“Any idea what we’re doing tonight?” I asked, trying to distract her.
Teagan shook her head. “I think we’re still waiting on Willow, but once she gets here, the film club said we’d get started.”
I looked around the patio, taking everything in. The film club already had three different cameras pointed at the small groups the contestants were sitting in. Cole was nowhere to be seen, but knowing him, he was waiting to make an entrance.
“You sure things haven’t already started?” I asked, nodding my head at one of the film guys who had a camera pointed in our direction.
“Maybe,” Evan replied. “Hey, Brett, make sure you get my right side. It’s my good angle.” I laughed as Brett gave him a thumbs up and continued filming.
“I didn’t know you had a bad side,” I said to Evan.
“Oh, everyone has a bad side,” Evan replied. “Well, except for you two girls, obviously. You’re both perfect.”
Teagan and I both smiled at his compliment, but then she shook her head and turned to me. “You know we’re both screwed if Evan here uses his charm on Cole?”
I laughed. “Totally,” I agreed. “No one can resist the powerful charm of Evan Anderson.”
“It’s both a blessing and a curse,” he said, nodding seriously as if it was a genuine struggle.
Movement caught the corner of my eye, and I looked over to see Willow emerging from the house onto the patio. She looked so tense as her eyes darted around the group. I quickly waved to her, grabbing her attention.
“Willow, come sit with us,” I said.
She slowly nodded, but the anxious look in her eyes remained as she came to sit beside me.
“I’m so glad to see I’m not the only one wearing jeans,” I said to her as she made herself comfortable.
“Hello, what do these look like?” Evan scoffed behind me.
I waved his comment away with one hand, still focused on the girl before me. She was glancing around nervously, and I wondered if there was a way I could make her feel better. She didn’t have any friends in the group, and from the way she kept stealing looks at Laurie, I had a bad feeling some people here had already made her feel unwelcome.
“How’s your art project coming along?” I asked, trying to distract her.
“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m not very good at working with watercolors though. I’ve had to scrap my work about six times already.” She looked down at her hands as she answered.
“I’m sure it will come together in the end,” I said. I tried to give her an encouraging smile, but she was still focused on her hands, which were clasped together in her lap.
I frowned as I watched her, not entirely certain what to say. I wanted Willow to feel at ease, but I wasn’t sure if that was possible. I was saved from coming up with a solution when one of the girls from the film club came over to join us.
“Hey, Skye,” I said, as she approached.
“Hi, Madison,” she replied, giving me a warm smile. “Is it okay if I hook you guys up with microphones?” Her eyes moved between Willow and me, seeking our approval.
“Yeah, of course,” I replied, while Willow nodded at my side. Skye was in the year below us, but you would never guess it after seeing how at ease she was talking with everyone. She was also sporting unicorn hair at the moment, which looked insanely cool. I couldn’t stop staring at it while she set me up with my microphone.
“When did you change your hair?” I asked her, still mesmerized by the bright, pretty colors. “It looks amazing.”
Skye smiled up at me. “Last weekend. My mom wants to kill me.”
“Totally worth it,” I replied.
“Totally,” she agreed.
Once Skye finished helping Willow with her microphone, Angus clapped his hands together, drawing all of our attention.
“Good evening, lovely ladies,” he called, holding his hands up above his head. Evan loudly cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows.
“And gentleman,” Angus added with a smile before bowing apologetically at Evan. “Welcome to the very first group date of Lincoln High’s very first True Love charity dating contest.”
Some of the girls giggled and clapped, along with some of the film club who weren’t manning equipment. Evan simply lifted one eyebrow at me, causing me to smother a laugh.
“Tonight’s date will be made up of several different rounds. You will be competing against one another to gain alone time with our one and only bachelor, Cole. But, before we begin, let’s bring him out here.”
Everyone clapped, and some of the girls started squealing again as Cole walked out of the house and came to stand at Angus’ side. He was wearing dark jeans and a navy button-up shirt. He had his sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms and the shirt clung tightly against his full chest and large biceps.
His eyes were practically sparkling as he scanned the scene in front of him. He paused for a brief second when he caught sight of me. My eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at me, but he quickly continued surveying the contestants who sat before him, the corner of his mouth now raised in a smirk.
“Damn, Cole is fine,” Evan whispered to me. I couldn’t help but nod. Who knew the jerk could look so good?
“Over to you, Cole,” Angus said. “What is the first activity you have planned for our contestants tonight?”
The film crew was split into groups, with one camera focused on Cole’s face while the other two were focused on the contestants. I felt really uncomfortable as Brett focused the camera on Willow, Evan, Teagan and me. No one else seemed to notice, as they were all watching and waiting for Cole to speak.
Cole rubbed his hands together and smiled at everyone. “I’m looking for someone who has a healthy appetite,” he said, his grin growing wider. “So, for our first activity tonight, we’ll be having a donut eating contest.”
I spluttered out a laugh before raising a hand to my mouth to silence it. It was difficult to contain myself though, especially when I caught the look on some of the other girls' faces.
