“I’m going to help you, okay?” I whispered. “I’ll pull some loose. Just grab it with your teeth and go.”
He nodded and made a quiet gagging sound.
Men. Sucking in a deep breath of my own, I shoved my face into the cut gap. The pork smelled fragrant, and actually pretty damn good. My mouth watered, starving. I bit at a big chunk of the pork, got it between my teeth, and then pulled back, trying to drag a large chunk away.
It tore with a wet, fleshy sound that made Jendan hurk in his throat again.
I left that flappy piece hanging and shoved my face back into the gouge again, pulling another long strip free with my teeth. Damn, it smelled really good. I was tempted to take a bite, but remembered the flies swarming on it, and my stomach gave a little lurch of its own. Gripping a piece in my teeth, I looked over to see if Jendan was moving forward. He had, a little, and was eyeing the flap of meat I’d loosened for him.
“Grab it under your arm if you have to,” I told him through gritted teeth, and yanked my piece off. Barbecue sauce covered my cheeks and brows, and I turned and struggled toward my team’s station. Like it or not, it looked like we were in first place. Well, shit.
I’d just have to wait a challenge to get rid of Kip. If I dragged my feet too much at this point, someone would think something was up. Dumping my mouthful of pork on the scale, I passed Jendan, who had the hunk of pork tucked under one sauce-covered arm. “You’re the best,” he told me as he huffed past.
I nodded, hurrying along. I had to get back to the pig before Jendan did - and before any others - so I could help him get another piece. I picked up the pace…and face-planted into the sand. Damn it! Coughing sand out of my mouth, I awkwardly pushed myself back to my feet. My entire face was now covered in sand and barbecue sauce. Sexy.
Trotting back to the pig station, albeit at a much slower pace, I returned to it and immediately pushed my face back against its side, trying to pull more out. I managed to get another hunk loose for Jendan just as he came up and concentrated on getting another piece for myself just as Kissy came up to my side and went bobbing for pork, face first. The others were catching up. I returned to my station, and was relieved when Jendan pushed the meat off his scale and then ran to another station to go help Sunnie. I dumped my meat on my scale. 9.7 pounds.
Maybe I’d still lose this damn thing after all. I looked down the line. Maybe not - all the single participants were struggling with the challenge. It clearly wasn’t weighed to do them any favors. With a small sigh, I headed back out to the pig for one last mouthful of pork, then spit it out on my scale. Done with my stations, I turned…and barbecue sauce slid into one eye. I squeezed it shut and tried to see where Kip was on the course. Someone was heading in my direction with a bucket clenched between their teeth. My partner.
He shoved past me — I guess I was in the way — and pushed his bucket onto his scale, then dumped the contents into the pit.
“Team Eight is safe!” I heard Chip call. Kip whooped with excitement, and flung a hand around my shoulders.
“Hands please,” I said, shrugging my shoulders in an attempt to point at my hands. “I have barbecue sauce in my eyes.”
“Can’t until the challenge is over,” Chip called cheerfully, and then announced, “Team Two is safe!”
Jendan and Sunnie were in the clear. Good. I pushed my face against Kip’s shoulder and tried to rub the sauce out of my eye while we waited.
One by one, the other teams trailed in. Kissy and Rusty were next, then Leslie and Emilio. Saul was the first of the solo players to come in, and watching Alys and Summer limp to the finish line made me a little wary.
I wanted to get rid of Kip to ruin his game, but if I was solo, would I ruin my own chances, too? This challenge had been extremely rough on Saul, Alys and Summer. And being at camp by myself for days on end would be rough. I’d have no one to depend on but me.
“Hey,” Kip said as I tried to wipe my face on his shoulder again. “Tits or f**k off.”
Ugh. Then again, maybe solo was a good idea. Kip still needed to go. It wasn’t like he was much help at camp. And I could always go spend my time with Jendan.
“Alys and Summer, you are both up for Judgment,” Chip called as they crossed the finish line, interrupting my thoughts. “One of you will be going home tonight.”
Chapter Eleven
“Am I attracted to Annabelle? Well. She’s beautiful, has the kind of personality I like, and she’s na**d around me twenty-four seven. You do the math. I have to keep running off into the woods to take care of business so I don’t scare her off with rogue wood.” — Jendan Abercrombie, Endurance Island: Power Players, Day 12
It was Summer who went home. We all saw that one coming, even Summer. The look on her barbecue-smeared face was cold with anger. It wasn’t personal, though. She and Polly were just better players than Alys was and therefore had to go.
We returned to camp later that afternoon, and I immediately picked up my canteen. I was filthy with grime and reeked of pork and barbecue sauce. I wanted a shower at the waterfall. “I’m going to go get some water,” I told Kip.
“Take my canteen, will ya? It’s empty,” he said, crawling into my shelter. “And my stomach feels like hell. I’ve got the green apple splatters.”
“TMI, dude.” Wrinkling my nose at his description, I felt a pang of guilt at his sour stomach. It was because I’d stopped boiling his water. But to be fair, Kip didn’t lift a hand around camp, and he hadn’t asked if I was boiling his anymore. He just assumed that when I handed it to him, it was drinkable.
It wasn’t my fault he was an idiot, right?
I squashed my misgivings and took his canteen, tucking it under my arm with my own, and headed into the jungle. Jendan was at the waterfall, waiting for me, and I had to squelch the little burst of aroused pleasure that blossomed at the sight of his lithe, athletic form rising in greeting. He was just standing up, for goodness sake. No reason for that to make my hormones go wild.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, sliding my canteens off my arm and heading toward the water. The lure of it was impossible to resist, especially being so grimy with sweat, sand, and sauce.
“I wanted to come and talk to you,” Jendan said. “I’d hug you for saving my ass out there earlier, but given that we’re both naked, I suppose that’d be inappropriate.”
“Totally,” I agreed, but a blush was rising. So hugging me would be inappropriate? Was it because I’d end up rubbing my br**sts against him? Or would he get an erection? I pondered this as I sidestepped past him, descended into the pool, and headed for the waterfall. I splashed my face and scrubbed at my filthy skin, my movements brisk…