“I can give you a massage, you know. I have amazing hands.” He rubbed them in front of me and grinned as if I should be impressed.
“I’m cool, thanks.”
“No, really. I can make you feel better.” Before I could step away, he put a hand on the back of my neck and began to rub. “See? Don’t you like that?”
The guy was giving me the willies. I slid away, acutely uncomfortable. My hand went to my neck protectively, and I clutched my towel in front of me. “Like I said, I’m good.”
“Any time you want me to make you feel good, Kandis, you just let me know.” Mickey’s voice had gotten breathy. “I can give you a massage anywhere you like. I know how to unkink all your muscles. Though you might be the type that’s into kink.”
And he wagged his eyebrows at me.
Really? Really?
I shook my head, clutching my towel and heading for the door. “Really. I’m fine.”
I opened the door to escape the workout room, and I nearly ran smack dab into Brodie’s chest. I gasped and staggered backward.
Brodie smiled, reaching for me. “What’s the rush?”
“Nothing,” I said and sidled past him. “I just…I have to go.”
The smile on his face faded. “You okay?”
I nodded. “I just need to go.” I ran out the door and down the hall, leaving my partner alone in the work-out room with Mickey.
As I retreated, I heard Brodie’s voice rise. “Dude, why the fuck do you have an erection?”
I ran for the showers. At least there, I could avoid Mickey and any uncomfortable questions about why I was running away. The showers were an off-limits area amongst the house guests. We knew they would be filming us, but we tried to give each other privacy enough to towel off and get clean. As soon as the door to my shower shut behind me, I stripped, tossed my barely-used workout clothes in the corner, and stepped under the spray.
God, I was totally creeped out. Mickey had come on to me so hard that it had left me feeling dirty. Some guys didn’t take no for an answer or get subtle signals. Mickey didn’t seem to grasp signals at all, and I hated the thought of spending more time with him in the house. I scrubbed at my wet face, wishing I could wipe the memory of the last few minutes out of my mind. Jesus, I hoped that Brodie didn’t think I’d been coming on to Mickey. I wanted to gag at the thought.
“Coming in,” Brodie called, startling me out of my shower reverie.
“What?” I sputtered, wiping water out of my eyes. “Don’t come in here! The shower’s in use! I—”
My words died as Brodie entered the shower, ignoring all my protests, and stepped under the stream with me. He was wearing nothing but a pair of his workout shorts, and as I watched, he peeled those off and kicked them aside.
Well. Brodie wasn’t shy.
I crossed my arms over my breasts and hunched over, my legs tightly crossed so he couldn’t see my lady parts. “Get out of here,” I hissed.
“Chill out, Kandis,” Brodie said. “You see my parts, I see yours. That’s not what’s important right now. We need to talk, and this is pretty much the only place we can do so privately.”
Water splattered my face, and I tilted my head to the side, trying to get out from under the stream. “What about?”
Brodie leaned in and whispered in my ear, his voice barely audible over the water. “Mickey. Was he harassing you?”
“You mean like the way you’re harassing me right now?” I sputtered.
“Get serious, Kandis. I’m not even looking.” His gaze remained on my face. “Okay? I just want to know if you’re okay. You looked freaked when you left the gym, and Mickey had a boner, and I know he’s been kind of handsey to you lately.”
I said nothing for a long moment, still feeling weirdly awkward about standing naked in a shower with Brodie, neither of us looking away from the other’s face.
“Come on. I have a sister,” Brodie said quietly. “I know some guys won’t take no for an answer. Mickey seems the type. I’m just trying to look out for my partner. I don’t like that he was bothering you.”
“He was coming on to me,” I admitted. “Grabbed my neck and tried to massage me again. Staring at my ass.” I shrugged and glanced away, staring at the tile wall. “The usual stuff.”
“Yeah, but he cornered you in a room by yourself and the dude had a boner. That’s not cool in my book.” When I looked back at him, he shook his head. “You leave his ass to me. I’ll handle him.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Don’t you worry,” Brodie said. “You leave that ass to me. He’s not going to bother you again.” And before I could reply, he stepped back out of the shower and shut the door, leaving me alone in the stall once more.
