He bends next to me, hooks an arm under my knees and another around my back, and scoops me up – again.
I shriek and cling to his neck.
‘Lockie, oh my God,’ I squeak.
‘If this is the only way, it’s the only way,’ he says.
He strides through the water with me in his arms, steady as anything, and if he does feel an eel then he keeps it to himself.
‘That okay?’ he asks as we reach the other side.
‘No, not really,’ I reply. ‘You’ll probably have to carry me all the way back to camp too.’
‘In your dreams,’ he says with a smile as he sets me down.
‘Worth a try,’ I reply.
It’s nice to be able to have a laugh, in the middle of all of this. Well, if you don’t laugh, you cry, and none of us can afford to give up the fluids.
22
I have never lain so flat, so still, or so awkwardly in my entire life.
Then again, I’ve never shared a bed with two men. Two incredibly hot, attractive, muscular men. I know, it should be a dream, but it’s kind of a nightmare.
The air is thick and humid. It’s dark, apart from the light of the moon and the dim glow of the nearby firepit. Somehow it all just makes this seem so much more… intimate.
The two single beds click together nicely – entirely intentional by show bosses, so that people can share beds – and somehow I’ve ended up in the middle.
It’s not exactly big enough for three. Having Ozzy on one side and Lockie on the other is like lying between two boulders. It’s just generally uncomfortable in every way. My spine is flat against the wood – there’s no way I can sleep like this.
I wiggle my legs to wake them up.
‘I think we all need to be on our sides,’ Ozzy suggests. ‘We’ll have more space that way.’
‘Yeah, I think that might help,’ Lockie replies.
I freeze for a moment. Ozzy shuffles, causing the bed to creak beneath us.
‘Lockie, probably best if we both face out – give Cleo some space,’ Ozzy adds.
‘Got it,’ Lockie replies.
Oh, this is all just so awkward and stilted and I can’t stop cringing.
I can feel Lockie shifting on the other side of me, turning his back so he’s facing outward. Ozzy does the same. Now I need to pick a side to lie on – literally, I need to pick a side. Who should I face? Ozzy or Lockie? I guess it has to be Lockie, right? I’ve known him the longest – I’ve been tolerating him for like six months now. That’s got to count for something.
So I do, I roll to him, my face resting just behind his back.
Lockie shifts a little closer – or maybe I imagine it. I take a sharp breath. Does he know what he’s doing? Or is he just that oblivious?
‘Is that okay?’ I ask them both.
‘All good,’ Lockie replies.
‘Yeah, fine,’ Ozzy adds after a few seconds.
Can he tell which way I rolled? He must be able to, right? He doesn’t know I’ve known Lockie for months, but I can’t exactly tell him, can I?