“Cinnamon donuts are almost impossible to eat without licking your lips,” Cole continued. “The first eight people to finish a full donut without licking their lips will advance to the next round tonight. The last two contestants to finish will, unfortunately, be eliminated from the group date.”
Laurie cleared her throat and lifted her hand in the air. Angus nodded, indicating for her to ask her question.
“I can’t eat donuts. I’m gluten intolerant,” she said.
I was pretty sure she wasn’t, but I also wasn’t about to call her on it.
“That’s okay,” Angus said. “We brought a couple of honuts for people with intolerances.”
Evan laughed out loud. “Honuts?” he asked.
Angus smiled knowingly at the question. “Yes, a healthy donut. What did you think I was talking about?” he asked Evan, making us all laugh.
“All right kids, please follow me. The donuts await,” Angus called.
Angus led us away from the undercover patio, where we’d all been gathered, and further into Cole’s massive backyard. Mrs. Kingston was obsessed with gardening, and her backyard was her pride and joy. It was beautifully manicured, with multiple sectioned off gardens that had different themes and secret pathways that wound through the property. I might not have visited the Kingstons in years, but I suddenly remembered how much I loved to explore the vast garden as a kid. I’d always thought it was magical. Plus, Cole had a pool, which meant I had spent whole summers at his house when we were younger.
We followed a narrow path that cut between two hedges before arriving in a small, walled-off garden. I recognized it immediately as the place I used to call the Beauty and the Beast garden. The cozy secret garden was covered in blooming red roses that surrounded a perfectly trimmed square lawn. In the middle of it all, a long table waited for us.
Ten plates of donuts were arranged along the length of the table, and I tried not to cringe when I saw the tabletop had
also been covered in hundreds of tiny glittering hearts. I focused instead on the donuts and was already licking my lips at the sight of them. I had decided that I wasn’t going to try to win any of the challenges Angus set us, but the competitor inside of me suddenly wasn’t so willing to throw in the towel. Especially not when there were donuts involved.
I actually felt kind of excited to take part, and I found myself wondering if it would really be so bad if I put some effort into the challenge. I could always make sure I lost the next one. Besides, so far I’d had zero interaction with Cole on the group date. Perhaps the True Love competition wouldn’t be so bad after all?
Once Angus had us all lined up, he began a countdown from three. When he shouted “go," everyone launched on their donuts like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Almost immediately, I heard students from the film club yelling at the other contestants to drop their donuts and start again for licking their lips.
I couldn’t stop giggling as I tried to make my way through mine. A thick layer of cinnamon sugar rimmed my mouth and the temptation to wipe it away was almost unbearable. Teagan was having the same issues as me, and we both had tears in our eyes as we tried to control our bouts of laughter.
Evan, on the other hand, shoved the entire donut in his mouth at once and was crowned the winner before most of us were even halfway through. He stood next to us while he waited for us to finish, shouting words of encouragement.
Teagan finished hers before me and punched the air with her hands in celebration. I was still two bites away from finishing and struggling to contain my laughter.
“You’ve got this, Madi!” Teagan shouted encouragement to me.
“Come on sugar-lips,” Evan added at her side, almost making me choke on my mouthful of food as I laughed. I was only one bite away from completing the challenge though, and as soon as I swallowed the final piece of my donut, Teagan and Evan let out a cheer.
I smiled at their enthusiasm. That had to go down as one of the weirdest experiences of my life.
I turned and focused at the rest of the competitors. I’d been so caught up in my own donut eating that I hadn’t noticed who else was still in the race. There were still a few girls left. Laurie’s face was wrinkled in a cringe as she finished the last bite of her honut, while Brooke had a whole bunch of discarded donuts in front of her and looked like she was only halfway through her current attempt.
Anna and Zoe were both in the same boat as Brooke. They were going through donuts like crazy and seemed to be unable to stop themselves from licking their lips and having to start again.
I felt a twinge of disappointment when Laurie squealed as she finally completed the challenge. The cheering from the rest of the contestants grew louder as we watched the final three battle it out for the last place. Brooke was already ahead, but Zoe seemed to be finally getting the hang of it and was catching up quickly.
When Brooke had the final piece of her donut in her mouth, we all fell silent, holding our breath as we waited for her to finish without licking the sugar that was caked around her lips. When we finally saw her swallow, a cheer rose up, and the contest was over. Anna and Zoe had lost.
Anna didn’t look too bothered, but Zoe looked annoyed. It didn’t take her long to get over it though, and I soon saw her take out her notebook and start asking some of the girls questions about the competition so far. I had to give it to her; even in the face of defeat, she was still determined to focus on a story for the newspaper.
Everyone was on a bit of a high after the rush of the competition. There was laughter as people tried to wipe the sugar from their mouths and loud chatting as people lamented over how impossible it had been to avoid licking the sugar away.
I noticed Cole making his way from contestant to contestant, congratulating them on making it to the next round. Each girl's face lit up when he focused on them, and I could practically see them melting into piles of goo at his feet. He was hot, I got that, but I couldn’t understand his effect on them.
