The Next Big Thing

  About ten minutes later, Jagger resurfaced and collected our surveys. “All right, gals, it’s show time!” he announced, escorting us out into the backyard. “Please have a seat in the love booth next to your partner,” he instructed.

  Love booth? I groaned inwardly as I made my way over to Nick.

  “Hi,” I said shyly, squeezing in beside him.

  “Nice to see you,” he mumbled, without turning to face me.

  “Quiet on the set!” Jagger ordered. “I need everyone to sit tight until I give the command.”

  A few production assistants I’d never seen before scurried about, frantically adjusting the lighting equipment and microphones. Gigi Rucker came over, bringing Alyssa, Luisa, and Maggie with her. They sat down in folding chairs facing us.

  “Gotta love the scenery,” Alyssa said, eyeing Nick. Jagger quickly shushed her.

  After what seemed like an eternity, the game finally began. “Up until this point all of our challenges have had a cash reward. Today we’re getting a little bit crazy. This time we’re offering you something sweeter!”

  He dramatically swung around, pointing his finger at the flat-screen TV. On cue, the television sprang to life. A slick, black tire rolled into view, then the camera cut back to reveal a silver Subaru Impreza cruising down the highway. It swung effortlessly around the sharp curves while a voiceover informed us about the car’s mighty horsepower and turbo-charged engine.

  “And this gorgeous car could be yours—”

  “If the price is right!” I cracked, unable to resist.

  Jagger snickered. “Try if the points are right. Earn the highest score today and not only will you each win a sleek new Subaru Impreza, but you’ll also get this!” Jagger announced, as the TV suddenly switched to a gorgeous shot of soft sandy beaches and palm trees. “An all-expenses paid, seven-night stay in Maui!”

  There’s an enticing idea. Reward a group of overweight girls with a trip to the beach.

  “And if that wasn’t good enough,” Jagger continued, “you’ll also win a pair of Schwinn mountain bikes!” he announced, as the image of a man and woman cycling along a dirt trail came onto the screen.

  Ah, yes. Exercise equipment. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why they were being so game-showy. As soon as the video montage ended, a production assistant came running over with a stack of large red cards. “We’ve put your survey answers on here,” she informed me. “Hold these up when Jagger cues you. Until then, keep them down here.” She leaned around and gestured toward a pocket that had been built into the side of the seat. They’re numbered on the back so make sure you don’t screw up the order.” She turned and gave a stack to Nick. “Same deal,” she said, and then hurried off to distribute cards to the rest of the players.

  Once everyone had been accommodated, the game commenced. “We’re going to run through the survey responses,” Jagger said. “The goal is to read their minds, if you will. Predict how they’ve answered. Remember, every correct answer brings you five points closer to winning that cool new ride and Hawaiian adventure. Janelle, I’ll start with you.” He strolled over to her. “If Matt could take a dream vacation anywhere in the world, where would he go?”

  Janelle smiled. “That’s easy. Thailand,” she said. “Matt’s obsessed. He has a shelf of travel books about Southeast Asia.”

  Jagger cued Matt, and he held up one of his red cards. It read Thailand. “Five points for the ex-lovebirds!” Jagger announced and a bell began dinging. “And Regan? Where would Briana go on a dream vacation?”

  “The beach,” she said automatically. “Be more specific.”

  “I don’t know . . . the Bahamas.”

  Briana produced her card, which said Bahamas.

  Jagger turned to face me and my mind went blank. As far as I knew Nick had already visited some of the world’s greatest cities—Madrid, Rome, New York. Plus, I had no clue whether his ideal holiday would be lounging on a beach, traipsing through a museum, or skiing in the Alps.

  “Cannes,” I finally said, figuring it was as good a guess as any. He loved movies and movie stars. Perhaps he’d want to go there for the legendary film festival?

  Nick let out a huge sigh, and pulled out his card. “South Africa,” he snarled. “What were you thinking? I can’t stand the French.”

  Jagger cleared his throat. “Moving right along. If your partner could use a voodoo doll on anyone who would it be and why?”