Well, that was…bizarre. I tiptoed to the edge of the door and peered out, watching Brodie’s naked, wet ass as he strode across the bathroom to grab a towel.
He hadn’t even looked at my naked body once. Huh.
~~ * ~~
“Sunnie and I have Power this week,” Casper said, fingering the ‘P’ necklace that hung around his throat as the next live episode was taped. “And it’s time for us to make a decision as to who should stay and who should go.”
We all sat on the couches, nervous, waiting for the nominations. I chewed on my thumbnail, my foot fidgeting a mile a minute. I just wanted this over with already. I stood a pretty good chance of staying if our team was nominated. They’d probably get Brodie out of here over me, right? So in theory I should be okay. But…I couldn’t help but be anxious. And part of me wanted both of us to stay. I didn’t trust Brodie as far as I could throw him, but I liked Brodie as a person.
It was hard not to like him. He went through life as though everyone loved him and would put up with any of his schemes. And because he acted like that…it was impossible not to like the guy. He was charismatic, fun, and always up for a conversation, flirting, or even just a round of cards or checkers to beat the boredom.
I looked over at my partner, but he was smiling at Sunnie, who giggled and flipped her long red hair. I frowned. Sunnie would vote to keep Brodie. She’d been all over him like glue this week. It had been obnoxious the first week to see them casually flirting with each other, but this week it was like every time I turned around, they were off in a corner, whispering and laughing together, or swimming together.
Not that I’d noticed. Not that it bothered me. Not that I thought he should be spending his time with me, his partner. Oh no.
“This was a difficult decision for Sunnie and me to make,” Casper was saying, drawing out the drama. The expression on his face was intense. “But ultimately, we feel it’s the right one.”
I closed my eyes, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“And so, we’ve decided to nominate…Mickey.”
My eyes snapped open. I looked over at my partner in surprise. Brodie didn’t look shocked at all. In fact, he looked…smug? Had he somehow set this up?
I watched, mystified, as Mickey headed to the nomination chairs, frowning.
“Mickey, since you are the only one left on your team,” Becky called out sweetly from the TV screen, “that means you are automatically eliminated. Please exit the house.”
We all stood and murmured platitudes as Mickey grabbed his bag and headed for the door. I avoided the hug he tried to give me and gave him a friendly wave instead. As soon as the door shut behind him, I turned to Brodie and whispered, “How did you manage that?”
“We’ll talk later,” he said, but there was a smile on his face.
Huh.
“Contestants, you have ten minutes to change and arrive on the challenge course,” a voice piped over the intercom. “Please hurry.”
We scrambled to change, and as the girls rushed to the bathroom to strip out of our confining dresses, I stopped Marla on the way. “Did you know that Mickey was going to be leaving?”
She nodded and gave me a sympathetic look. “When Sunnie told us what was going on, we agreed
that he needed to go.”
Sunnie, huh?
Sure enough, the redhead came to my side and captured me in a long hug. “I did that for you, girl,” she said, beaming at me.
I hugged her back, still a bit surprised. “Thanks, Sunnie. You’re the best.”
“You owe me,” she whispered.
“I do,” I agreed.
It seemed more like I owed Brodie, though.
We didn’t have a chance to talk more because everyone was too busy changing clothes and braiding their hair up. I barely managed to finish changing and make it out on the challenge course in time, and I groaned when I saw what lay before us.
Six dining tables—since Sunnie and Casper wouldn’t be able to participate—complete with checkered picnic cloths. A wicker basket was set up on each table.
“Contestants, pick a table,” Sunnie called out, waving a hand at the line of tables like she was Vanna White.
I picked my table and sat down and noticed immediately that there was a bucket under my chair. Uh oh. This was a gross food challenge. I swallowed hard and looked at Jendan, who sat next to me. He looked a bit green in the face.
