Carrie has disappeared, leaving Daniel and me standing in the hallway alone. The tension is so thick, and building every second, that I begin to think I might choke on it. My first instinct is to turn on my heel and run for the first group of people I can find that doesn’t include Daniel. But it feels like my feet are cemented to the ground, preventing me from moving. Daniel looks just as freaked out as I am, and neither of us knows what to do about it.

Finally, he breaks the silence.

“It’s really nice to see you again, Anya. You look amazing. Better than when we were in college.”

I scowl at him. “You have more tattoos.”

He laughs and looks down at his arms. “You’re right about that.”

I groan inwardly. His laughs still sends shivers down my spine, and a warmth straight to my… Stop that, Anya! What is wrong with you? This guy is your past, not your future!

“We should get into the kitchen,” I say as I start walking away. “I’d really rather not spend any more time alone than we have to. I don’t want to start some ‘shipping’ thing for the people watching at home. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“‘Shipping?’” Daniel asks with a raised eyebrow. But I gesture to the camera watching us from the corner of the hallway.

“When fans of a show create relationships for people who aren’t supposed to be together,” I whisper. “And I don’t want to hear about that happening with us when this is all over. So, just stay away from me as much as we can manage. Got it?”

There is a wounded look in his eye that both gives me undue pleasure and breaks my heart at the same time. I don’t know why I’m so angry at him. I really don’t. The truth is, I know what I said in front of the cameras is true: he made the right decision in my dorm room that night. If I’d followed him to New York, we would have ended up hating each other. By going our separate ways, we were able to grow up on our own and lead the lives we were meant to lead. But suddenly, I can’t help but feel resentful of the fact he made the decision for both of us without letting me have a say, even if we would have come to the same conclusion. Because now, as I’m looking at him walk away from me, I know that deep down, somewhere in my heart, I still love him.

And I might actually hate him for that.

I sigh as I follow him out to the kitchen, and am officially forced to confront five more of the men I will be spending the next six weeks with. They are standing around the island chatting with each other, and with the exception of Daniel, seem to be the regular guys. I walk up to the counter and wave awkwardly.

“Hello again, men. It’s nice to meet you without the cameras. Well, without the big ones anyway. Can you remind me of your names? It was all kind of a blur out there. Oscar I remember, but otherwise…”

They chuckle, and a tall man with black hair and a smattering of freckles framing a nice smile, waves. “I’ll go first, I guess. My name is Garrett, and I’m a middle school geography teacher from Los Angeles. I’m here because a few of my co-workers sent in my picture. I honestly feel weird about it, so I hope you’ll all go easy on me.” Everyone nods and laughs, admitting that we probably all feel the same way.

“I’m Stuart,” says a giant, muscular redhead with a scruffy beard and a Scandinavian accent. “I work in marketing out in New York, but I’m originally from Oslo. I look like a Viking because I am a Viking.”

I burst out laughing. He does look like a Viking, but he also looks like he could star on my favorite fantasy television show, and I like him already.

“I’m Michael, I’m a concept artist from Chicago, but I dabble in comics,” says the shortest of the group. He has a nice smile, but there is something in his eyes that tells me he probably doesn’t spend a lot of time around women. Or anyone else, for that matter. He looks uncomfortable in general.

I turn to the last guy I don’t know, and he smiles nervously. He seems to be younger than me by a wide margin, which I’m not thrilled with, and I suspect it will make him an immediate target for guys like Grill. He shrinks away a little before he talks.

“Paul. Interior design. Seattle.” His green eyes sparkle with barely-concealed panic, and I want to tuck him under my arm and protect him from the big bad world. But I definitely don’t want to date him. I reach out and shake his hand, which he squeezes warmly.

“Nice to meet you, Paul. Nice to meet all of you. Really. I know things are going to be a little odd and intense with all of us living together, and the show isn’t going to do anything to mitigate that. But I promise I’m not going to make things harder on any of us than it needs to be.”

I don’t have a chance to say anything else, because the six guys who were outside come back in, most of them already looking exhausted. Max, the dancer, gestures for the men inside to disperse.