  “Sammy, because he screwed Matt over in a business deal,” Janelle answered correctly.

  “Darlene, who stole Briana’s fiancé last March,” Regan said, bagging another five points.

  I had no idea who Nick wanted to prick with a voodoo doll. I scrambled for a minute.

  “Can I say myself?” I joked.

  Jagger shook his head.

  “Uh, okay then, Johnny Depp?”

  Jagger raised his eyebrows. “That’s an unusual choice, Kat. Elaborate please.”

  I knew it was lame but I couldn’t think of anything else. “Nick’s section in the magazine got cut because his coworker landed a last-minute interview with Johnny Depp.”

  Nick laughed. “She’s right, you know.” He held up his card. I was dumbstruck. Of all the questions I expected to ace, that wasn’t one of them.

  “Good job, guys! You’re successfully holding the single gals at bay. So far they’ve only earned five points. Next question . . . what’s your partner’s most unusual talent?”

  “I’d have to go with knitting,” Janelle said. “It sounds weird, but Matt’s amazingly good at it. He makes the best sweaters.” Matt held up his card, once again matching her.

  “Dancing,” Regan said, glossing over the fact that she was supposed to name something unusual.

  “Freak,” Briana said, “you know my most unusual talent is being able to tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue.”

  Jagger posed the question to me and I was stumped. “His knowledge about shoes,” I said sheepishly. “Correct,” Nick said, holding up a card that read shoes. We continued on for a few minutes, with the questions growing more personal.

  “When was the last time your partner cried?” Jagger began. Janelle bit her lip. “When his mother died last Easter,” she said, and Matt confirmed it.

  Regan goofed the question, wrongly guessing Briana had last cried over a bad breakup with some guy named Gibbo. When my turn came I tensed. In my entire life I had never seen a man cry. My father was hardly the type to let loose his emotions—unless, of course, the emotions were anger or agitation—and none of my guy friends had so much as shed a tear in front of me. Did tears come easily to Nick, or was he one of those macho types who cried once a decade?

  “Nick cried when his grandmother died,” I fudged. I had no idea if this was true; in all our phone conversations we had never discussed grandparents.

  Nick groaned. “I cried when someone scratched my Jaguar in Boots’s car park.” Jaguar? Boots? He’d lost me.

  “You drive a Jag?” I asked, stunned.

  “It belongs to Dad,” he explained briskly. “I borrow it from time to time.”

  “The boot’s the front of the car, right?”

  “No, the boot is what you Americans call the trunk. And that’s not what I meant. I’m referring to an accident I had in the parking lot of Boots, the chemist. It’s quite a famous chain throughout Europe,” he said, exasperated.

  “All right, Janelle,” Jagger said, cutting off our conversation, “name the last time in Matt’s life that he was truly afraid.”

  “Poor Mattie. He had a panic attack while trapped in an elevator in downtown Indianapolis,” she said, patting him on the arm.

  Matt snapped his fingers. “I didn’t think you’d remember that!” he said, looking truly impressed. “So I didn’t put it.” He held up a card that said “Car accident in 2004.” It was the first time they’d gotten a question wrong.

  Regan went next, correctly guessing that Briana had been terrified when she rolled her
SUV on the highway.

  When it came my turn, I used the only thing I could think of. “Nick was afraid of flying out here.”

  Nick pulled out his card and held it up. “On the flight from London to Los Angeles,” he said. “I’m terrified of flying.” He smiled at me, obviously impressed. It had been a total guess, one that I had cursed myself for as soon as I’d written it down. How could a man who was so into international travel have a fear of flying? But, as it turned out, I had guessed correctly.

  I watched as Alyssa and Luisa exchanged glances. There set of questions weren’t going over as poorly as they’d hoped. We were all scoring very well – even Nick and me. In fact, we were only one spot behind Janelle and Matt for first place.

  Jagger moved on to the next question. “Who in Nick’s life is most critical of him?”

  I paused. It was a tough call.

