Bedroom Games
Page 17
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To my surprise, Brodie grinned at me. “Took the words right out of my mouth.”
“Really?” Just like that? Brodie was willing to vote out his sister that quick? Jeez.
“Katy won’t hold a grudge,” Brodie said. “She knows it’s a game.”
Then Katy was a better woman than I was, because I’d sure hold a grudge if I were her. But if it were down to myself or Katy, I’d pick myself.
“Kandis and Brodie,” Becky Bradley said, her voice piping into the booth. “Do you have a vote?”
“We do,” Brodie said, and then he looked at me.
I nodded. “We are voting for Katy and Liam.”
~~ * ~~
The vote was five teams to one. Katy and Liam would be leaving the house because no one else had voted for anyone other than them. The remaining vote had been for Marla and Jendan, and I knew that had been Katy and Liam’s vote. Brodie and I had voted with the house.
Neither Liam nor Katy seemed surprised by the vote, and they seemed to be taking it well. Liam shook hands with the guys, and Katy went and gave everyone hugs, a wry smile on her face.
When she came to me, though, she whispered in my ear, “Don’t trust Brodie as far as you can throw him.”
“I won’t,” I whispered back. I already didn’t. “I’m sorry I voted for you.”
“It’s okay,” she said, and she smiled at me. “I get to spend the summer with Liam. I don’t mind being voted out. You just watch out for that brother of mine. He’s sneaky.”
I nodded, and she turned to leave.
In one night, we were already down three house guests. Nine people remained, and it was Brodie and me against the rest of them.
Things were not looking good for the home team.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I’m starting to suspect that Kandis doesn’t take me seriously. What’s a guy got to do around here to get her attention?” – Brodie Short, Day 8
“I think I’d rather be back on the couches,” I complained to Brodie as I fluffed my pillow and flopped on my back in the bed.
Unfortunately for me, when I laid on my back, it left me with a great view of the nooses hanging from the rafters of the ceiling. Hanging Room, indeed. Someone had a sick sense of humor.
After a week of being on the couches, we were down to nine guests and four rooms. Mickey was on the couches, Sunnie and Casper were in the Power room, and Brodie and I had been chosen for the attic room that was ‘lovingly’ referred to as the Hanging Room.
“There’s nothing wrong with this bed,” Brodie mumbled, voice sleepy.
“You mean, other than the fact that it’s in a haunted room?”
Brodie rolled over with a sigh, facing me. “You don’t really think this house is haunted, do you, Kandis? We’ve been here a week and no one’s seen a ghost.”
“No,” I said, eyeing one of the nooses that dangled overhead. “But we have seen shadows and heard things at night. And Sunnie said that when they slept up here, she heard whispering in her pillow. I do not want to hear whispering.”
Brodie rubbed his face. “Sounds like her pillow is haunted and not the room.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Kandis, why don’t you worry about something that is important? Like how we’re going to stay in this house a bit longer? You know Casper and Sunnie are going to put us up for eviction unless we manage to somehow sway them.”
“I know,” I said thoughtfully, hugging the blanket close. Unlike the couches below, there was one bed in the attic room, which meant that Brodie and I were sharing a blanket. I’d worn long pajamas, but Brodie had opted to sleep in his underwear…a fact that did not go unnoticed by me, no matter how hard I was trying to ignore it.
Brodie was a mactor, I reminded myself. If he was in his underwear in bed with me, it was because he wanted to remind the world how hot he was, not because he wanted to remind me how hot he was.
“I can work on Sunnie this week,” Brodie told me in a low voice. “But you’ve got to work on her, too. Befriend her. Do her hair or paint her nails or whatever it is girls do. She’s kind of weak, so Casper’s going to push her to go along with whatever he wants, and it’s pretty clear that he wants us out.”
I nodded. “I’ll figure something out.” I thought for a moment and then added, “It’d be best if we could figure out a way to paint a target on Mickey. If his team got nominated, he’d automatically go home because he’s a team of one. There’s no guesswork there.”
“Yeah, but Mickey will vote with whoever offers to keep him. So he’s not a target.”
