I soon learned that the same pain feels way worse when it doesn't stop. By the three-hour mark, Kent and I were both still firmly atop our posts, but I'd never felt so stiff and sore. Would I even be able to walk when I finally got to step down?
Peter cleared his throat. "Okay, folks, let's have some fun. How about a trivia game?" Despite the lackluster response of the lucky shade dwellers, he said, "Here goes. Prince and Princess, you're welcome to play too."
Kent said, "Need to focus."
"Yeah, me too."
"No problem." Peter launched into his first question.
I looked at Kent, and he shot me three blinks. There was only one answer I could give. I'm okay. Then I sent the three blinks back. He was apparently fine as well. Damn.
Busy watching Kent, I missed the first question and its answer, but a burst of giggles made me turn my attention to Peter in time to hear him repeat, "How long were Greg and Lily in the jungle together, and how many bases did Greg steal?"
Lily covered her face with her hands then looked up at Greg, blushing but grinning. He pulled her close and kissed her, to laughter from both teams and Aaron and Jim shouting the baseball riff from "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" or some facsimile thereof.
They cut themselves off, though, when my giggles made me wobble. The clearing waited in frozen silence as I struggled, then my guys exploded into cheers at my "I'm okay now." Relief made me dizzy, but I slowed my breathing and the lightheadedness retreated.
Once I was out of danger Peter asked for answers then said, "Thirty minutes, and a solid second base." He waited for the laughter and teasing to end, then waited still longer, until everyone, even Kent and I, was looking at him.
"You know the Prince and Princess spent a night together." He paused for the wolf whistles, mostly from Aaron, to subside. "But I'm wondering what you know about that night."
They knew we'd kissed. What else was there? A glance at Kent deepened my confusion; the color was draining from his face. As I watched, though, he raised his chin and looked calmer.
"I'll give you some statements, and you tell me which--"
Kent stepped off his post.
Our eyes locked, and the gasps and exclamations of our exes and the production team faded away. "You win, MC." He walked slowly and stiffly toward me. "I can't do it any more, and you deserve to win. Congratulations."
Too stunned to speak, I stared into his darkened eyes, not seeing even a hint of regret.
Kent's exes screamed at Peter to do something, but he simply said, "The Princess's Court wins."
My knees gave way completely. I crumpled, pulling the rope down with me, and Kent lunged forward and caught me before I hit the ground.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I could have stayed in Kent's embrace forever, feeling the strength of his body against mine and the comfort of his arms across my back, letting him support me and supporting him at the same time.
Could have, but I didn't get the chance. After a few blissful seconds, he set me gently aside. "Are you okay?"
I nodded but couldn't think of anything to say. He brushed my hair from my sweaty cheek, not meeting my eyes, and turned slowly to face his livid exes.
Aaron handed me a water bottle and I threw my arms around his neck. "You were amazing," he said, pulling me against him. "I think you'd have won."
I had won, but by default. I shifted in Aaron's arms so I could see as Faith said, "Why?"
"Like I said, I couldn't do it any more."
"Then why not stay until you fell over, like the rest of us did?"
Nobody had given Kent a drink, so he ducked awkwardly under the tent and found himself one. After a long swig, he said, "The result would have been the same, but I saved both of us a lot of pain."
My heart melted. He'd embarrassed himself by quitting rather than forcing us to fight on for however much time he had left. It was sweet.
But.
Ashley said, "Come on, she nearly fell a minute before you quit. You had it in the bag."
And that was the downside. Sweet, yes, but now nobody would believe I could have won.
Maybe he didn't believe it. If he thought Colin needed the money more than his parents, he might have quit because he was sure I couldn't hold out against him. But I could have. Why did everyone underestimate me? Why did he, of all people?
The warm feelings were replaced by a rush of anger that left my knees even weaker. "I need to sit down," I mumbled, and Aaron helped me to the ground and let me lean against him.
