Nowhere Left to Hide

Round Four. Ten Contestants Remain. Appearance Fee: $15,000.

-----

“You’ve got two one on one dates today. Warren will be taking you to a luchador wrestling match, and Ryan is taking you to a private dinner.”

Diane watched Kristina lean against her bed’s headboard. She’d seen Kristina slouch against it in resignation most days. Today was different. Instead, she looked to be in thought.

“Kristina?”

“What could he possibly think is going to be a good date?”

Diane blinked. “You do enjoy wrestling.”

“Not Warren. Jules.” She tapped a finger on her chin and looked at the Tell the Truth card lying on her nightstand. “I want to think of something cutting to say to him when he realizes I’m disappointed. I’m sure Bruce would love it.”

He’d wormed his way into her head.

Diane left the room to let Kristina keep thinking. She had her own things to worry about. Including the fact that after the last round of invites, the bachelors who were here for money now outnumbered the ones here for love.

Even Diane had to admit a lot of the guys Kristina cut were only good for being warm bodies. But she was beginning to worry that Kristina would be humiliated on national TV.

“Gah!” “Whoa!” Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow.

Diane was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t see that she’d walked into someone in the hall. And by walked into someone, it was tumbling down the grand staircase intertwined with someone.

Her head hurt and she was worried she might’ve tweaked her wrist. But at least something cushioned her blow. That being a disoriented and groaning Jules.

“I’m sorry!” Diane blurted. She flung herself off of him. “Are you alright?”

Jules pulled himself together and lightly smacked himself in the head. “Yeah. You… you’re Kristina’s friend, right?”

“I’m her assistant.”

“Close enough.” When Jules got back on his feet, he continued, “I need your help thinking of an idea for a date.”

Diane stared at him. She would have called him a silly goose for claiming he had a perfect date idea to Kristina’s face. But Kristina believed it, so who was the sillier goose? “That seems like a question for the producers.”

“I asked the producers,” he stressed, “and their ideas all sucked!” Jules threw up his hands. “Hot air balloons? Ice skating? A rodeo? No. I want this personalized. I want a precision strike that hits everything she loves. And it’s not like I can ask Tyrone.”

It wasn’t like Diane hadn’t offered that to Tyrone, either. But he said he already had an idea.

She didn’t want to trust Jules. The list she’d slipped Craig said he was in it for the money. But he was also the only one of those left that hadn’t formed a clique with Christian.

Diane looked around to make sure the cameras weren’t rolling on them. Once she was sure, she asked a question. “If you get to the end, would you take the million?”

“We both know I’m not getting to the end,” Jules pointed out.

“Humor me,” Diane insisted. “Would you take the million?”

Jules frowned. “You’re taking this dating show too seriously.”

“It matters to Kristina.”

“How?” Jules’s frown turned to confusion. He tapped his foot, trying to puzzle out an answer. “She’s the only person here treating this with the exact level of seriousness I am.”

And that was half the problem, Diane kept to herself.

With no response from Diane, Jules eventually found his response. “You’re making it sound like taking the money’s going to ruin someone’s life. I’m not here for that. This is a game. I came on to this show to have fun and win a little bit of money.”

That was the best she could hope for. “She loves dancing.” Jules perked up. “She loves the romantic subplots of movies. Especially if they’ve got a dance scene where the woman gets swept off her feet.”

Jules’s eyes lit up. “Thanks.” He almost turned to leave before thinking of one last thing.

----

Christian was getting annoyed.

Despite his locking lips with Kristina at the movie set, he hadn’t made any further progress. No more kissing, no make out sessions!

No one had. He took some small solace in that. But it meant that his position was precariously placed. Anyone having success could spell trouble. With only ten bachelors left he was running out of people to hide behind.

Not that he could lose.

But as he peeked out from down the hall and saw Jules speak to… to… whatever that stupid assistant to Kristina was named? He got worried.

That moron was trying to work the refs too? He needed to keep an eye on him.

----

The roar of the crowd bellowed in the night.

An arena full of cheering fans hollering and cheered as the night’s card worked its way through. Fight after fight, blow for blow, spot for spot. Kristina had never been to a luchador event before. She’d always been more of a pro wrestling gal.

Even if everything was in Spanish, she could feel it get her heart racing. From how Warren was whooping, he was into it just as much as she was.

A moment of clarity hit her as a luchador and his female counterpart took to the ring. Without understanding the words she still understood the flow of what she was seeing. The way they held hands, the way they embraced. The two were in love.

Kristina felt Warren’s hand move onto hers as the two people in the ring drew in close for a kiss. That was when it hit her.

“No.”

She turned, putting her fingers on Warren’s lips which had come dangerously close to her own. Warren was surprised to see her do this.

“Warren. You’re amazing. You like what I like but you’re too much me for me. And that’s me saying that.” She waved her hand. “I’d love to have you as a friend. But it wouldn’t work out between us any further than that.”

Warren was disappointed, his eyes watching the two in the ring lock lips for an extended period. “Would’ve been a hell of a thing for how long it lasted.”

It would have been something steamy for the show, Kristina admitted to herself.

While the audience below clapped, Warren tapped a finger on his seat. “You're leaning towards Christian?”

“I guess.”

“You ‘guess’?” Warren’s eyebrows shot up. “You can’t ‘guess’ in love. There’s got to be someone else.”

Kristina rolled her eyes. “Like who? Ryan’s the only other guy here I’d consider.”

Warren’s head bobbed to the side, back in forth like he was trying to find the way to say it. “You’ve given everyone else a shot, then?”

Just about. She was going to cut half of Christian’s entourage at the next round of invitations. But who was left after that? Craig was a better match for Diane than for her. Tyrone was going to fall into the same bucket Warren was.

Her stomach dropped. She’d just written off over half the remaining bachelors. By default, that made Jules one of the most appealing men left.

She wondered if celibacy was an option.