The Lodge at Huangshan is breathtaking.”
“TheMarco PoloLodge at Huangshan…”
“The Marco Polo Lodge at Huangshan is breathtaking.”
“Would you say it’s… romantic?” Troy nudged, grinning. He’d started seasoning our convos with these little nuggets today. With Jiamin gone, Troy clearly needed a new “couple” storyline, but I wasn’t taking any bait until Shawn and I were on the same page. Unfortunately, he’d barely spoken to me for the last twenty-four hours. As irritating as his behavior was, I was even more annoyed I’d missed my last two video calls with the kids. Going overtime at the previous night’s Trial robbed me of the first one due to the time difference; then we’d been blindsided with the news our next Tribulation was at Marco Polo’s new property in the Huangshan mountains—which Troy apologized had neither Wi-Fi nor cell reception.
The Lodge was totally unfinished. Our rooms had been rushed to completion for filming, but the rest of the compound lacked electricity andrunning water. A dozen Marco Polo execs had greeted us after the six-hour bus ride from Shanghai, steering the cameras toward the finished bits, scared even an exposed nail of this ghost town might be recorded. Nonetheless, I couldn’t critique the views. Since we’d arrived, clouds had tiptoed through the verdant cliffs, the peaks now an archipelago in an ocean of mist.
“Maybe you andsomeone specialwill visit the resort’s natural hot spring?” Troy teased.
I faked a big smile. “There are great activities for the whole family. I’ll bring my kids back as soon as their visas get approved.”
“That’ll have to do for now.”
“Troy, I promise if there’s something to know, you’ll be the first person I tell,” I replied, fighting to sound sincere.
“Valiant effort, but… we’re going to have to start talking about you and Shawn soon, bud. It’s been coming up a lot in other people’s confessionals recently.” He extracted my mic for the night with a conspiratorial wink. “Just FYI.”
I entered the suite I was sharing with Shawn. Of course we were finally in a bedroom with no mounted cameras precisely when he was ignoring me. I heard the shower thrumming through the cracked bathroom door. Was this my chance to exit the doghouse? I caught a fleeting blur of myself in the fogged mirror, and in that perspiring glass I didn’t look as old as I felt. Emboldened, I discarded my shirt right as the shower shut off and the glass door swung open. “Should I leave it running for you?” Shawn asked, crushingly matter-of-fact.
“No, I… wondered if you might want company.”
He exhaled heavily. “I don’t know how to do this.”
Here we were then, colliding at last with the uncomfortable truth that whatever this was always had an expiration date. “I know what you mean—”
“Quit assuming you know what I mean,” he interjected. “What I’m trying to say is I don’t know how to fight with you.”
“Fight with me?”
“Yeah, I’m furious with you. You could actually win this game, butyou won’t do that byvolunteeringfor elimination!”
“That’s what this is about?”
“Luke, it was like you were someone else. You had this look in your eye, like you’d been waiting all along to blow everything up. You clearly didn’t give a damn what I had to say.”
“You’re overreacting a little.”
“Oh, really? You think a few rounds ofEndeavortrivia would have gone well for you? You’d have pissed your whole game away, and you don’t see how selfish that is?” he asked. “All I’m doing at this point is trying to be a shield for you. I grabbed Camdon on that building to make sure Imogen won and you’d besafe.”
“I never asked you to do that.”
“I did it because I wanted to!” he fired back. “But last night freaked me out, how willing you were to switch things up so quickly. And now… I’m wondering how else you might do that.”
“Shawn, don’t grade me in life based off this stupid game.” I also wasn’t the only one of us prone to sudden mood swings, though it didn’t seem wise to make that point. “I’m not looking to upend anything when it comes to us. All I want is to keep getting to know you—”
“You don’t have to say that.”
I moved closer, wrapping him against me. He half-heartedly pushed me away, but I held on. “I mean it. Two months ago, I thought I’d never trust anyone again,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “PB didn’t help with that particular issue yesterday, but when it’s you and me alone… you make me think I can.”
The tension in his body finally released, and we sank in silence to the bathroom floor. “I’m sorry I freaked out,” he finally said. “Luke, there’s so much I want to tell you, but I feel like I’ll never say it the right way or I’ll just fuck things up—”
“Shawn, we’ll never figure all this out before the show ends, but time doesn’t stop when the game does.”
“You actually want to keep talking? Out there?”
“Yes,” I insisted, knotting our fingers together. “I’m sorry about last night. I know how it feels when someone goes rogue on you, but I’ll never blindside you again, I promise.”