“Carrie wants you guys out there for your… confessionals? Individuals? Whatever they’re called, she wants you out there. She said once we are all done, we’re going on a field trip, so we should put on bathing suits and find the water shoes they put out for us?”

I raise my hand. “Does that apply to me too?”

“Whether or not it did, you can bet I want to see you in a bathing suit, pretty mama,” Grill answers with a douchey wink. I roll my eyes, and Max, who is standing next to Grill, turns and looks at him with a head shake.

“Are you going to be like this the whole six weeks?” Max asks.

“Who said he’s going to be here for six weeks?” I blurt out. The guys all hoot and holler, and Grill has to fight to keep his cocky smile on.

“I’ll win you over yet, you’ll see.”

Daniel walks by me on his way out to the pool and whispers in my ear, “Are you sure you want me to leave you alone in here with this bunch?”

He disappears out the door before I can answer. Despite not really caring about Grill, I use the opportunity to get to know the rest of the guys. Alex is a barista-slash-DJ from Los Angeles, David is TV chef from the Home & Hearth network, Shane is a super well-known real estate guy from Miami, and Kevin is a weather man from one of the major networks in San Francisco. With the exception of Max and Alex, I’m not really thrilled at the idea of keeping any of the “celebrities” around. They’re all varying degrees of arrogant, and I can’t see myself going on a second date with any of them, let alone spending my life with them. And when it comes to Max and Alex, I just want to go get drinks with them, not date them. I can’t pinpoint why yet, but it’s clear.

It isn’t long before all twelve men, and Carrie, are back in the kitchen, their individual interviews for the afternoon completed. I had no idea how much of this was going to be standing around, or talking nonsense to the camera. Carrie grabs a bottle of water from the fridge and waves to get everyone’s attention.

“All right, folks. Go get changed and grab your beach bags. Don’t forget the water shoes that have been put out on your beds for you. Then meet me outside the house in twenty minutes. We’re going to be taking vans to our first field trip location. Anya will be arriving separately with my assistant! Scoot!”

I head for my room and click the lock with my thumbprint. Then I dig a sexy, but modest bathing suit out of the drawer, along with a floral, flowy cover-up and my favorite, cute and comfy flip-flops that will show off my pedicure. I’m in the bathroom putting my hair back up when I hear a knock on the door.

“Yes?” I call out nervously.

“It’s just me!” Carrie yells back through the door. I run over and open it, and she smiles, and mouths the word “bathroom” to me. I nod, and we walk into the bathroom together, and she shuts the door.

“Palace intrigue, already? I just got here,” I say, trying not to seem unsettled.

“Not exactly! So, I don’t know how carefully you read the details of your contract, but you agreed to take the suggestions of the producers into account in your decisions, should the situation call for it.”

I deflate a little. “Uh-huh…”

Carrie chuckles. “Don’t freak out. The final decision is, of course, yours. But I’d like to ask you to do me a favor, if you’d consider it.”

“I’m listening,” I say as I lean back against the counter.

“After this first physical challenge tonight, you’re going to cut six of these guys right off the bat. Keep whichever other two you want. But I’d like you to keep Max, Alex, Grill, and…”

I know where this going. “And?”

“And Daniel.”

I groan. “I knew it. You want drama! You want some sort of chaos to erupt between us.”

Carrie shakes her head. “No, I don’t want chaos. But whether you want to admit it to yourself or not, you two have chemistry. Grill is a great villain. I hate him. Everyone here hates him. Max is hot and likable. Alex is sweet and the most relatable of our normal guys. Pick two more regular guys that you don’t mind having around and you think will make for an interesting show. Personally, I’d vote Michael and Garrett, but I’ll leave it up to you. These are just suggestions, Anya. But trust me when I say, I know what I’m doing. And my suggestions are for your benefit as well as mine.”

I put on my cover-up and grab my sunglasses from my bag to hide my scowl.

“Fine. I’ll take it under consideration. But I don’t want any attitude if I change my mind when it comes down to it.”

Carrie holds up her hands. “Whatever you want. It’s up to you. All I ask is that you do consider it.”

