Page 38 of Unscripted

The Showstopper finished crossing the lawn and made his way up the two steps, coming to a stop at the edge of the curved deck. The fire pit in the middle of the space cast a wavy glow in front of him, making him appear almost unreal.

“How’s everyone doing?” he asked the group in an accent that sounded like smooth butter.

A chorus of “Yeah, good. You?” sang out, and he nodded in reply.

“Great, yeah. Happy to be here,” he said.

“Fuck me, he’s fit,” Chiara whispered from my side.

Fuck me was right.

“I’m James,” he continued, “and I get the lovely pleasure of taking two of you girls on a date tonight,” he said, smiling.

An excited energy swept through the space.

He looked around for a moment, drawing out the suspense.

“Olivia, would you want to go on a date with me?” he asked.

The group politely clapped as Olivia beamed at James, nodding her head in acceptance. Next to me, Chiara let out the smallest of relieved breaths. If Olivia and James hit it off, her situation with Hugh would be significantly less complicated.

“And,” James continued, looking around again, “Poppy, would you also want to go on a date with me?”

I had been distracted by Chiara and thoughts of her situation that I didn’t quite comprehend what he had said. It didn’t click until I looked up to find that he was staring at me, waiting for an answer I hadn’t yet given. I must have been staring back at him for a while, because Chiara elbowed me in the side, knocking me out of whatever trance I had been in.

“Oh! Yes, of course,” I rushed out.

James laughed. “Phew, you made me sweat a bit there,” he said, smiling again.

I liked his smile. It was soft and welcoming. Plus, he had good teeth that seemed to be very much his own.

Over the speakers, a producer called out instructions, “James and Olivia, you’ll go on your date first. Please head to The Bungalow. Poppy, you’ll be next after Olivia returns. Everyone else go back to chatting around the garden.”

Olivia stood and walked over to James, giving him a kiss on each cheek. They chatted as they made their way across the lawn to the one part of the villa we hadn’t yet been allowed to see: The Bungalow.

The Bungalow, which sat at the edge of the yard between the fire pit and the daybeds lining the deep end of the pool, was essentially a gussied-up pool house with a private patio that was used for fan-voted sleepovers or, in James' case, one-on-one dates. I was almost as excited to see the space in person as I was for my date.

I leaned back against the fire pit bench, letting out a small sigh of relief. There was someone new in the villa I could focus my efforts on. Maybe James would be exactly what I needed; someone I could match with who I didn’t actively dislike. Someone I could settle into getting to know. Not too deep, of course. I wasn’t actually here to fall in love.

Thoughts of re-matching had me instinctively looking over at Callum, who had moved to the pool chairs and was chatting with Hugh. As I looked over, they both glanced my way. It seemed I was, not surprisingly, their topic of conversation.

“Are you buzzing?!” Jess squealed, slapping her hands on my knees and drawing my attention away from Callum and Hugh.

I turned to her and nodded enthusiastically, letting myself get swept up in girl talk and blocking out any thoughts of the man across the yard.

18

Ihad never actually been on a first date.

My ex and I met through mutual friend groups, and it wasn’t until a few months into knowing each other that we drunkenly made out at a bar one night. After that, we started making out more often, and eventually we had made out so many times we just sort of rolled into being an official couple. I don’t even remember him asking me to be his girlfriend, I just was one day.

Because we were right out of college when we started seeing each other, our “dates” consisted of my going to his apartment and hanging out with him and his roommates. After a few years, when we eventually moved in with each other, my work schedule was so busy, and my days on set so long, that by the time I got home, lounging on the couch with him was good enough for me.

Sitting around the fire pit all dressed up and waiting to go on my first official date both on Bella Amore and in my life, it was becoming clear to me that I had accepted too little in my past relationship for longer than I realized. Maybe the signs of discontent had been there, long before I knew to look for them.

Jess’ squeal snapped me back to the moment.

“It’s your turn, babes!” she exclaimed, squeezing my hand and pointing to The Bungalow doors.