“This season,” Casper read, “has had a horror movie theme to it. And tonight’s dinner will be no different. You’ve all seen the movie where the hero has to eat a giant roach or a dish of monkey brains. Now, you get to experience those things for yourself.”
A chorus of groans came from the six tables.
“Oh god,” Jendan muttered next to me. “I’m going to be sick just thinking about it.”
I couldn’t help but giggle, just a little. Of everyone in the house, Jendan was the pickiest eater. He liked disgustingly healthy foods and ate a plain chicken breast and broccoli when the rest of us snacked on hot dogs and potato chips. “You have a barf bucket,” I pointed out helpfully.
“I’m going to need it,” he called back.
I grinned and then sobered, leaning over. “Did you save us?” I whispered. I had to know.
“Talk later,” he said quickly as a cameraman swung past.
That wasn’t a ‘no.’ I nodded as Casper pulled out another card and continued reading. “There are five courses in all,” Casper read. “Each round, the person that finishes their dish the slowest will be eliminated until there are only two contestants remaining. Those two will go head to head for the Power Play. Are you ready?”
“Ready,” we said.
“All right,” Casper read. “Contestants, open your picnic baskets. The first item for dinner is…monkey brains.”
Next to me, Jendan made a gagging noise.
~~ * ~~
Hours later, I was pretty sure that despite half a bottle of mouthwash and four rounds of marathon tooth-brushing, I still had the taste of fish eyes in my mouth. I’d only made it to round two before losing the challenge. Poor Brodie had made it all the way to the final round and had to suffer through every course before losing to Jayme as she swallowed mealworms like a champ.
Jendan had barfed after every round, starting with the first round, after taking a bite of his food, and then continuing with sympathy barfs when he saw what the others had to eat. Poor guy had a weak stomach. I couldn’t laugh because I’d barely managed to eat my monkey brains. I’d tossed my own cookies on the fish eyes.
Now, with the excitement of the evening dying down, we were all settling into our new rooms. Jayme and Fido had the Power room for the week, and since Brodie had done so well, we’d gotten to stay in the Queen room, which was the least creepy of the rooms. It was full of antique furniture and weird portraits of historical people and two-way mirrors, but at least it wasn’t an attic full of hanging nooses. I considered that a win.
I lay on the bed, chewing mint gum frantically as Brodie changed for bed. He’d stripped off his challenge clothing and tossed it into the hamper, then, clad in nothing but a pair of boxers, scratched his belly and headed for bed.
“So,” I asked. “Were you trying to win that competition tonight?”
“Yes and no,” he said, climbing in to bed next to me. “Yes, because I figured if I had to eat all that shit, I might as well get something out of it. No, because I figured if Jayme won, we were safe for now.”
“Oh? Are we safe with Jayme in charge?” I trailed a finger on the quilted bedcover. This was news to me. “Is she another one of your harem?”
He just grinned at me. “Maybe.”
I grimaced and rolled out of bed to spit out my gum, still tasting fish eyes. “So who did you not want to win?”
“Jendan or Marla. As long as they lost, we were safe.”
“Because you have Sunnie and Jayme in your pocket,” I verified.
He put a finger to his lips and glanced at the door. “Not so loud. Someone might be listening.”
I hopped back into bed and pointed at his side, indicating he should join me.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a grin, and he bounded into bed.
The entire thing creaked so loudly when he landed I thought the others would come running. I winced, waiting. “Everything okay?” someone called a moment later.
“Just me,” Brodie yelled. “Getting too enthusiastic in bed!”
I groaned. This was like having far too many roommates. “Great, now they think we’re enthusiastic in bed together.”
“Which is not the worst thing anyone’s thought about me,” Brodie said with a grin.
“I’ll bet.” I slid a little closer to him and dropped my voice to a whisper. “So tell me what happened earlier.”
Brodie wiggled his eyebrows at me, looking quite pleased with himself. “You’ll notice that I was pulling the strings of the female companions here in the house this week?”
“If you mean, did I notice you all over them? Yes. I think everyone noticed that.”