Carrie leave she in the bathroom to finish getting ready, but all I can do is seethe. I knew I should have gone over everything in that damn contract with a fine-tooth comb, I think as I grab the rest of my stuff and make my way out of the room. When I get to the area outside of the house, there is already a huge van waiting, and a smaller black car. All of the guys are loaded into the van, and Carrie and another woman are standing next to the car. I walk up, and Carrie gives me a wink, which I roll my eyes at.

“Anya, this is my assistant, Rose. She is going to ride with you to the lagoon, so you two can get acquainted on the way!”

I go to shake Rose’s hand, but she avoids me and just gets in the front seat of the car without a word. I look over at Carrie, confused. Carrie just shrugs.

“I’m not sure what is up her butt, this week, honestly. She’s been in a mood for the last few days. The last few weeks, actually. Hopefully she’ll get over it in short order. Anyway, I’ll meet you there. Good luck,” Carrie calls over her shoulder as she disappears into the other van. I begrudgingly crawl into the back seat, and hold my bag close to my chest, as if it’s a security blanket.

The car has barely pulled away from the house when Rose crawls in between the front seats and into the back with me. I scoot away and press myself up against the door, suddenly nervous without knowing why. But Rose shakes her head and smiles.

“I’m not going to attack you or anything, you can calm down.”

I relax a little, but not totally. “Okay…”

Rose’s voice is timid, and her accent is Australian, which I didn’t expect. She seems torn up about something, so I start to soften even more, in spite of myself.

“You met Garrett, right? In the house today?”

I nod, afraid to talk for some reason, especially because I’m sure I’m being filmed. I lean around her and peek at the driver, but he has headphones on. Rose follows my gaze.

“Cameras are off and I asked him to tune out for a bit. This conversation is strictly off the record.”

“Okay, then. Yes, I met Garrett. Why? Is there something I should be aware of?”

She takes a deep breath. “When we were casting for this season, I was getting the paperwork ready, and I needed some fake information just so I could properly get everything in order. I used my boyfriend’s, including his picture and everything, as a placeholder, you know? Well, things got hectic, one thing lead to another, and I forgot to pull him out of the contestant pile. The next thing I know, Carrie has his picture up on the casting board, and is telling me he’s one of the new contestants for this season, and I just… froze. I didn’t want to say anything and look like an idiot, and Garrett didn’t want to get me in trouble for using his information without his permission. I could get fired.”

I can’t help but laugh. For some reason, I expected whatever she was about to tell me to be a lot worse than this. I’m actually relieved. “And that was Garrett?”

She nods.

“So, what? You want me to send him packing?”

Rose nods again, this time with tears in her eyes. “Carrie can’t ever know. I mean, if she catches on we’re dating after this, she will just assume it’s because of the show. But seriously. Putting people in the contestant pool without their say-so is a big deal for us, and I can’t lose this job. I just can’t. I’d never work in this industry again.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I thought Garrett said his co-workers sent in his photo.”

She smiles. “Cover story. We needed a reason he was here, especially because he’s not single. And hasn’t been for years. He had to shut down all his social media and everything because I made a dumb mistake. You don’t know me and you certainly don’t owe me any favors, but it would mean the world to both of us if you could just… not pick him tonight. I know that Carrie probably gave you some suggestions on who she wanted to continue. Was Garrett one of them?”

“Not adamantly. I think she’s more concerned about me keeping Daniel here. Listen, I’m not interested in ruining your relationship, especially when I don’t really care about leaving here with a boyfriend, let alone one I stole from someone. I’d rather leave here with my head held high, knowing I didn’t do anything I regret. So, of course, I won’t pick him. Honestly, I got a kick out of Stuart. I think I’d rather keep him here just to mess with everyone a little bit.”

Rose throws her arms around me and gives me a giant hug. When she pulls back, she wipes tears from her eyes. “You have no idea what this means to us, really. I don’t know how to thank you.”

The car pulls to a stop next to a small building in front of a beach, and I can see the guys start to file out of the van. I let out a long sigh.

“Just make sure you give me a warning if anything crazy is about to go down. That’s all I ask.”

Rose laughs as a man opens the car door for me. “Consider this your warning then!”