Page 43 of The Cuffing Game
Tiana reached the finish line shortly after, and Celine threw her shovel down with a growl of frustration.
Mia stepped forward so the cameras could get a good view of her as she said, “Congratulations, Matías and Shirin! You two are the winners of today’s random event. You have earned yourselves the first pick of who you want to cuff with for the next round. Everyone, please come back inside the lodge, where we’ll do the cuffings.”
As they all headed back, Mia heard Noah say, “Sorry, this was my first time shoveling snow. I lived on the twentieth floor of our apartment building in Seoul for most of my life, so it’s not something I ever had to do.”
Celine sighed. “It’s okay, I have cousins like that in Shanghai, so I get it.”
At least that’s resolved okay,Mia thought.
In the living room, Mia directed all the contestants to stand in a single-file line facing the cameras.
“It is now time to pick your cuffles for today,” she said. “Shirin and Matías will go first, then Tiana and Jack, and then finally, Celine and Noah. Choose wisely, because you will be spending the rest of today skiing or snowboarding with this person.”
“Skiing!” Shirin exclaimed, pumping her arms in the air.
“Yup,” Mia said. “That’s our fun surprise! We had some money left over from our budget, so we thought we’d treat you guys, to thank you for sacrificing a part of your winter break for us.”
“Hell yes!” yelled Tiana. “Thanks, TCG crew!”
Excited murmurs came from every contestant except Matías, who’d been completely frozen since Mia said it was time to pick the new cuffles.
“Um...” Mia said. “Are you okay, Matías?”
“Oh, hi—I mean, yes, I’m okay,” Matías replied. “It’s funny because while I was shoveling, I tried so hard because I wanted to be the first person to pick. But now, I don’t know if I want to actually go through with what I planned to do.”
He looked at Shirin, who shook her head.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “Go for it. Choose who you really want to go on a date with. Just go first, though, because I’m still debating what to do, too.”
They shared a laugh, and as Matías glanced at Jack, Mia’s pulse quickened. She did her best to keep a poker face. It’d be such a bold move, to ask the one and only Jack Miller out on televisionright now, in a moment that was going to be watched by thousands of people. It was so daunting to think about. Mia wouldn’t blame Matías if he didn’t go through with it.
Seconds passed. Then minutes. Someone coughed, although Mia couldn’t tell who.
Curiously, Matías met eyes with Noah, who nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Okay,” Matías finally said. “I’m ready.”
“All right,” replied Mia. “Matías, please go link arms with the person you want to cuff with for today.”
With Damien following behind him with his camera, Matías slowly headed down the line of the other contestants.
Mia’s own palms grew sweaty as Matías put one foot in front of the other, walking past Shirin, Celine, Noah, and Tiana to come to a full stop in front of... Jack.
Yes!Mia thought. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, likeshewas the one about to confess. Which was never going to happen. Because she would rather die than confess to Noah that she liked him.
“H-hey,” Matías said to Jack in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.
Jack’s eyes widened. “Hi?” He said the word like it was a question.
Matías took a deep breath. “If you’re not interested, feel free to reject me, honestly. No pressure. But I’m just going to say it. Because as famous as you are, I have no idea if I’ll ever have a chance to be face-to-face like this with you again. Jack, I like you, and I’ve had a crush on you ever since I went to my very first college football game. I know you’re out of my league and you probably aren’t even into guys... but I tried my best on today’s challenge just so I could have first dibs on you for this round.”
Everyone went silent, waiting in hushed anticipation for Jack’s response. Mia was sure she could hear a pin drop.
Jack scratched his head. He looked at Damien’s camera and then at Matías.
Mia’s stomach sank. A sudden flashback of how Jack had rejected Bethany played in her head.
Oh no, she thought.Poor Matías...
