The Contestant#27

Before you start reading this story, have you read ‘Playing With Fire‘?

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Adriana pulled the door of her grandparents’ room flush against the door jamb before twisting around.  

She’d missed them and having them here now reminded her of just how much she needed, wanted, to slow down.  

Getting to be with her father’s parents in their final years of life was worth more than gold to Adriana, and she wanted to do the same with her mother’s parents.  

This whole competition had put so much into perspective for her. Many of her and Corey’s late-night chats revolved around the two f’s, and even if she didn’t choose Corey, the time that she’d spent with them made her realize just how much she needed to prioritize family.  

Heading down the hall, Adriana made her way downstairs. Rounding the corner, she found Corey in the same spot they always began and ended every day; the kitchen. 

 

“Wait, wait, wait. Who said you’re invited to my hypothetical wedding?” Adriana heard Corey say. 

 

Of course they were on the phone with Vince. 

 

In the final days of living in the mansion, the company responsible for this whole competition lifted the phone ban, and while they didn’t get their personal phones back, which had been taken at the start, they did have a house phone that they could use to call home. 

Over the past couple of weeks, Adriana had spoken to both Corey and Jess’s families. She wasn’t having lengthy ‘what are your intentions with are child’ conversations, in fact, Adriana’s conversations with Jess’s family were just a quick hello and learning the names of her parents; but with Corey’s family, Adriana had talked to Corey’s parents and the famous Vinny. 

 

Adriana had spoken to Vinny a handful of times, and he was everything Corey had described and more. Vinny was as smooth as silk, and funny as hell; it was clear where Corey got their sense of humor.  

 

“Hey! If it isn’t my future granddaughter-in-law!” Vinny said excitedly.  

 

Corey rolled their eyes, causing Adriana to laugh. 

 

“Alright old man, it’s time to say goodbye.” Corey said. 

 

“What?! She just got here!” Vinny said, throwing his hands in the air. 

 

“Yeah, so that means it’s time for you to say goodbye.” Corey said. 

 

Vinny waved a dismissive hand. 

 

“Don’t worry Adriana, we’ll have plenty of time to talk after Corey wins.” He said with a wide grin. 

 

Corey laughed and shook their head. 

 

“Alright, bye papa!” Corey said. 

 

“Wait!” Vinny yelled, almost as if he could feel Corey’s thumb hovering over the red end button. 

 

“Give Giovanni one of these!” Vinny said, waving his middle finger at the camera. 

 

Adriana let out a belly laugh as Corey shook their head. 

 

“Alright old man, it’s time for you to go.” Corey said, shaking their head. 

 

They didn’t even give Vinny a chance to argue, after a quick ‘love you, bye’, they ended the call. 

 

“Did you take a picture of him?” Adriana said as Corey turned to her. 

 

“Of course! I’m not about to give your grandfather the finger myself!” Corey said, the horror in their voice causing Adriana to laugh even more. 

 

“Should we head to the hammock?” Corey asked, nodding their head towards the backyard. 

 

Adriana turned to them, eyes squinting as she looked at them. She hated that they had a routine.  

 

She thought about playing dumb. but despite the night sky being clear as ever and full of stars, the sun would be rising soon; they didn’t have time for games. 

 

“Let’s go.” She muttered, grabbing Corey’s hand and leading the way. 

 

…. 

The air was just chilly enough to warrant a blanket, which thankfully just so happen to already be in the hammock.  

Staring up at the stars, Adriana felt bad; did any of the other contestants ever really stand a chance?  

 

From that first night in the mansion, Corey had stolen the show; there was this electricity that seemed to buzz throughout the room whenever Corey was around. 

 

Even when Adriana was with other contestants, and tried to focus on building that connection, there was always this thing between her and Corey, buzzing, like a live wire, just beneath the surface.  

 

Adriana tried to tell herself that it wasn’t real, like a flame when the wind blows, that tension, that pull, that she felt when she was with Corey, would eventually go out. But on the contrary, the opposite happened. As she began eliminating contestants, the time she had available to spend with Corey only grew and every moment they spent together, the inside jokes multiplied, and the make out sessions became more and more intense. On several occasions, when the kissing got a little too hot and heavy, Adriana would simply pull back and walk away. And Corey understood; they never chased after her, or complained, or made her feel bad or weird for doing so. When she hit her limit and wanted nothing more than to strip Corey and take them right then and there, she’d press a hand to their chest, pull back from the kiss, and just start walking.  

 

“What are you thinking about?” Corey asked, breaking Adriana out of her thoughts.
 

Adriana looked down at her arm, watching as Corey’s fingers skated across her forearm, leaving goose bumps in wake of their touch.  

 

“You know you’re not allowed to ask me that.” she said with a huff.  

 

The closer they got, the harder it was to actually talk to Corey; there was so much that she couldn’t say.  

 

While Adriana promised her mother, she’d be open, and had every intention of keeping that promise, she never thought that this would happen.  

 

As her late-night conversations with Corey became more of a regular occurrence, talking to Corey was becoming harder and harder. It wasn’t that she didn’t have anything to say, her mind was constantly buzzing with things she wanted to tell them. But Adriana wasn’t the one setting the pace.  

 

Connections, the company running this whole competition, had put a timeline in place. As professional match makers, there was a science to this, or at least that’s what they told Adriana, and no step was to be skipped; no matter how badly Adriana wanted to just grab Corey and ride off into the sunset.  

 

“I think we should call it a night.” Corey mumbled into the skin of Adriana’s neck.  

 

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She said.  

 

Despite being the one to bring it up, Corey was making no effort to move; in fact, rather than loosening their hold on Adriana, Corey wrapped their arms tighter around her. 

 

“Or we could just stay here.” Corey said, their lips brushing against her neck. 

 

Adriana knew that she needed to get up now. In the mansion she and Corey were better about separating and cooling down, but as of late, Adriana’s will power was running low. A couple of times they’d gotten pretty hot and heavy during their one-on-one dates and a few times when they were home alone.  

 

“You know we can’t do that. We have to go.” She said, causing Corey to let out a loud groan. 

 

“Alright, let’s go.” They said, causing her to rise up from the hammock. 

 

“Kiss me here, cause you’re not getting one inside.” Adriana said. 

 

And so, without needing to be told twice, Corey threaded their hand into her hair and pulled her in. 

 

Adriana snaked her arms around Corey, allowing herself to get lost in the taste and feel of them.  

 

She’d never say it out loud, but she could for sure see herself kissing Corey for the rest of her life. 

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Thanks for reading-C

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