Page 15 of Down and Dirty Celebrity Edition

“That’s what you said yesterday,” Amy replied, taking another step closer until the water lapped at her thighs. “But even you can’t deny that it was hot. Hotter than hot.”

Savannah slung the damp shirt over her shoulder and started making her way to shore. “I don’t want to be some inspiration for your book.” When she was less than a foot away from Amy, her eyes fell down to Amy’s chest. Finally. But instead of falling head over heels in love with her as the saleswoman predicted, she just inhaled deeply and said, “I’m going to fill up the water bottles. Don’t follow me.”

Savannah didn’t even give Amy time to protest. She rushed past her toward the beach, kicking up a spray of saltwater. Amy watched her go. Then her attention turned toward Luna, who was plodding down the sloping sand dune. She yawned out loud and then joined Amy in the shallows. “What’s her problem?” she asked, jerking her thumb over her shoulder toward Savannah, who had just reached the lean-to. This morning, Amy had watched Luna hack off the bottom of her dress with a machete so that it hung above her knees. Her legs were squat and reminded Amy of an English bulldog. “She looks angry.”

Amy considered telling Luna what had happened, but then decided against it. What if Luna found the scene extremely erotic and suddenly felt inspired to write about it? Luna might be her idol, but she was still a fellow sapphic romance author and her biggest competition, in and out of this game. “Oh, you know, brooding book critic,” Amy lied smoothly, wiping a stray drop of saltwater from her cheek. “They’re always grumpy.”

“Who’s grumpy?” Wyn asked, joining them. “Because if you’re talking about Sloan, then I have to agree with you. You’d think she was used to eating nothing.”

All three women turned toward Sloan, sitting hunched over by the fireplace with her head hanging between her knees. Ezra had finally gotten the fire going with a skill she’d learned during a MasterChef challenge. Sloan had said very little since last night and now walked around with a constant grimace. Amy suspected there was something more than just grumpiness going on, but she didn’t mention anything. Better to leave it alone than to stir the pot.

“Where’s Erica?” Luna asked. “Maybe she could cheer her up with a joke.”

Then all three women looked toward Erica on the other side of the beach, standing close enough to Brenda and Jade that it couldn’t be more obvious they were conspiring. Amy’s heart sank to her toes. How many people had Brenda convinced to vote out Kate at the first Sending?

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Luna asked, frowning until her brows disappeared beneath her bangs. “Has Brenda talked to any of you? Amy, did she say something to you at the reward challenge?”

Amy was just about to draw in a deep breath and use it to power through the lie forming in her head. No, of course not. We didn’t even talk strategy at the reward challenge because we were too busy watching Orion’s Peak. Then Kate appeared. Maya had braided her hair tightly that morning in an attempt to tame it, but the humidity was aggressive enough to win the battle. Wild, curly tendrils were snapping free like tiny springs.

“I’ve been hearing my name all morning,” Kate said, looking morose. She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “I think I might be on the chopping block.”

The truth burned a hot, agonizing hole in Amy’s tongue. She could feel it clawing its way up her throat, begging to be let out. Every instinct screamed at her to blow the game wide open and go against Brenda and Avery’s plan. She was also about to go against Savannah, who had agreed with them. As a writer, she had to listen to her instincts.

“Kate, you’re not...” Amy started. She wanted to say that Kate wasn’t imagining it, that Brenda was determined to vote her off, but then the warmth on her back vanished as a shadow fell over her shoulders. Every hair on the back of Amy’s neck stood straight up.

Without looking back, Amy knew exactly who was blocking the sun. Savannah had come back to catch her red-handed in the middle of a betrayal, and Amy deserved every last bit of the coming storm. She braced herself for it.

“We’ve got mail,” Savannah declared instead. Her voice was so sharp it could slice through rock. She moved into Amy’s line of sight and kept her eyes on Amy the entire time. The intensity rooted Amy to the spot, which she found not only terrifying but also incredibly hot. She wanted nothing more than to switch roles, pin Savannah against those rocks, and ride her face like she was competing in the lesbian rodeo finals. But then her eyes drifted down to the dusty envelope Savannah was gripping in her hand, and the heat in her veins instantly froze.

