“It has come to our attention that two of you aren’t here for the right reasons. This is a dating show, not a dating service,” Lauren said. I stood beside her and tried to look angry, because a part of me was, but I was so over them and this problem. I hoped I would be seen as the victim instead of undatable. She looked at me, and I nodded, indicating she could continue. “Madison and Thea, can you please come forward.”
Every single person in the house looked shocked, except for Frankie, who rolled her eyes and gently shook her head. Madison approached first, with Thea trailing her.
“To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. I agreed to this show because I’m looking for someone to build a relationship with. I’m here for the right reasons. You both signed up to get to know me, but from the moment you arrived, you were only interested in each other.” I paused because I needed to catch my breath. Confrontations weren’t my thing, and my anxiety was making me squeeze the muscles in my chest and tighten the ones around my neck. I cleared my throat. I didn’t need to have a panic attack now. The color drained from Thea’s face, but Madison didn’t flinch. She didn’t even move as I spoke. “I hope it was worth it. Needless to say, I don’t feel a spark with either of you.”
All the contestants were holding candles because we were at the ceremony. True to form, Madison smirked, dropped the candle at my feet, and walked past me. Thea mumbled a weak apology and quickened her step to catch up to Madison. An assistant herded Thea into a room for her exit interview, but Madison ignored him. A producer followed her, and they had a short argument before Madison went into the room he pointed at. We wouldn’t see them again until the “Secrets Revealed” episode right before the finale. I had dreaded it ten years ago and only missed it because I was in the hospital with appendicitis. Now I was dreading it even more, since all the dejected contestants would be talking about me.
Lauren turned to the remaining contestants. “As I’m sure you guessed, Madison and Thea were more than friendly with each other.” She waited for the gasps and sharp whispers to die down. “Hopefully they found what they were looking for and the relationship they had here will carry over into their lives. Unfortunately, it was at the expense of Savannah.” She looked at me, not with pity, but with confidence. Her expression boosted me a little, but I was still shaking from the entire ordeal.
“Because of the heaviness of the evening, I’m going to retire. I will see you tomorrow. Have a good night,” I said.
We were having a low-key pool party and barbecue tomorrow. I needed to wrap my head around what had happened. Thankfully, I wasn’t emotionally invested in either woman, but it was still a betrayal.
“Savannah, wait a minute. Please?” Alix jogged after me, a cameraman racing behind them. They took my hands and held them gently.
“I’m sorry that happened. I’m in shock about it really, but please don’t let their shitty actions make you feel sad. You’ve pulled the bad weeds out, and all that’s left are people who really do want to get to know you. I wanted you to hear that before you retired for the evening.” They opened their arms, offering a hug. I walked into their embrace and relaxed when they gave me a tight squeeze.
“Thank you, Alix. I needed to hear that.” I stood there for a few moments, then broke the contact. “I’ll remember your words when my mind overthinks tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have fun tonight.”
Lauren was nowhere to be found when I walked outside and slipped into the limo. I didn’t really want to leave, but I needed a break from everything. Only a small crew would be at my place tonight since the ceremony had happened at the contestants’ mansion. It was only ten, so that gave me plenty of time to chill, maybe go for a swim, and get to bed early. I carried my heels up to my room and hung my dress. It would be gone by morning, replaced by something just as sexy for tomorrow night’s cocktail party.
Being on this show was exhausting. No wonder Katie Parson was so bitchy. She had virtually no privacy, no link to the outside world, and probably nobody to talk to. I found the one-piece bathing suit from when I swam with the dolphins and grabbed a robe. It was a shame to let that beautiful pool go to waste. I quickly braided my hair and dived into the cool water, which felt wonderfully refreshing. If I had any money left after this, I was going to get a pool. I doubted it, though, as I wanted to move my business, order more equipment, and buy an SUV. One hundred and fifty thousand was nice, but it wouldn’t cover all my selfish wants.
“Here you are.”