Kent gave the same answers over and over, until Summer, who'd apparently been shocked silent, regained her powers of speech. "That's the stupidest thing you've ever done, and there's stiff competition for that title. You let us down, you let yourself down, and you made it clear you think MC's weak."
Kent's eyes widened. "I don't think that at all." He turned to me. "Honestly. I quit because I couldn't take it any more not because I didn't think you could do it. I never meant to make people think you--"
"You planned this?" Lily shrieked. "You'd already decided to quit?"
"No," Kent said, closing his eyes, and pain ripped through me at his exhaustion and frustration. I still didn't understand why he'd done it, but I hated seeing them shredding him for it. He'd lasted longer than all of them, after all.
"Folks," Peter began, but Summer talked over him. "MC, are you glad he quit? Do you appreciate him saying you're too pathetic to win on your own?"
"The only one saying that is you," Kent snapped at her before I could speak. "Shut up."
"I can't. It's insane what you've done. You've lost everything. Everything." Turning on me again, she said, "Answer me for once. Are you glad he threw the contest for you?"
I was glad and furious and touched and confused and humiliated and relieved, and I had no words to express it all. As I searched for something, anything, to say, she said to Kent, "Look at her, she's stunned. You've ruined everything. Unbelievably stupid."
She turned her back as if she couldn't stand the sight of him any longer. "Peter, now what? Can we do it again without him or something?"
Peter shook his head. "The contest is over."
Summer spun around and threw her empty water bottle at Kent, who looked even more shell-shocked than I felt. The bottle bounced off his shoulder since he didn't do anything to avoid it, and Peter said, "Summer, that's enough. Princess, come here, please."
I forced myself to my feet, my legs stiff and painful, and moved to his side.
"Prince, you too."
Kent hesitated, then moved forward. As he approached, he gave me one long blink. Sorry? No? What did he mean? I wanted to hug him and slap him at the same time. Most of all, though, I wanted to know why.
I wasn't alone. Peter said, "I assume there's no point asking you to explain more fully."
"None."
They locked eyes for a long moment before Peter said, "Maybe you'll feel like telling us on the final live episode."
Kent turned pale beneath his sunburn. Ignoring this, Peter said to me, "You and your Court have indeed ended up with more members. Congratulations."
My guys cheered, but I didn't. Peter's words made it clear there was something going on.
"When does she get the money?" Jim said.
Peter raised his eyebrows. "Oh, she hasn't won the money."
Everyone stared at him. My guys quit celebrating, Kent's exes stopped crying and pouting, and I felt a strange hope growing in me. I wanted the million, of course, but not like that. I wanted to really win it, really deserve it.
Greg said, "What the hell? She won. We have five people left and they have four."
"She has one more Court member. That means she's won this part of the competition. The contest for the million dollars is anything but over."
"But she won. You can't change the rules now."
"I never told you this was the entire contest."
I was too tired to remember what Peter had said, but Greg seemed to. "You did," he in
sisted. "You said MC was competing against him."
"Exactly. And she's not done competing."
"I don't have to get back on that post, do I?"
Peter smiled at me, and I managed a weak smile in return. "No, the competition on the island is over." Addressing the group at large, he went on. "The Princess has won a third of the competition. There are two more parts, which will be revealed on the final live episode."
Exhausted and confused, I looked at Kent, and again everything else disappeared as we studied each other. He looked tired and defeated and lost, and I wanted to hug him so much it hurt to stay still, wanted to comfort him and thank him and tell him he was an idiot all at once.
But I did nothing but look at him, and after a moment he turned away.
"Back to your islands, folks," Peter said. "You'll be leaving in an hour."
I stood watching Kent trudge out of the clearing, trailing his clearly still outraged exes, until an arm slid across my shoulder.
"Baby?"
"Yeah."
"Let's go home."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The thunderous applause and cheers as I walked onto the stage stunned me. Peter, who'd been clapping too, smiled and said, "Over here, Princess", and I took the seat he indicated and tried to look relaxed.
