“Yes,” Allie nodded. “I’d pick you over a double cheeseburger and sweet chili fries any day. Hell, if Vivian made me choose between you and a shower...”
Barra laughed so loud that leaves rattled above their heads, sending a fine spray of droplets down on them. “I will never come between you and a shower.”
Allie pulled a face, then nudged Barra with her shoulder. “Thank you for telling me. I’m sure it was hard to do.” She smiled, and Barra felt her chest heat up. She’d worried that telling Allie was a mistake. Turned out it was the opposite.
“So then yes to your question,” Barra said, grinning. “When the game is over—”
The rain suddenly stopped. It was so sudden that both Allie and Barra snapped their heads forward. There had been no warning, no soft tapering. Instead, the absence of rain was like someone had reached up and turned the faucet off. Then, even more miraculously, sunlight spilled through the canopy in broken golden shards and caught on the wet leaves, turning everything glossy.
“We should probably get back to camp,” Barra said, looking up at the faint speck of blue already coming in through the small gaps in the trees. “Before anyone thinks we’re out here conspiring.”
“If only they knew the truth.” Allie chuckled, then winked before pushing herself upright. “Come. I’ll race you back to camp.”
Barra didn’t rush up right away. Her legs were still jelly. And her chest felt lighter than it had in ages. In fact, she couldn’t remember when last she’d felt like this, like she’d lost thebackpack filled with stones she hadn’t realized she was carrying. “I’d rather not have you trip and fall.”
“I’ll be fine,” Allie said. Then, before Barra could remind Allie about sneaky roots sticking out in unlikely places, Allie jerked her hand away and started running.
Chapter Eighteen
Allie could barely feel the sting of the graze on her knee. But that didn’t mean she’d forgotten the moment she’d clipped that ficus root mid-sprint yesterday. Or that horrible stomach-drop sensation when she’d flown through the air only to land knee-first. Or that confession Barra had rained on her moments before. On the contrary, Allie could remember every detail vividly. She could remember the confusion she’d felt when Barra had mentioned Dominique. And she could remember the exact moment her insides had become all twisty when Barra had admitted she had feelings for her. Then how that lovely warmth had turned ice cold when Barra had said she was worried those feelings weren’t real.
Weren’t real?
But if Barra had any more reservations about what she felt, she didn’t show it. Not in the way she’d scooped Allie off the forest floor after her fall and kissed her while mouthing “I told you so.” And especially not in the way she’d looked at Allie at last night’s Sending when their plan had actually worked. Hazel had gone home with a stiff smile, a lawyer’s handshake, and one last pointed look at Barra that said she knew exactly who had sharpened the knife. By the time Vivian reassigned Allie to Barra, the whole beach had gone quiet in that deliciously awkward way people got when strategy worked a little too well.
Allie’s skin prickled at the memory.
She wanted to lean in closer to Barra, who was standing next to her, and say, “I can’t believe we’re standing here as a pair and we didn’t even have to play our advantages.” Instead,she dragged her hands down her arms as a gust of wind ripped through the clearing. The rain had stopped, and the sky was a crisp, cloudless blue, but in its place was a howling wind that sent the edges of the challenge banner flapping so aggressively it looked seconds away from tearing off clean and making a run for the jungle.
“Welcome, contestants,” Vivian said, taking her spot in front of them. The sun overhead was sharp enough to make her squint. “It seems you all are being treated to an entirely new kind of weather today. Thankfully, it’s not raining.”
There were a couple of chuckles. At least everyone’s sense of humor hadn’t been completely washed out by the last three days. Although Tilly’s was close. She seemed one inconvenience away from a breakdown.
Then, without warning, a thick, wet cough cut through the laughter. Everyone turned toward Elodie. She had her fist pressed to her mouth. Her shoulders were shaking just as another cough rattled its way out of her chest. She blinked rapidly and looked sheepishly around her. “Sorry, I’ve woken up with a bit of a cold,” she said, dragging the back of her hand under her nose.
Vivian blinked. “Do you want the medics to check you out?” she asked, nodding toward a tent that was currently fighting for its life against the wind. Inside, Maureen—the doctor Allie had only briefly met before the game started—sat on a three-legged chair, holding a cup of coffee.
Earlier the smell had wafted over to them, and Allie had groaned out loud.
Elodie waved a hand like it was nothing. “I’m fine,” she said, her voice hoarse. “It sounds worse than it is. Really, I’m fine.”
Anna, beside her, pressed her lips thin with worry. Allie understood why; she didn’t need a medical degree to know that it absolutely did not sound fine. Even Vivian didn’t look entirelyconvinced, but she let it go and shifted her attention smoothly back to the group. Then she turned to Allie.
“Allie, after three days of relentless rain and no reward challenges, you were suddenly sent to The Sending last night. How did that feel?” Vivian asked.
Allie snatched her attention from Elodie’s gurgling cough and focused on Vivian. “I think my feelings toward The Sending were a bit more positive than everyone else’s,” she said. Since Sutton had been voted out, Allie would’ve been obliged to sit out at every reward challenge until she was paired up again. Since there hadn’t been any challenges, she hadn’t missed out on anything. “I’m just relieved to be back in the game.”
“With Barra as your other half?”
Allie nodded. She liked the sound of that a little too much. Barra as her other half like they were—nope. She wasn’t about to get ahead of herself. Too dangerous.
“Yes,” she nodded. “Which is why I’m quite nervous for today’s challenge.” Allie had spotted the blobs of color drifting on the water’s choppy surface the moment she’d stepped into the clearing. “Barra is more athletic than I am,” she admitted. “So I only hope I can make her proud... and hopefully we won’t end up dead last.”
Vivian chuckled. Barra did too. If they didn’t have an audience, Allie was fairly certain Barra would’ve kissed her on the temple and told her not to worry. Allie, however, would still be worried. A swimming challenge was the worst kind of challenge.
“Well, let’s hope you and Barra can find your rhythm today,” Vivian said lightly. Then she turned and swept an arm toward the ocean. “Today’s challenge will test your endurance and your wit. Each pair will be assigned a color. You will find your matching colored buoys out in the ocean.” Behind her, the sea was so choppy that Allie already felt queasy. Three years agoAllie and her book club girlfriends had taken a fast boat from Padang Bai to Gili Air. The boat had slammed into wave after wave, and Allie’s breakfast had gone straight into a bucket. This felt like it might be heading in the exact same direction.
“At each buoy, you will find two puzzle pieces tied to it with a knot,” Vivian continued. “There are twenty pieces in total. You must swim out, untie the pieces, and return them to your team’s station on the beach. First pair to complete their puzzle...” She paused, and Allie found herself crossing her fingers and her toes for an overnight getaway. Her body craved the softness of a mattress, the decadence of thousand-thread-count sheets, and really, she wouldn’t be upset if she could devour a four-course meal. But then Vivian said, “Unfortunately, there will be no reward today.”