Page 22 of Hot Summer

Lexi jumped up onto the bench press and read the message at the top of her voice.

“ ‘Lovers! It’s time for your first challenge!’ ” Lexi’s words were almost impossible to understand, she was so giddy. “ ‘Get ready to break the ice! #ColdFoamWarmHearts #SlidingIntoFeelings!’ ”

7

The outfits that the producers left out for them in the dressing room were, without a doubt, the most ridiculous things that Cas had ever seen in her life. They were giving Lara Croft if you put all her clothes through a woodchipper—a lot of clingy spandex and tiny, tiny pieces of fabric.

Ada saw Cas’s expression and laughed. “I know. Even my arse is going to be out in these, and it’s concave.”

Sienna snorted and then immediately covered her mouth. “Sorry—”

“Don’t be.” Ada waved her hand. “It’s true.”

One of the boys whistled as the girls filed into the entry, and a quick glance around revealed it to be Brad. He wrapped his arm possessively around Ada when she walked over, and he said loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Damn, babe, you look fine.”

If Cas wanted to elbow him in the nose, well, that was her business.

On TV, it always looked like the challenges were held in some grand arena, but in reality, the challenge spot was a large square platform in the middle of a dusty field behind the villa. They’d trooped through the gate hidden in the hedge fence surrounding the villa, all of them talking and laughing in anticipation, but with every step, Cas was dreaming of going back and lying by the pool.

It would certainly be more fun than standing here doing... whatever the hell they were about to be doing.

There were cameras set up along the railing lining the platform and a few more on posts around the perimeter and, most likely, several hidden within the challenge space itself. There was one foam-covered slide running down the center of the platform toward a tower of inflatable rectangles that were painted to look like blocks of ice and, at the top of the slide, a stool with a plastic box full of cards.

Cas knew that Hot Summer wasn’t exactly known for the most intricate challenges—they were mostly about getting lovers soaking wet and grinding on one another—but there was something particularly tragic about the challenges in real life. Especially because they’d be spending half the challenge time building the towers back up so they could get destroyed again.

Maddison’s phone dinged as they climbed into the arena and she scanned her screen before flashing a bright grin at them. “ ‘Welcome, lovers, to the first Hot Summer challenge!’ ”

Everyone applauded, Cas the most enthusiastically of them all. She would rather have put her head in the way of a cricket mallet than do this, but she absolutely could not show it.

“ ‘Today,’ ” Maddison continued, “ ‘you’re going to be competing in a little game called Break the Ice! You’ll each choose a statement from the box’ ”—she slapped her palm down onto the box—“ ‘and then you’ll slide down the luge into the blocks of ice at the end. After you’ve broken the ice, you’ll kiss the person you think the statement is about!’ ” Maddison’s excitement increased as she read, so she was practically squealing by the time she reached the end. She beamed up at all of them. “ ‘Now, who’s ready to Break the Ice?!’ ”

Everyone on the deck cheered, and, thus, the game began.

Charlie bounded up first and grabbed a card from the box without much fanfare. “Who says that they’ve had sex in at least three different outdoor spots?”

It seemed a little perilous when Charlie sent himself barreling down the waterslide into the inflatable ice blocks, especially because they were all standing there waiting at the end, in the direct line of fire. He was dripping with foam as he popped to his feet, neither he nor Lexi seemed to mind as he pressed her back into the railing and planted a snog on her that even Cas felt a little uncomfortable watching.

She hooted right along with the rest of them, but this definitely felt more like something they should be doing on their own, rather than in front of nearly a dozen other people and as many cameras.

Lexi was panting as Charlie pulled away, and he grinned as he tugged the card from the waistband of his shorts, waving it teasingly in the air.

“Okay, let’s see if I was right...” He peeled the sticker off the card and revealed Lexi written at the very bottom.

“You’re a bit of an exhibitionist, then, Lex,” Maddison said, her words barely audible over Charlie’s celebration.

“Not on purpose,” Lexi said. “I just get, like, really horny outside for some reason, I don’t know.”

“Remind me to take you on lots of hikes when we get home,” Charlie said.

Femi ran up next, and he made a big show of swirling his hand around in the box. “Ohhh, let’s see...”

“Just pick one, you arsehole,” Sienna shouted, and Femi flashed her a bright grin.

“All right.” He plucked a card out and flicked it upright in his fingers. “This one says, ‘Kiss one of the four lovers who say they’ve kissed more than two people in one night.’ ”

As soon as Cas heard it, she knew it was about her.

And three other people, but still. Her.

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