We nodded.
“As I said before, you cannot use your hands. You’re allowed to use your face, your shoulders, your arms, your mouth, whatever you like…except your hands and feet. You can divide up stations or tackle them together. It’s up to you guys. Someone’s going to come by and tie your hands to prep you for the challenge. Does anyone have any questions before we start?”
I glanced down the line at the others. Summer had a grim expression on her face. I didn’t blame her. This was a lot to handle by yourself. Alys looked ready to cry. Saul just rubbed his hands, excited. Maybe Saul wasn’t too bright.
None of them knew I was planning on throwing the challenge so I could try to ditch Kip.
“No questions?” Chip asked. “All right. While we tie hands, you can strategize with your partner.”
I already had my strategy in place: lose. But I’d let Kip steer our sinking ship. I turned to look at my partner. “How do you want to handle this?”
“Well, you’re a girl, so we should give you the easy stuff.”
My temper flared, but I swallowed the anger bubbling inside me. “You don’t say.”
“Yeah. I’ll take the rocks and the dirt. There’s buckets for those.”
I glanced down at the stations as someone came by and gestured for me to put my hands behind my back. At this point, we were so used to ignoring the production and camera crews that I barely even noticed. “There’s only buckets for the dirt, Kip.”
The production assistant finished binding my hands and moved on to Kip’s. Kip studied the course and then looked over at me. “He didn’t say we had to go in any particular order, right? I’ll just do the dirt first and then take the bucket over and fill it with the rocks. You do the banana leaves and the food. I’d do the food but my stomach’s been shit for the last few days.”
I bit my lip, trying to keep a straight face. “That’s too bad about your stomach.”
“Island bug,” he said. “It’ll pass eventually.”
It’d probably pass if he got off his ass and boiled his water, but I didn’t tell him that.
“We can do this,” he said confidently. “Just don’t fuck up like you did the last challenge.”
“Screw you,” I said, determined to do just that. I resolved then and there to take one banana leaf at a time. Ten pounds would be a ridiculous amount. It’d take forever.
“Is everyone ready?” Chip raised his hand into the air.
We leaned forward, as if we were about to race from the starting line. Maybe some people were. I had no intention of trying to push my way ahead, though. Let some other idiot do that - I had a partner to vote out.
“Go!” Chip yelled.
We dashed forward. Further down the line, Rusty immediately face-planted, his balance off. Spitting sand, he hauled himself back up as the rest of us trotted past, a little more wary after seeing his spill. I immediately headed for the banana leaves. The groups were splitting up, heading into different areas, and I noticed Jendan was heading the same way I was. I gave him a wink as I moved to the leaf station and leaned over to grab a mouthful. To my surprise, my lips found…string. They’d tied the leaves into bundles? That didn’t work well for my plans.
Using my lips, I daintily picked up a bundle by the end of the string, feeling the knot loosen as I did. I began to run to the pit designated for Team 8, and the entire bundle fell apart as I did, leaves fluttering to the sand.
Whoopsie.
With fake exasperation, I turned around and headed back to the station, starting over again. When this bundle held together (stupid bundle!) I plopped it on the scale next to the pit with my name on it. One pound. Well, at least I’d need ten of those. Heading back out, I went for the leaves again as Jendan raced forward, another bundle in his mouth. He looked like he was making serious tracks in this challenge. Good for him.
I managed to utterly destroy two more bundles by ‘accidentally’ untying the string twice more. Kip passed me once, growling with anger through the bucket handle clenched between his teeth. I blithely ignored him and dropped my final bundle of leaves on the scale. Ten pounds. Using my nose, I nudged the stack off the scale and into the pit. On to the meat.
I headed to the station at a fast trot, wondering why it was deserted. Everyone was busy with the other stations and seemingly avoiding this one. As I neared, though, I could see why. The smell of cooked, overly-sweet meat touched my nostrils before I saw the problem.
Our pig was covered in barbecue sauce…and flies.
