I drop my head in my hands and groan. I can’t believe I am in this situation to begin with, but now… I am stuck in a house for six weeks with Anya, a woman I’ve never fully gotten over. And on top of that, I have to watch as eleven other men fight over her. I know I don’t have a chance, but the idea of seeing a bunch of jerks treating her like a piece of meat makes my skin crawl. I’m still half-hiding behind Max when Carrie stomps over and drags me out from behind him by the scarf I’m wearing.

“Ow! Will you take it easy? Jeez,” I groan as she pulls me to the center of the room.

“It didn’t occur to you to mention to me that Anya is your ex-girlfriend?” Carrie growls.

I rub my neck. “I didn’t know Anya was the woman who was going to be on the show, now did I? If I’d known, I would have said something!”

“You could have told me while she was back getting ready. I could have at least warned her, and prepared Darius. We could have given Anya a chance to get used to the idea, or perhaps have prevented this altogether and brought in an alternate. Now the cameras are live, the feed is already funneling into the main office, and there is no way they are going to let an opportunity for drama like this pass them by. So, you made a decision for everyone by keeping quiet.”

Carrie is fuming, and I see Anya wipe tears from her eyes. I feel like a world-class asshole, but Carrie is right. There is nothing I can do about it now. And we’re stuck in this house for six weeks, together.

“I’m sorry. I’m genuinely sorry. I froze when I saw Anya. We haven’t seen each other in years and then she walked in and I just…”

“Hold on a second,” Grill says, stepping forward, all agitated. “Isn’t this like, cheating? Doesn’t it give him an unfair advantage?”

Anya scoffs. “It definitely doesn’t give him that, I assure you.”

I scrunch my face up. “Hey. It’s not like I cheated on you, or left you in a diner on the side of the road. We broke up. It was practically mutual. Let’s not rewrite history.”

She crosses her arms over her chest and I feel like a bigger dick than I did even a minute ago. Carrie steps in between us and waves her arms in a “truce” motion.

“Okay, okay. Everyone settle down. We’re all stuck now, and there is no going back. All we can do is press on. We’re going to go ahead with filming the introduction scene, and Daniel, in your private individual, you can come clean about all of this. Anya, you can decide how much or how little you want to reveal. Darius, pick back up where you left off. Camera one, camera three, let’s reset.”

Anya stands as far away from me as she can manage, and I make a move to hide behind Max again, but he shakes his head at me. “No way, dude. You’re not using me as a bubble. You got yourself in this mess, you can figure out how to get out of it.”

I groan. “Come on, man. Do me a solid and be my buffer for a little while. Just… six weeks. I’ll let you choreograph our next music video.”

He laughs at me, and before he can answer, Darius is talking again.

“Anya, let’s meet your matches!”

The first guy that steps forward is handsome, short, thin, and wears thick black Buddy Holly glasses that he persistently pushes up his nose. “My name is Oscar, I’m 33. I’m from Des Moines, Iowa, and I’m a research scientist.”

Grill is next, and he’s even cockier than usual. “I’m Grill Dennison, I’m 28. I’m a linebacker for Colorado, and I’m going to intercept your heart.”

Max bursts out laughing, and Carrie pokes him in the back with some sort of lighting implement. “Shut up,” she whispers harshly. Max covers his face and nods.

One by one, the men introduce themselves, until they get to the end of the line, leaving Max and me. Max goes first.

“I’m Max Jefferson, Scorpio, thirty-two-years young, and a dancer from Los Angeles.” I roll my eyes at him, and have to stifle a laugh of my own. But suddenly, it’s my turn, and Darius is staring at me.

“And Daniel… you and Anya are already acquainted, are you not?”

Anya snorts, and I shift from foot to foot uncomfortably. “You’re going to go right to it, huh?”

“You bet I am, Daniel,” he says with a wink. “Tell the people about yourself, and then Anya can fill everyone in on how you two know each other.”

I sigh, and force a smile. “I’m Daniel. Age irrelevant. Lead singer for Article of Clothing. I’m happy to be here?” It comes out as more of a question than I mean it to, and Darius notices.

“Having second thoughts, are you, Daniel?” he asks in a game show host voice. I look down at my feet and mumble, “More like fifth thoughts.” Darius ignores me and turns back to Anya.

“So, Anya. How do you know our resident moody artist this season?”

Anya looks over at me, daggers shooting out of her eyes. “I assure you, nothing has changed as far as his attitude. Daniel and I dated in college, and we broke up because he wanted me to give up my career and move across the country for him to pursue his own. It worked out for the best though. We’re both doing what we want, and I have a feeling we’re a lot better off.”

All of the other guys give an amused “oooh” and I hear Grill snicker. Darius turns back to me. “Do you have anything to say about that, Daniel?”

I shake my head and don’t make eye contact with anyone, even thought I have plenty to say about it. Of course, on some level, Anya is right. When it comes down to it, I did make the decision for us to split up. But I did it because I knew I was being a selfish jackass, and she deserved better. I wanted to make sure she lived her best life, and it certainly seems like she is. If anything, I’m the one who has been sitting around pining over her for all these years. What I really want is to tell her she doesn’t need to be on this stupid show, and she should give me a second chance. But I still think she deserves better than me.

“Nothing to say about it at all, Darius. She is right. She’s definitely better off without me.”

The room goes silent, and I see Carrie make a “keep going” motion off camera. Darius flashes his smile again.

“Well, there is no question that things are going to be interesting this season on Wild Love! We’ll meet you back here for our first Pool-Side Confessional, brought to you by Robin Brand Moisturizer! It wets every little bit of you.”

“Cut main cameras!” Carrie shouts from behind us, and everyone mildly relaxes, until she says, “Those are just the mains, kiddies. Don’t forget, the CCTV cameras, along with our roving camera people, will be watching you at all times. Max, Grill, David, Shane, Kevin, and Alex, meet us outside in five for your individuals. Everyone else can head to the kitchen for some lunch. Anya, Daniel, can I speak to you privately for a moment?”

Anya raises an eyebrow. “Actually private or…”

“We’ll go in the hall bathroom. Come with me.”

Anya follows Carrie down the hall, and I stay five paces behind both of them, not thrilled about whatever conversation is about to transpire. I’m also not excited to be trapped in a room with Anya. She probably wants to strangle me, and just seeing the sparkle in her beautiful brown eyes makes me want to kiss her all over again. So, I can’t speak to which emotion is going to take over once we’re all trapped in a small space together.

We walk into the bathroom, and Carrie shuts the door, then turns to both of us like a mother about to scold her rotten children.

“Listen, I’m all for some non-manufactured drama. It makes my job a hell of a lot easier. But can you two handle yourselves? Will you be able to survive six weeks without killing each other?”

We both shrug. “I’ll be fine,” I say, obviously looking at the wall.

“Anya, is him being here going to be a distraction? Will you be able to focus on any of the other guys here?” Carrie asks, tapping her foot on the tile.

“Honestly, I’d rather hang out with any other guy here. Even that football jock with the stupid name,” Anya answers, flipping her hair. Carrie laughs.

“Grill,” I mutter, but neither of them are listening.

“Glad to hear it. All right, you two go get some food. Daniel, I’ll come get you in an hour or so for your individual.”

Carrie shoves us out of the bathroom, and Anya and I are left standing in the hallway, alone. For the first time in years, I’m at a complete loss for words.

What do I say to the woman who I’ve never been able to forget, even after all these years?