“Is that?” she asked softly, her throat suddenly dry.

“It is,” Savannah replied with a nod.

The Sending always tied her stomach into the biggest knot. Before Amy could even draw a breath in, Wyn yelled, “WE’VE GOT THE FIRST SENDING TONIGHT, LADIES!”

Chapter Ten

Savannah knew that in a game like this, even if you had a plan, it would either backfire or Outlast Her would simply swallow it whole. Yet a plan had smoldered in her head over the last day, and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it sooner.

Savannah didn’t want Kate out. She wanted Luna out. It had been Luna who had called her a literary bully. She had been the one throwing that cheap, headline-grabbing accusation into the camera when she knew tens of thousands of book-obsessed fans were watching. Minutes after the interview had ended, Savannah’s DMs had been flooded with messages. None of them were kind. “Honestly, I’m glad Luna finally called you out. Your reviews are bitter.” And “Imagine being so insecure about another woman’s success.” Savannah’s personal favorite was, “You talk like you hate the readers and honestly, we hate you back.” Just because Savannah had said a few hard and very necessary truths didn’t make her a bully. It made her honest. On the other hand, it did piss her off enough to exact revenge. And what better way to get revenge than to vote Luna out of the game?

“Welcome, contestants, to this season’s first Sending,” Naomi announced, clapping her hands together. She had rings on every finger, delicate gold bands that matched her delicate gladiator sandals, and tonight she wore a Mauritian blue wrap dress with flowy sleeves. “I have to admit, even I had a moment of awe when I walked into this cove tonight.”

This season’s Sending took place in a tidal cove about two miles from camp. They had to follow a shelf of rock that skirted the water’s edge to reach it. The sky hung heavy with humidity, but the sun still bled a dusty orange, making the narrow path relatively easy to navigate. The same couldn’t be said for later. Savannah was dreading the walk back so much so that she couldn’t even appreciate the detail of the set. There were thick-leaved bromeliads and delicate Cattleya orchids lashed to tree trunks, towering banana plants, and dense ferns that choked the space. The only light, apart from the setting sun, came from hollowed-out gourds and bamboo torches. Right in the center was a moss-covered granite slab holding the infamous pedestal and six voting cups. Facing it were three massive, bleached logs that still looked wet from being dragged in from the tide.

Savannah and Amy took their seats in the middle row. Brenda flanked her on the left, and Avery was on Amy’s right. In front of them sat Sloan and the lake girls, as everyone had started calling them that morning. The rest of the contestants sat behind them.

“Don’t worry,” Amy said as she leaned in when Naomi turned around to step onto the small platform. Her mouth was so close to Savannah’s ear that her breath tickled the fine hairs at her temple. “You can just lean on me when we walk back to camp. I’ll go slowly and if anyone asks, I’ll say I’m scared of walking in the dark. No one will know you’re basically blind at night.”

Savannah would’ve appreciated the offer if she hadn’t been so adamant about keeping her distance. She’d have no choice but to take Amy up on it if she wanted to get back to camp alive.

The truth was, Savannah was in mental anguish. On one hand, she hadn’t orgasmed like that in months and couldn’t stop thinking about Amy’s fingers pressed into the creases of her hips. But on the other hand, Savannah refused to be someone else’s creative research. She wasn’t about to let Amy exploit her emotions for a few spicy words in a book. Especially not when Savannah had the pathetic tendency to catch feelings faster than gossip spread through the country club locker room. One-night stands didn’t work for Savannah like they did for many other women. Like her retinas, and her cervical discs, and every other flaw her body had collected over the years, she was, in fact, defective. She’d learned that the hard way.

“I don’t want to vote Kate off tonight,” she muttered softly, leaning away from Amy as far as possible without looking awkward.

“You don’t?”

Savannah shook her head. “I want Luna gone.”