“Yes, you heard me correctly, and I know what you’re thinking: I’m the last guy on earth you’d expect would be gay. Blah, blah, blah, I’ve heard it all before.”
My mouth must have been hanging open.
“You might want to close that before a bug flies in,” Carl grumbled. “Because then I can’t sit with you anymore.”
“Oh, sorry,” I said, closing my gaping mouth. “Wow, I swear I never would have guessed.”
“We gays come in all shapes and sizes.”
“Apparently. I think what I find even more surprising than the fact that you’re gay is the fact that you’re the sensitive type who has a no-kill policy for spiders.”
“I’m an animal lover.” Carl shrugged.
“But you hate snakes and rodents and spiders.”
He sighed, as if explaining himself to me was such a giant chore. “Well certainly I don’t want to have tea with them, but I don’t wish them dead, either.”
I shook my head, smiling. “Wow, Carl, I just thought you were one of Gene’s boring old, mindless cronies.”
“Iamone of Gene’s mindless cronies, only I’m a big, dumb, gay one.”
I snorted out a laugh and had to mask it to keep from waking the others.
“Can you do me a favor, Kenzie?”
“Sure,” I said, with a newfound fondness for this goliath.
“Don’t blab it around.”
“That you’re gay?”
“No, that I’m afraid of spiders. It would totally ruin my tough guy image.”
I giggled my approval. “Your secret is safe with me.”
After his shocking moment of levity, Carl reverted back to the introvert he was known to be. I was confused and even more fascinated by this man than I had been before. What was Carl thinking? Shutting people out the way he did was no way to endear yourself to people. If this game were based on just the physical aspects, Carl would obviously excel. But it wasn’t. You couldn’t survive out here on your own-not for long, anyway. My eyes darted in his direction. Carl caught me staring and I quickly looked away. Man, this guy had a way of making those around him feel uncomfortable.
Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay, what gives?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“We were having a nice conversation and then nothing.”
“Oh.” He seemed perplexed. “I thought we’d finished talking.”
I dropped my head as I took in Carl’s innocent expression. Good lord, the guy wasn’t being rude, he was justthatsocially awkward.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, his attitude turning hostile.
“I’m not making fun of you. I’m just surprised. Are you shy?”
There was an uncomfortable pause, and I noticed his cheeks burning red in embarrassment. Then he nodded.
“So that’s why you don’t talk to anyone?”
“I talk when it’s necessary. When it’s not, I don’t.”
“You understand this might not be the best reality show for you, Carl.”