“You’re kidding me, right?” I said aloud as I approached it. Thick reddish sauce clung to the cracked, greasy skin of the thing. There was a gash in one side, where I supposed we could ‘chow down’ and grab chunks with our teeth. It reeked of hot grease and barbecue, and as I watched, a fly buzzed forward and landed in the sauce.
As I stared, Jendan raced to my side, took one look at the pig and bent double. I could hear him dry heaving. Oh Jesus, this just got worse and worse.
Fighting back my own bile, I stepped toward it. If ever there was a time to throw a challenge, it was now. I glanced around the challenge area frantically. Sunnie was at the rocks station, delicately rolling one along with her nose. Summer elbowed past me, heading to the banana leaf station. Wow, she was going slow. Alys and Saul were still at the first station, and Kip was hauling buckets of dirt at the far end of the course, ahead of everyone else.
Dammit, why did my partner have to be so quick at everything? We were never going to get voted off at this rate.
I looked over at Jendan again. His hands were on his knees, and his face was extremely pale. I sidled closer to him, pretending to inspect the disgusting pig. “You ok?”
“I’m…kinda a health nut. Not so good with gross food.”
Well that was obvious. “Make Sunnie do this station, then. You guys can’t come in last again.”
He shook his head. “She won’t do it. She’s a vegetarian.”
“Jesus.” I stepped forward, eying the hunk of grotesque meat in front of us. “Look, Jendan, if you’re in last again, you might go home.”
“I know. Just…give me a minute.” He breathed deep, clearly trying to calm his stomach.
Lovely. Now I had to somehow throw the challenge to get rid of my partner and manage to help Jendan at the same time. I moved closer to the pig and the gigantic gash cut into its side. At least it was cooked all the way through. I blew at a fly zooming in too close and leaned in. I could always pull a piece of meat from the pig’s side and pretend to drop it, and have Jendan grab it…but the beach was super sandy and the pig was coated with barbecue sauce. I doubted Jendan’s weak stomach would be able to handle that. Maybe…maybe I could pull a big chunk loose but leave it hanging by the skin (ugh) and Jendan could swipe forward and pull it off.
“I’m going to help you, okay?” I whispered. “I’ll pull some loose. Just grab it with your teeth and go.”
He nodded and made a quiet gagging sound.
Men. Sucking in a deep breath of my own, I shoved my face into the cut gap. The pork smelled fragrant, and actually pretty damn good. My mouth watered, starving. I bit at a big chunk of the pork, got it between my teeth, and then pulled back, trying to drag a large chunk away.
It tore with a wet, fleshy sound that made Jendan hurk in his throat again.
I left that flappy piece hanging and shoved my face back into the gouge again, pulling another long strip free with my teeth. Damn, it smelled really good. I was tempted to take a bite, but remembered the flies swarming on it, and my stomach gave a little lurch of its own. Gripping a piece in my teeth, I looked over to see if Jendan was moving forward. He had, a little, and was eyeing the flap of meat I’d loosened for him.
“Grab it under your arm if you have to,” I told him through gritted teeth, and yanked my piece off. Barbecue sauce covered my cheeks and brows, and I turned and struggled toward my team’s station. Like it or not, it looked like we were in first place. Well, shit.
I’d ju
st have to wait a challenge to get rid of Kip. If I dragged my feet too much at this point, someone would think something was up. Dumping my mouthful of pork on the scale, I passed Jendan, who had the hunk of pork tucked under one sauce-covered arm. “You’re the best,” he told me as he huffed past.
I nodded, hurrying along. I had to get back to the pig before Jendan did - and before any others - so I could help him get another piece. I picked up the pace…and face-planted into the sand. Damn it! Coughing sand out of my mouth, I awkwardly pushed myself back to my feet. My entire face was now covered in sand and barbecue sauce. Sexy.
Trotting back to the pig station, albeit at a much slower pace, I returned to it and immediately pushed my face back against its side, trying to pull more out. I managed to get another hunk loose for Jendan just as he came up and concentrated on getting another piece for myself just as Kissy came up to my side and went bobbing for pork, face first. The others were catching up. I returned to my station, and was relieved when Jendan pushed the meat off his scale and then ran to another station to go help Sunnie. I dumped my meat on my scale. 9.7 pounds.