He just grinned as if I’d paid him a compliment. “Like I said, I didn’t like the way that guy was treating you, so I talked to the other girls and made sure they saw things my way. Wasn’t hard, considering he’d also made Jayme and Sunnie really uncomfortable. Marla, too. I think he kept asking to see pictures of her daughter, and she got a little wigged out.” He shrugged. “At any rate, you’re welcome.”
“I…don’t know what to say.”
“How about thank you?”
I leaned in and gave him a one-armed hug. “Thank you, Brodie. For all your horn-doggy-ness, you can be surprisingly sweet.”
When I pulled away, he looked a bit disgruntled at my words. “I don’t know which I find more insulting—the horn-dog comment or that you’re surprised that I’m sweet.”
“Do you deny that you’re a horn dog?”
“Pfft. Hello, Kandis, did I not just confess all my plans to you? I’ve been all over Sunnie and Jayme because I wanted to make sure we were safe. That’s you and me. Not because I wanted to score some pussy.” He tapped my chest, right above my breastbone. “You.” Then he tapped his chest. “Me. Got it?”
I nodded.
“It’s a game, you know. And you catch more flies with honey.”
“Yeah, but did you have to spread the honey on so thick?” I muttered.
Brodie just grinned at me, seemingly delighted at my surly attitude. “If I didn’t know better, Kandis, I’d say you were jealous.”
“Yeah, well, you know better, don’t you?” I said, surprised at how defensive my voice sounded. “Just turn out the light, already.”
“Because you can’t wait to get me in the dark—?”
I ignored that. “Night, Brodie.”
“—and have me all to yourself?”
“Good night, Brodie.”
He laughed and reached over to flick off the light. “Night, Kandis.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“God. Kandis. Dat ass. Wait, strike that. She’s going to kick my ass if she hears I said something like that in the confessional. You stopped recording, right? Hello?” – Brodie Short, Day 12
I curled my legs under me in the big easy chair in the confessiona
l booth, waiting to be addressed.
It didn’t take long. “Kandis, how are things going now that the latest House Guest has been evicted?”
I smiled at my reflection as if I were talking to a real person. “Well, I am breathing a lot easier around the house. It’s good to know he’s not lurking around every corner, just waiting to catch a glimpse of my ass. You have no idea how freaking nightmarish that was. So living-wise, I’m really happy. Strategy-wise, I don’t know that it matters so much because Mickey was a floater. He went with whoever was in Power and made it clear that he’d do whatever it takes to stay on. You can’t trust people like that.”
A pause. “How are things with your partner?”
I licked my lips and thought hard. “Brodie’s been…surprisingly more loyal than I thought he would be. When I came on the show, I expected him to be the biggest horn-dog ever. And he flirts a lot, don’t get me wrong. But there’s some strategy behind it, I think?” I gave a light shrug. “And I can’t get mad, because I see the strategy. And he shares his plans with me, so I know what’s going on.”
“So it doesn’t bother you that he’s hitting on all the women in the house?”
“Oh, I didn’t say it didn’t bother me. I just said I understood the strategy behind it. And it shouldn’t irritate me, really. We’re just partners, nothing more.”
“But you showered together.”
My fingers twitched and I tugged at the hem of my t-shirt. “That was just so we could talk. It wasn’t for…sexual purposes. Man, it sounds really awkward to say that, but it’s true. There was nothing sexy about it.”
Except for the fact that I’d watched his naked ass when he’d left the shower. And maybe thought about that moment far more often than anyone who was ‘just friends’ should. After all, I wasn’t sitting around and picturing Jendan naked.
“How are the alliances shifting in the game?”
The intercom’s question caught me by surprise, breaking me out of my reverie. “Um. They shift every day, to be honest. Jendan and I are strong, though. At least, I feel like we are. We share info and keep an eye on each other’s backs. Ditto myself and Brodie. Of course, that’s not enough to win the game, but Brodie swears he has both Sunnie and Jayme, and Jendan has Marla, so that puts us in a majority as long as we all vote the same way.”