Page 10 of Hot Summer

It was a master class in bringing people together and making them feel like they could relax.

But just as she thought it, Cas also started noticing the cameras hidden across almost every inch of the exterior. They were tucked in corners in the kitchen, hanging from trees, nestled in the hedges that lined the back of the property and shielded the villa from prying eyes. Cas was sure there were a thousand more that she wasn’t seeing, but the microphone she had around her waist suddenly felt that much heavier.

“I think we’re supposed to go down there,” Ada said, pointing to one of the high-top tables just off the pool deck. There were a few stools around the table and, on top, an ice bucket with a bottle of cheap champagne waiting for them.

Cas grinned, a thin attempt at hiding the nerves now swirling through her stomach. “What makes you think that?”

“Just a hunch,” Ada said. She was smiling again, the right side of her mouth hitched up just a touch higher than the left.

They uncorked the champagne, and Cas poured two generous glasses into the white plastic flutes stacked in the center of the table. Her contract had been very clear that they were only going to get a few drinks a day—one this morning and then two, maximum, at the first-night party later—and Cas needed every ounce of alcohol she could get to soothe the anxiety twisting itself up in her chest.

It wasn’t that she was nervous. Not in the way the others might be. She wasn’t hinging her romantic future on this show, she wasn’t a fool, but she could feel the tension in the air all the same, thick around her. She needed this show, needed to be liked, needed to get to the finale.

“So.” Cas swallowed a sip of champagne, blinking through the rush of bubbles in her nose. “What’s your dating situation been like?”

Ada laughed and immediately raised her glass to her lips. “Not great.” She took a sip, and when she lowered her flute, her expression was soft, almost sad. “I just got out of a long-term thing a few months ago.”

“Oh no.” Cas moved her hand to rest briefly on top of Ada’s. A show of solidarity without being too over the top. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, she wasn’t ready to commit, and I don’t know.” Ada shrugged. “I’m ready for something serious, you know? That’s why I’m here.”

She.

“Are you bi, then?” Cas tried to ask it casually, like she had absolutely no interest in the response.

Ada nodded. “I kind of flick between using ‘bi’ and ‘pan.’ I’m not sure which fits best.”

Oh my god.

“Me, too,” Cas said. She was genuinely excited for the first time, and she could feel it coating her words. “I usually use bi, but I think that’s more because I like the memes.”

Ada snorted. “Fair enough. I’m so glad there’s another queer person on this show. I was worried I’d be the only one.”

“No, god, me, too.”

Hot Summer had long since touted itself as the show where anyone can date anyone, but in practice, it was still one of the straightest dating shows on television. They’d had a few (read: very few) queer couples over the years, but the show rarely broke the hetero mold.

Cas quickly ticked through her mental roster. There were Tess and Sarah in Season 2, who coupled up for approximately four days before Tess broke it off to get back together with some toxic meathead. Alex and Max in Season 4; Cas remembered that they coupled up during Bombshell Week and lasted until about a week before the series end. Season 5 had Poppy and Niamh, but they were partnered up so briefly that, as far as Cas was concerned, it barely even counted. The show had let them get together for a day and a half before putting them through a public vote that ultimately sent Poppy home. It was tragic.

Every year, Cas watched, desperate for a Hot Gay Summer, and every year, she was disappointed.

“My mates are going to lose it when they find out about this,” Ada mused, a soft smile curving at the corners of her lips. She then tipped her head back toward the sky and shouted, “Hear that, Shan? This isn’t the straightest show on telly this summer!”

Cas couldn’t help the laugh that escaped and held up her glass. “Cheers to that.”

They clinked glasses, the dull thud of the plastic a sad substitute for the bright tinkling of glass.

“Anyway,” Ada said, “what about you? How was your romantic life before this?”

It was an innocent question, and one she’d get a million times before the summer was out, but Cas needed to hedge her bets. If she had any hope of being liked, she knew she couldn’t give the full answer. And even though Ada seemed lovely and sure to like pretty much anyone, Cas weirdly cared about what she would think. A lot.

So, a glossed-over version of reality it was.

“I haven’t dated anyone seriously in a while,” Cas said. An understatement by massive proportions, if her hookup count could be believed. “I haven’t found the right person worth settling down for, you know?” Another lie. But then again, the person she had settled down for had up and left her, so that wasn’t exactly Cas’s fault.

“Ah.” Ada twirled her champagne in her hands. “You’re more of a ‘let’s go on a few dates and see what happens’ type of girl, then?”

More like a one-night-stand sort of girl.

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