Page 5 of Unfinished Desire
“Tamsyn,” Vivian called. “Come on up and choose your stone.”
Isla closed her eyes briefly and muttered a silent, desperate prayer to the Rainbow Serpent of the Flinders Ranges. She’d read up on Akura, a great serpent spirit said to live in the mountains and waterholes, who had once upon a time helped to shape the land. She was really pulling at straws here, but just maybe Akura concerned itself with desperate people. And Isla Stone was desperate. She opened her eyes just as Tamsyn reached into the bag and pulled out a stone.
Yellow.
Isla’s stomach dropped and flipped at the same time, like an elevator cable snapping before free-falling fifty stories only to crash at the bottom. She nearly groaned but somehow managed to keep her tongue. Petra, who was standing beside her, leaned close enough to whisper, “Lucky you. I was hoping to get cowboy boots girl.”
“You can have her,” Isla muttered back. But she knew the rules, and the rules firmly stated no swapping.
Petra laughed and then snapped her mouth shut when Janelle eyed her. Janelle was such a stickler for rules, including the explicit instruction not to talk. This was the reason Isla struggled to believe the rumor. But then again, even the brightest halo can slip.
Two more Contenders went. Josie, a plump woman with curves head to toe and a glossy brown bob that bounced when she walked, picked an orange stone. Frankie, who reminded Isla uncannily of Sara Ramirez’s character inAnd Just Like That, picked purple.
Then Vivian clapped her hands once, clearly delighted, and said, “Legends and Contenders, meet your partners.”
The clearing filled with movement as people crossed the red dirt toward each other, stones held up like proof of identity.There were a few contestants who hugged immediately, and some who first extended a hand before deciding that was lame and ultimately ended up hugging. And finally, because avoiding Tamsyn was no longer an option, Isla allowed herself to look at her. Really look at her. Tan leather jacket with fringe running down the sleeves. Long, braided hair extensions falling over her shoulders, and eyes that looked right through her soul in the exact same way as they did six months ago. Tamsyn walked over to her with long dark legs sticking out over chestnut cowboy boots. The toes were pointed and scuffed. Her black denim shorts were frayed, and beneath the leather jacket was a tank top. Isla knew that if the strap were to shift slightly to the left, one could see a tattoo of a crescent moon.
The thought made her pulse sprint.
“Hi,” Tamsyn said, sticking out her hand when she reached Isla. “I can’t believe—”
But Isla’s brain moved fast. Faster than it had ever moved in her life. “Hi,” she said, interrupting Tamsyn before she could recall that night six months ago and make some sort of incriminating comment that should break the ice but wouldn’t. “I’m Isla Stone from Season One. It’s nice to meet you.”
The look on Tamsyn’s face was of pure horror. For half a second, she looked like someone who’d climbed into the wrong car thinking it was theirs, only to come face to face with whoever was sitting in the passenger seat. Then she awkwardly dropped her hand back to her side and plastered on what could only be the most unconvincing smile in the history of smiles. Isla had almost expected Tamsyn to laugh out loud and ask if she was pulling her leg. She’d even braced for her to bring up that night; the one Isla hadn’t managed to forget despite multiple rendezvous with strangers in foreign places. But she didn’t.
Were they really going to pretend like they didn’t know each other?
Yes. It seemed they were.
“I’m Tamsyn. It’s nice to meet you too.” She lifted her hand again, this time to swipe a bead of sweat from her forehead. Isla could barely look at Tamsyn’s hand without thinking about what it had done to her, but then she also couldn’t help herself. A thin gold ring caught her eye. It was curled around Tamsyn’s middle finger. It was a cresting wave that wrapped once around itself, and at the peak of the curl sat a tiny aquamarine. Isla remembered the ring but not the stone. She nearly asked and almost blew her cover, but then thankfully Vivian whistled.
“Pairs, head this way, please. We’ll be going straight into a reward challenge,” she announced, gesturing toward a track that sloped down toward a ribbon of water.
Chapter Four
Tamsyn was mortified. Worse than mortified. She was full-on flailing internally, trying to figure out how she’d somehow become the butt of a cruel joke she didn’t even fully understand. Was this a joke? Ha! Really fucking funny.
The longer Isla blinked at her with that polite, blank expression, the more Tamsyn realized it wasn’t a joke at all. It had to be real. Isla had completely forgotten her. She’d forgotten that night in that powder room. WithGenie in a Bottleby Christina Aguilera playing through the walls and the dusty-sweet smell of potpourri. And then, Mikey’s voice echoing right outside the door.
Which, frankly, was wild. Because that night had been undeniably memorable. At least for Tamsyn, who could still remember the sweet smell of Isla’s perfume and the delicate scrape of lace from Isla’s top beneath her fingertips. People who forgot moments like that either had horrendous memories or were on the prowl so often that their conquests blurred together into one long montage. Isla didn’t seem like either.
But then again, what did Tamsyn really know about her anyway?
“Welcome to the first reward challenge of Season Five,” Vivian announced brightly. Behind her was a wide patch of flattened dirt that looked like someone had swept it clean with a giant broom. Just beyond it was a ribbon of water, shimmering gold and blue in the sun. “Less than five minutes ago you were paired up, and now it’s time to get to know each other.”
Tamsyn stole a glance sideways. Isla was looking straight ahead as calmly as someone waiting for their dentist appointment. She then turned to Tamsyn, smiled as if she couldn’t be happier to be here in the Flinders Ranges, paired with a complete stranger she’d never seen before in her entire life. Which only meant that at some point in the near future—hopefully no sooner than twenty-eight days—Tamsyn would have to explain to Mikey, to her Pilates instructor, Gabi, to Carlos her smoothie guy, and to basically all of Santa Monica that she either imagined hooking up with Isla Stone or that Isla found the whole thing so inconsequential, so forgettable that she’d forgotten it had ever happened.
Tamsyn’s stomach twisted at the thought.
“This is how the challenge works.” Vivian pointed toward six rectangular wooden platforms suspended over the shallowest bank of the creek. Thick ropes tied the wooden planks to poles hammered into the sand. Tamsyn didn’t need to stand on the platforms to know they were wobbly. She also didn’t need Vivian to point out that the netted bag of large foam blocks attached to two of the poles by more rope was what they were using to build something.
“Each pair will need to build a tower,” Vivian went on. “Keep in mind that the platform is barely big enough for both of you and the blocks, so you’ll need to move carefully. Any sudden shifts will send the platform swinging and your tower toppling.”
Tamsyn expected that much.Outlast Herchallenges were never easy.
“Here’s the twist,” Vivian added. “Every block you lift must be held by both of you at the same time. If either of you loses contact, you’ll start over. And if you fall off the platform, you’ll start over. The first pair to build a tower using all ten blocks wins the reward challenge. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait to find out what it is.” Then she spun her hand in the air likea lighthouse beam sweeping the coast. “Everyone, get to your positions.”
The platforms creaked as the contestants climbed on. As soon as Tamsyn stepped onto the wooden platform, she immediately felt the dip. Her core contracted instinctively, and her arms lifted slightly for balance. Isla climbed on opposite her and refused Tamsyn’s outstretched hand for help. Which only made the platform tilt again, forcing Tamsyn to bend her knees. Balance, it seemed, might just be their undoing.
