“Fifty-thousand dollars.” Is all she says and I guess that's enough for me. With a resigned sigh, I reach out and grip the lever, then with a hard pull, yank it down. The wheel erupts into motion, colors blurring together in a dizzying rush as it spins wildly. Music sounds through the speakers, some dramatic talk-show music and I scrub a hand down my face, already regretting my decision to go through with this. It finally begins to slow. Somewhere in the audience, I can practically feel Haze and Beau’s eyes on us, no doubt planning how they’re going to mock me for this later. Jovi shifts beside me, but neither of us looks at the other. We’re too focused on the arrow as it knocks against each wedge before finally ticking to a stop.
“Truth And Temptation!”
I freeze then groan, and when I hear Beau’s laugh cut through the noise of the crowd, I shoot a death glare into the void before waiting for whatever embarrassing instructions this dickhead has for us.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a good feeling about this one. But will they handle it? Or will they forfeit and let the other couple take the win?” The crowd cheers, causing the applause meter to ding and light up like a Christmas tree. He glances down at the stack of cards in his hand, flipping through them with unnecessary suspense, clearly enjoying our descent into public humiliation. Finally, he clears his throat.
“For your chance to win, your first task is simple,” he announces. “You are to read the last text message you sent out loud to the audience. Not from an app. It has to be the actual last text. No context.” Excitement falls over the crowd. This should be easy enough. I glance at Jovi, who’s staring dumbfounded at Daniel.
The color drains from her face as she reaches into her purse to retrieve her phone. Her lips part slightly, and for a split second, she looks panicked. Slowly, I pull my phone from my pocket and open my messages, selecting my last conversation thread with Theo. I stare at the screen, embarrassment creeping up my neck as the last words I messaged my son sink in.
These assholes are making us air out our dirty laundry.
I lift my gaze to Jovi, finding her already watching me, worry flickering in her eyes.
Daniel steps in, holding a microphone out to me. I take it, my fingers tightening around the handle as I glance up at the crowd. Hundreds of shadowed faces stare expectantly at me. Nope. I’m not doing that. I quickly look away, focusing on my messages instead.
“How bad could it be, folks?” he says cheerfully. “Ready when you are, handsome.” He can shove hishandsomeup his cheerful, sadistic ass, and I resist the urge to tell him just that. I clear my throat. The only way to win this thing is to cooperate, so here goes nothing.
“Theo… Son,” I begin, my voice rough. “I didn’t know she was your ex-girlfriend. Please just call me.” My mouth feels dry all of a sudden and I can’t bring myself to look at Jovi. I don’t want to make her feel bad for what happened. I fear that the mention of Theo might do just that. They were together. At some point, she chose to be with him. Even though things didn’t work out between them,can’t imagine why,he’s still her ex. Which means at some point, they meant something to each other. That thought stings a little, even though I know it shouldn’t.
The words hang in the air and a hush falls over the crowd, the earlier cheers fading before Daniel breaks out into oohs and ahhs. Keep talking, asshole. I pass the mic back to Daniel, and he pivots toward Jovi.
“All yours, sweetheart.” He steps into her space and lifts the microphone toward her mouth. She doesn’t take it. Not right away. Instead, she stares at her phone like it might catch fire in her hand. Her shoulders rise with a slow inhale, then another. “How incriminating do you think it is, ladies and gentlemen?” If looks could kill, Daniel would be fish bait because the glare Jovi shoots him is next level. I fight back a smirk. She might be all sweet and innocent looking, but there’s something in her that would have a man’s balls in a vice quicker than he could say ballsack, if she wanted.
She nods once, barely perceptible, as if she’s psyching herself up to jump off a cliff.
“Okay,” she murmurs to herself, before gripping the microphone. Her thumb flicks across her phone screen, her eyes skimming the messages. She’s stalling. Daniel leans in a little more, and if he gets any closer, I’m gonna throw him off this stage.
“Let's hear it, Princess.” Jovi presses her lips together, then exhales through her nose, steadying herself. The crowdimmediately perks up. She lifts her chin, finally meeting the sea of faces in front of us, then she looks back down to read.
“I should have known it wasn’t Theo, because his dad’s cock was so much bigger. Anyways, let me know if you need anything. I’m on my way.”
The words land and the room goes dead silent as they put two and two together. I, on the other hand, have to fight the grin threatening my lips despite myself.
“Oh my God! Did you guys hear what I just heard?” Daniel booms, clearly loving every second of this. “It seems that Cupid has done a number on these two! Is it a coincidence that the person this lovely lady is referring to in her messages goes by the name Theo? The same person this gentleman referred to as his son? Wow. Talk about messy.”
