For Real(37)

“I’d like that,” Will says, and he takes my hand. Greg ducks down to get a close-up of our entwined fingers. There are so many emotions swirling through my head that I feel like I might shatter.

Isis points to a little plaza full of topiary shrubs and tells us to wait there until everyone else arrives. There’s another bakpao cart in front of the zoo’s entrance, and I collapse onto the low stone wall surrounding the plaza while Will goes off to buy some for us and our crew. The three teams who beat us are grouped together about ten yards away, and I know I should probably go over and chat with them, but I’m way too tired to move. When Will comes back with the food, I barely find the strength to gobble down two bakpaos before I fall asleep on my backpack.

As I drift into unconsciousness, hoping against hope that Miranda beats Samir to the checkpoint, I’m vaguely aware of Will gently tucking a folded sweatshirt under my head.





It seems like only a few minutes have passed before Will’s shaking me awake again, but it must have been longer—when I slit one eye open, the sun’s a lot lower in the sky. It vaguely occurs to me that I still have no idea what day it is. I swat Will away, and I hear him yelp as my hand connects clumsily with his face. “Sleeping,” I mutter.

“Come on,” he says, nudging me with his toe from a safer distance. “We have to pick our new partners, and then you can rest.”

I struggle into a sitting position and peel his sweatshirt off my face. It feels like something flew into my mouth and died. “Who got eliminated?” I ask, trying not to breathe in his direction.

“Lou and that woman with the purple hair, whatever her name is. Jade, or something? They just got in a minute ago.” He points off to the right, where Lou and Jada are sitting on a stone wall with one of the producers and doing their exit interview.

“It sucks that Lou’s out,” I say. “I’m sorry. Are you upset?”

He shrugs. “Nah. No big deal. I’ll see him at home in a couple weeks.” His nonchalance surprises me—if my sister had been eliminated, I’d be devastated. But maybe it’s different for guys.

Isis arranges us in a semicircle at the base of the alligator statue, and the camera people surround us, careful to stay out of each other’s sightlines. Miranda waves at me, and I smile back at her, relieved that she’s safe, but we’re too far apart to talk. “Congratulations to all of you for completing the first leg of the race,” Isis says. “I hope you’ve all enjoyed getting very close to your partners over the last two days. Before you select your new dates, I have a special prize to award. The team who bared the most skin on this leg of the race will receive five thousand dollars each!”

For a moment, I wonder if it could be Will and me, since we did the pool challenge in our underwear. Then again, everyone probably did that. Is it going to come down to who was wearing the skimpiest underwear today?

“The winner of the Bare Bod award is …” Isis pauses for dramatic effect. “Blake and Philadelphia! Congratulations!”

I must be really tired, because I only now notice that Blake still isn’t wearing a shirt, and Philadelphia’s in a sports bra and tiny shorts. Blake’s wearing a silver pendant on a black cord that I hadn’t noticed before, and when I see that there’s a wire running between it and his waist, I realize it must be a microphone. The two of them whoop and hug, and Blake shouts, “Dude, that is awesome! I just took my shirt off ’cause I was hot, and now I get money! Sweet!” It’s like he’s forgotten he’s a stripper and he takes off his clothes for money every day.

Isis arranges her perfect features in a more serious expression. “But now it’s time for a bit of separation and heartbreak. You will choose your dates for the next leg of the race in the order you arrived at the Cupid’s Nest. For this first round, the boys in each pair will go first, and next time, it’ll be the girls. Martin and Zora, please step forward.”

The last time I saw Martin, he was sweaty and shaking, but he looks way more confident now that he’s come in first. Even his superhero shirt seems a little cooler somehow. “Martin, who would you like to spend the next leg of the race with?” Isis asks.

“Um, I’d actually like to stay with Zora, if that’s, um, okay with her.” Martin gives Zora a shy smile, just barely meeting her eyes. I can tell how afraid he is of being rejected.

“Zora, since you came in first as well, you have the option of rejecting Martin’s proposal. What would you like to do?”

“I want to stay with him,” Zora says. “Martin’s the best.” Martin looks at the ground, pleased and blushing and relieved. The viewers are going to love him.

As Isis explains that Martin and Zora will depart for the next leg of the race twelve hours after they arrived, I sneak a sideways glance at Will. Is he going to pick me when our turn comes? Have I been a good enough partner? I think we did pretty well together, and he did tell Isis he hoped we’d have more steamy times together. I try to think of something witty and cute to say when he chooses me, but my sleep-deprived brain is a total blank.

“Steve and Vanessa, please step forward,” says Isis. “Steve, who would you like to spend the next leg of the race with?”

“I’d like to race with Miranda, please,” Steve says without hesitation.