I looked up to find Lauren sitting on the side of the pool with her long legs dangling in the water.
“You should come in,” I said.
She shrugged. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”
I treaded water a few feet from her. She’d changed from her evening gown to linen shorts and a sleeveless blouse. Her arms were toned, and I wondered if she worked out every day.
“Oh, please. There’s a mansion fifty feet away with about two hundred new bathing suits, bikinis, board shorts, or whatever you want or need to swim in. Come on in. We both deserve a break.” She stood and wiped the back of her shorts as though she had sat in dirt. The pool and everything about it were cleaner than my house. “And bring back a bottle of wine. Then we can talk about Madison and Thea, who made me look like an ass.” We also needed to discuss the bomb she’d dropped on me last night.
“They didn’t, but I’ll be right back.”
Of course, I watched her walk away. She was a beautiful woman, it was a hot summer night, and I was barely dressed in a pool swimming with very few lights on. I hummed all over with excitement and needed release. I couldn’t remember my last self-induced orgasm, but it had been at least two months. I had a solid seven minutes before Lauren returned. The pool was too open, and I would have more privacy in the hot tub, so I jumped out of the pool and sank into the warm water of the Jacuzzi. The jets felt good on my tense muscles, but that wasn’t why I was there.
I closed my eyes and swallowed a gasp as one of the jets rocketed warm water all over my pussy. The rush of blood pounded in my ears and made every part of me throb. I tried to remain stoic because I was sure somebody somewhere had a camera on me, even though the area was dimly lit. The bubbles made it impossible to see what was happening below the surface though. I floated my arms on top of the water and tilted my hips slightly, so the pressure was right on my clit, but I didn’t have a chance to enjoy the buildup. The explosion happened in less than thirty seconds. I dropped deeper into the water so only my head was above the surface as I shook out the orgasm I desperately needed. After a few minutes of controlled breathing, I jumped back into the pool—relaxed, refreshed, and not so damn tense.
Lauren showed up a few minutes later wearing black board shorts and a white tankini. “I can’t believe you talked me into this.”
I smiled when I saw the wine bottle and a stack of paper cups. I smiled even harder when she walked around the pool area and covered discreetly hidden cameras with the paper cups. Thankfully, there was only one by the hot tub, and it was behind where I sat, so the only action the crew would see, if they were looking over the video, was the back of my head.
“Genius.”
She poured wine into the two remaining paper cups. “Paper because I don’t want to get glass in or around the pool. The last thing we need is the grounds crew pissed at us.” She slipped into the water and gasped at its coolness. Then she pulled herself along the pool’s edge over to me with one hand, holding our cups high and out of the water. “I’m sorry about Madison and Thea.” She took a sip of wine and licked her bottom lip. I couldn’t stop staring at her mouth.
I shrugged. “They weren’t top-five material, so I wasn’t too heartbroken. Let’s not talk about that.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
Without thinking, I blurted out, “I want to talk about the bomb you dropped on me last night. The one where you came out to me and then disappeared.”
Lauren laughed. “I never tell people anything too personal about myself, but something about you makes me trust you.”
I tingled with excitement at her confession, or maybe it was the buzz of my orgasm from a few minutes ago, but her words made my heart soar. I drank more of my wine. It was liquid courage, and I needed to calm my nerves. “I’m pretty trustworthy and definitely private. I guess that’s hard to find when you’re famous.”
“It is. I don’t know how you have the courage to come on a show like Sparks.”
“You must think I’m a sucker.” I frowned for effect.
She gasped and put her hand on my upper arm. “No. I didn’t mean anything like that. I know you and other flames have to question the integrity of the contestants. You’re putting your heart out there, and then you have to hope you don’t hurt somebody and they don’t hurt you. We try to weed out the people who want to be television sensations or models. It’s a rigorous process. How to prevent them from hooking up inside the mansion is hard.”
“If nothing else, that episode will make for good television.”