  “His father,” I guessed.

  Nick sighed in exasperation. “Not even close,” he said, holding up his card. It read My sister, Sophie.

  Nick had a sister? In all our phone conversations and e-mails he had never once mentioned her. How could a major thing like that never have come up?

  From across the yard I could see Alyssa smiling, likely thrilled that I had just given her another five points. I sank down in my seat to brood.

  The competition continued on and, before long, Janelle and Matt had secured a comfortable lead. Despite a few lucky breaks at the beginning, I flubbed my way through a series of questions, wrongly guessing on such topics as whether Nick had ever cheated on a test (no) and whether he’d had a one-night stand (yes).

  But I couldn’t ignore the fact that I’d missed some of the biggest questions. My God, he has a sister and I didn’t even know! Once we’d finished going through our partners’ answers, Jagger began questioning Matt, Briana, and Nick. “

  What is the juiciest piece of gossip Janelle’s ever spread?” he asked. “Janelle doesn’t gossip. Period,” Matt insisted. She nodded. “Good job, honey.”

  Honey? Uh-oh . . .

  “Regan told the world that I got a nipple piercing,” Briana said, and Regan frowned.

  “I didn’t tell anyone about that,” she pouted, pulling out her card, which read, Affair with professor.

  Briana burst out laughing. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. Me sleeping with my prof is juicier.” The two of them began giggling.

  “Nick?” Jagger prodded. Nick blinked in surprise. He looked a million miles away. “Oh, right. Let’s see . . . the juiciest piece of gossip Kat has spread would probably have to do with that boss of hers, Richard. She’s always going on about his long-winded meetings. . . .”

  My face flamed red. Just what I needed. My grievances about Richard Geddlefinger aired on national television! And, worse still, it wasn’t even the right answer. I pulled out my card, which said Donna dumping Chip.

  Jagger moved on. “Matt, who is the bossiest person Janelle knows?” He gave a shy shrug. “My mother. Janelle and my mother never saw eye to eye.”

  Janelle gasped. “No way, Mattie! I adored your mom.”

  He brightened. “Really? I thought you loathed her.”

  “No, trust me, she was precious.” Janelle laughed, and held up her card, which read Alyssa Combs. “This was worth losing five points over.”

  “Laugh all you want. Just remember who you’re giving those points to,” Alyssa sang out.

  Regan and Briana missed the question as well.

  Then it was Nick’s turn. “The bossiest person in Kat’s life is herself.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t accept that answer,” Jagger said. “It’s against the rules.”

  “Make whatever rules you want,” Nick said. “I’m giving you the absolute truth on this one; it’s your decision whether or not you accept it.”

  “I’m not bossy.” I bristled at the insult.

  “You tell everyone what to do,” he argued. “All the time.”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t except that as an answer,” Jagger said.

  “Fine, then. Her mother.”

  “Kat?” Jagger prompted.

  Miserably, I held up my card. It had been nothing more than a wild guess, but he’d gotten it right.

  “Getting back on track, let’s add a little romance into the equation,” Jagger said. “Matt, tell me, what age was Janelle when she had her first kiss?”

  “I know it was with Troy Coltrone, and I think she was fifteen,” he said. “Am I right?”

  Janelle grinned from ear to ear. “God, it’s so cool that you know this stuff,” she said, confirming his answer.

  “Briana?”

  “Um, Regan was sixteen? No, eighteen,” she decided.

  Regan shook her head. “I was fourteen, Briana! You don’t pay attention to me at all,” she wailed, squeezing shut her eyes as tears began to form.

  “Nick, how old was Kat when she got her first kiss?” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Seventeen,” Nick announced. “Todd Annex.”

  I blinked in surprise. I was surprised he remembered. I figured he’d blocked everything I’d ever told him out of my memory.

  Before we could get to another question, a production assistant came rushing over and handed Jagger an envelope. He didn’t open it. “What I have here in my hands is both an invitation and a test,” he said, strolling along in front of us. “It’s a test of how compatible you are . . . and an invitation to take things to the next level.”

