Siddharth Patel
46 pts
Even without attempting to do the mental math, it’s obvious from the jump in rank I got that Dean earned us anunthinkablenumber of points. All on his own. And he still split them with me. Finally, I turn to him, my jaw nearly on the grass. He’s already looking at me.
The corner of his mouth turns up, his dimples appearing, as if to say,We madeit.
Would you look at those rankings! Everyone played a mean game, but no one could compete with Dean’sForest Feudknowledge. I think you know more about the series than I do, quite frankly.
Siddharth, I am truly sorry to see you go. Really—you’re our personality hire. Do you have any final… what are you doing? Why are you coming up here? Are you—oh, aw, a hug. Now, isn’t that sweet? Thanks, kid. If it was up to me, you’d be staying.
CONFESSION TAPE—Siddharth Patel, Contestant
Man. It’s my own fault. My sister talks a lot about her time on the show, but I have a habit of tuning out what she says. Boy, did I regret that when it came to all those trivia questions. It’s alright, though. I had a hell of a time here, and I made some great friends. Hey, at least now I can hang out with Adin again.
The main reason I wanted to come on the show wasn’t to win, anyway. I just wanted to impress my nieces and nephews. Get some cool points with them. But they’re a tough crowd. I think even if Ididwin, they’d still make fun of me.
Siddharth wraps each of us in a bone-crushing hug, including every single crew member in the area, which takes some time andruins some of the footage when he tackles the camera operators. Once we say goodbye, we’re dismissed to enjoy an evening off for once.
Dean approaches me. I brace for anger, or at least a snarky comment about my ego failing me now, but he doesn’t seem upset.
“Hey,” he says gently. “What happened earlier?”
“I… got sick.”
Dean steps a little closer, pressing the back of his hand to my forehead. I scan every inch of his face, checking for signs of resentment. Judgment. But nothing.
“Youarehot,” he says, pulling away. “Your temperature, I mean. Obviously, you know what I mean.” He shuts his eyes. “Can we talk?”
That’s the last thing I want to do right now, because I know Dean’s going to pry the truth out of me, with his pouty lips and his big, brown eyes. Damn him and his Stuart Little–like aura and compassion. I don’t have it in me. “Uh,” I say, looking around for an excuse. “Actually, I was going to go for a swim.”
“Can I join?”
Which is how we end up sitting on the dock together, shivering in swimsuits, our legs dipped in the cold water.
The entire lake is painted lilac, a glimmering reflection of the cotton-candy sky above. The few icecaps still left on Mount Rainier’s peak are pink in the dying light. Only the crickets humming in the grass and the easy sloshing of the waves rolling up on the rocks underscore the quiet. It helps slow my rapidly thumping heart. Dean’s presence helps, too.
He bumps his knee against mine and points at my water bottle. “Do you mind?”
I hand it over, and he thanks me before taking a long swig. His Adam’s apple bobs as he drinks. I follow the motion with my eyes, up his throat and along the curve of his jawline. His eyes are shut. Long, blond eyelashes graze the delicate skin of his cheek.
When we first met, Dean wouldn’t have ever dared think about asking to drink from my bottle, and if he did… well, I’d still let him, but I would think it was weird. Something’s changed. I don’t know when it happened on his end—because I have been perfectly terrific company the whole time—but for me? Maybe it was when he took me stargazing. Or when he helped me prank Carter. Or when he jumped in the lake with me, doggy-paddling while apologizing for acting like a jerk. No, actually, it was that first night, when he wrapped my hands up in gauze. I knew then that I wanted to be his friend.
And we are now. Dean and I are friends.
I tug the inside of my cheek between my teeth so my lip doesn’t wobble. I let down my friend today. I let down Dean. It’s not easy for me to make a real friend, someone I trust enough to be vulnerable around—