She sighed. “Unfortunately, you’re right. Denise will make that a ‘coming up on this special season of When Sparks Fly’ dangler to hook people in.”
“How come they’re dropping the first episode so soon? Usually, we see clips of the entire season in the intro video. What’s that called?”
“The title sequence?” she asked. I nodded. “The title sequence is short because it’s a bonus season, and we’re running during the summer months. When Sparks decided to do this, they knew going in it would be fast and furious. The intro is very vague. They’ll add the drama during the promo snips to generate interest for the show instead of revealing too much upfront. Does that make sense?”
I nodded and finished my cup. “Do you like the title sequence?”
“It’s wonderful,” she said.
“Wait. We were just talking about you and dating, and somehow it got back to me. Who was the last person you dated that I would know?” I grinned and hoped that question wasn’t offensive. I held up my hand and waved it between us. “This is a cone of silence, remember?” I made a dramatic wave of my arm to create an arc.
She laughed and drained the rest of her cup, too. “Do you know Ashton Baker from Date Me?”
My jaw dropped. “Really? I had no idea she’s queer.” The show was about four college students who created a dating app and spent every episode trying to prove their secret formula worked. Ashton was a thirty-year-old playing the part of a twenty-one-year-old student and completely believable, according to Jane, who watched it every week.
“Yep. We dated for a year. It was pretty intense. I had just taken a leave of absence with CNN, and she pushed me to find something to do in Hollywood so we could be together. In the end, it was too hard because she was in the closet and trying to make a name for herself. Once she got a huge following and tons of fans, she came out. It was about two months after we broke up.”
“That’s shitty,” I said.
Lauren shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I think she waited until she had enough attention and made a grand gesture. Everybody has a coming-out story. She wanted hers to be public.”
She pulled herself out of the pool to refill our glasses. The water weighed down her board shorts, and I saw several inches of flat, muscular stomach. Even though it was dark and the tankini had a thin padding, her nipples were erect. I swallowed hard. She handed me my cup, and I took a large gulp to help suppress the feelings that threatened to push through the blockade in my head. I was there to meet other people. Lauren was off-limits. I was already forming relationships with a couple of the contestants. Lauren wasn’t interested in me. I was totally into her. Shit. I took another drink.
“You might want to slow down,” she said.
Her voice was soft and nonjudgmental. She had no idea the thoughts that were spinning in my head. “Just trying to forget certain things.” I tried to keep my response vague.
“They aren’t worth it.”
“My thoughts?” I asked. She was confusing me.
“No. Madison and Thea.”
I snorted for the second time in front of her. “Oh, I’m so over them.”
She nodded slowly, as though she understood, and I prayed that she didn’t. That would make the next two months awkward.
“Is this your first time in your pool?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m sure we’ll have a pool party here at some point. Or maybe a one-on-one date.” The word date tasted bad in my mouth. I changed the topic. “Do you have a pool in real life?”
“Me? No. It’s hard to have alone time and enjoy it. I stay pretty busy,” she said.
She placed her cup next to mine and dived into the pool, popping up ten feet from me. “Although I really love swimming. It’s the best exercise.”
“I just had a great idea. Why don’t we make a pact to come down here every night and do laps? I can’t go for runs, and I hate exercise equipment. A swim buddy would help me focus and curb my drinking. What do you say?”
“That’s a great idea. Are you saying no more doughnuts and no more wine bottles by the pool?” she asked.
“Let’s not do anything drastic. I don’t think we should take doughnuts off the table.”
She laughed. “Okay. How about doughnuts only the day after a candle ceremony?”
“Yes. That’s perfect. But no more wine. I’ll use the calories that I would have consumed in alcohol and apply them toward my doughnut intake.”
She giggled, which was adorable. “And we shouldn’t start laps tonight because we’ve both been drinking. We shouldn’t even be in the pool. I won’t be able to save you, and we’ve hidden the cameras so nobody would find us for days.”
