Page 105 of Pursuing Desire

“Jess! Dax! How lovely to see you!” Anne-Marie squeals. “Welcome to the final show. I bet you’re super excited for the final reveal!”

Dax and I take a seat on the couch.

“Glad to be here,” Dax says with a big grin.

“Yes, this is so exciting,” I say with the brightest smile I can manage.

Anne-Marie pats Dax on his leg. “Well, we have quite the treat for you two. As you may have discovered, we’re keeping all of the contestants apart for the big reveal. Each person who participated in the competition is sequestered separately backstage. I know that you think you know what this show is all about, but we have some surprises lined up for you!”

“Thanks, Anne-Marie,” Dax says. “We’ve been looking forward to the finale show. Glad it’s finally here.”

“I bet you are!” Anne-Marie says, clasping her hands together.

Dax crosses his leg over his knee and settles back onto the couch. “You know, one thing we’re dying to know about is the use of the dice. We rolled them at every stop but never knew the meaning behind them. Think you could give us a hint?”

Anne-Marie wags her finger playfully at Dax. “Now, now. You don’t get to jump ahead. All will be revealed. First, we want to show a little clip of your three-week adventure. If you’ll just look up here.”

The lights dim, and the larger-than-life screen behind us starts flashing scenes from the show. Us on the beach, in the car, me being carried by Dax when I hurt my ankle, running together, and laughing together.

I turn back around to look at the audience. People are staring at the screen, oohing and aahing, laughing, smiling, and some are even wiping at tears.

Then, a scene pops up that no one is expecting. The couple that sat across from us at that first dinner with the contestants is standing by Dax’s car. The footage is grainy, zoomed in, and not easy to see, but the couple is clearly messing around with our tire.

“I knew it,” Dax whispers furiously to me. “I told you someone put those nails in the tire! They were the ones I suspected.”

The lights slowly turn up again, and Anne-Marie is shaking her head. “You can imagine our dismay to learn that not all played fair. The couple on the screen is disqualified from the competition.”

“Unbelievable,” I say.

“Obviously, we aren’t able to reward those who cheat.” She leans forward in her seat. “Now to the fun part of the show. Let’s talk about your results. You two were fast. You earned spots in first, second and fourth places. As a couple, you won a total of twenty-five thousand dollars. What do you have to say about that?”

“It’s amazing and more than we’d hoped for,” I tell her truthfully.

Anne-Marie nods. “I imagine so. Now, for the first surprise. Let’s talk about those dice you rolled at each stop. You rolled a twelve, nine, ten, eleven, and an eight for a total of fifty. You were, by far, the highest roller out of all the contestants. And what does that get you?” She stands up and throws her hands in the air. “You get the wedding of your dreams!”

I throw a hand over my mouth and look at Dax in horror. “Oh my God.”

“That’s right!” Anne-Marie exclaims. “We will pay for your wedding in any destination in the United States or the Caribbean. This includes hotel, transportation, and your wedding gown. It’ll truly be a dream come true.”

Everyone in the audience goes wild. The claps and yells bounce off the walls in a deafening roar.

“We can’t accept that,” I say in a hushed tone to Dax.

He’s giving me the smallest head-shake and squeezing my hand. I realize he’s trying to keep me quiet, but that’s hard to do when I’m flipping out on the inside. We can’t take this prize from another couple, a real couple. One of those other couples is really engaged and deserves this. Not us.

I’m dying to say something, but Dax’s silent warning on my hand keeps me quiet. My nerves kick up several notches.

“Let’s not stop here. Since you’re the winning couple, we have a special guest to welcome you. Let’s welcome Anthony out to the stage. Come on out, Anthony!”

My heart stops as Anthony comes sauntering out from backstage, a huge smile on his face.

No, no, no, no. There’s no way this could possibly get any worse.

“Fucking hell,” Dax spits out. He rises from the couch, and I’ve never seen him look so menacing. “What’s this about, Anne-Marie?”

Anthony walks over to Anne-Marie and shakes her hand, but suddenly, Anne-Marie has a look of confusion on her face. Whatever is happening, it doesn’t look completely planned.

Anne-Marie, ever the professional, puts the smile back on her face. “Dax, please have a seat. Anthony, welcome to the show. The producers tell me that you’re Jess’s best friend, roommates, in fact. I hear you have something to say to the happy couple.”