh. Really?”
“Really,” I said. “Unless Brodie and I come in last, or they come in last. Then they’re going to target you and Marla.”
His eyes widened. “Me and Marla? Why?”
I did another rep. “Because she’s running around telling everyone that she needs to get them out, and they heard about it.”
He swore under his breath and then swiped a bandage-wrapped hand at his jaw, wiping away a bead of sweat. “Who told?”
“Well, seeing as how Brodie told me, I’m guessing he got intel from one of the girls. Either Lenore, Jayme, or Sunnie.”
Jendan sighed heavily and thought for a moment. “So I have to make sure we don’t end up in last place and also make sure that one of those three World Racers doesn’t end up in last because they’ll pick us by default?”
“Ding ding ding,” I said. “Think you can manage it?”
“I don’t know,” Jendan admitted. “If it’s athletic, we should be okay. If it’s puzzles, I don’t know how we’ll do.”
“Well, if you get nominated, I scramble to get the others to vote off Marla. I think you’ll be safe either way,” I assured him. “I’ll just have to put a bug in the ears of the right people that she was the one gunning for them, not you.”
“And Brodie won’t suspect that?”
I snorted. “Does it matter? I trust you more than him.”
“It’s a shame we couldn’t have partnered, eh?”
I nodded. “We’d have made a good team.”
“And our partners could have destroyed each other’s games,” he said ruefully. “Instead of dragging us down.”
I chewed on my lip, thinking. Brodie seemed to be playing a pretty obvious game, but he’d executed a few moves that were surprisingly smart. Maybe I was underestimating him. “Don’t you worry about Brodie,” I told Jendan. “I can handle him.”
Jendan laughed. “You going to toss your hair and have him groveling at your feet?”
My legs twitched, and I gave a little nervous hop. “Don’t be silly.” To my horror, a titter came out of my mouth, and I hastily crossed the room to put the dumbbells back in place.
No way on Earth I’d admit to Jendan that his words made me think of Brodie and his erection…and me squirming in his lap.
Nor would I mention that I hadn’t been completely disgusted by it. Quite the opposite, actually.
And I was a little disappointed in myself for that.
~~ * ~~
Sunnie, Marla and I were sitting in the kitchen eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. “So you guys have heard this weird stuff too?” I asked. “Brodie looked at me like I was crazy when I said I kept hearing boards creak.”
Sunnie nodded, her eyes wide. “Casper and I were sleeping in the attic last night, and I kept hearing footsteps in our room, except neither one of us was moving. He swore it was someone downstairs, but it sounded like it was coming from the foot of the bed.”
I shivered. “Really? That’s so creepy. I don’t like this place.”
“I was doing the dishes when I thought I heard someone behind me,” Marla said. “Turned around and thought I saw a shadow, but no one was there.”
My eyes widened. I’d had the same thing happen in the hallway. “It’s funny you should say that, because—”
A chime sounded.
“House Guests,” a bland voice intoned over the loudspeakers. “Please proceed to the backyard and to the roped off area for the reward challenge.”
Sunnie clapped her hands like a little girl. “Ooo, exciting!”
“I hope it’s for a good reward,” I agreed. “Money would be nice.” Money would always be nice.
Marla’s eyes lit up. “I hope it’s for money, too.”
We headed out to the backyard, and the others were gathering there as well. Five booths had been set up with a pair of stools behind each one. Katy and Liam stood off to one side, and Katy held an instructions card. She held it up and began to read. “House Guests! It’s time for your first reward challenge of the season! Since Katy and Liam have Power this week, they will not be competing. Instead, the other five teams will face off in a lightning-fast round of horror movie trivia! Who’s ready?”
We clapped and cheered, though I wasn’t feeling too excited. Horror movie trivia? I wasn’t good with horror movies. Romantic comedies, yes. Horror movies? No.
“Each team will have a station labeled with their names. Please proceed to your spots!” She made a flourishing gesture toward the tables with her arm.
We headed forward, and I slid into my chair. Brodi
e slid in next to me and immediately leaned in. “I sure hope you’re good with trivia, because this isn’t my strong suit.”
“Yeah, well, me either.”
“Then we might be in trouble,” he said with a grin.
Oh hell. Jendan was going to be screwed if he was waiting for me to save them. I glanced down the row to Jendan and gave him a worried look. He gave me a thumbs up, though. Oh good. Maybe the stuntman knew a lot about horror movies.
“Today, we will be playing for,” Katy said, and looked to Liam. He did a drum-roll on the podium he and Katy stood behind. “Ghost hunting equipment!”
A chorus of groans met the announcement.
Brodie leaned in again. “Uh, just between you and me, I’d be fine if we didn’t win this one.”
“I think I can handle that,” I whispered back. Lose on purpose? No problem. I just needed to make sure we didn’t lose too badly.
~~ * ~~
By the end of the challenge, it was clear to me that my team was not going to be strong in mental challenges. If it had been music trivia, I’d probably have killed it. But movies? Unless it involved a dance routine or a flash mob, I didn’t know anything about it. Ditto Brodie.
When all scores were tallied, Jendan and Marla were in first place. Jendan was apparently a huge horror movie buff, because he’d gotten every question right. And the way that he and Marla were cheering with excitement, you’d think they’d won something better than a basket full of sage, garlic, and holy water. Brodie shot me a suspicious look when they continued to cheer and hug each other with excitement, but I feigned interest in my nails.
We’d come in second to last place, beating the last place team by one measly point. Lenore and Mickey were in last, and I’d breathed a big sigh of relief. They were an obvious choice to put up on the block. This week’s vote wouldn’t have any surprises.