Maybe I’d still lose this damn thing after all. I looked down the line. Maybe not - all the single participants were struggling with the challenge. It clearly wasn’t weighed to do them any favors. With a small sigh, I headed back out to the pig for one last mouthful of pork, then spit it out on my scale. Done with my stations, I turned…and barbecue sauce slid into one eye. I squeezed it shut and tried to see where Kip was on the course. Someone was heading in my direction with a bucket clenched between their teeth. My partner.
He shoved past me — I guess I was in the way — and pushed his bucket onto his scale, then dumped the contents into the pit.
“Team Eight is safe!” I heard Chip call. Kip whooped with excitement, and flung a hand around my shoulders.
“Hands please,” I said, shrugging my shoulders in an attempt to point at my hands. “I have barbecue sauce in my eyes.”
“Can’t until the challenge is over,” Chip called cheerfully, and then announced, “Team Two is safe!”
Jendan and Sunnie were in the clear. Good. I pushed my face against Kip’s shoulder and tried to rub the sauce out of my eye while we waited.
One by one, the other teams trailed in. Kissy and Rusty were next, then Leslie and Emilio. Saul was the first of the solo players to come in, and watching Alys and Summer limp to the finish line made me a little wary.
I wanted to get rid of Kip to ruin his game, but if I was solo, would I ruin my own chances, too? This challenge had been extremely rough on Saul, Alys and Summer. And being at camp by myself for days on end would be rough. I’d have no one to depend on but me.
“Hey,” Kip said as I tried to wipe my face on his shoulder again. “Tits or fuck off.”
Ugh. Then again, maybe solo was a good idea. Kip still needed to go. It wasn’t like he was much help at camp. And I could always go spend my time with Jendan.
“Alys and Summer, you are both up for Judgment,” Chip called as they crossed the finish line, interrupting my thoughts. “One of you will be going home tonight.”
Chapter Eleven
“Am I attracted to Annabelle? Well. She’s beautiful, has the kind of personality I like, and she’s naked around me twenty-four seven. You do the math. I have to keep running off into the woods to take care of business so I don’t scare her off with rogue wood.” — Jendan Abercrombie, Endurance Island: Power Players, Day 12
It was Summer who went home. We all saw that one coming, even Summer. The look on her barbecue-smeared face was cold with anger. It wasn’t personal, though. She and Polly were just better players than Alys was and therefore had to go.
We returned to camp later that afternoon, and I immediately picked up my canteen. I was filthy with grime and reeked of pork and barbecue sauce. I wanted a shower at the waterfall. “I’m going to go get some water,” I told Kip.
“Take my canteen, will ya? It’s empty,” he said, crawling into my shelter. “And my stomach feels like hell. I’ve got the green apple splatters.”
“TMI, dude.” Wrinkling my nose at his description, I felt a pang of guilt at his sour stomach. It was because I’d stopped boiling his water. But to be fair, Kip didn’t lift a hand around camp, and he hadn’t asked if I was boiling his anymore. He just assumed that when I handed it to him, it was drinkable.
It wasn’t my fault he was an idiot, right?
I squashed my misgivings and took his canteen, tucking it under my arm with my own, and headed into the jungle. Jendan was at the waterfall, waiting for me, and I had to squelch the little burst of aroused pleasure that blossomed at the sight of his lithe, athletic form rising in greeting. He was just standing up, for goodness sake. No reason for that to make my hormones go wild.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, sliding my canteens off my arm and heading toward the water. The lure of it was impossible to resist, especially being so grimy with sweat, sand, and sauce.
“I wanted to come and talk to you,” Jendan said. “I’d hug you for saving my ass out there earlier, but given that we’re both naked, I suppose that’d be inappropriate.”
“Totally,” I agreed, but a blush was rising. So hugging me would be inappropriate? Was it because I’d end up rubbing my breasts against him? Or would he get an erection? I pondered this as I sidestepped past him, descended into the pool, and headed for the waterfall. I splashed my face and scrubbed at my filthy skin, my movements brisk…
Until I looked over and saw him watching me.