Not like we were. I continued to think, silently drumming my fingers on the blanket.
Brodie’s hand covered mine. “Stop that.”
“Sorry.”
“Go to sleep. Seriously. I can’t think without a good night’s sleep, and we need to plan our strategy tomorrow. So unless you want to fool around, go to sleep.”
I snorted and hauled my blankets higher. “Going to sleep now.”
“Thought so.” Brodie sounded amused, though. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Not changing my mind.”
~~ * ~~
Time passes incredibly slowly when you’re anxious about an upcoming vote. Though no one had said anything to me, I could tell just by the way that Jayme and Sunnie acted that Brodie and I were on the hit list. For one, they both fawned over my handsome partner and made sad faces from time to time, as if he were already gone. And of course, that made me stressed out. So when I was stressed? I exercised.
I spent hours every day going over Zumba routines, coming up with new choreography. Since we weren’t allowed to play music while in the house (which would interfere with audio recordings), I had to hum the music to myself and choreograph based on memory. That was fine, since we had plenty of free time and lots of hours to fill every day.
I also tried to spend a lot of time with Sunnie. During that first week, the celebutante had bonded with the chef, and they were rarely seen apart, so I felt like I was jockeying for her attention. They tended to talk about the same things over and over again; Sunnie would name drop famous people she’d hung out with, and Jayme would listen with wide, adoring eyes. I could only say “Gee, Sunnie, you’ve really dated famous movie stars?” so many times before I wanted to punch myself in the face. Though if I wanted the scoop about which tabloid celebrity had gone to rehab, Sunnie could give me the dish. Despite us not having much in common, I really did try.
Evenings were the best. Everyone would gather for dinner, and we’d all hang out, laughing and talking together, usually playing some sort of game. At night, the house felt like a big, ongoing dinner party. It was only when it was time to go to bed that it felt like a horror flick.
Unlike Sunnie, I hadn’t heard whispering in my pillow. I did hear the footsteps at night, though, and I’d woken Brodie up once to make sure he heard it too, but he’d only mumbled and rolled over. I thought about taping it, but my recorder was being put to better use in the flower pot of the smoking area.
“Really?” Just like that? Brodie was willing to vote out his sister that quick? Jeez.
“Katy won’t hold a grudge,” Brodie said. “She knows it’s a game.”
Then Katy was a better woman than I was, because I’d sure hold a grudge if I were her. But if it were down to myself or Katy, I’d pick myself.
“Kandis and Brodie,” Becky Bradley said, her voice piping into the booth. “Do you have a vote?”
“We do,” Brodie said, and then he looked at me.
I nodded. “We are voting for Katy and Liam.”
~~ * ~~
The vote was five teams to one. Katy and Liam would be leaving the house because no one else had voted for anyone other than them. The remaining vote had been for Marla and Jendan, and I knew that had been Katy and Liam’s vote. Brodie and I had voted with the house.
Neither Liam nor Katy seemed surprised by the vote, and they seemed to be taking it well. Liam shook hands with the guys, and Katy went and gave everyone hugs, a wry smile on her face.
When she came to me, though, she whispered in my ear, “Don’t trust Brodie as far as you can throw him.”
“I won’t,” I whispered back. I already didn’t. “I’m sorry I voted for you.”
“It’s okay,” she said, and she smiled at me. “I get to spend the summer with Liam. I don’t mind being voted out. You just watch out for that brother of mine. He’s sneaky.”
I nodded, and she turned to leave.
In one night, we were already down three house guests. Nine people remained, and it was Brodie and me against the rest of them.
Things were not looking good for the home team.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I’m starting to suspect that Kandis doesn’t take me seriously. What’s a guy got to do around here to get her attention?” – Brodie Short, Day 8
“I think I’d rather be back on the couches,” I complained to Brodie as I fluffed my pillow and flopped on my back in the bed.
Unfortunately for me, when I laid on my back, it left me with a great view of the nooses hanging from the rafters of the ceiling. Hanging Room, indeed. Someone had a sick sense of humor.