  Oh, God. Knowing my luck, now they’d force Nick and me to make out and let Alyssa, Luisa, and Maggie critique our moves.

  “Ever since the live show, Regan has been sharing a room with her sister. It’s been a fun experience for both, providing ample opportunity to bond.”

  I snickered. I didn’t think fun was the term Regan would use to describe it.

  “As promised, your room assignments are about to get a little more interesting.”

  Jagger held up the envelope. “I have here the keys to two cozy, romantic bedrooms, previously closed off to our houseguests. Janelle and Matt; Kat and Nick—the choice is yours. You can stay in your original living quarters or move into a new romantic hideaway. Saying yes reflects how much faith you have in your relationship. Saying no reflects doubt. I need your answers now.”

  Janelle turned pink. “What do you want to do, Mattie?”

  Matt’s voice grew soft. “I don’t know . . . I kind of think we should go for it.”

  Janelle swallowed hard. “What the hell,” she said, breaking into a smile. “It might be interesting.”

  “Yeah,” Matt said, grinning, “it might be.”

  It was amazing, seeing how, despite time and circumstance, the two of them were still so connected.

  “Nick and Kat?” Jagger asked, gesturing toward us. “I need your decision?”

  I drew in a breath.

  “Oh, boy . . .” It was a tough choice.

  “I’m not interested,” Nick said simply.

  Apparently, it was only a tough choice for one of us.

  “That’s pretty abrupt. Want to give your reasons?” Jagger asked. “I think it’s quite obvious,” Nick said.

  “Why would I want to live with Kat?” He said my name as though it were a dirty word. A funny thing happened at that moment. My body was baking under the hot lights but inside I felt frozen solid.

  My mind faded from the game. I went through the motions, dutifully holding up my cards when cued, but I felt lifeless. I didn’t care when Alyssa and Maggie began chastising Jagger over the “unfairness” of the scoring system. I wasn’t even interested that Nick had actually gotten a few answers correct (wagering that I believed in ghosts and that my favorite candy bar was Snickers). I didn’t even notice when Janelle and Matt went on a sudden losing streak.

  Suddenly, Nick and I found ourselves tied with them for first place. All I had to do was answer one question correctly, and we’d win the cars, the trip, and the mountain bikes.

  “If Nick could be stranded on a d
eserted island with any celebrity, who would he pick?” Jagger asked.

  There was a part of me that wanted to say Johnny Depp as a final, dramatic “F You.” But then I thought about my car back home, the one that was on its last leg. And I thought about how much I’d come to love riding the exercise bike here in Greg’s gym. I could really use a new Schwinn to pedal around Memphis once I got out of here. I even thought about how much I’d love to have a trip to Hawaii (a trip I could be certain I’d be taking without Nick).

  I quickly turned toward Janelle. If I answered this correctly, we’d have first place, leaving Janelle and Matt empty handed. Should I go for it, or push this to a tie-breaker.

  She nodded and smiled at me, as if to say, Do it.

  My eyes searched hers and she nodded again. Assured that Janelle was okay with me taking the prize, I took a deep breath and I said, “If Nick could be stranded on an island with any celebrity, he’d pick Jessica Biel.”

  Nick held up his card.

  “Congratulations, Kat and Nick!” Jagger boomed. “You’ve won the grand prize!”

  I stood up from my seat, numbly. I knew I should be happy, but I didn’t even care.

  All I cared about was how mean Nick had been, and how terrible I felt when I was around him.

  And there were the things I didn’t know. In all the time we’d talked, he’d never mentioned his fear of flying, or his knack for surfing, or his own sister, Sophie. Maybe it was my fault for not asking the right questions, or maybe Nick had deliberately kept parts of himself a secret. We might have won the competition, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d never known him at all.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “You weigh 193,” Greg pronounced, as I stepped off the scale the following Sunday.

  Since being dumped by Nick and stabbed in the back by Donna, I had thrown myself into an exercising frenzy.