Bedroom Games

by Jill Myles

  “Good luck, you two,” Jendan said. “No hard feelings all around, right?”

  I looked at him and smiled. “No hard feelings.”

  “It’s all just business,” Brodie said easily. “After all this is over, we need to go out for drinks. Winner buys.”

  Jendan chuckled. “Sounds fair to me.”

  Then, we fell silent once more.

  “And we’re back,” Becky said, an interminable amount of time later. Her hair and smiling face filled the stretched-out monitor once more, and for a moment, I had the weird impression that she was leering at us. “Since there are only three House Guests remaining, Jendan and Kandis are the nominees for eviction. Brodie is the Power Player this week, and he is also the only one that can vote. We’ll let Jendan and Kandis each have a turn to plead their case to Brodie. Jendan, let’s start with you.”

  Jendan stood up and crossed his arms over his chest, a wry smile on his face. “There’s really nothing I can say that can change anyone’s mind at this point. I just want to let you guys know that we’re going to leave here as friends, no matter what, and may the best man—or woman—win this thing.” With that, he sat back down.

  I smiled at him, feeling relieved. The last thing I wanted was for Jendan—who had been my friend since I’d stepped foot into this house—to be upset over getting voted out.

  “Kandis?” Becky inquired.

  I stood up and smoothed my palms against my jeans again. “I don’t have too much to say, either. I’m just glad we’re all going to leave here friends.” I glanced over at Brodie and smiled, and then sat back down again.

  “All right, then. It’s time for the final vote.”

  Brodie inhaled, as if steeling himself, and then he got to his feet. He moved to the center of the room, facing the two of us. And paused. After a moment, he began. “This is a hard vote for me. Harder than I thought it would be. I told myself I was coming in here with no strings attached, and what happened would happen. But I find that even the best promises aren’t always ones we can keep.”

  He looked at me.

  I started to get a funny feeling in my stomach.

  “Kandis,” he said. “Beautiful, gorgeous, smart, funny, Kandis.”

  In slow motion, I watched his shoulders raise in a regretful sigh, his face sorrowful.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m voting you out.”

  The world crashed.

  My ears rang, blood roaring in them. I stared straight ahead at Brodie, waiting for him to show me he’d been lying. Joking.

  Something.

  But he just stared at me with big, blue eyes that begged me to forgive him.

  “What the hell?” Jendan’s voice was a mere whisper. I looked over at him to see if he’d been planning this with Brodie, but he looked just as shocked as I felt.

  No, I wasn’t shocked, I realized as I stood. I was numb. Completely, utterly numb.

  I’d trusted Brodie Short. Brodie the betrayer, who’d dicked over his sister last season just so he could hook up with a hot chick. And I’d fallen for the guy. He’d told me he’d loved me and that I needed to trust him, and I had. He’d told me he’d win the last challenge for us, and I’d believed him.

  And now he’d just voted me out.

  As I stood, Jendan did, too. I gave him a stiff hug of goodbye and patted him on the back. “Good luck, Jendan,” I told him in a soft voice.

  “I swear, Kandis, I didn’t know,” he said.

  I nodded. “It’s okay.” Then, I pulled away from him and turned to my so-called partner.

  Brodie was standing there, his hands shoved into his jeans pockets, a tortured look on his face. When I moved away from Jendan, he began to approach me.

  I put a hand up, warning him off. “Don’t touch me right now.” My voice was shaking. I couldn’t believe this. Brodie had just humiliated me on national television. Even after all the logical talking I’d done to myself, positive that I was going to be cool as a cucumber and make strategic decisions, I’d played with my heart in the end and gotten burned on the process.

  “Kandis,” he began.

  I shook my head, stumbling away. “I don’t want to talk to you,” I stated again, heading quickly for the exit door that was always locked. “Just leave me alone.”

  “Baby, please—“

  “Don’t call me baby,” I snapped. Blind with the tears that threatened to spill out of my eyes, I put my hands on the exit door. It was always sealed except for when it was confessional time or someone was being evicted. The green light was on, showing that the door was open, and it was time for me to go.

