I try to wipe the pout off my face as I bring the phone to my ear. “This is Nikki.”
“Nikki, this is Marsha Langston from reality TV show Time Warp. How are you doing today?”
I peel my cheek off the kitchen table and gasp. “Huh? I mean, I’m sorry.Whois this?”
She offers a polite laugh. “TV producer, Marsha Langston. I’m sure it’s a bit of a surprise, but I’m calling because you and your old high school flame, Kai Kingsley, have been nominated for Time Warp’s new High School Reunion special. We’re letting the state of Arizona start things off.”
Time Warp. Time Warp.“Wait, is this where you try to get couples back together?” My body turns into a lit fuse—all fast-moving heat and sparks, threatening to end with a horrible bang.
“The one and only,” Marsha says. “If you accept this invitation, you’ll spend five days in an Arizona home while the cameras roll. During that time, you and Kai will engage in directed activities thatwehope will reignite that old spark.”
The flicker on my internal fuse moves faster. Is this really happening? “How do I know this isn’t some sort of prank?”
“Good question,” the woman says. “Give me a minute…” I hear a commotion in the background. Another short pause, and my phone buzzes.
“Take a look.”
I pull the phone from my face to look at the text. It’s a photo—a woman seated at a desk with the LA cityscape visible through the window behind her. I recognize the famous producer with ease. Marsha Langston has appeared in a handful of her reality TV shows. Her shiny black hair hangs along her jawline, while that shrewd look in her green eyes holds hints of amusement. I read the note she holds: ‘This is not a prank, Nikki.’
I blink. “Huh.”
“What do you say, Ms. Jenkins?”
There’s no possible way Kai will say yes to this. I heard through a mutual friend that he’s prepping to take his bar exam. But even if thatwasn’tthe case…
My curiosity wins out. “Did you already askhim?”
“Not yet. We’re starting with you since the classmates who nominated you two agree thatyou’llbe the more challenging one to get on board. No sense in bothering Kai with this if you say no.”
“But what if I say yes and then Kai says no?”
“Then we move onto the next couple, and that will be that.”
Sure, that would be that. And I’d get my heart broken all over again. I fling my head back dramatically, wanting to dunk myself in a water bucket and douse out the burning fuse before my insides explode.
“No,” I blurt, bobbing my head back into place. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can take being rejected by him a second time.”
“There’s money involved.”
My brows jump. “Money?”
“Good money, too. As long as you fulfill your end of the deal.”
I think back on Millie’s mile-long message. “What’s the catch? We don’t get the money if we don’t get back together?”
“There’s no catch like that. Stay the full five days, fulfill the challenges we give you, and get your money.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-five thousand.”
My eyes double in size.
“Per day.”
They’re about to triple in size when a question comes to mind. “Each?”
“Each.”
