Page 36 of Sensuous

I collapse back on to the floor, thrilled and surprised at how this night turned out. “You’re too much! I think the two of us should put away our daddy issues for good.”

“Well, since I didn’t realize I had any until last week, that’s going to be easy for me. You, on the other hand, have been totingthose things around for a long time. How do you plan to get rid of them?”

Sadie stares down at me expecting an answer, but I don’t have one for her. I did something tonight that might go a long way to eliminating my issues, though. By telling Alex the truth of why I disliked him, I at least admitted I have a problem with my father.

That counts for something, right?

Avoiding her question, I sit up and wrap my arms around her shoulders in a big hug. “Thanks for being so great. I was worried you might be angry with me, and I wouldn’t have been able to do anything else with him if you were. You know how it is with us.”

Gently pushing me away, she holds me by the shoulders and says our motto. “Best friends before men. Always and forever.”

“Always.”

With a smile, she says, “I’m thinking maybe we should change it to sisters before misters. It’s got a catchy sound to it, don’t you think?”

Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “Go back to sleep. I think you need it.”

She collapses onto the cushions, smiling as she closes her eyes. “I don’t need to be told twice. Good night.”

I walk away, leaving Sadie curled up on the couch as I head toward my bedroom. Everything’s going to be fine. I kissed Alex, and it was as delicious as I could have ever imagined.

And now the show is going to be great too.

When I arriveat the studio, everything feels different. A good kind of different. I don’t feel like the worst person in the world or some kind of natural shrew people instinctively hate.Emma flashes me a big smile and gives me a wave when I walk on the set, but I don’t see Alex anywhere.

Did he decide not to come back to the show?

I hurry over to my station to get ready, and Emma whispers, “Did you hear? Your least favorite person left the show yesterday.”

Not wanting to let on that I spoke to him, I let my mouth fall open in fake shock. “Are you kidding? No way! The golden boy is gone? Good riddance, right?”

A twinge of guilt pricks at me for talking about Alex that way, but I’m not ready to let anyone know we aren’t sworn enemies anymore. Not yet, at least.

“I know! I was totally surprised too. I guess he didn’t like something they asked him to do, and he said no way and left.”

As the rest of the contestants begin to file onto the set, I whisper to her, “I wonder what it was that they wanted him to do and he refused. Maybe they asked him not to walk on water?”

Chuckling to make my disgust look real, I see a sheepish look come over her. “They wanted him to pretend to like you, Kat. Now don’t go thinking there’s anything wrong with you because there isn’t. I’m sure it’s just that a guy like him would never be okay with acting like his feelings weren’t returned because of how you feel about him.”

Thankful she’s so worried about me, I give her a smile and say, “It’s okay. I don’t think he’d be able to act that well anyway. He’s got to have some flaw, so maybe it’s that he’s a terrible actor.”

Emma’s eyes light up at my remark. “That’s it! I bet that’s the problem. He could never imagine in a million years that a woman wouldn’t like him, so he can’t act like he likes her.”

Shane appears in the middle of the room and holds his right hand up. “Attention, everyone! Today we’re going to be cooking. I know some of you have wondered if actual cooking would behappening, so since today is our last day before we start filming, Maria and I thought we should fire up those stoves and ovens and get things cooking!”

A rush of relief comes over me. Cooking I can do. Pretending to like Marco enough to let him run his hands all over me or pretending to hate Alex now after last night was going to be next to impossible for me today.

But creating great meals is going to be easy.

“Just one hitch,” Shane says. “Each one of you is going to be making a dish someone else wants you to. So Maria will be walking around telling each contestant who their mate is for today, and you’ll have to ask them what they want you to make. Since each of you comes from a different background and experiences, this could be a real challenge. Good luck! We’ll be watching to see how you do.”

I look over at Emma standing behind her station and give her a smile. All I hope is it isn’t Marco who will be telling me what to make. No doubt he’ll make it sexual, so I’ll be forced to create a dish with oysters or something else he thinks is an aphrodisiac.

Just then, out of the corner of my eye I see Alex walk onto the set and take his place two stations away. He gives me a tiny smile I immediately begin to analyze, but there’s no time for wondering what’s going to happen next with us right now.

Maria stops in front of me and says, “Kat, you and Alex are working together today. Good luck!”

Before today, I would have dreaded doing anything with him, but now everything’s different. I don’t want anyone to see that, though, so I instantly screw my face into a grimace.

---