I decided not to watch him. Instead, I turned my back on him and listened as Evan replayed his glorious win.
“It’s not much of a challenge when you can stick a whole donut in your mouth,” I told him.
Evan laughed. “Jealous?”
I went to respond but found Cole standing at my side. He smiled when he saw that he’d caught my attention. Without hesitation, he reached out and wiped the corner of my lips with his thumb. It lingered there for the briefest second, and my stomach pulled tight as my skin tingled under his touch.
“You missed some,” he said, lifting his thumb to show me the sugar.
“Maybe I was saving it for later.”
He laughed and lifted his thumb to his mouth, slowly sucking the sugar off the end of it. “Well, I guess your sugar’s mine now.” He strode off without another word, and I scowled after him.
“How are you not swooning right now?” Evan asked, coming to stand beside me as we watched Cole leave. He waved his hand close to his face as if he was trying to cool off.
I shrugged and we started after the rest of the group as we returned to the back porch. The truth was, I kind of was swooning a little. Cole’s brief touch against my lips had felt electric. I’d never felt anything like that with Jake before. The feeling left me riddled with guilt though. I shouldn’t be feeling that way and I certainly shouldn’t be reacting to Cole’s touch. So instead of responding, I stayed silent.
7
Cole
I could still taste the cinnamon I’d stolen from Madi’s lips, and it was doing my head in. She didn’t seem at all affected by the way I’d lightly brushed my thumb against her skin, but I couldn’t stop replaying the moment in my head.
“You’re doing great, Cole,” Angus said, pulling my attention.
“Thanks,” I replied, but the word was empty. I didn’t feel like I’d done anything to warrant his praise.
He led me inside and explained the second portion of the group date. Speed dating. I couldn’t stop a wince from forming on my face as I cringed at the idea.
“It'll be fine,” Angus reassured me. “You have five minutes to talk with each contestant. Ask them some of these questions, to get the ball rolling.”
He handed me a sheet of paper, and I tried not to laugh. I didn’t need a list of questions to help me talk to girls, but I could tell Angus wanted me to use his prompts to make the activity as entertaining, or as awkward, as possible.
I smiled broadly when the first contestant strutted into the room and sat across from me, fluttering his eyelids so expertly even Laurie would have been impressed. Evan was hamming things up for the camera. I had to give him credit; the guy knew how to put on a show.
“So, Evan, what are you looking for in love?” I asked, taking a suggestion from Angus’ list.
Evan swatted the question away with the flick of a hand. “I think we both know you’re not interested in looking for love here,” he said, indicating toward himself. “Or are you?”
I chuckled at the directness of his question. “I can’t say I’ve ever considered dating another guy before,” I replied.
Evan smiled. “I didn’t hear a no.”
“I feel like even if I said no, you still wouldn’t hear it,” I replied.
Evan laughed. “True. I have always loved a challenge. Keep me around for a few weeks and maybe I can change your mind.”
I couldn’t help but admire his confidence. It was pretty clear to both of us that I was only interested in girls, but that didn’t seem to bother him. I suspected Evan must do really well with the guys. I wasn’t gay, but even I was getting charmed by him.
“We’ll see,” I replied.
The next few speed dates seemed to go by in a blur. Brooke, Laurie and Maria all flirted outrageously with me, but that’s all I could seem to remember from my time spent with them. My date with Sally had been slightly awkward considering we’d shared a drunken kiss at a party last year. She’d wanted more; I hadn’t. I really didn’t see her goi
ng far in the competition.
The speed date with Teagan was definitely more interesting than the others. Going into it, I didn’t know much about the girl; only that she was the lead in all the school plays and had the kind of flawless face that you only saw on movie stars. I had expected her to be vapid, but she surprised me. She laughed easily and was enthusiastic about everything she spoke about. I was actually disappointed when our five minutes were up.
Talking with Willow had been surprisingly painful. It was like pulling nails out of a coffin trying to get her to speak. She was nervous about being in front of the cameras and that, combined with her quiet disposition, made our chat the most boring conversation in history. She obviously didn’t want to be involved in the competition, and I knew there was no way she was interested in me, so I would probably have to eliminate her quickly.
Finally, my date with Madi arrived and I found myself sitting up straight as she came to take a seat across from me. She was quiet as she looked across the table and seemed unsure of herself. It was a look I wasn’t certain I’d seen on her face before, and I couldn’t understand what had put it there. The expression made me slightly anxious, and I had no idea what to say to her.
“So, Madi, what are you looking for in love?” I read the first question on the sheet in front of me.
She snorted, like she found the question hilarious. “Don’t you mean, what are you looking for in a date to the formal? That is the prize of this contest, right?”
“Are you saying I’m a prize?” I winked at her.
She shrugged, completely unaffected by the gesture. “No one said it was a good one.”
I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms across my chest, watching her closely. “I think you know what a great prize I am.”
“In your dreams, Kingston,” she replied.
The Wrong Bachelor Page 6