“Excellent point. Let’s get out and raid the kitchen,” I said. I decided to use the stairs because I was sure watching me struggle to get out of a pool wouldn’t be nearly as sexy and smooth as Lauren getting out of it. I noticed she gave me a quick up-and-down glance, and I smiled at catching her. Maybe I was on her radar after all.
“I should probably go,” Lauren said and handed me a towel.
“We have an easy day tomorrow. I’m pretty sure anything goes after the shit show that was today. Come on. I think I remember seeing ice cream. Besides, you need to dry off.” She wrapped the white, fluffy towel around her waist. On her, the towel landed at her knees, and she looked sexy and carefree. On me, the towel hit mid-shin, and I felt anything but that. I grabbed my robe instead and followed her into the house, enjoying this casual and relaxed side of Lauren more than I should.
* * *
I walked into the contestants’ mansion, and every single person approached me and apologized for Madison and Thea within the first five minutes. I knew I had to make an announcement to stop the rush of people who were stumbling over one another to get in front of me. “Thank you so much for making me feel better about last night’s disaster. I’m doing fine, and I know we have a great group of people who are here for the right reasons. I say we forget about all that nastiness and have a fun day at the pool.”
“I second that,” Charlotte said and handed me a lemonade.
It was refreshingly nonalcoholic. After last night, I needed to hydrate.
“Come sit over here.” Alix waved me over to where they, Lyanna, and Frankie sat. “How was the rest of your evening?”
I smiled, thinking about my night with Lauren. “I fell asleep early and slept hard. Thank you for asking.”
“You look amazing,” Alix said.
“Give it a rest, charmer.” Lyanna shoulder-bumped them. A blush crept over Alix’s features that even their deep tan couldn’t hide.
“Well, it’s true.”
I chose to change the subject to save Alix from further discomfort. “Thank you. What did you all do since we ended the night early?”
“Ophelia and I played a rousing game of Scrabble,” Lyanna said.
“Oh. Who won?” I liked to play it on my phone with random people when I couldn’t sleep at night.
“I did.” Lyanna smirked. Then she sat back and crossed her legs. “Truthfully, only because O fell asleep.”
“Most of us just chilled. Last night was sobering,” Alix said.
“I’m sorry that all happened,” I said.
Three people immediately spoke at once.
“It’s not your fault,” Alix said.
“They suck,” Lyanna said.
“I thought something was going on,” Frankie said.
We all turned to her.
“Really?” Lyanna asked.
She shrugged. “I mean they were always together. Besides rooming, they came down to breakfast together, sat together out here, even hung out together during our cocktail parties.”
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about them,” I said. It didn’t bother me, but I knew the cameras were on us, and I didn’t want to seem more worked up about it than I was.
“Of course. What’s next for us all? Do you have any dates planned?” Alix asked.
“Starting Monday, you all plan the dates.” I was excited to see how creative everyone could be when given unlimited resources. “But we have something special planned for the group date coming up.”
“I’m way more excited about individual dates.” Lyanna fist-pumped to show her enthusiasm.
I had a feeling she was creative. I was looking forward to her idea of the perfect date.
“Think art.” I covered my mouth like I’d revealed a big secret. The video message I had recorded earlier this morning would hit their video message board in two days and told them to open their mind to explore their creative side. We were going to paint a nude model. The show wanted us to do a body-paint session, where we would roll around in paint and use body parts to create art, but both Lauren and I nixed it. The compromise was painting somebody naked with the whole group.
“Sounds like something right up my alley,” Alix said. Of course, they were going to rock the assignment.
I knew it was apparent that I was into Alix. I needed to downplay my interest and get to know others, or else Denise would have a chat with me. “So, now that you have me here for this barbecue, what are we going to do for fun?”
That question riled them up.
“How are you with water basketball?” Frankie asked.
