Bedroom Games
Page 18

I kept taping conversations, but most of them seemed to be along the same lines. Casper wanted us out. Sunnie liked Brodie and wanted to keep him. Jendan wanted to keep me for the same reasons. Marla was undecided. Mickey wanted to vote with whoever would keep him around. Fido wanted us out.
We were the perfect targets. At least, Brodie was. I was just collateral damage. And no one gave a crap about collateral damage.
So I did my best to make myself invaluable. I went up to the Power room and hung out. I painted Sunnie’s nails and listened to her stories about Hollywood. I admired Casper’s stories about the firehouse. I helped Jayme clean up in the kitchen when she cooked. I listened to Marla’s anecdotes about her kids. I even let Mickey rub my neck.
Once.
The reward challenge had been a shooting range with crossbows and fake vampire bats that shot across the sky. I’d deliberately failed it and then flattered the heck out of Fido when he’d won, going on and on about how good he was at the challenge to the point I disgusted even myself.
And when I couldn’t stand all the butt kissing any longer, I retreated to the house gym and exercised, venting my frustrations on the stairclimber or on a particularly grueling dance routine.
I was bent over, doing stretches, when Mickey entered the workout room. My ass was in the air, and I immediately straightened. “Hey, Mickey,” I said, pulling a few sweaty strands of hair off of my face. “How are you?”
“Better, now that I just had that amazing view.”
His smile was friendly, but his words were creepy. Ugh. I forced myself to keep smiling despite the fact that I wanted to retreat. I faced the workout mirror and raised an arm over my head and bent to the side, stretching it. “Let me know if I’m in your way.”
“I’m good,” he said, and he came up to stand next to me. As I watched in the mirror, he began to mimic my stretches.
Okay, that was weird. I stretched my other arm, bent to touch my toes, and then shot a quick glance over at Mickey.
Sure enough, he was still stretching his arms, but his gaze was on my ass.
God, that made me feel freaked out.
I straightened again and went to the weight bench.
“You need a spotter?” Mickey asked, coming to my side.
“No, actually, I’m okay.” I grabbed my towel, and even though I’d just warmed up, I decided it was time to leave. “I think I’m going to skip the workout for today.”
“Sore?”
No, your skeezy eyes are drilling holes into my skin. “Something like that.”
“I can give you a massage, you know. I have amazing hands.” He rubbed them in front of me and grinned as if I should be impressed.
“I’m cool, thanks.”
“No, really. I can make you feel better.” Before I could step away, he put a hand on the back of my neck and began to rub. “See? Don’t you like that?”
The guy was giving me the willies. I slid away, acutely uncomfortable. My hand went to my neck protectively, and I clutched my towel in front of me. “Like I said, I’m good.”
“Any time you want me to make you feel good, Kandis, you just let me know.” Mickey’s voice had gotten breathy. “I can give you a massage anywhere you like. I know how to unkink all your muscles. Though you might be the type that’s into kink.”
And he wagged his eyebrows at me.
Really? Really?
I shook my head, clutching my towel and heading for the door. “Really. I’m fine.”
I opened the door to escape the workout room, and I nearly ran smack dab into Brodie’s chest. I gasped and staggered backward.
Brodie smiled, reaching for me. “What’s the rush?”
“Nothing,” I said and sidled past him. “I just…I have to go.”
The smile on his face faded. “You okay?”
I nodded. “I just need to go.” I ran out the door and down the hall, leaving my partner alone in the work-out room with Mickey.
As I retreated, I heard Brodie’s voice rise. “Dude, why the fuck do you have an erection?”
I ran for the showers. At least there, I could avoid Mickey and any uncomfortable questions about why I was running away. The showers were an off-limits area amongst the house guests. We knew they would be filming us, but we tried to give each other privacy enough to towel off and get clean. As soon as the door to my shower shut behind me, I stripped, tossed my barely-used workout clothes in the corner, and stepped under the spray.
God, I was totally creeped out. Mickey had come on to me so hard that it had left me feeling dirty. Some guys didn’t take no for an answer or get subtle signals. Mickey didn’t seem to grasp signals at all, and I hated the thought of spending more time with him in the house. I scrubbed at my wet face, wishing I could wipe the memory of the last few minutes out of my mind. Jesus, I hoped that Brodie didn’t think I’d been coming on to Mickey. I wanted to gag at the thought.
“Coming in,” Brodie called, startling me out of my shower reverie.
“What?” I sputtered, wiping water out of my eyes. “Don’t come in here! The shower’s in use! I—”
My words died as Brodie entered the shower, ignoring all my protests, and stepped under the stream with me. He was wearing nothing but a pair of his workout shorts, and as I watched, he peeled those off and kicked them aside.
Well. Brodie wasn’t shy.
I crossed my arms over my breasts and hunched over, my legs tightly crossed so he couldn’t see my lady parts. “Get out of here,” I hissed.
“Chill out, Kandis,” Brodie said. “You see my parts, I see yours. That’s not what’s important right now. We need to talk, and this is pretty much the only place we can do so privately.”
Water splattered my face, and I tilted my head to the side, trying to get out from under the stream. “What about?”
Brodie leaned in and whispered in my ear, his voice barely audible over the water. “Mickey. Was he harassing you?”
“You mean like the way you’re harassing me right now?” I sputtered.
“Get serious, Kandis. I’m not even looking.” His gaze remained on my face. “Okay? I just want to know if you’re okay. You looked freaked when you left the gym, and Mickey had a boner, and I know he’s been kind of handsey to you lately.”
I said nothing for a long moment, still feeling weirdly awkward about standing naked in a shower with Brodie, neither of us looking away from the other’s face.
“Come on. I have a sister,” Brodie said quietly. “I know some guys won’t take no for an answer. Mickey seems the type. I’m just trying to look out for my partner. I don’t like that he was bothering you.”
“He was coming on to me,” I admitted. “Grabbed my neck and tried to massage me again. Staring at my ass.” I shrugged and glanced away, staring at the tile wall. “The usual stuff.”
“Yeah, but he cornered you in a room by yourself and the dude had a boner. That’s not cool in my book.” When I looked back at him, he shook his head. “You leave his ass to me. I’ll handle him.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Don’t you worry,” Brodie said. “You leave that ass to me. He’s not going to bother you again.” And before I could reply, he stepped back out of the shower and shut the door, leaving me alone in the stall once more.