“Welcome to Season Ten ofOutlast Her,” Vivian called when everyone had lined up on the strip of black canvas. She did the characteristic single clap Adrienne had watched her do a million times on television and smiled.
Valerie cheered. Adrienne cheered harder.
“This season, like every season, we do it bigger and better,” Vivian said. “For twenty-eight days, you’ll survive the rugged terrain on an uninhabited Greek island just off Skopelos. Steep limestone cliffs, coniferous forests, and almost no natural freshwater. Days are brutally hot, the winds are unpredictable, and the terrain is unforgiving enough to turn a five-minute walk into a forty-minute mistake.”
Adrienne was beginning to think this was a mistake. The only heat she willingly endured was the dry heat in a sauna. The only camping she’d done was glamping at Coachella, where she had always opted for the ultimate luxury option with a pre-set, air-conditioned tent, a 24-hour concierge, and a golf cart to drive around within the venue. And the last time she’d hiked was the 1.6-mile loop in Runyon Canyon, and even then she’d convinced Nicki that carrying all the water supply would help her lose those last five pounds.
“This year’s theme is Sinners vs. Saints,” Vivian went on. “The Saints are the women who were chosen because they inspire trust. They’re the loyal partners, the caretakers. Women who are known for honesty, restraint, and compassion. The women people rely on.”
Production must have made a mistake. Valerie sure as hell wasn’t known for her compassion. Would someone with compassion take nearly a day to fix the Wi-Fi on Adrienne’s iPad? Adrienne thought not.
“The Sinners were chosen because of reputation,” Vivian carried on. “They are women who are known for ambition. Manipulation. Recklessness. Women who take risks and who don’t mind leaving damage behind.” Then she paused and folded her arms in front of her. Her gaze fell on the woman with auburn hair wearing a red and white striped bandeau dress. Sienna.
Adrienne noticed it immediately. Everyone did. There wasn’t a lesbian out there who hadn’t watchedThe Sapphic Match. Season Seven had been one of Adrienne’s favorites. She was a regular guest at Ndloveni Bush in Sabi Sand Game Reserve, near Kruger National Park, and the open safari vehicles cutting through the red dirt tracks, the marula trees, the bushveld stretching out in dry, endless gold, had made her feel incredibly nostalgic. Not to mention the high-end drama that season. Adrienne had lived for the bachelorette sleeping with the host behind all the contestants’ backs.
But as much as she loved Vivian and Sienna getting their happy ending, she was quite sure there was some sort of conflict of interest here. Adrienne was sure to ask about it. If there was going to be favoritism in this game, she intended to benefit from it.
Vivian flicked her eyes away. “But this season isn’t about proving which group is better,” she said. “It’s about questioning whether those labels mean anything. Because sometimes the Saint is just the woman best at hiding her sinful ways. And sometimes the Sinner is simply the woman honest enough to admit she had nothing left to lose.”
Valerie laughed. And then Adrienne laughed too, right from her belly.
The woman in front of Adrienne glanced back and gave her a look. Adrienne returned it with a smile so fake it practically glittered. No one would doubt why she’d been dubbed a Sinner.
“For the first stage of the game,” Vivian went on, seemingly oblivious to the war between Adrienne and Valerie, though Adrienne was quite sure Valerie was oblivious to it too. “You’ll be paired together. One Saint. One Sinner.” A woman dressed in all black came running onto the pebbled sand. She presented a deep purple bag to Vivian, as if it held a precious Fabergé egg.“Inside this bag are colored stones. Match your color and find your partner.”
Then, and this was different from previous seasons, Vivian walked up to a woman standing in the Saints group. She had light curls hanging down into a bob, oversized gold-rimmed glasses, and gave off distinct librarian energy. “Take one and don’t let us see it.” She did this for every Saint before the same PA came running back with another bag, except this one was clearly for the Sinners.
Adrienne was first in line. She reached in, closed a hand around a smooth, fairly round rock, and pulled it out. She was tempted to peek, which could be the very definition of a Sinner, but then her eye caught on Valerie, who stood perfectly still, perfectly obedient. If Valerie could resist, then so could Adrienne.
“You may reveal your stones,” Vivian announced, stepping back to her spot.
Around her, contestants opened their palms. Yellow for the woman standing to the left of Adrienne, who had her platinum blonde hair styled in a wolf cut. A look Adrienne wouldn’t dare attempt and certainly wouldn’t be able to pull off. The woman on her right had dark smoky eyes and lips the color of a Black Baccara rose. A turquoise stone sat on her palm. Adrienne glanced toward the Saints and immediately sought Valerie’s palm. Orange. Then, with a deep breath in, she opened her palm and felt something within her chest tighten, like a seatbelt locked during turbulence. Purple.
“Everyone pair up,” Vivian said.
“We’re together,” Sienna said, already walking toward Adrienne. She brandished a purple stone between two fingers and flashed a bright, easy smile that had probably won Vivian over in the first place. “You look familiar. Where have I seen you before?”
Adrienne was just about to mention her mass social media and her family’s hotel empire—she was, after all, a Sinner, and bragging was practically a requirement—but then she spotted a six-foot-tall woman with bronze skin, golden hair, and Olympic rings tattooed on her right shoulder blade walk toward Valerie. It was like looking at David and Goliath, and would’ve been hilarious if Adrienne wasn’t experiencing something deeply unpleasant building in the vicinity of her internal organs. Goliath hugged Valerie, and Valerie’s arms went around Goliath’s toned middle. And then, for some deeply irrational reason, that unpleasant feeling turned into a sharp, knife-like flicker deep in her gut.
“Are you okay?” Sienna asked, frowning faintly.
“Fine,” Adrienne replied quickly, but she barely looked at her. She was focused on Valerie laughing. Why was she laughing? What could Goliath possibly have said that was funny enough for Valerie to laugh? They’d just met. “I was—”
Vivian interrupted. “Now, we couldn’t possibly begin this season without a little twist.” The smile on her face was devious enough for Adrienne to snap to attention. If she were a German Shepherd, her ears would’ve perked up.
“This is Sinners vs. Saints after all,” Vivian went on. “So I have a question. Is there a Sinner out here who would like to change things up a bit and choose a new partner?”
No one moved. No one said anything.
Then Adrienne lifted her hand. “I’d like to do a swap,” she said, ignoring the several heads turning her way and the little judgmental gasps. If she were deemed a Sinner, she was going to do something sinful. “I want to pair up with Valerie Lang.”
Chapter Five
Valerie was still in a state of shock.
Two weeks after getting back from Season Seven, she’d been innocently sipping a matcha latte at a waterfront café in Fort Lauderdale when a woman had walked straight up to her and thrown a cup of mango juice directly over her head. “You quit the final challenge,” she’d hissed so venomously that Valerie had barely noticed the thick pulp drip down the bridge of her nose. She’d driven home with her hands shaking on the steering wheel. It turned out the woman was Margaret’s cousin, a woman drowning in debt who had pinned all her financial hopes on Margaret winning the million-dollar prize.
But the humiliation had been instant. Valerie had felt like Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel getting hurled with slushies in the school hallway. And for weeks afterward, she’d spent every public outing scanning the crowds for more haters. As it turned out, most of her haters preferred to hate online.