I had the coordination of a toddler, but I smiled because I knew everyone would let me win. That was the fun part about being the most popular girl in the room. “I’m horrible at most sports, but I’m willing to give it a try.” Immediately two teams formed. Frankie picked Alix, Lyanna, and Ophelia. The other team consisted of Emma, Charlotte, Ava, and Kaisley. I already felt sorry for them. Frankie’s team was heavily loaded with tattooed hard bodies who obviously worked out, while the other team seemed more like fit but soft cheerleaders. They were bikini-clad and dressed for attention, not a rousing game of water basketball. I agreed to play between the two since we had an odd number.
“What does the winning team get?” Ophelia asked.
She batted the inflatable basketball between her hands and waited for my answer. I’d forgotten how stunning she was. Her long, dark hair was piled high up on her head, and the look in her eyes told me she would stop at nothing to win. She wore a black cropped tankini and French-cut bikini bottoms.
Kaisley piped up. “Why can’t it just be for fun? Savannah is here all day, so we’ll have plenty of time to hang out.”
“Aw, pumpkin, are you scared?” Frankie called.
“Nope. We’re not doing that. No shit-talking while I’m here.” I liked Frankie, but I didn’t like the way she goaded people. I got that she probably did that coaching her team, but this really wasn’t a competition. It was just a simple day at the pool. “I’m giving Kaisley’s team a ten-point lead.”
“What? You can’t do that,” Frankie said.
“I just did.” I stood by the side of the pool with my hands on my hips and raised an eyebrow at her.
She threw her head back and laughed. “Okay, okay. We can handle that, can’t we, team? Also, what’s our name?” she asked.
“Oh, that’s easy. We are the Badasses. Are we playing to twenty-one?” Ophelia asked.
I smiled at the name, wondering if they were going to have to bleep it. “Sure, but I don’t want anybody to get hurt.” I took off my wrap and walked down the stairs into the shallow end. I wasn’t super comfortable wearing a bikini because I didn’t have a hard body like everyone else, but I had curves, and that got me a lot of attention. “And I get the ball first. Kaisley, do you have a team name yet?” I watched as they put their heads together and whispered among themselves as though it were a big secret.
“We’re the Sparklers,” Emma said.
I could almost see Denise rolling her eyes from behind the camera. The other team groaned with either regret or disapproval. I couldn’t tell for sure. I twirled the ball in my hand surprisingly gracefully and announced the start of the game. “Sparklers ten, Badasses zero.” Then I tossed the ball to Kaisley. She passed it to Ava, who was immediately tackled by Frankie, who dunked her and stole the ball. Ava rose coughing and stuttering.
“Foul!” I yelled. Everyone stopped. “Okay, let’s set some ground rules. No dunking and no getting on anyone’s back. Let’s try to keep it like the actual game.”
“Fine.” Frankie expertly sank the ball into the basket from where she was, then floated it to Ava. “Do-over.” She clapped and told her team who to cover on the other team.
Even with a ten-point lead, the Sparklers lost sixteen to twenty-one. I scored three points for them and only one for the Badasses. I breathed a sigh of relief when the food was ready because the game was getting rowdy. Ava got elbowed in the face by Lyanna by mistake, and Alix hit their head on the side of the pool when they were trying to dunk the ball. I mostly stayed out of the way. “Great game, everybody. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.” I was the first out of the pool, followed by the Sparklers. The Badasses were still horsing around.
“That was brutal.” Kaisley grabbed a plate and stood next to me as I fixed mine.
“Agreed. I was hoping it wouldn’t get so physical. I’m going to be sore tomorrow.” Even though I’d stated rules, there was still more bodily contact than I wanted. I was sure it made for good television though.
“Same here. I scraped my side.” She showed me an angry welt on her ribs.
“You need to put something on that.”
She eyed her injury and waved me off. “It’s not that bad.”
I took her plate from her. “I’ll save you a seat next to me. Now go.”
“Thank you.”
