Deal Breakers

Day 11

The thing about being on the show was the days in between games; we were just walking around aimlessly. We had breakfast in the CC, sometimes we'd go to another couple's cabin to play cards or board games. But mostly we were wandering around, except for Denver and Rachel. I noticed they didn't wander around, they mostly stood in their cabin. They never invited anyone over except Denver's uncle, but they did come to a few card games.

Everyone would bring their own chair since each cabin only came with four, and if you didn't bring a chair you had to sit on the uncomfortable tree stump stool that every cabin had. We'd become a tight little community with traditions and inside jokes, all in less than two weeks. The cameras outside the cabins were rolling 24/7 apparently but I never saw the camera guys around, so everyone was pretty much themselves until Charlie came around.

We weren't allowed to leave the property, not unless we'd planned on never coming back. So, Ellen was kind enough to bring us a few decks of cards and a plethora of board games. We had to keep busy somehow, Peter said that it was like recon work, seeing their strategies. Maybe for him it was, he's competitive and that hand in hand with him being a perfectionist.

I miss my phone, it's my lifeline. I wanted to check my emails and maybe scroll mindlessly for an hour or two.

"Okay, this looks good." Peter clapped his hands together. He'd just finished setting up a beverage and snack station made up of things he'd nabbed from the CC.

"Good work," I said with a thumbs up. I was in charge of cleaning up, though Pete would double-check my work when I was done to make sure everything was just right.

"Everyone RSVP'd for seven, so they'll be here any minute," Peter said with a glance at his watch. "The clock on the wall is running a few minutes behind."

He went to the wall by the sofa and tried to pluck the gold clock off, but it didn't budge. "Alright then."
I could tell this would become an obsession now. Something he'd work on every day.

"Did you invite Chase?" I asked nonchalantly.

Chase and I had kept our distance since the whole compass fiasco. I'd just been avoiding him. We'd crossed paths at breakfast yesterday morning, but I took my plate back to my cabin to avoid having to make small talk.

"I didn't ask him," Peter said flatly. He was making sure the beverage labels were all facing the same direction.

"You... You didn't ask him to come play games?" I was shocked. I knew they were getting a little hostile, but to blatantly leave him out. That was a little harsh.

"No, he's been a jerk and I don't want to have to sit across from him all night." Peter used a tone that made it seem like I was oblivious.

I wasn't sure how to respond, but I knew that it was not right to leave Chase out. He may have been sabotaging us, but that was literally the role he's been given. Sure he didn't have to be so good at it, but he's still family. There's a lot of money on the line for all of us, but it shouldn't get in between the brothers.

"I'm going to grab a few more drinks from CC, I'll be right back." I was lying through my teeth. I slipped out of the cabin and made the short walk to Chase's door. The DB community was quiet, everyone inside their cabins probably getting ready for a long game night.

I haven't stepped foot on Chase's porch since the other day when he caught me and I realized I have residual feelings for him.

As I walked up to the door my brain swirled with images of me and Chase. The thing is, I can have those feelings all I want. Chase doesn't feel them, he didn't feel them years ago and he doesn't feel them now. I'm just a grown woman, fantasizing about her fiancé's brother who happens to also be my best friend.