Page 34 of The Cuffing Game
“Critiquingcinema, the classic frat boy pastime.”
“Obviously.”
Celine giggled again, and Noah felt his shoulders loosen up. The date was going a lot better now, which was a huge relief. Maybe he’d been too harsh with her the previous night.
After all, Celine was gorgeous. Her pink sweater dress perfectly complemented the rosiness of her cheeks, and her knee-high white boots made her legs look flatteringly long. She had good taste in movies and was funny, too, sometimes. So what if she talked with her mouth full during meals and sometimes steamrolled him in conversations? No one was perfect.
The best part was, once things really got going between him and Celine, Noah didn’t think once about the camera, nor the audiences that would watch them tomorrow. Orabout Mia behind the camera, laughing at him. Instead, as they continued talking, Noah’s eyes lingered on Celine’s bright eyes and pink, glossy lips.
He had watched enough dating shows to know that, technically, kissing on a second date wasn’t too fast. But watching people kiss on TV felt drastically different from being the person to actually do it himself.
Out of nervous reflex, Noah glanced up. And almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Miaglaringat him from behind the camera. He shook his head and looked away.
Trying his best to pretend the camera wasn’t there, Noah gently brushed Celine’s hair away from her face and cupped her chin with his other hand. Softly, he said, “I know it might be too soon. And feel free to say no if you’re not comfortable with it yet. But can I kiss you?”
Celine nodded, a smile blossoming on her face as she peered up at him through her long eyelashes. When her eyes fluttered closed, Noah leaned in and let their lips brush together in a light, soft kiss.
Celine let out a small gasp, and as she kissed him back, Noah did his best to keep his thoughts focused on the here and now. And not the fact that tens of thousands of people were going to see this moment tomorrow. Or the fact that Mia was still there, watching from behind the cameras.
Chapter Fourteen
Mia
Kissing on the second date? On camera?
Mia was glad the viewers wouldn’t see the disgusted look on her face. She was baffled by how fast the scene had escalated. One moment, Noah and Celine were talking about Noah not having any hobbies besides work—which Mia related so hard with, she couldn’tnotlaugh—and the next, the cuffle waskissing!
Mia knew from her sisters’ recaps ofLove Islandand other dating shows that kissing on the second date wasn’ttoobad. Apparently some people even made out in the first episode. But it just wasn’t for her. She’d kissed only one other person in her entire life, and it was Lacie Donovan during their junior year homecoming dance, when it’d felt like the stars had aligned and they were destined to be together. And then Lacie had dumped her not even a month after, anyway. Because that was usually how Mia’s luck in love went.
As grossed out as she was by Noah and Celine’s kiss, Miahad to admit that, in the context of the show, it’dseemedright. And, curled up together by the firepit, they looked super cute together, too. The viewers back at home were going to eat this moment up.
As the showrunner, Mia was satisfied. This, after all, was exactly what she’d wanted. Her very own show. An amazing crew to help her produce it. And talent like Noah and Celine, who were interesting enough to hook audiences so people would want to tune in to the show every day. They were perfect, even better than she thought they could be.
But then why did Mia feel so... off? A sick feeling nestled into the pit of her stomach. If she hadn’t been too caught up with the viewers’ reactions to the first episode to eat anything all day, she’d have thought it was because she had food poisoning.
I’m probably just hungry,Mia thought, even when a part of her knew that wasn’t the real reason.
She shook her head at herself. This was only the second day of filming, and there was still a lot of work to do. Something could go wrong at any moment. She didn’t havetimeto get distracted by her complicated feelings about Noah.
Before she could dwell on them for long, though, Alex came running back outside.
“Mia! Come quick! Damien told me to come get you.”
Kallie swung the camera toward Mia and Alex.
“Sorry!” Mia shouted at Celine and Noah. They jerked apart. “Y’all are done for the day! You were great!”
Heart pounding, Mia ran back into the house with Alex and Kallie. As her eyes took a few milliseconds to adjust to the bright light of the dining room, Mia hopedand prayedthat no one was hurt.
Bethany stood at the table with a chair fallen behind her, while Jack had his hands outstretched like he was trying—unsuccessfully—to calm her down. The other contestants stood in a circle around the two, while Damien was recording everything from a corner of the room.
Mia didn’t know much about Bethany, other than that she was also from Texas, albeit a whole different part of the state than Mia herself. With her sharp green eyes and her long blond hair tied into a high ponytail, Bethany reminded Mia of one of the cheerleaders at her high school.
“Well, then I don’t know why we’re wasting our time,” Bethany was saying, loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Good luck with whoever you end up with. I’m leaving!”
She stomped away, leaving Jack alone in her figurative dust.
“I’ll go talk to her,” Alex whispered before they ran after Bethany.
