Page 27 of Unfinished Desire
She then, just as quickly, undid the drawstrings of her bag and lifted up her jacket. Tamsyn took a peek inside. “It’s a cookie jar,” Isla said, her voice bouncing with giddiness. She was practically vibrating. “I found it buried under there.” She pointed to the patch of earth she’d already smoothed out. No trace left behind. “And I bet you that there’s an advantage in here.”
Her mind raced through the previous seasons. In Season One, Talia had found the advantage at the camp buffet. In the second season, Astrid stumbled upon a velvet pouch of candied nuts tucked into a supply crate while gathering firewood. Tori, from Season Three, had gone for a swim alone in the river when a Styrofoam box had floated past her. Inside was a bag of popcorn and the advantage letter. And last season, Lara hadcome across a basket of caramelized pastries beside the watering hole with, you guessed it, the advantage letter.
Only Tori and her partner Lara had used the advantage correctly and gotten Petra and Dani voted off. Isla wasn’t going to make the same mistake as everyone else who had been voted off with the advantage in their pockets. She was going to use it to make some big moves in the game. With Tamsyn’s help, of course.
She took a shaky breath and tried to rein herself in. But nope, she couldn’t. She was gushing. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments. “When the coast is clear, I’ll take a little walk out to the watering hole and find a place to hide the cookies. The advantage is somewhere inside the jar. I just know it is.”
“You can’t hide the cookies,” Tamsyn said, bursting Isla’s bubble. “Think about it.”
Isla didn’t want to think about it. Nor did she want to look at Tamsyn, whose face was that of logic and reason. She was right. Of course she was right. Sharing food with fellow contestants was the best way to win favor. But Isla didn’t care much for favor. Not when an entire jar of gooey chocolate chip cookies and a game-changing advantage were at stake.
“Fine,” Isla said. “But at least keep cover so I can find the advantage.” The most obvious place for it was at the very bottom of the cookie jar. She was just about to dig the jar out of her bag when Tamsyn shook her head.
“You know we have to tell them about the advantage, right?” Tamsyn said. “They’re both die-hardOutlast Herfans, and Kendall has played the game before. They know a surprise reward like that cookie jar comes with an advantage.”
Isla did know, but that didn’t mean she wanted to think about it. She groaned, “Ugh!”
“This is good for us,” Tamsyn said, stepping forward. “Something’s up with Petra and Nadine. I don’t know what, but something feels off. Which means we’ll need to do a pivot.”
She was right. Again. The Red Gum Rebel alliance had cracked down the middle. Isla could feel it deep in her bones.
“Frankie is tight with Barra,” Tamsyn said. “If we get Frankie and Kendall on our side, we can get them to convince Barra to vote with us.”
“Petra probably has her claws in Barra as we speak,” Isla said. “Especially with Abigail gone. Barra needs a new crush, and Petra basically looks like a model. Barra’s obsessed with beauty.”
Tamsyn pondered this while tapping the sides of her legs with her index fingers. Then her gaze flitted to Isla’s rucksack, which sat half open in front of her. “You know, Barra would probably do anything for a chocolate chip cookie.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Frankie shouted from the creek.
They both whipped their heads around to see her wading through the shallows, glancing in their direction. Kendall was still floating on her back.
Isla caught Tamsyn’s eye. Gosh, she had such beautiful eyes. Eyes that could make Isla do anything. “Fine, let’s do it,” Isla said.
Chapter Sixteen
Tamsyn wanted to scream, laugh, and kiss Isla all at once. But given that everyone was sleeping, sneaking off to the clearing in the dead of night to scream and laugh probably wasn’t the smartest idea. Kissing, on the other hand...
Tamsyn stroked little circles across Isla’s bare hip bone with her thumb and then feathered her tongue across Isla’s bottom lip. She tasted like chocolate chip cookies. Just a few minutes ago, they’d shared the very last one. A bittersweet moment.
“I can’t believe we pulled that off,” Isla muttered, her breath warm against Tamsyn’s mouth. They were pressed together against a crooked gum tree at the far edge of the clearing where shadows hid them from anyone who needed to use Moon Pit for what it was actually intended for. “Did you see Petra’s face when I stood up to give the advantage to Vivian?”
Tamsyn didn’t think she could ever forget that shocked expression. It was as if Petra had looked over Vivian’s shoulder and watched someone knock over her chessboard and announce, “New rules.” To say she was shocked was an understatement. Aghast was more accurate.
“We did a good job,” Tamsyn said.
“We did amazing,” Isla corrected. “Your idea to convince Barra with cookies was the best thing ever. But I still think she would’ve done it for only two.”
She pulled a face, and Tamsyn laughed against Isla’s temple. Tamsyn had a feeling Isla would never get over it. Which was kind of endearing. Tamsyn hadn’t expected anyone to feel so passionately over cookies, but according to Isla, they were herabsolute favorite. She believed without a doubt that theOutlast Hergods had put her in the right place and time.
“Four was a little too generous, but we had to get her on our side,” Tamsyn said.
Yesterday, after the girls had come back from the reward all windswept and awestruck and with their bellies full, Isla had offered to fetch water for everyone. Barra, who could never resist a walk, especially after a meal, had volunteered to help. They’d then met Tamsyn at the watering hole where she’d waited casually against the rock. The cookie jar had been dismantled, and the stash redistributed into the lining of her leather jacket. Tamsyn had felt like those scammers in NYC with watches pinned to the inside of their coats.
And that was when Tamsyn had realized their mistake. Barra had probably gorged herself on creamy panna cotta, and she would have no room for cookies. Which was why Tamsyn had decided to offer her more than the discussed two, which had worked.
“You know,” Barra had said, slinging her Hawaiian shirt over her shoulder. She was dressed in cut-off denim shorts and a black cropped tank, showing off her newly formed abs. Her tanned legs were dusted red. Her buzz cut had started growing out, and somehow she was looking more like Demi Moore inG.I. Janethan Demi Moore herself. She eyed the cookie in Tamsyn’s hand and said, “Every time those Girl Scouts come knocking at my door, I feel morally obligated to buy every single box.” She had then plucked the cookie straight from Tamsyn’s grip and taken a bite. Her eyes had fluttered. Her head had tipped back just slightly. The most indecent little sound had left her throat.
Tamsyn had said, “Barra, we need you to convince Dominique to vote with us.”