"Welcome back to Las Vegas. You've recovered from what we put you through, I hope?"
"My cheek is pretty much healed." I tugged back the hem of my hot pink dress, which my drycleaner had saved, to show my knees, still scabby but on the mend. "My doctor says these'll probably scar but they don't hurt now, and I've regained nearly all the weight I lost, so yeah, I'm okay."
"We love you, MC!" someone called from the audience, and the cheering began again. I burst out laughing, and Peter joined me. When everyone was back under control, he said, "So tell us, have you been reading our online forums about the show in the month you've been home?"
"Only for my first day or two at home, then I stopped."
Liv and Craig were reading everything, though, and they were constantly furious. People were attacking everything from my choice of bathing suit to my hair style to my career. Some people liked how I'd handled myself on the island, but lots either thought I'd been bitchy or, interestingly, too much of a pushover.
"The negative comments bother you, I guess?"
I nodded. "I know part of the fun of reality shows is figuring out how you'd do things differently, but I did the best I could. Especially since I didn't know I was going there."
"Would you do anything different if we sent you back?"
I eyed him suspiciously. "If I answer that, am I going back?"
The audience laughed and Peter grinned. "Not today, that's for sure."
"All right, then. I think I exiled the right people. I did everything I could at the contests. Ooh, actually, I'd make sure Sam didn't go for water alone. Does that count?"
"Sure does," Peter said. "We'll have Sam here soon, but for now there's another man we need to see. Prince, come on out."
Cheers for Kent too, mixed with more than a few boos, but I barely heard them over my pounding heart. I'd missed him so much. He'd obviously been told to wear his first-day clothes, same as me, and his suit made him sexy beyond my wildest dreams. Or maybe he made the suit sexy. Either way, I couldn't take my eyes off him.
Every day I'd expected him to contact me, but I'd gone to bed every night un-contacted and I didn't understand. I'd watched and re-watched the clips of his support when I fell, our kisses, the gentle satisfaction on his face as I talked to my dad on the phone, and of course his quitting the final contest to end our discomfort, and I'd seen his feelings for me in every action.
At least, I'd thought I had.
But I'd been wrong. He didn't want me. And as I watched him walk to Peter, shake his hand, and take the chair opposite mine, I wanted him back more than I'd ever thought possible.
"Nothing to say to each other?"
Peter's amusement stung, so I made myself smile at Kent. "Nice to see you again."
"You too." His roughened voice brought back how he'd sounded before he'd kissed me. Our eyes locked, his darkened at once, and heat rippled through me.
"So, Prince," Peter said, "how's life been since you got home?"
Before Kent could respond, someone in the audience yelled, "Quitter!"
I gasped, but Kent shrugged. "Well, I've been getting a lot of that, for one thing. But I had to end that contest when I did."
"Did you now," Peter said, and I turned toward him, confused by the strange, almost mocking, note in his voice. When he went on, though, he sounded normal. "I will say that contest was tougher than it looked. Is everyone critical of your decision to quit?"
Kent shook his head. "A lot of people think I was smart to end it when I did, and... well, some people think it was nice to let MC win. Which I did not do, I want to say that again."
But he had. Regardless of his motivation, he'd stepped down and let me win.
Peter didn't comment on that, though. Instead, he said, "Have you been in contact with the Princess since you left the island?"
Kent shook his head. The audience sighed, and someone shouted, "Kiss her already," making the crowd laugh and me shift in my chair. I couldn't look at him.
"A lot of people thought you'd be dating by now. Any plans in that direction?"
I stared at my scabby knees and prayed.
After the longest five seconds ever, Kent said, "No."
The crowd groaned, and Peter said, sounding like he meant it, "I'm sorry to hear that."
Nowhere near as sorry as I was. Kent had waited a long time to answer but he'd been so definite when he did. He didn't love me, didn't want me back. I would not cry.
