Page 31 of Taking the Heat

‘Wow!’ I was impressed. ‘That’s wonderful, Jen. That’s a great reason to come on the show.’

‘Oh no,’ she rushed to explain, ‘I didn’t apply for Erotic Island because of my dream. I only found out about the money later.’

‘Then why did you audition?’ Henry’s full bottom lip was pushed out in confusion.

‘Why, because I am a diagnosed sex addict!’

Nothing surprises me anymore in this place. Jen didn’t act like her revelation was a big deal, so I played along. ‘That must be really hard to live with. Right, Henry?’

I looked over at the Brit, and found him opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish. His eyes were just about bulging out of his head. ‘Uh … I, um … well …’

Jen answered. ‘It has been hard, I will not lie. In Zimbabwe, there are many people with HIV. Also, among my family and friends, a woman is not supposed to have sex before she is married. I am very glad to be here, among people who are like me.’

She grinned widely at Henry, who blustered out with, ‘Well, we’re not all like … what I mean is, you have a very unique condition, and I don’t … I’m not addicted to sex. I hardly have any, actually.’ He glanced at me, and backtracked. ‘I mean, compared to Jen. I have plenty and I like it and I’m quite good at it. I think. Oh, gosh, what I meant was …’

‘Stop,’ I hissed at him.

Jen was unperturbed. She laughed and said, ‘I like you, Henry! You are very funny.’ She wiggled her hips at him. ‘I hope very much to win a key today.’

‘Yes. Yes, good, then.’

Thank god Miles started talking so Henry had to stop. ‘Good morning, contestants! There are four keys up for grabs, and today your challenge is one of endurance. Just how long can you hold on—literally!’

He bared his unusually big teeth at us in a trademark smile. ‘The rules are simple; you’ll be paired up with a competitor of the opposite sex. All you have to do to win, is make sure the lady stays off the ground. If her feet touch the sand, you’re out! The last two couples left win the keys. Easy, right?’

The idea of climbing onto the back of a sweaty stranger in the hot sun wasn’t exactly appealing, and I raised my hand with a question. ‘Hey, Miles! What about me and Beau? We have our keys already, so are we sitting this out?’

‘My darling girl, where would be the fun in that! No, no, competitors with keys will still participate.’

‘What’s in it for us?’ Beau called out from the back of the crowd.

‘If you have a key already, and win a second challenge, you’ll be rewarded with a name—the name of a person who isn’t your fantasy cabin partner.’

Suddenly, I had a very good reason to compete. If I could cross a name off my list of ten possibilities, I would have a better chance at guessing who I would be potentially having sex with. And, if I wasn’t going to be paired up with either Henry or Chris, it would be nice to know and prepare myself.

‘To choose your partners today, you are all required to wear a blindfold and put a hand out in front of you. The first hand you grab will be your partner. Unless you manage to pick someone from the same sex, of course!’

Runners appeared with the cloth blindfolds and arranged us into a loose circle. Once my eyes were covered, I heard Miles shout, ‘Contestants! Hands out!’

People giggled and pushed as our fingers all connected in a big tangle. I kept my hand relatively still, the other palms sliding over and under me.

The second I felt a tingle, I knew whose hand had found mine. The wide palm squeezed me gently and I laced my fingers through his. After being deprived of male touch for a couple of days, I revelled in the warmth that lanced up my arm.

‘Alright, everyone! Do you have a hand? Babette and Mila, that isn’t going to work, girls—surely you can tell you’re not holding hands with a man?’

‘We just think we’d have better luck with each other than a man,da?’

‘No deal—swap please. That’s better! Okay, blindfolds off!’

The sun was shockingly bright as the cloth was whipped from my eyes. Chris stood across from me, a content smile tugging at his sassy lips.

‘I knew it was you,’ I said.

‘And how did you know that?’ He pulled me a little closer, taking full advantage of the lapse in our physical regulations.

‘Because you have gigantic ham hands.’

He slid them down to the small of my back and rubbed little circles on my skin. ‘All the better to hold you with, my dear.’ He looked like a big bad wolf, his eyes flaming hungrily.

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