She hustled inside, but I knew she would be back quickly. Real estate next to me was prime. I sat at the table with four chairs and was immediately joined by Charlotte and Ava. I gave Emma an apologetic smile when she pointed to the empty seat next to me and I had to tell her Kaisley would be joining us soon.
“I’ll just sit here,” she said and spread out on a chaise lounge next to the table.
“Look at them still in the pool trying to figure out who’s the best at water basketball. You should have seen their eyes when Denise’s assistant dropped the game off this morning,” Charlotte said.
“For some reason, I thought you already had it here,” I said.
“Nope. They gave it to us earlier with specific instructions not to play it until you got here.”
“I think the Sparklers did well. I mean, yes, this is a competition, but I don’t care about water basketball. I care about getting to know each of you better,” I said. It sounded so rehearsed, but it was the truth. “Let’s talk about movies or cars or what you miss most because you’re sequestered.”
“I’m back. What did I miss?” Kaisley slipped into the chair next to me, wearing a shirt that covered her ribs.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes. They treated it and told me not to go in the water for the rest of the day. What’s everyone talking about?”
“Savannah just asked what we missed most,” Charlotte said.
“My son. I’ve never been away from him for so long,” Kaisley said.
Charlotte nodded. “Yeah. I miss my daughter. I didn’t realize how hard it would be.”
“That is hard. And now I feel shallow for saying social media. I miss my phone,” Ava said.
“I do, too. It’s not like I was on it a lot, but I had immediate information anytime I wanted,” I said.
“I miss talking on the phone. I mean, yes, I can talk to all of you, but I miss chatting with my parents and my family,” Charlotte said.
“That’s sweet. Are you close with them?” I couldn’t remember everything about Charlotte other than she was the mom blogger.
“Yes. I spend most of my day on my computer, so it’s nice to actually converse with people. My daughter always wants to FaceTime with her grandparents. I know most people our age don’t like talking on the phone, but I do.”
I was one of those people who didn’t like it. I attributed it to my job. I didn’t like answering the company phone because I didn’t know who was calling. “I answer the phone a lot during the day, so I don’t like to be on it after hours. I’ll talk to my friend Jane, but that’s about it.”
“What about your parents?” Ava asked.
“It’s only my mom, and I need to do better with her. She doesn’t even know I’m back on the show.”
“What? How could she not know? Isn’t she going to be worried when she can’t reach you?” Charlotte asked.
“It all happened so fast. I left her a couple of voice mails and emailed her. It wasn’t the best way to tell her, but I didn’t want a back-and-forth with her. She saw what happened the first time, and I knew she would talk me out of it.”
Everyone burst out laughing, and I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment.
“That’s bad, Savannah,” Kaisley said.
“I know. I feel bad about it because she hated it the first time I was on the show, and now she’s going to have to go through it all again,” I said.
“Maybe this time you’ll walk away with somebody who wants the same things as you, and your mother will be happy and supportive,” Kaisley said.
“I certainly hope so,” I said.
I spent another hour hanging with the sparkettes before I asked to go back to my place. Being in the sun only made me tired, and I was overwhelmed. Tonight was the first official candle ceremony, and that would probably take hours to film until we all knew our places, what to say, how to act, and how it was going to play out. Ava, the nurse practitioner, and Frankie were on the chopping block. I liked them both, but I just didn’t feel any chemistry with Ava, and Frankie was too much. She required a lot of attention and was loud. I was her polar opposite. She was fun but somebody I could take only in small doses.
Mandee greeted me at the door and handed me a water. “You have three hours until we need to get you ready for the cocktail party.” She pressed her lips together tightly as she looked me up and down. I knew she didn’t see me but noticed slightly sunburnt skin and tan lines. I guessed tonight’s dress wouldn’t work, and she would have to hit up wardrobe for different options.
“In absolutely no surprise to anybody, I’m going to nap. I’ll set the alarm on the clock, but you might want to check on me. I can’t guarantee I’ll hear it,” I said. I shut my door and crawled onto the bed fully clothed, forgetting to set the alarm.