Bedroom Games (15 page)

Marla stood up and looked at her partner
again and then back to me. “You know we’re going to have to discuss
this privately before we come to an agreement.”

I nodded. Of course. “Just…if you guys decide
to try and use this to vote me out, let me know first, okay?”

“We will,” Jendan said. “And thanks for
letting us know, Kandis.”

“You can trust me,” I assured him.

He smiled at me and nodded and then left the
room with Marla. As soon as they exited the Queen room, I turned
back to Brodie, who had a frown on his face.

“Sooo, when were you planning on telling your
partner about this big plan of yours?” Brodie asked me, his
expression deliberately casual.

I gave him my most innocent look. “Right
now?”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m serious. I was going to tell you, but I
needed to get everyone together before the rest of the house got up
and found out what we were doing.”

“Oh, I believe you.” He raised an eyebrow in
my direction. “I’m just curious what information you’ve been
passing Jendan to make sure he’s safe.”

I went back to the bed and sat on the edge.
“I said something during the first vote about not being last in the
reward challenge, remember.”

“And that’s all?”

“Maybe.” To be honest, there were so many
secrets flying back and forth, I was starting to lose track of what
had been told to whom.

“Just as long as we’re sneaky together, and
not sneaky against each other.”

“All scheming is done with you. I promise.” I
gave him a mock salute and then winked. “At least…all the scheming
you know about.”

“Oh yeah?” Brodie grabbed me by the waist and
began to tickle me.

I squealed with laughter.

CHAPTER SIX

“Is it weird that the
sneakier Kandis is, the more it turns me on? I figure I’m going to
be a mess by the time we get to the finale.”
– Brodie Short, Day 18

Seated on the couch next to me, Brodie
planted a hand on my knee and leaned over to murmur in my ear.
“You’re practically vibrating. Stop it.”

I pried his hand up off my knee, finger by
finger. Secretly, I kind of liked his hand there, but the others
were watching. “I can’t help it. I’m nervous. You know I get
nervous at these things.”

“Yeah, but you’re telegraphing. Calm
down.”

I exhaled noisily and straightened my loose,
ruffled shirt. For the vote that week, I’d chosen to wear a pair of
black skinny jeans, a black tank top, and a filmy white poet’s
shirt that was two sizes too large and belted high at the waist.
With my long, dark hair, I thought it was a good look. Kind of
low-key but still feminine. I couldn’t do a skin-tight dress every
week like Sunnie—for one, I didn’t have enough dresses. And two,
I’d probably fidget so hard or cross my legs so often that I’d end
up flashing my panties to the viewing audience. Jeans were just a
safer bet.

I crossed my legs again and gave Brodie a
mutinous look and then straightened one of my ruffled sleeves. “I’m
allowed to be anxious.”

“Just play it cool,” he said, grinning in my
direction as if I’d said something clever. How he always managed to
look like he was having a good time was beyond me. I was
practically prancing in my seat with the jitters.

When we got back from the commercial break,
we’d hear the week’s nominations. Jayme and Fido sat at the front
of the group, their faces completely impassive. They wouldn’t look
at me and Brodie or at Casper and Sunnie.

Marla had assured me that she’d told them
about Casper’s treachery and said that she’d shared the tape
recorder. She’d said they’d been furious at Casper’s play-making
and inability to keep his mouth shut. They hadn’t said anything to
me, though, and despite Jendan and Marla’s assurances, I didn’t
know how the vote would go tonight.

I could very well be going home despite all
the scrambling. They could still nominate Brodie and me despite the
behind-the-scenes work I’d been doing this week, and if that
happened, I was out the door.

I’d get a little cash for coming in eighth,
but not enough. I couldn’t go home yet.

I toyed with one of the ruffles on my shirt
absently and then froze when the TV’s logo screen disappeared and
Becky Bradley’s big hair and big teeth filled the screen. “Hello,
House Guests! Are you ready for the nominations?”

We all clapped.

“Jayme, Fido,” Becky said in her smooth
voice. “Please stand and nominate a team for eviction.”

Jayme bounced to her feet and straightened
her sun dress and then looked at her partner. Fido stood at her
side with his arms crossed, a wary look on his face. He nodded at
his partner, and Jayme clasped her hands and turned to us. “This
week’s decision was a difficult one.”