After a week of being on the couches, we were down to nine guests and four rooms. Mickey was on the couches, Sunnie and Casper were in the Power room, and Brodie and I had been chosen for the attic room that was ‘lovingly’ referred to as the Hanging Room.
“There’s nothing wrong with this bed,” Brodie mumbled, voice sleepy.
“You mean, other than the fact that it’s in a haunted room?”
Brodie rolled over with a sigh, facing me. “You don’t really think this house is haunted, do you, Kandis? We’ve been here a week and no one’s seen a ghost.”
“No,” I said, eyeing one of the nooses that dangled overhead. “But we have seen shadows and heard things at night. And Sunnie said that when they slept up here, she heard whispering in her pillow. I do not want to hear whispering.”
Brodie rubbed his face. “Sounds like her pillow is haunted and not the room.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Kandis, why don’t you worry about something that is important? Like how we’re going to stay in this house a bit longer? You know Casper and Sunnie are going to put us up for eviction unless we manage to somehow sway them.”
“I know,” I said thoughtfully, hugging the blanket close. Unlike the couches below, there was one bed in the attic room, which meant that Brodie and I were sharing a blanket. I’d worn long pajamas, but Brodie had opted to sleep in his underwear…a fact that did not go unnoticed by me, no matter how hard I was trying to ignore it.
Brodie was a mactor, I reminded myself. If he was in his underwear in bed with me, it was because he wanted to remind the world how hot he was, not because he wanted to remind me how hot he was.
“I can work on Sunnie this week,” Brodie told me in a low voice. “But you’ve got to work on her, too. Befriend her. Do her hair or paint her nails or whatever it is girls do. She’s kind of weak, so Casper’s going to push her to go along with whatever he wants, and it’s pretty clear that he wants us out.”
I nodded. “I’ll figure something out.” I thought for a moment and then added, “It’d be best if we could figure out a way to paint a target on Mickey. If his team got nominated, he’d automatically go home because he’s a team of one. There’s no guesswork there.”
“Yeah, but Mickey will vote with whoever offers to keep him. So he’s not a target.”
Not like we were. I continued to think, silently drumming my fingers on the blanket.
Brodie’s hand covered mine. “Stop that.”
“Sorry.”
“Go to sleep. Seriously. I can’t think without a good night’s sleep, and we need to plan our strategy tomorrow. So unless you want to fool around, go to sleep.”
I snorted and hauled my blankets higher. “Going to sleep now.”
“Thought so.” Brodie sounded amused, though. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Not changing my mind.”
~~ * ~~
Time passes incredibly slowly when you’re anxious about an upcoming vote. Though no one had said anything to me, I could tell just by the way that Jayme and Sunnie acted that Brodie and I were on the hit list. For one, they both fawned over my handsome partner and made sad faces from time to time, as if he were already gone. And of course, that made me stressed out. So when I was stressed? I exercised.
I spent hours every day going over Zumba routines, coming up with new choreography. Since we weren’t allowed to play music while in the house (which would interfere with audio recordings), I had to hum the music to myself and choreograph based on memory. That was fine, since we had plenty of free time and lots of hours to fill every day.
I also tried to spend a lot of time with Sunnie. During that first week, the celebutante had bonded with the chef, and they were rarely seen apart, so I felt like I was jockeying for her attention. They tended to talk about the same things over and over again; Sunnie would name drop famous people she’d hung out with, and Jayme would listen with wide, adoring eyes. I could only say “Gee, Sunnie, you’ve really dated famous movie stars?” so many times before I wanted to punch myself in the face. Though if I wanted the scoop about which tabloid celebrity had gone to rehab, Sunnie could give me the dish. Despite us not having much in common, I really did try.
Evenings were the best. Everyone would gather for dinner, and we’d all hang out, laughing and talking together, usually playing some sort of game. At night, the house felt like a big, ongoing dinner party. It was only when it was time to go to bed that it felt like a horror flick.
Unlike Sunnie, I hadn’t heard whispering in my pillow. I did hear the footsteps at night, though, and I’d woken Brodie up once to make sure he heard it too, but he’d only mumbled and rolled over. I thought about taping it, but my recorder was being put to better use in the flower pot of the smoking area.
