With that, Maria and I both stand and shake the sand off her sheet before returning it to her bed. While I’m at it, I toss my weak attempt at playing hard-to-get aside. My curiosity has the better of me, and now I have to know what the boys are up to.
Well played, Colton. Well played.
“You coming, Silver?” I ask before leaving.
Her bored gaze flicks to me, giving me her answer. But then her eyes move skeptically from me to Colton. After Colton spouted off my ideal proposal for all and sundry to hear, there’sno doubt she’s on to us. Great, just when I thought we’d gotten the target off our backs. But then again, it doesn’t matter how Silver perceives us; what matters is how America votes.
I shrug. “All right, see ya later.”
Not taking any chances, I scoop my backpack up and loop it over my shoulder just in case Silver has any intention of going into revenge mode like she did on night one. Once I’ve secured my backpack, I follow Tyrone, Maria, and Colton around the front of the plane, taking this moment to remind myself of what is most important right now: Colton and our “relationship.”
When we reach the opposite side of the plane, I find that the activity Tyrone and Colton have roped us into does indeed have to do with a diamond. Along the beach, I notice a DIY baseball field set up in the sand, except, instead of bases, there are banana leaves, and instead of a bat, Tyrone ties the strip of his cotton sheet around the base of a sturdy and slender piece of driftwood before handing it to Bill.
“You brought new recruits,” Joseph says, tossing an actual baseball in the air. Trust in the former MLB player to bring his own baseball to the island.
“You brought the MVP,” Bill corrects as he embraces Maria with one arm and plants a kiss on her forehead.
“You two are the sappiest couple I’ve ever seen, you know that, right?” Tyrone teases.
“And you’re the most niño latoso I’ve ever met,” Maria says.
“Why, thank you.” Tyrone struts.
“I’m pretty sure she just called you annoying,” Heartbreaker says, walking over from second base, or really second banana leaf.
“C’mon, Maria, don’t do me like that,” Tyrone pleads with a smile in his eyes.
Maria laughs before spouting off a stream of Spanish without offering any translation.
“I’m going to take that as a compliment. No need to hide that you think I’m the most ripped man you’ve ever seen, Maria.” Tyrone flexes his biceps. “Yep, take it in.”
Maria pats him on the shoulder. “You have the best pequeñitos muscles I’ve ever seen,” she says as if it’s the deepest, most heartfelt comment she could ever give.
“Thanks.” Tyrone puffs out his chest, but his face swiftly falls upon realization. “Wait, I know what that word means,” he says, trailing after her.
Soon enough, we all break into two teams. The professional athletes—Joseph, Tyrone, Bill, and Maria—all get split evenly between the teams so the rest of us have a fighting chance. In the end, it’s me, Colton, Bill, and Joseph on one team, and Tyrone, Tearjerker, Heartbreaker, and Maria on the other.
Unfortunately for my team, my baseball career died after fifth-grade PE class when I accidentally threw a baseball straight into my teacher’s patella. But luckily for Colton and me, my ineptitude falls perfectly into my plan.
My name gets called up to bat, and so I take this moment to enact Operation Damsel in Distress.
“I’ll be honest, I haven’t played baseball for years,” I say to my team before dropping my backpack to the ground and taking my place in the batting square thing that Joseph drew in the sand with his shoe. “Maybe a little help.” I peer over my shoulder, making eye contact with Colton.
A smirk pops onto his lips, and he jogs over to me with a little pep in his step. He doesn’t waste time picking up what I’m putting down. I feel his hands around my waist, pulling my back flush against his chest until his arms wrap around mine in the classic “let me show you how to work a baseball bat” pose.
I picture Ji and Paige watching me and Colton on the live feed, and I feel a slight twinge of guilt for sending my best friends to the hospital, because they are no doubt in shock right now. Inan instant, I remember Ji’s parting words to me at the airport.“Don’t kill each other.”Oh, Ji, I might have taken your advice a little too well.
“All right, Missy Jean, it’s time to play.” There is such a double meaning in his words that I nearly laugh.
I nod. “Let’s do this.”
“I’m just warning you, I’m playing to win.” His soft whisper tickles my ear.
“Look at that, we agree on something again. Wonders never cease.”
For the next few moments, I go full method actor, allowing myself to truly believe I’m in a relationship with Colton for the sake of our team. It’s rare that I’m romantically affectionate with anyone, let alone rich boy Colton Downing, but somehow, the idea of breaking down boundaries with him as my test subject is both frightening and thrilling, tied up with a pretty bow made from the knot in my stomach.
I see the drones homing in on us and the scene we’re making. Colton pulls me tighter, and together we feed the little drones their drama as one would feed ducks in a pond. It takes only moments for them to swarm above us.
