Page 26 of Sweet Surrender
“Hold steady,” Hazel said just as Barra’s arms jerked.
The pole dipped hard enough that Hazel made some sort of sucking motion with her mouth. If it hadn’t been for Hazel, shewould’ve dropped the pole and given Sutton a piece of her mind. A very large piece, actually, that included a neat little right hook she’d picked up from a self-defense class she’d signed up for after one too many late-night news articles. A woman always had to be prepared.
“Are you okay?” Hazel asked at the same time Vivian called out, “ALLIE AND SUTTON ARE OUT OF THE CHALLENGE.”
“I’m fine,” Barra muttered. Even though it didn’t feel all that fine. But no matter, Allie and Sutton didn’t need to be at the reward for Barra to carry out her plan. She did, however, need Toph and Tilly, who were next to Elodie and Anna.
“CONNIE AND MARGARET ARE OUT!” Vivian called again.
Barra hadn’t seen either of them go until they were on the ground, brushing dirt off their backsides. Barra swallowed and caught Elodie and Anna beside them, both looking as cool as ice. Barra, on the other hand, wasn’t feeling cool at all. Quite the opposite. Her feet had gone from throbbing to something far more concerning. They were numb at the edges and terribly sharp in the center. Was that normal? Or would the damage be permanent? Should she just give up?
It seemed Hazel had read her mind and was intent on convincing her otherwise. “Think of how amazing it’s going to be when a massage therapist gets their hands on your feet,” she muttered through her teeth.
Barra had to admit, the thought was borderline intoxicating, someone pressing into the exact knots that were currently making her scream for mercy.
“I don’t think one massage will be enough,” Barra said, her head dipping forward for a second before she forced it back up. Why was everything feeling a million times harder?
“Maybe not,” Hazel said, biting down on her bottom lip. “But surely the Aperol Spritzes will be. And the food. Remember what Vivian said.”
Barra did. Vividly.
A full spread of grilled beef sliders with crispy fries dusted in salt and something about lemon tart for dessert. All of it served aboard a superyacht cruising along the coastline. Barra’s mouth watered. Of course she could last longer.
And she did.
They all did. At Vivian’s instruction, they made the shift onto the narrower foothold, which felt like balancing on the edge of a ruler. Barra had been so sure Tilly was going to stumble and drop to the ground, but she hadn’t. None of them did, not even when the wind had picked up. It was only when Vivian had announced the final transfer and Barra had glanced down at the last foothold, realizing her toes would barely even fit on it, that she heard Elodie yelp. The pink-haired woman’s foot had slipped mid-transfer, and although Anna had tried to compensate, it was too late. They both went down.
“ELODIE AND ANNA ARE OUT,” Vivian called. “Which means Barra and Hazel. Tilly and Toph, you four are our reward challenge winners.”
“Massages, here we come,” Hazel said, jumping off the A-frame as if her feet hadn’t endured thirty minutes of torture. Barra, on the other hand, climbed down like a newborn giraffe. Everything hurt. In fact, she felt steps away from collapsing and probably would’ve if Allie hadn’t stepped in beside her.
“Well done,” Allie said softly, somewhat dejectedly. “That was impressive.”
Barra was about to say thank you, but the disappointed expression on Allie’s face was enough for Barra’s heart to twist. She would spend the next few hours on a superyacht getting treated deliciously while Allie was back at camp getting berated by Sutton, who would no doubt blame her for the loss.
Before she could think better of it, Barra winked, if only to make her feel better, to reassure her. They had a plan, and Barra was going to use the reward to put it in motion.
Except Sutton was standing there, looking straight at her. So were Toph and Tilly. And Connie. And Margaret.Shit.Barra immediately brought a hand to her face and rubbed at her eye like something had flown into it. But nope. They’d seen it. A wink that could mean anything. Or more dangerously... something. Before she could spiral into all the ways she’d fucked up, Vivian gestured toward the ocean where a sleek white superyacht bobbed just beyond the shoreline. “Winners, your reward awaits.”
BARRA TRIED TO RELAX.
She let her head sink deeper into the cushion rest, let the faint hum of the yacht’s engine blur into the background, let the woman who currently had Barra’s right foot in her hands do what she did best: press out any and all knots that Barra had accumulated not just in the reward challenge but since stepping into the game. She smoothed her palm against the plush robe tied at her waist and sniffed the citrusy scent from the shampoo she’d used in the shower earlier. On the small table beside her sat an Aperol Spritz, glowing bright orange in the afternoon light. Barra would sip on it in a minute. First, she let her body go limp and exhaled any stress that might impact her future decision-making. The more relaxed she felt, the clearer her head would be for the plan.
“What’s going on between you and Allie?” Toph asked abruptly.
Barra was too shocked to answer immediately. Instead, she reached up, peeled the slice of cucumber from her eye, andpopped it straight into her mouth. Which she immediately regretted. She sat up and spat it out into her hand. “Why does it taste so bad?”
“There’s hyaluronic serum on there,” the massage therapist said as she pressed her thumb straight into Barra’s arch again. “Best not to eat it.”
Barra let out a small, embarrassed chuckle. Clearly, she didn’t get massages often enough. She placed the cucumber on a small dish beside her drink. She considered not answering, but Toph was watching her so expectantly that she had no choice.
“We’re friends,” Barra said, leaning back again. It wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. They were friends. Or something along those lines.
“Friends,” Toph repeated, as if she were turning the word over in her mouth and pondering a very difficult calculation.
This was Barra’s first time alone with Toph. Hazel and Tilly had opted to eat first and were somewhere on the deck enjoying the spread. If Barra was being honest, she was profoundly intimidated.
Toph was quiet, deeply observant. She wouldn’t eat a slice of cucumber off her eyelid without studying it first. And every time she said anything, it sounded thoroughly thought through. If there was one person at camp who Barra feared would discover the truth about Barra and Allie being more than just competitors, it was Toph.