  Time for me to go.

  My game was over.

  I reached for the door with a trembling hand. I still had a chance to turn around and tell Brodie what I really thought. How hurt I was. How betrayed I felt. How completely, utterly foolish and betrayed and stupid and betrayed and angry and betrayed…but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. With a shake of my head, I headed into the hallway and out of the House Guests house.

  As I emerged out of the tunnel that led to the house, bright lights flooded my face, and I hastily wiped at my eyes, thankful that I’d worn waterproof mascara. There were people cheering, the stands filled with a live studio audience, and Becky Bradley was there, smiling, extending her hands at me.

  “Kandis Thornton,” she announced. “You played a great game, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.” She gave me a wimpy hug and then gestured at the seat next to her. “Sit down, and let’s have your exit interview.”

  In a daze, I sat.

  I mumbled answers as Becky fired questions at me, though I was never really quite sure of what I was saying. I was still too numb, too detached from the situation. I hadn’t packed my bags. Hadn’t made a big speech about how I’d played the game or even tried to save myself. I’d thought I was safe, because the guy I was sleeping with, the guy I’d been partners with since the beginning, the guy that had declared love for me, had my back.

  Which was all just a lie.

  I was leaving the house a loser in all ways. No money to save my mom, no chance to fix things, and worst of all, completely and utterly betrayed by a man I’d known in my heart not to trust. I had twenty-five grand to fix everything.

  It’d be a drop in the bucket.

  “So, Kandis,” Becky said, and she touched my leg to bring back my wandering attention. “Tomorrow night is the finale. How do you think you’ll vote?”

  I stared at her woodenly. “I honestly have no idea.”

  ~~ * ~~

  Once the show was finished, I was handed off to an assistant, Cassie. She was responsible for driving me to the jury house where the rest of the cast was staying until tomorrow night. And as she drove, she chattered on and on, rambling about the weather and the show and how good it would be to get back to Hollywood instead of North Carolina, which wasn’t her favorite place.

  I listened to her in silence, my mind still focused on those last few minutes in the house. I felt betrayed, of course, but I also felt really stupid.

  Trust me, Kandis. I’ll make this right for both of us.

  I snorted. What a liar.

  “Hmm?” Cassie looked over at me.

  “Nothing. Just thinking.” I wasn’t in the mood to talk.

  The car pulled up to a hotel, and Cassie parked in the check-in zone and handed her keys off to an employee. “Come on, Kandis. I’ll show you to your room.” I followed her, but she paused, frowning at me. “Did you forget your bag?”

  “I didn’t pack it,” I said listlessly. I hadn’t really considered the idea of Brodie betraying me. He’d asked for my trust, and I’d given it to him a hundred percent.

  Which, looking back, was pretty stupid of me.

  “Oh.” Cassie looked perplexed for a moment. “What size are you? I can get you some clothes from a nearby store for the finale.”

  I told her, and she continued chattering on the way in. The show had rented out the entire eighteenth floor of the hotel, and it
was nice to have their own floor but it was still inconvenient to be on the eighteenth floor and it took some getting used to and did I want to go hang out with the other jury members for a bit before we shot our scene for the evening?

  “Scene?” I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Yep. The jury has to get together and make it seem like they’re hashing out the vote. We use it as a cut segment for the finale. Since we’re on a truncated schedule, I’ll come get you in about six hours.”

  “Oh.” That was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment. “Can I just go to my room, please?”

  “All right,” Cassie said, and we got into the elevator. “But as a reminder, no phone calls and no television. We’ve removed both from your room for now, but we also ask that you don’t approach anyone else to try and borrow theirs, either.”

  That wouldn’t be a problem. What would I call my mother and say? Hi Mom, I tried to win us a million dollars to get you out of debt, but I fell for a guy that ditched me at the last minute. Sorry about our future and all.

  ~~ * ~~

  I napped the time away. It was a curious kind of limbo, really. The world wouldn’t start moving again until after the finale, and until then, I had nothing to do. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to read a book, and for once in my life, I didn’t want to exercise.

