Page 43 of Sweet Surrender
Barra laughed so loudly that the jungle rustled. Whatever she scared away was gone for good.
“I want a full-body massage,” Allie went on. “The kind where they fix all the structural damage this game did to me. And a steam room. A salt room. Then I want to sit in a hot tub and drink an overpriced glass of rosé while eating chocolate-covered strawberries from Edelweiss.”
Another laugh escaped Barra. But this time Allie shushed her. She touched Barra’s lips with her fingertip, then replaced her finger with her lips. Barra didn’t even care that the camera crew was in the vicinity, or that the viewers would finally witness their kiss. Anyone watching would think it was highly romantic. Which it was.
Allie pulled back. “Do you think you’ll miss sleeping next to me?” she asked, her voice softer than before. “Because I’ll miss that.”
Barra didn’t answer straight away. Instead, she thought about the mornings over the last week: Allie’s elbow digging into her ribs, the small sound she made when she stretched, the sharp little pops when she cracked her neck, the way Barra would instinctively look over just in case Allie snapped her neck right off. She’d miss it all. Every single moment.
“We’ll visit each other,” Barra said, though she didn’t say when.
Allie nodded, but Barra could tell she wanted to push the subject. Understandable, given how close they’d grown. Barra didn’t want to say goodbye to Allie, but she also didn’t want to drag real life into this yet, not while they were still here, in this game. A game so far from reality.
So, she did the only thing she could think of. She kissed her.
Barra slid her hands to the back of Allie’s neck and pulled her in until Allie’s mouth opened against hers. Then Barra kissed her deeper, slower, like she was trying to memorize this feeling. And maybe she was. Maybe she was trying to freeze this moment into her brain forever.
Barra’s chest tightened, and before she really thought about what that meant, she was guiding Allie onto the sand. She followed until she was half above her, one hand braced beside Allie’s head, the other settling at her waist.
Allie’s fingers slipped into her hair, and for a second Barra let herself forget everything else: the game, tomorrow, the fact that one of them was about to lose.
Then, before things got too heated, she muttered against Allie’s mouth, “We should get some sleep,” she said, then sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. “Tomorrow is a big day.”
“YOU NERVOUS?” ALLIEwhispered out of the corner of her mouth.
She was seated beside Barra on a tree stump at the center of the clearing. In front of them were three raised wooden benches where the Final Council sat, squeaky clean and impeccably dressed. Elodie had been cleared by Maureen that afternoon, though she still looked a little pale beneath the glow of the lanterns. Behind them was the jungle, dense and dark. And to their right, standing in front of the jagged wall of volcanic grey rock, were family and friends. Barra glimpsed her mother, grandmother, her father, two of her beloved cousins who’d flown in from Amsterdam, and Gabi, her old faithful. In Allie’s corner were four women around her age, all whispering to each other,all as glamorous as Allie had looked that night at Dominique’s wedding.
Barra couldn’t help but notice that there was no sign of her parents. Or grandparents. Or any family, for that matter.
“No,” Barra lied, shaking a head that felt way too heavy on shoulders that were so tight they could crack glass. “Are you?”
“I feel like I’m dying,” Allie replied softly.
Barra couldn’t help the laugh that gurgled out of her chest. Then, before production could scold her for talking to Allie, she swallowed the laugh down. “You know what they say in situations like these... if you’re nervous, imagine everyone naked,” she muttered under her breath.
Allie rolled her eyes. “I don’t need to imagine. Elodie spent half her time walking topless around camp, and I think I’ve seen Tilly’s ass more than I’ve seen yours.”
Another laugh bubbled up, but this time Barra managed to swallow most of it. “I wish that wasn’t true,” she muttered under her breath.
Her gaze flicked to the Final Council. In a few minutes, the six of them would decide which of them deserved to win the title ofUltimate Outlast Herand a million dollars. Barra had to admit that they cleaned up well. Tilly sat beside Toph in the front row, with a burgundy shirt tucked into blue jeans. Her golden hoops caught the flicker of the hundreds of lanterns hanging from the trees above, and her ice-blonde hair was styled back, Sharon Stone inBasic Instinctstyle. Toph was dressed in a black, sleeveless suit. Her hair was slicked back in a Kristen Stewart faux hawk. Then there was Elodie in a soft pink slip dress with thin, barely there straps, Anna wearing a pale blue jumpsuit with a sweetheart neckline, Margaret in a floral print dress, and Valerie in a suit so lime green she glowed radioactive.
Vivian suddenly stepped out of the shadows. Barra had the urge to reach over and grab Allie’s hand. So she did. Theirfingers found each other easily. Barra brushed her thumb over Allie’s knuckles, and Allie returned the gesture with a squeeze.
“Welcome to the final Sending of Season Seven,” Vivian said, her voice carrying smoothly through the space. “Tonight, everything comes down to this. Barra. Allie. After weeks of challenges, alliances, and betrayals, the two of you are the last contestants standing.”
Barra glanced sideways. Allie was already looking at her. Just for a second, in the middle of it all, it felt like they were the only two people left in the world. If someone had told her twenty-eight days ago that Allie would end up being the person she trusted the most, her confidant, her lover, she would’ve scoffed in their faces and asked them what they were smoking. But now? Barra couldn’t imagine this ending any other way. Just as she couldn’t imagine saying goodbye.
“Only the final six eliminated contestants will serve on the Final Council,” Vivian said, gesturing toward the raised benches. “In just a few moments, you’ll each make your case to the Final Council,” Vivian said, interrupting her thoughts. “These six women know exactly how hard this game is, because they lived it with you. They will decide who is most deserving of the title ofUltimate Outlast Her.”
She turned to Barra first.
“Barra, you walked into this season with a win already behind you. You knew what this game demanded, and from day one, there was a target on your back.” Vivian tilted her head slightly. “And yet, here you are again, facing the Final Council.”
Barra gave the smallest nod. Her hands were now in her lap and clasped so tightly that her knuckles shone pale in the light. And her heart was beating so fast in her chest she wouldn’t be surprised if it burst through her ribs. Was it because in a moment she’d have to convince six women to vote for her? Or because Allie would get on a plane back to LAX and Barra wouldhead to JFK? Everything would change once the votes were cast. Because Barra had stupidly decided not to discuss their future last night, and she was now stuck in a place of not knowing what would happen with them. Ugh!
Vivian turned to Allie. “You came here as a newbie. No title. No résumé. Just the dream of winning the title ofUltimate Outlast Her.”
Allie smiled nervously.