"Princess, are you surprised by that? Upset?"
I pulled myself straight and looked at him. "Of course not. It's all about the money."
So let's get that sorted out, and then I can go home and try to figure out what I did wrong.
"All right then," Peter said, sounding flustered. "Well, let's get your Courts out here. Princess, you mentioned Sam so let's start there."
I jumped to my feet as Sam walked onto the stage on crutches. We hugged, and I said, "I'm so sorry," but he shook his head. "It was my fault. I'm glad you did so well."
Peter directed him to the seat at the end of my row, but quickly ran out of things to ask given how briefly he'd been on the island so brought out Phillip and Dean. Phillip stalked onto the stage, accompanied by whistles and boos from the crowd, and Dean followed with an air of calm confidence he'd never had before.
They sat beside Sam, and Peter said, "Dean, you gave the Princess an incredibly hard time at your exile, and before it as well." I cringed inside and fought to keep my face calm. "Any regrets?"
After a long silence, Dean said, "I tried to connect with the other guys right away, so I shouldn't have picked on her for the same thing. She wasn't doing anything wrong."
He paused. "And as for the cheating stuff, I believe now she never did. I was wrong about that all along, and on the island it made me crazy." He got up and approached me. "MC, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve any of that. Can you forgive me?"
Not easy to apologize, especially on live television. "Absolutely. That island would make anyone crazy," I said, standing and holding out my hand. He shook it firmly, and the crowd applauded. My fingers registered a ring on his little finger, and I looked down to see a small ring, clearly a woman's, with a deep rich emerald. I'd seen that ring before.
I looked up and raised my eyebrows. Dean grinned and I realized where at least some of the new confidence had come from. I grinned back, and he took his seat again, looking out into the audience, no doubt searching for Valerie.
Peter said, "Glad to hear it, you two. Now, Phillip, you've been criticized for your misogynist attitude in general and especially for what you said to the Princess. Any comment?"
"I never apologize."
"So you admit you should?"
&nb
sp; "For what? Pointing out she was weak? Even he knew it," he said, jerking his head toward Kent. "She didn't have a prayer of winning without his help at that last contest."
I felt Peter glance at me, no doubt looking for a response, but I wouldn't give Phillip the satisfaction. Besides, I was looking at Kent. His face white and his jaw set, he started to stand then dropped back into his chair.
"Something to say, Prince?"
"Nothing I haven't said a thousand times," Kent said, sounding exhausted. "So, no."
After a few awkward seconds, Peter said, "Let's bring out the exiled Ladies."
Kent flinched, and I longed to comfort him. I'd dreaded this night because of the knowledge that lots of people would be watching, but at least not all my exes hated me. How was he coping with this?
Kayla, Tara, Jody, and Faith sat at the end of Kent's row, Faith insisting on the seat the furthest from Kent. Noticing this, Peter said, "Faith, anything you'd like to--"
"Exiled on the last day? If I ever talk to, or about, that jackass again, it'll be too soon." I felt sick at her venom even though it wasn't directed at me. "That's all I have to say."
Peter spoke briefly with the other women then said, "Let's see the surviving Courtiers."
The four of them walked out to applause and cheers. I met them halfway onto the stage and we hugged. "I'm so glad to see you guys," I said, tightening my arms around Jim and Greg, then added, "Three of you, anyhow."
"Don't let her talk to you like that, Jim," Aaron said.
I reached across and slapped him on the top of the head. "I mean you, doofus."
The audience laughed, and he said, "You just bought yourself an extra hour of running."
Aaron had emailed me the day after we'd returned home, and we'd been running three times a week ever since. He mocked me unmercifully, but was also supportive and encouraging when I needed it, and I was already running longer than I'd ever thought I could.
"No way," I said. "I'm following the schedule."
"Oh, schedules." He brushed aside the hours we'd spent creating it with a wave of his hand. "Be spontaneous for once, baby."
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