That made my entire body hum with awareness. I ran my hands over my arms and shoulders, unable to stop myself from making the motions a little more sensual than I should have. I wasn’t quite brave enough to rub my breasts in front of him, but my nipples were erect, a sure sign that I was turned on.
I emerged from the water a short time later, aroused and flustered.
Jendan was still seated nearby and regarding me. “Everything okay?”
I smoothed wet hair off of my face, disconcerted at his question. Had he picked up my attraction to him and was asking about that? That was…kind of awkward. I’d resolved to play this game without romantic entanglements, so I was doing my best to ignore it. I could crush on Jendan after the game. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
He gave me a knowing look. “Are you drinking enough water? Eating enough?”
“I should be asking you that,” I mentioned lightly. “Your ribs are starting to show.”
He ran a hand along his sides, and my gaze automatically went there. “I’m doing fine. I wasn’t lagging behind in the challenge because I wasn’t eating.”
“Weren’t you?” I teased. He flushed a dark red and I immediately felt bad for teasing him about it. “So, bad stomach?”
“Something like that. I had a rough time with the food challenges on House Guests, too. Failed at those in a spectacular fashion.” He grimaced. “You saved us, though. I was able to help Sunnie finish up. I don’t think anyone noticed us working together.”
Or if they had noticed, it just hadn’t trickled down the grapevine yet. “Mmm.”
His piercing gray gaze fixed on my face again. “But I saw you dropping those leaves, and that isn’t like you.”
“Isn’t it?” Now I was the one blushing.
“You struggled in the last challenge, too. You sure you’re okay? Friend to friend.”
I hesitated. Part of me wanted to confess my sins. Maybe if he knew I was hatching a plot to oust Kip, he could help me somehow. Maybe elbow-check Kip on the next challenge. But, thing was…Jendan was such a nice guy. I liked him precisely because he was polite and thoughtful. Because he was the anti-Kip.
And I was pretty sure he wouldn’t approve of me trying to deliberately get my partner voted out.
So I just shook my head. “I’m good. Just…” I cast around for an excuse. “One of my ankles has been hurting.”
“I know a little physical therapy,” he said, getting to hi
s feet. “Let me take a look at it.”
Hoist by my own petard. “Oh, that’s really not necessary—“
He gestured for me to sit down on the rock he’d just vacated. “Give me your foot.”
“Jendan, really—“
Jendan ignored my stammering excuses and flicked his fingers, indicating that I should lift my foot into the air. I needed to wiggle out of this, because I was a terrible liar. And as soon as he looked at my perfectly fine foot, he’d see the expression on my face and realize I was lying.
Once I sat down, though, another problem presented itself - the fact that I was eye-level with Jendan’s, um, package. Oh jeez. I couldn’t sit there and stare at it while trying to figure out a way out of my situation. Swallowing, I lifted a foot into the air and closed my eyes.
Big, warm hands clasped my foot and I squeezed my eyes shut a little tighter. That felt obscenely good. Obscenely. I shivered as his fingers slid over the arch of my foot.
“Where is it bothering you?” he asked.
I had to pinpoint a spot? “Just…kind of, you know, aching, uh, underneath.” Mentally, I winced at how stupid that sounded. Underneath. God, Annabelle. Why not paste a big dunce cap on your head.
“Underneath? I thought you said it was your ankle.”
“Oh. Um, well, it was, but now it’s underneath.”
“That’s all right.” His thumb pressed into the arch of my foot. “Here?”
I gasped, and to my horror, my nipples got hard and I felt my body respond to that touch. My foot jerked in his hands, and I was pretty sure I was wet between my legs. “Um, yeah, right there.” I felt my face turn an even brighter red. Yeah, baby, right there.
“I don’t see anything.”
I opened my eyes to look up into his face as he stroked his thumb over my arch again. “It’s probably nothing.”
“Might be a pulled muscle or it could be a bruise if you stepped on something hard. You want me to rub it for you?”
“No,” I said quickly, drawing my foot out of his grasp. “I’m cool. Really.”