Page 27 of The Cuffing Game
He shot Mia a glare before turning his attention back to Celine.
The girl’s eyes were wide with terror, like she’d belatedly realized what she’d just done.
Noah wanted to sigh or shake his head, something tohelp alleviate the pressure that was building up inside of him. But he couldn’t. He’d watched enoughLove Is Blindand other reality TV shows to know that the camera was often unforgiving. Any sort of negative body language could reflect badly on either himself or Celine.
He had no idea how popularThe Cuffing Gamewas going to be. But he had to be careful, just in case. Anything could be misconstrued or made into a viral video by people online.
He briefly closed his eyes and then gave Celine what he knew was a charming smile.
“Sure,” he told her. “I’ll cuff with you. I’d be an idiot to say no.”
It wasn’t a total lie. Sure, he still wished he could get to know the other girls. But Celine had not only nominated him to be on this show but also quite literally risked it all for him. The least he could do was give her a shot.
Celine threw her arms around Noah.
He stiffened and put up his hands, too caught off guard to control his reaction.
“Oops, sorry,” Celine replied, backing away. “I got too excited there.”
He forced out a laugh, turning away so neither she nor the camera could see the discomfort in his eyes. “No worries. You just surprised me.”
And it’s been several years since anyone’s hugged me like that,he added in his thoughts. Of course, he couldn’t say that part aloud, since people would probably think there was something wrong with him. But it was true. Growingup, the only people who really hugged him were his mom and his brother. And it’d been three years since he had seen either of them in person.
Most people in school gave Noah a wide berth, like his social media fame created some kind of invisible force field around him. Besides the occasional, brief bro hugs with his fraternity brothers, no one touched Noah, period. And he was perfectly fine with that. In fact, it now startled him whenever someonedidtouch him.
“Um, Noah? Are you okay?” asked Mia.
Noah sharply looked up to see that all three girls were now staring at him. The camera was off, safely pointed down toward the ground. Had they wrapped for the day? He hadn’t heard anything, but maybe he’d been too lost in his thoughts.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m still tired from the drive. I had an early start to my day, since I had a lot of posts to schedule before I left.”
“Aww, I totally get it,” Celine replied. “Because same!”
But behind her, Mia narrowed her eyes, as if she could tell he’d told a half-truth.
He let out a quick breath, only now realizing how lightheaded he was.
“I’m done for today, right?” he asked Mia. “I’m gonna get some water. I think I might be getting altitude sickness.”
Mia’s face shifted to an unknowable expression, and it took Noah a few seconds to realize she wasworriedabout him. Grumpy Mia, actually concerned about his well-being.Hell was about to freeze over.
“If you and Celine are both sure about your decision to cuff with each other, then yes, you’re done for now,” she said. “But we need you to come back later tonight to film the cuffing reveals. Kallie and I are going to film another pair, but in the meantime, go drink water and eat something. Youreallydon’t look good. Celine, you should grab something, too. Help yourselves to anything that’s in the fridge, since we bought those supplies for y’all.”
“Wow, thanks!” Celine exclaimed. “Come on, Noah! Let’s go eat dinner.”
Noah had been planning to chill in his room, but he said, “Sure.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten anything.
They wandered into the kitchen, where Noah drank some water and zeroed in on a box of Uncrustables, his favorite American invention. He grabbed a sandwich while Celine grabbed a ready-made chicken Caesar salad.
He’d hoped to have a break from talking, and maybe even a chance to listen in on the other contestants, but that proved to be impossible. While they ate their food at the kitchen table, Celine talked to him about everything, from her favorite foods to all the makeup she put on today. It was like they were still on their date.
At first, Noah tried his best to engage in conversation, nodding and responding at appropriate times. But when he stopped to chew, he had a horrifying realization.
It didn’t matter whether or not he responded. Celine kepttalking anyway, sometimes even with her mouth full.There was a small camera right above their heads. Fortunately for Celine, she happened to be sitting with her back turned toward it. The camera couldn’t see the salad in her mouth. But Noah could.
He snuck glances up at the kitchen clock and was relieved when, thirty minutes after they’d sat down to eat, Mia’s voice came from the speakers: “Contestants! Please regather around the firepit.”
Noah let out a quiet sigh of relief. For the first time in his life, he was glad to hear Mia’s voice.
