This time, I'm serious

Can I kiss you anyway?

Bruno was nervous .

He was kicking himself a little for his reaction to Tiff. He'd recognised her almost immediately as soon as she came in. He did remember her. He had thought she was stupidly hot. His friends had tried to push him to go and talk to her. They'd made fun of him for days for not having the courage to approach her.

He couldn't believe he'd told her that. And in front of Jas .

He was kicking himself. That would have made her feel like shit . Watching him go all gaga over a girl he hadn't even met before, had just seen perform. He'd immediately panicked and tried to hug her, trying to reassure her, but she was stiff. He knew she was annoyed at him.

He didn't really blame her. If Jas had said something like that about a new guy in front of half the villa... he would have been... angry? embarrassed? hurt? All of the above?

Bruno desperately wanted to reassure her. He wanted her to feel secure about where they were at. Not a repeat of Valentina. Or Cora. Not a repeat of anything.

And as attracted he was to Tiff... and Kelly for that matter... He already knew he wasn't going to go there. To either of them.

But... Was Jas?

He'd almost forgotten that she had dated girls before, until he saw her with Kelly.

He was already feeling guilty about having hurt Jas's feelings so badly, and then she'd gone and sat on a different beanbag to him. It felt stupid, but it said a lot . When Kelly had sunk down on the beanbag next to Jas, he'd been surprised at how friendly they already were. And then he saw Jas's face, blushing like a schoolgirl. And remembered.

Bruno wondered whether it was odd that it didn't make him jealous, just kind of... turned him on a little.

Yeah, that is awful. You're fetishising the fact that she's been with girls before. You're a bad and gross person because that means you don't see her relationships with women as authentic and real enough to be a threat to you, only as a sexual fantasy existing purely for your own enjoyment as a man. Ew Bruno. Not ok.

He made the conscious decision to be very jealous of Kelly hitting on his girl.

It wasn't difficult, though, because as the girls came out of the villa, Kelly was biting her lip and looking at Jas like she was about to take a bite out of her. And it did genuinely annoy him.

Jas looked... quite flustered. Something was off. It was more than just being annoyed at him. She looked... a little uncomfortable.

Bruno shuffled over on his beanbag, sending her a pleading look to sit with him. He couldn't bear the thought of her being so annoyed at him that she wouldn't sit with him again. Her face softened as she approached him. He felt a wave of overwhelming relief when instead of sitting next to him, she immediately sank onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she responded by letting hers drape around his shoulders. He'd never been so relieved.

He whispered into her ear. "I know I'm in trouble and I know why, but can I kiss you anyway?"

She turned her head to face him, and gave him a little glare, then softly pressed her lips to his. He squeezed his arms a little tighter around her waist, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of her lips.

It was just warm enough to reassure him that she wasn't that mad, but just cold enough to tell him he was still going to be making it up to her.

God, he adored her.

Kelly and Tiff's phones suddenly chimed. They looked at each other, and then got up from the beanbags.

"Sorry guys, we'll be back in a bit, we just have to... have a chat..." Kelly said, taking Tiff's hand. They ran off quickly to the lover's nook.

"What was that about?" Bruno asked no-one in particular.

Jas shrugged. "Secret challenge, probably? Based on their reaction?"

"Well, they did a great job of being super not-obvious about it." Angie said, sarcastically.

"What if it's about a recoupling?" James asked, making everyone pause for a moment.

"What if... someone's getting voted off?" Valentina added.

Everyone sat silently.

Thabi started biting her nails. Angie leaned over and smacked her hand. Thabi looked at her appreciatively.

Bruno hugged Jas tighter. He hated thinking about people being voted off. Especially after Kobi.

As if reading his mind, Jas leaned back, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

Awwww.

He pressed his lips to her shoulder, just holding them there, tasting her skin on him.

James looked over at Jas. "What are you thinking? Of the new girls?"

Jas grinned at him. " Urgh Tiffany's amazing . She's hilarious. I'm almost devastated for Bruno."

He laughed. "Why!?"

Najuma looked over. "She said she'd have gone for you, but that you're a lost cause."

"Too fuckin' right," he said, squeezing Jas firmly. "She seems nice though. I think she'll be good for the villa"

Najuma nodded. "Same. I like Tiffany. And... I like Kelly too... but..." She continued, looking over her shoulder. "I'm not entirely on board with her 'cake artist' identity. I mean, that's a bit cringe, isn't it?"

"I don't think her art is cringe?" Will said

Najuma rolled her eyes. "I'm not entirely convinced mixing eggs with flour is an art, to be honest"

"Art is about feeling, not materials"

Jas sighed. "I know what you're getting at, Will. But that sounds like an inspirational quote."

They laughed, but quickly stopped when Kelly and Tiff started walking back down towards the group.

Kelly winked at Jas, who shuffled uncomfortably in Bruno's lap.

He frowned slightly.

What's going on?

Suddenly, Thabi's phone chimed.  "Oh... Oh! Oh my gosh, really?!"

Tiff and Kelly grinned at each other.

Everyone looked around, confused.

"Tiff and Kelly had to pick one couple to spend the night in the hideaway... and they picked James and me!"

"Well, couldn't let our tour guide get away without some kind of reward, could we?"

James's eyes suddenly widened as everyone started cheering and squealing. Thabi blushed furiously.

"Go! Go!" Angie yelled at them, laughing hysterically at how excited they both looked.

Bruno squeezed Jas a little tighter, whispering in her ear. "Wish that was us"

She leaned her head against his, whispering. "Same. I miss you."

"I'm right here!"

"You know what I mean. I miss you. Being naked with you. That's far easier in the hideaway. I just wish we could have a bit more time to ourselves."

"I know what you mean," he said, pensively. "Once we get home, we're going to stay home and just be naked for about a week straight."

She pressed her lips to his cheek, moaning happily into him.

He could feel her softly smiling.

"I can't wait."