Oh god. They were going to put me up. I just
knew it.

“Whenever you put someone up for eviction,
you have to weigh a lot of things. Not only who you’re getting rid
of, but who you’re keeping. And some people are just too dangerous
to keep around for long, or you’re going to be writing them a check
for the money.”

I felt sick to my stomach.

She gave the group of contestants a wary
smile. “So that’s why we’re putting Sunnie and Casper up for
eviction. Nothing personal, guys. Just strategy.” With that, Jayme
and Fido sat down.

Stunned and trying to hide my delight, I
looked over at Sunnie and Casper. They were shocked. No, beyond
shocked. Sunnie looked ready to cry, and Casper just looked
furious. He shot an angry glance over at me, but I looked away. It
was either that or giggle aloud with sheer relief.

I was safe for another week.

Brodie’s hand touched my
knee again in warning, and I squeezed his hand back, acknowledging
it.
Be cool.
I
could be cool. Totally.

“The nominees may now give their speeches to
plead with their house mates for their vote,” Becky said.

Sunnie stood, and blubbered something about
being everyone’s friend and how she wanted to stay. I wasn’t paying
much attention. I was too focused on not giving away anything. Be
still. No fidgeting. Certainly no smiling. The inside of my cheek
was going to be swollen given how hard I was biting it.

When Sunnie was done with her speech, Casper
stood and looked right at me. “I’ll save my words, except to say
that everyone in this house will get what’s coming to them.”

He thumped back into his seat.

“We’ll start the voting. Kandis, you will
vote first.”

Oh thank goodness. I bolted up out of my seat
and headed to the confessional. I kept my head down as I headed to
the booth and managed to keep my cool until I shut the confessional
door behind me.

Then, I squealed aloud and did a happy
dance.

Safe another week!

Safe!

One step closer to the million!

“Kandis, please be seated,” Becky said over
the intercom, but I could hear a hint of laughter in her voice.

I stopped my crazy dancing and smoothed my
hair. “Sorry.” I slid into the big easy chair in front of the
cameras.

“Please cast your vote.”

“Totally voting for Casper, Becky,” I said
with a wide grin. “And if he asks who nailed him, you can tell him
it was all me. Nothing personal, just doing it for Mom.”

She chuckled. “Thank you for your vote,
Kandis. Please go sit down with the rest of the group now.”

With one last delighted shimmy, I
straightened my clothing and headed back out to the others.

Five long, tense minutes later, the votes
were in and Casper was marched out of the house. He didn’t hug
anyone or offer encouraging words to the rest of us. In true sore
loser fashion, he simply grabbed his bag and headed out the
door.

As soon as he was out, the intercom clicked
on. “Contestants, you have ten minutes to get ready for the next
Power Play.”

We surged into action, changing clothes and
pulling up hair. As I headed into the bathroom, Marla gave me a
grin and put up her hand.

I high-fived her.

~~ * ~~

“Tonight’s Power Play is the Wheel of
Misfortunes,” Jayme called out, reading from one of the cue-cards
left for us. “Since Fido and I had Power this week, we will not be
competing. That means that there will be five of you competing, and
as of right now…” she paused dramatically and then glanced up at
all of us. “You are now officially playing as singles.”

We cheered, excited. I cheered maybe a little
less enthusiastically than the others. Why did I have a weird
feeling about this? Why did I twinge with unhappiness at the
thought of Brodie no longer being my partner? Brodie was
untrustworthy. He was a player and a liar.

So why did I feel like I was going to miss
him? Weird.

Jayme gestured at the large game wheel in the
center of the challenge area and continued to read. “On my word,
Fido will spin the wheel.”

I eyed the wheel itself. It was an enormous
wooden circle, painted like something out of Wheel of Fortune, with
‘pie’ pieces of varying colors. Each colored slice of the board had
a question-mark on it, no doubt a card covering what laid
underneath. On the far end of the challenge area, neat colored
boxes were lined up on tables. Across from the wheel was a
scoreboard with our names on it, and we stood lined up in the
middle. Next to me, Sunnie kept wiping her red-rimmed eyes and
sniffing loudly, still upset about the vote.

