“And Brodie won’t suspect that?”
I snorted. “Does it matter? I trust you more than him.”
“It’s a shame we couldn’t have partnered, eh?”
I nodded. “We’d have made a good team.”
“And our partners could have destroyed each other’s games,” he said ruefully. “Instead of dragging us down.”
I chewed on my lip, thinking. Brodie seemed to be playing a pretty obvious game, but he’d executed a few moves that were surprisingly smart. Maybe I was underestimating him. “Don’t you worry about Brodie,” I told Jendan. “I can handle him.”
Jendan laughed. “You going to toss your hair and have him groveling at your feet?”
My legs twitched, and I gave a little nervous hop. “Don’t be silly.” To my horror, a titter came out of my mouth, and I hastily crossed the room to put the dumbbells back in place.
No way on Earth I’d admit to Jendan that his words made me think of Brodie and his erection…and me squirming in his lap.
Nor would I mention that I hadn’t been completely disgusted by it. Quite the opposite, actually.
And I was a little disappointed in myself for that.
~~ * ~~
Sunnie, Marla and I were sitting in the kitchen eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. “So you guys have heard this weird stuff too?” I asked. “Brodie looked at me like I was crazy when I said I kept hearing boards creak.”
Sunnie nodded, her eyes wide. “Casper and I were sleeping in the attic last night, and I kept hearing footsteps in our room, except neither one of us was moving. He swore it was someone downstairs, but it sounded like it was coming from the foot of the bed.”
I shivered. “Really? That’s so creepy. I don’t like this place.”
“I was doing the dishes when I thought I heard someone behind me,” Marla said. “Turned around and thought I saw a shadow, but no one was there.”
My eyes widened. I’d had the same thing happen in the hallway. “It’s funny you should say that, because—”
A chime sounded.
“House Guests,” a bland voice intoned over the loudspeakers. “Please proceed to the backyard and to the roped off area for the reward challenge.”
Sunnie clapped her hands like a little girl. “Ooo, exciting!”
“I hope it’s for a good reward,” I agreed. “Money would be nice.” Money would always be nice.
Marla’s eyes lit up. “I hope it’s for money, too.”
We headed out to the backyard, and the others were gathering there as well. Five booths had been set up with a pair of stools behind each one. Katy and Liam stood off to one side, and Katy held an instructions card. She held it up and began to read. “House Guests! It’s time for your first reward challenge of the season! Since Katy and Liam have Power this week, they will not be competing. Instead, the other five teams will face off in a lightning-fast round of horror movie trivia! Who’s ready?”
We clapped and cheered, though I wasn’t feeling too excited. Horror movie trivia? I wasn’t good with horror movies. Romantic comedies, yes. Horror movies? No.
“Each team will have a station labeled with their names. Please proceed to your spots!” She made a flourishing gesture toward the tables with her arm.
We headed forward, and I slid into my chair. Brodie slid in next to me and immediately leaned in. “I sure hope you’re good with trivia, because this isn’t my strong suit.”
“Yeah, well, me either.”
“Then we might be in trouble,” he said with a grin.
Oh hell. Jendan was going to be screwed if he was waiting for me to save them. I glanced down the row to Jendan and gave him a worried look. He gave me a thumbs up, though. Oh good. Maybe the stuntman knew a lot about horror movies.
“Today, we will be playing for,” Katy said, and looked to Liam. He did a drum-roll on the podium he and Katy stood behind. “Ghost hunting equipment!”
A chorus of groans met the announcement.
Brodie leaned in again. “Uh, just between you and me, I’d be fine if we didn’t win this one.”
“I think I can handle that,” I whispered back. Lose on purpose? No problem. I just needed to make sure we didn’t lose too badly.
~~ * ~~
By the end of the challenge, it was clear to me that my team was not going to be strong in mental challenges. If it had been music trivia, I’d probably have killed it. But movies? Unless it involved a dance routine or a flash mob, I didn’t know anything about it. Ditto Brodie.
When all scores were tallied, Jendan and Marla were in first place. Jendan was apparently a huge horror movie buff, because he’d gotten every question right. And the way that he and Marla were cheering with excitement, you’d think they’d won something better than a basket full of sage, garlic, and holy water. Brodie shot me a suspicious look when they continued to cheer and hug each other with excitement, but I feigned interest in my nails.
We’d come in second to last place, beating the last place team by one measly point. Lenore and Mickey were in last, and I’d breathed a big sigh of relief. They were an obvious choice to put up on the block. This week’s vote wouldn’t have any surprises.
Ignoring Brodie’s glare, I headed over to congratulate Jendan and Marla, hugging them both. “Congrats, you guys. Good job.”
Marla patted Jendan’s muscular shoulder with motherly affection. “It’s all thanks to this big guy. He totally killed it.”
“He did,” I agreed, peering into the basket of junk. “What is all this crap?”
Jendan held up a bundle of leaves. “This is sage for smudging a room to drive the evil spirits out.” He put it down and picked up a little electronic hand-held device. “This is an EMF meter that’s supposed to show activity from any sorts of spirits. There’s also a digital recorder so you can get EVPs and some night-vision goggles.”
My eyes widened. “This is serious ghost-hunter stuff, then? Is the house really haunted?” I experienced a flutter of panic at the thought.
Jendan shrugged. “It makes good TV either way, doesn’t it?”
I thought of the noises in the living room when I was trying to sleep. “Can I borrow some of this stuff sometime?”
“You bet. I owe you one,” Jendan said with a grin at me, and Marla nodded. “Take your pick.”