  I just wanted to mope, really.

  Brodie’s betrayal hurt me so much. I’ll make this right for us. How was voting me off making it right for us? I just didn’t understand, and I hated that I was obsessing. I’d been played. I needed to get over it. Instead, I just kept thinking of Brodie.

  He’d told me he loved me. How did someone just make that shit up?

  Cassie came to get me at two in the morning. “We’re going to a lake,” she explained as I sleepily rubbed my eyes and repaired my makeup. “They’ve got logs pulled up around a campfire and everything. It’s very intimate looking. Anyhow, they’re going to set the others up and you’re going to come in last. It’s going to be a big surprise for them.”

  “Don’t they know I’m here? Did they not see the show?”

  “They’re not allowed to see any of the footage until after the vote.”

  “Then they’re in for a treat, aren’t they?” I was guessing that I was the last person they expected to see walk in. How they’d laugh at the sight of her.

  We drove into the woods, and Cassie busily consulted her GPS as she drove. I slumped in the passenger seat, not exactly chipper. Okay, I was sulking. It didn’t matter. I was pretty sure this confrontation was going to be an unpleasant one.

  We pulled up to the spot on the lake. A short distance away, I saw the campfire and a few people seated around it. I also saw three different cameras and their attendant cameramen hovering nearby. A sound guy held up a floating microphone above their heads.

  Intimate, my ass.

  “Someone’s coming,” I heard a voice say in an overly theatrical whisper.

  I wanted to roll my eyes at the drama of it all, but that would just look petty. So I forced a bright smile to my face and headed toward the campfire. And I gave them all a small wave. “Hi, guys.”

  They were shocked. Okay, shocked was probably an understatement. I saw Sunnie and Jayme exchange gape-mouth glances, and Fido blinked at me. Off to one side, Marla clapped her hands and stood up, clearly elated.

  “Yes! Jendan’s in the final two!” she crowed.

  “Oh my god. What happened?” Jayme asked. “Did Jendan win Power and pick Brodie?”

  I realized with a sinking feeling that they had no idea of what had happened. One of the microphones suddenly hovered near my ear, and I wanted to swat it away. “No, Brodie won. He chose Jendan to go to the final two.”

  The women gasped.

  “But…I thought…”

  “You two were so cozy,” Sunnie exclaimed.

  I’d thought the same thing. I shrugged, hiding my hurt. “Guess I got played.” I stole a glance over at Marla, who looked utterly triumphant.

  “Serves you right for playing both sides,” Marla said in a nasty voice. “You should have known it would come back to bite you in the end.”

  “Yes, well, thanks for that stunning piece of input, Marla,” I said. “I told you guys I got played, all right? Can we leave it at that already? Or did you want to sit here and jump on my corpse for a bit longer?”

  To my surprise, Sunnie moved to sit next to me on my log and wrapped her arms around me in a sympathetic hug. “I’m so sorry, Kandis.”

  Touched, I hugged her back. “It’s okay.”

  “Well,” Fido said. “We’re here to talk about the vote tomorrow. Let’s discuss who’s played a better game.”

  “Brodie’s certainly played a brutal one,” Jayme said, shooting an apologetic look at me. “I really didn’t think he had it in him to do that.”

  I had, though. I’d seen it with my own eyes when he betrayed his sister. So I said nothing.

  “Yeah, but what’s the point of dicking over Kandis if he knows she’s just going to head straight to the jury?” Sunnie asked, perplexed.

  Trust me, Kandis. I’ll make this work for both of us.

  “Well, I think it’s obvious who I’m voting for,” Marla said. “Jendan played a good, clean game.”

  “Clean?” Fido snorted. “He was teamed up with this one since day one.” He pointed at me.

  “It was strategic,” Marla protested.

  “No less than Brodie,” Sunnie said. “He just decided to befriend all of us as his way of getting ahead.” Her hand squeezed mine. “Some of us more than others.”