I gave her an encouraging pat on the arm,
feeling bad for her. I’d talk with her later, let her know she was
never the target. Maybe that would help her hurt feelings.

“Fido will spin the wheel,” Jayme said, still
reading, “and a dare will be revealed. You will each have five
minutes to perform your dare. Fail to perform the dare and you are
out of the challenge. Complete the dare, and you receive a point.
The first person to three points wins the Power for the week. If we
have a tie, we’ll have a faceoff between those contestants. Is
everyone ready?”

“Ready!” we chorused.

“Then spin the wheel of misfortunes, Fido,”
Jayme called triumphantly, waving her card with a flourish. She
moved to the scoreboard, ready to mark points.

Fido grinned and gave the wheel a jerk,
sending it flying around. We watched in anticipation as the wheel
clattered around and eventually came to a stop on a slice of
yellow. Fido reached up and removed the question mark card,
revealing the words underneath. “Milkshake of Madness,” he read
aloud.

Jayme reached for her card and then pointed
at a yellow box nearby. “The milkshake of madness is a yummy and
delicious treat that contains twenty unique ingredients.” She
sauntered over to the yellow table and revealed five tall soda
glasses, all frosted from the ingredients within. She picked up the
card on the table and began to read. “Every ten seconds, I will
name off another unique ingredient and finding out what’s in the
milkshake just might turn your stomach. Your entire glass must be
chugged within the five minute allotment. Fail to do so and you
will be removed from the challenge.”

I cast a worried look at Brodie, who stood on
my opposite side. “If there are bugs, I’m going to be really
sick.”

“Just don’t think about it,” he told me. He
did a little jog in place and leaned his head from side to side, as
if readying for a round in the boxing ring instead of simply
drinking something. “You can do this, Kandis.”

At the far end of the line, Jendan took his
glass from Jayme and immediately put a hand up, flinching. “Oh my
god. It smells like beef jerky.” He shook his head. “I’m out.”

“Oh, you and your sensitive stomach,” Marla
protested…until she was handed her glass. Then she looked a little
ill herself. “That smells really bad.” She held the shake at arm’s
length.

Sunnie took hers without a word of
protest.

I took mine, examining it.
There was a thick, pinkish-yellow sludge inside the glass. An oily
residue gleamed on top. I sniffed it and sure enough, it did smell
like beef jerky. Oh, I did
not
want that to go in my mouth. I swallowed hard and
watched as Brodie took his glass, sniffed it, and made a face.
“This shit’s nasty.”

“Feel free to drop out,” Marla called.

“I’ll start you out with the first
ingredient: milk. Countdown starts in three…two…one,” Jayme called,
and she clicked a stop-watch around her neck. “Go!”

We lifted our glasses. Well, all of us except
Jendan. True to his word, he put his full glass down. “I’m not
drinking that. I won’t be able to keep it down.” He moved to the
side and sat out as I took my first tentative sip of the drink.

It was awful. Rancid, meaty flavors mixed
with god knew what else swirled through my mouth and left an oily
taste behind. There were chunks, too, and I immediately pressed
fingertips to my mouth to keep from vomiting. Just downing the
first mouthful was difficult.

“Second ingredient,” Jayme called. “Ice to
blend your milkshake.”

I finally swallowed, grimacing, and eyed my
glass. It had barely gone down. Ugh.

“Third ingredient—chicken skin.”

Marla made a gagging noise down the line. I
eyed my drink warily, then took another small sip. If anything, it
tasted worse.

“Next ingredient,” Jayme called. “Pork
rinds.”

My gorge rose. I struggled for a moment and
nearly lost it when I took another whiff of the drink. God, the
smell (and finding out what was in it) was truly the worst. I took
another small sip.

“Next ingredient is lard.”

Marla moaned, clearly ill. I looked over at
Sunnie, but she had her nose pinched and her eyes closed, and she
was slowly downing the horrid cocktail. That wasn’t a bad idea. I
pinched my own nose to block the smell and took another tentative
sip. It was still awful, but not as stomach-curdling as before.
Holding my nose tightly closed, I took a big mouthful and chugged,
then shuddered as it went down. I could do this.