Wow. Talk about shut the fuck up, Daniel.
The audience gasps, and I can feel my face heating, my ears burning with embarrassment. I look down at Jovi. Her eyes are glossy with unshed tears and my chest tightens. She’s fucking mortified.
The noise of the theatre fades into a dull hum as I take in the way her shoulders curl inward, like she’s trying to make herself smaller. I hate that I am part of the reason she looks this way. Hate that this stupid fucking game, this spectacle, has turned something personal into entertainment. But underneath, I can sense her determination. It’s still there, and I don’t think she wants to back out of this. She seems focused on the prize, and who am I to stand in the way of that? I shift closer, angling my body toward her, a quiet shield no one else seems to notice. My hand brushes hers, tentative, asking without words if she’s okay. All she has to do is say the word and we are done here.
Jovi doesn’t look at me, but she doesn’t pull away either. Her fingers brush against my skin for the briefest second before slowly lowering her hand back to her side. Disappointmentcrashes into me unexpectedly. What? Did you think she’d hold your hand or something?Get a grip, West.
Daniel is already moving on, riding the wave of the drama. Way over the top if you ask me, but I suppose that’s the point of this whole thing. Jovi and I return to our positions on stage as the other couple steps up to the wheel, and I hate to say it, but their next challenge is dangerously close to crossing lines, more so than the last. It’s borderline inappropriate, not to mention intimate. They’re strangers for fuck’s sake. It’s as if each round was intended to peel away every layer of your fucking dignity, all while your significant others watch. I mean, yeah. If you win, you get a whole lot of money out of it, but that doesn’t make what we’re all doing here any easier, especially with an audience. Yet, my guys seemed over the fucking moon for me to get up here, much to my annoyance. But of course they were. I’m sure they’re loving every second of seeing me squirm in the spotlight. The last place in the world anyone would expect to find me.
The couple before us begins their turn, only they hesitate, each sharing a look before nodding to one another. It seems they’re just as determined as we are to win, so inconveniently for us, they push through their next round, but not before the woman whirls around, locking eyes with us in a devilishly confident stare.
“You might as well walk away now. This game is ours,” she says audaciously, and boy, she’s got some nerve. Jovi stiffens beside me, but she doesn’t say a word. Part of me wants her to give the other woman a mouthful just for the hell of it, but Jovi doesn’t strike me as the confrontational type. Neither am I, usually, but for some reason, I catch myself leveling a glare at the woman that’s menacing enough to make her splutter on the spot. You’d think I’d just slapped her by the way she storms off. Yeah. That’s right. Walk the fuck away.
“We’re not letting them win, you got that?” I murmur, and Jovi’s lips curl into a satisfied grin before she whispers, “Sounds good to me.”
For the next two challenges, Jovi and I destroy whatever is left of our pride. We flirt shamelessly when told to, throw out our smoothest pick-up lines, each garnering laughter from the audience. But in the last round, when Jovi’s challenge was to make me blush, I honestly thought we were going to lose for sure. It takes a hell of a lot to make me blush, but this woman… she had me in a goddamn chokehold and I never stood a fucking chance.
Jovi dropped to her knees, looking up at me with those pretty eyes and told me she’d be a good girl for daddy. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from those full, pink, pouty lips of hers. I almost busted a fucking nut in my pants in front of everyone. The whole time, all I could think about was how her hand felt wrapped around my cock the other night, and fuck. I almost embarrassed both of us. We should have won fair and square with that task, because the level of restraint I showed alone should qualify me for sainthood. My cock was literally weeping in my pants, but thank fuck I managed to pull myself together. I don’t know how much more I can take of this. I’m in it to win it and everything, but Jovi is a goddamn temptress. A veryforbiddenone. Which, of course, only makes it harder. No pun intended. The audience had clearly put two and two together from the text messages we read out earlier, because the moment Jovi said the word “Daddy,” they completely lost their shit. I’m equal parts shocked and amused that Jovi went there, but since the other couple gave us attitude, she’s only gotten more determined.
“Okay, lovers! We’ve reached our final challenge for the evening,” Daniel announces, pulling me from my thoughts as he paces the stage, informing everyone that there will be a change of rules. “We’re gonna do things a little differently this timearound.” I grow more and more annoyed each time this asshole speaks. Every round seems to be getting worse when it comes to intimacy and with this being the final challenge, I’m guessing it’s about to be the real test of the night.