  Jeez, I must have really looked like a sad panda at the moment. “It’s okay,” I said. “Really. I feel a little hurt at how he lied to me, but overall, Brodie did play a good game.” At their skeptical looks, I shrugged. “Think about it. He came in to the house with a huge target on his back and still managed to somehow befriend everyone and wiggle his way to the end. Plus, he won more Power Plays than anyone else. That should count for something.”

  “Are you arguing for him?” Marla was shocked.

  “It’s not personal, right? It’s just a game,” I said, though inside I felt dull and lifeless. “I can reward good gameplay.”

  “You’re a bigger woman than I am, then,” Marla said.

  ~~ * ~~

  The outfits Cassie brought for me looked like something that might have come from Sunnie’s wardrobe of glitzy designer clothes. I picked the most normal of the lot—a pale strapless dress with a tight bust and a sharkbite hem. The skirt was a gauzy gray ombre. It was pretty without being over the top, and I liked it. And since I figured why the hell not, I borrowed a huge pair of earrings from Sunnie and fixed my growing-out hair into a fashionable pompadour. I wore a lot of smoky gray eyeshadow and fake lashes, and with the jewelry, the dress, and the hair, I looked like I belonged on a runway. That was definitely not low-key Zumba instructor Kandis Thornton, but she didn’t want to show up tonight, anyhow.

  She’d just had her heart trampled on.

  I got into the shuttle bus with the other jury members, all equally glammed up, and we were driven back out to The Magnolias for the finale. The parking lot was full, and the audience bleachers were filling up with excited people.

  We were ushered to the back of the staging area and given instructions. One by one, Becky would call us out, ask us a question about how we were doing since the vote off (ha), and then we’d take a seat on the five jury seats in the order we’d been kicked off. When it came time to vote, we’d each be given a ballot, and we’d have a chance to say something to Jendan or Brodie before casting our vote. Then, the results would be revealed, and the finale would be over.

  Simple enough.

  I was in a daze. Sunnie chatted at my side backstage, and the others seemed to be in a great mood. I couldn’t concentrate. This whole sordid affair was about to be over, at least. Then I could go back to reality.

  One by one, the others went on
stage. I heard them chatting with Becky, the voices booming over the microphones we were hooked up to, and the cheers and applause of the audience. They all seemed to be having a great time. Everyone was so happy, except me.

  I was still numb. It seemed a little unfair.

  “Kandis, you’re on,” someone hissed into the earpiece I’d been wired with, and I stumbled out onto the stage. This time, I was smart and had worn ballet flats instead of heels, so I recovered quickly and headed out. “Wave to the crowd,” the voice instructed as I walked out onto the stage, and I did.

  I was surprised by the deafening roar I received. Had they been so happy to see me last night? I had no idea. I continued to wave, feeling awkward, and then took my spot next to Becky.

  The House Mother was dressed in pink chiffon, her big blonde hair in a poofy upsweep. “Now, Kandis,” she said over the enthusiastic roar of the crowd. “Your ousting was just one of many shockers this season. Now that you’ve had a chance to sleep on it, how do you feel?”

  I stared out into the crowd. I couldn’t make out faces because the spotlights on stage were too bright. But there were hundreds of people out there, and they all seemed excited to see me. Why? Hadn’t I played like a real bitch at times? “I’m okay with it,” I told her. “It was just strategy at the end of the day, so I don’t have any hard feelings.”

  “There wasn’t just strategy going on between you and Brodie,” Becky said in a coy voice. “Do you want to tell us a bit more about that?”

  “No,” I said bluntly.

  The crowd cheered again, voices laughing as if I’d said something hysterical.

  “Well, the cameras don’t lie. I think we know the truth about what was going on, even if you don’t want to say it out loud.” Becky gestured for me to take my seat. I headed over there gratefully.

  As I sat down, Becky turned her back to us and hoisted her microphone closer to her mouth. “Now that we’ve caught up with our jury, it’s time for the vote. We’ll let our two gentlemen in the house have a chance to speak before the jury casts their votes.”