Page 60 of House of Deceit

“Thank you, Charlie. Hello, everyone! I’m Derek, and I have your team assignments.” He begins going down the list on the clipboard in his hand, calling out names one by one. “Parker, you’re with Charlie.”

That is the best news I could have hoped for. I know we will do anything necessary to make it into week seven. He continues reading the pairings as Parker and I stare at each other, a silent promise running between us.

“Hello, everyone. The outfits you need are in the changing room. You have ten minutes to change, and then please come out to the backyard.” And with that, Derek leaves.

Parker’s blue shorts are tight and hide nothing, not that my matching blue bikini hides much more. The triangle top barely contains my heavy chest, while the blue bottoms hardly protect me. In a moment of calm before the competition that is more likely to send us home than not, I take a second to appreciate the perfection of the man standing before me.

“This should be fun,” I say. He smiles at me as we move toward the backyard, grabbing my hand to offer me comfort as well as sell our relationship to the audience.

I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to be in a fake TV romance with.

These competitions have been mentally and physically exhausting, but this one is weighing all of us down in a way none of the others have up until this point. There is a resounding silence as everyone makes their way outside with us. The threat of half the house going home looms over all of our actions.

Cain is sitting in the royalty chair, in a pair of the same bottoms as the other guys except his are black. Each team is a different color that corresponds with a platform in the middle of the pool. Each platform has a walkway from the pool’s edge to a small circle. We take a moment, looking around to determine what we will be doing.

“Everyone, please gather over here!” Cain calls out, his tone perfectly pitched with empathy for us. He pulls out a card as we gather at the foot of the throne. I wish I had immunity this week with such a large number leaving, but I wouldn’t want anyone else to possibly be the reason Parker goes home, either.

“This week, the competition is simple. Everyone will dip themselves in the pool of baby oil over there”—he lifts his arm and points—“then you and your teammate will walk to your platform in the pool. You will not touch this platform until the horn sounds. Once it sounds, you both will climb on and everyone has thirty seconds to get situated.”

Everyone looks over at the platforms, noting the lack of room for two people. “After the thirty seconds,” Cain continues, “the competition begins. Each team must stay on their platform for the duration of the event. If either of you touch the water, you are both disqualified. Good luck.”

I turn to Parker. “I need that phone call,” I tell him, matter-of-factly.

He nods. “Then you’ll get it.”

We all make our way to the kiddie pool of oil where we lie down and roll around so every inch of us is covered. My skin feels gross and I can’t wait to get the goop off of me, but I push it to the side and sink into the calm. Parker and I hold hands as we make our way down the plank to our platform, and we study it while we wait.

“The best way is for me to stand with my back to your front,” I whisper. “That way we take up as little space as possible. You’ll have to put your arms around me.”

“What a burden,” he jokes.

The air is uncharacteristically cool and goosebumps raise on my arms. Seeing my discomfort, he chafes my arms, trying to warm them with friction, but the oil makes it impossible. In the final seconds, I grab one of his hands, squeezing.

The horn blows and we step onto the platform. I move into more of the middle of the circle while Parker settles behind me, his feet closer to the edges. My ass nestles perfectly against his dick as he wraps his arms around me.

“Perfect, this is going to be excruciating,” he says very quietly into my ear, hoping our microphones don’t pick up the inappropriate comment. I giggle and press my ass into him ever so slightly. “Stop, you devil woman.”

The clock counts down our last few seconds to get situated before the horn goes off again.

I settle into the stance, making sure not to lock my knees as I look at the other pairs. Some decided to be front to front while others mirrored me and Parker. I watch as the comfort level of each pairing slowly becomes apparent. Instead of settling into the position, they try to touch as little as possible, standing rigidly.

“Guess they couldn’t have picked an indoor activity today, huh?” I ask, shivering.

“No, I suppose not. Tell me. Who are you going to call when we win this?”

I smile as I rest my head against his chest.

“My best friend, Courtney. I need her advice on a few things.”

“Anything I can help you with?” he asks.

“No, but thank you. What about you?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure, but it’ll just be nice to get to talk to someone.”

We settle into silence, periodically talking but generally just spending time in our thoughts. Minutes tick by as we continue to stand in the chilly day, my body aching to move.

“Tell me a joke,” Parker demands.

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