Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 41935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
I open my mouth to respond, but Rita beats me to it. “How will you decide who picks first?”
“It’ll all be worked out beforehand, and then we’ll meet with those four men again before the selection ceremony to confirm we’re all on the same page. In the event two players want to choose the same woman, we’ll give first choice to whoever scored more points in the volleyball game.”
I focus my gaze on the rows of hardback books lining the shelves of the open two-story library. Hockey seasons are long and grueling. How did I end up spending a big chunk of my short offseason on a reality show where I’m playing beach volleyball to compete over a date?
This would be a lot more fun if my teammates were here. Even one or two of them. I’m not used to being on my own this much without my trusted friends at my back. Even in our offseason, we still spend a lot of time together.
“If you can’t get Farrah, you need to choose Misty,” Rita says.
“I’ll consider it.”
She drops her brows, her mouth falling open. “Consider it? Dalton, you are a reflection of the league. You don’t want to know how many hours I spent in meetings with the higher-ups, begging them to let me pick a player to be on this show. And I picked you. If you make the league look bad, it’s my neck on the line. My job. I’m fifty-three years old, if I get fired--”
“Rita.” I lean forward in my seat, resting my elbows on my knees. “I’m twenty-nine years old, which makes me an adult. I’m a representative of the league all the time, and I haven’t blown it yet.”
“Oh really? How about the viral video of you beating your stick against the ground in a rage after a loss?”
“That was more...passion than rage.”
“This show is a huge opportunity for the league. I don’t want you to just get through it without incident. I want you to become the most recognized player we have. The one people are rooting for to find love. We have to bring real numbers to the league to justify this. Higher social media views, higher merch sales--”
I look down at the ground and then back up at her. “I never agreed to any of that. I didn’t ask you to risk your job for me.”
“Okay, if I could just intervene,” Alex says. “I think we’re all on the same page here. Dalton, you like Farrah Reed, right? I mean, what straight man doesn’t?”
“Yeah, I like her.”
“Is there some other contestant you’re burning for that I don’t know about?”
“I don’t know anyone very well yet, but...no.”
He smiles and puts his hands out. “Then we’re okay! Rita, Farrah is your first choice for Dalton, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then let’s move ahead as planned. Rita, you can come by anytime or reach out to my assistant for updates. This is my fifth season doing this show, and I know what works. We need viewers to stay hooked, and that requires some drama. But this is all gonna pan out just fine.” He looks at his wristwatch. “I have to go. Dalton, get practicing those volleyball serves!”
It’s not a bad idea. And it will get me away from Rita. I excuse myself, planning to find JP and get in some practice since I know we’ll be on the same team.
I’m also hoping to run into Alice so I can apologize for last night. She wouldn’t even look at me during the yoga session this morning.
Farrah still seems interested in both me and JP, though, so I don’t think Alice told her what I said. I just hope she doesn’t decide to.
seven
Alice
Hours. I’m going to have several hours to myself while Farrah is on her date with Dalton. After the day I’ve had, I kind of want to spend it in bed staring at the ceiling and not thinking about anything. But this is too precious an opportunity to waste.
There was a sand volleyball game last night, and Dalton and JP dominated. They scored almost every point their team got, Dalton edging JP out with two more points. That meant Dalton got first choice for a one-on-one date tonight, and he picked Farrah.
After seeing his display of aggressive athleticism, not to mention his washboard abs, she was excited about the date. She wore a red dress cut so low it leaves nothing to the imagination, and she looks incredible in it.
I’m sure Dalton “the douchebag” Lorenzo won’t tell her he thinks she needs to get her own water from the fridge, but who cares? I’m freaking alone, and it’s not time to crawl into bed and hope I can get some good sleep before the alarm goes off for yoga while it’s still dark outside.
Dalton has been giving me puppy dog eyes and I can tell he wants to apologize for his douchery, but I’m evading him because I don’t want to hear it. While Farrah lay out by the pool today, I was hand-washing her lingerie. Scoping out the restaurant she and Dalton would be at tonight because she wanted to make sure the lighting and camera angles would be flattering. And reviewing her strict dietary restrictions with the restaurant’s chef so she could breezily order dinner without sounding high maintenance.