The Bachelor, David Dower [uplifting books for women .txt] 📗

urged, pushing a fish bowl full of little rolled papers towards him.

Zach did and when he unrolled it and read, Julianne noted that his lips turned to a straight line.

“What is it? Just say it, Zach, I’m dying here,” Pauline said beside her. Julianne, for the first time, wanted to tell her to shut the hell up and stop her act.

“Kiss someone you like on the lips,” Zach finally said.

Julianne felt her ears ring and heat up with an identifiable emotion. And Pauline was squealing like she won the freaking lottery and Julianne wanted to grab her precious blond locks in one hand and drag her out of the room.

“Kiss…kiss…kiss…kiss…” the women cheered though their faces didn’t look that pleased. Who would want to see one of their opponents have a shot with the prize? No one—not even Julianne.

Julianne’s eyes looked at Zach’s and he was silently communicating to her that he didn’t want this either—or so that was what she wanted to believe. Pauline had already crawled all the way across to Zach, her face hidden from Julianne’s view.

She looked away just in time when the howls of the girls erupted in the room when the act finally happened. She couldn’t bear to look. It was like looking at a stranger using your own toothbrush.

“Okay, I think I need to breath now, Pauline,” Zach’s voice said and that was when Julianne finally had the courage to look. Pauline was crawling her way back beside her and her fake friend was beaming at her like she should be happy as well. Julianne tried to smile but she didn’t know if it worked. The hell she cared anyway. She couldn’t stomach Pauline’s presence right now.

But when she looked at Zach, her temper eased down a little. He was obviously wearing a sorry face and that was enough for her. She didn’t expect anything from him what with their situation in this show, but she was grateful for it anyway. It told her he didn’t like the kiss. That was good enough.

“I’ll spin, right?” Pauline asked everyone with a contented smile. Everyone nodded without a word. Obviously, Julianne wasn’t the only person unhappy about that kiss.

Pauline spun the bottle and once again, everyone looked anxiously, but not with the same excitement as before. Who would be exited now? The kissing dare was now gone and so there couldn’t be any dare left that would be as pleasing, right?

But the game must go on anyway and when the bottle stopped, it stopped right at Kim. The Asian beauty gasped and giggled. “Truth,” she uttered and Stella pushed the other fish bowl toward Pauline who should be the one to read the question.

“Oh, this is easy,” Pauline said mysteriously. “Who do you like?”

Kim’s eyes went to Zach but it was Julianne who noticed that she was not directly looking at the bachelor. She was lost staring somewhere behind Zach and she almost gasped when her eyes spotted Jack Carter standing in the shadows behind a camera, holding a bunch of papers and wearing a pair of large earphones. Could it be possible?

“That’s not even a question,” Kim said far too late that even her sarcastic remark sounded feigned for Julianne.

Julianne smiled inwardly.

“Okay, it’s my turn,” Kim said over the laughter that escaped everyone’s throats. She spun the bottle and it pointed at Zach.

“Truth,” he stated and the girls groaned in protest. They would rather want some action than hear the truth from him.

Stella gave the Truth Bowl to Kim who read the question, “When was your last sex?”

Everyone’s smiles were gone and their eyes looked at Zach and then, for everything that was holy, seven pairs of them hovered at Julianne unwillingly. That moment, Julianne knew what the girls had been thinking about that night she and Zach were gone.

 *****

“Three months ago,” Zach lied in perfection. Not saying he was a good liar, but he recognized the murderous stare Julianne was receiving. He was not really shocked to know that the girls would think something happened that night they were gone because one, their malicious thinking was right even though they didn’t know that, and two, he would think the same thing if he was them. So there really was no choice but to lie right now.

Not to save his ass, but to save Julianne’s. If he answered truthfully, she would as much just close her eyes and she would be dead by morning. He couldn’t have that. He was not willing to know how far the girls would go just to get him.

“Really? That long?” Chloe cried in disbelief when his answer finally sank in their minds.

He nodded and scratched his head. “Didn’t have much time for that lately,” he shrugged and to stray their attention somewhere, he grabbed the bottle and spun it saying, “It’s my turn…”

And he almost jumped with joy when finally, the tip pointed at Julianne.

He raised an inquiring eyebrow when she didn’t say a word.

“Uh, dare,” she uttered and he knew she was not at all thinking when she said it.

Stella pushed the Dare Bowl at him and he prayed for something nice as his fingers tried to feel around the rolled papers. Finally, picking one up, he opened it and read. He wanted to jump right there and then. “Okay,” he cleared his throat. “Your dare is to lock yourself inside a dark room for five minutes with the reader of the dare while the game is going on.”

Seriously, he tried real hard not to grin.

“Can’t I change to Truth?” she asked warily.

“No, I don’t think so,” he answered even before anyone did.

Julianne groaned and reluctantly stood up. “Which room?”

“The guest room is not used,” he offered, pointing at the room across the hall.

She just nodded and walked ahead.

“Does the camera come along?” he asked Jack Carter.

Jack shrugged and it was good enough for him.

He looked at the camera man who talked behind them, opened the rolled paper and pointed it right at the camera. “Remember…ALONE…read that?” he asked, pointing at the word. The camera guy sighed and shook his head, but stepped back and went back to the girls who were more dismayed than anyone.

Julianne was already inside and was just about to click on the lights when he said, “Oops, no lights, Jules—just a dark, empty room and you and me.”

She looked at him dryly and entered the room. Giddy, he followed after her and almost slammed the door behind them. The only light inside was the one from the post outside. He could even barely see her face, but her glasses reflected enough light for him to look straight into her eyes. “We really need to talk about earlier.”

“What is there to talk about?” she asked in a whisper.

“I’m sorry I acted like an ass. I just don’t like seeing you with Jack Carter, that’s all. But really, I will try hard next time.”

“And?”

“And what?” he asked curiously when he saw her expectant look.

“And?”

“What else did I do wrong?” he asked, trying real hard to dig into his memory. “About Pauline kissing me? Come on, you know I didn’t want that.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what?”

“Why did you lie?”

Really, that question was the least thing he expected to hear. It did not even register into his mind that fast. What the hell did she expect him to answer earlier? The truth? Was she freaking insane? Did she want to get murdered this young? Chapter 20

“What do you mean by that? You want to get murdered in your sleep by me telling them that I just had sex a few nights ago?”

He saw her lower her eyes in embarrassment. “No, I just wanted to know why…okay, forget it…” she went to a chair just a few paces away and sat up.

“You should be careful around those women. They’re like tigers,” he whispered, sitting on the floor beside her chair.

“Still can’t believe Pauline…” she sighed.

“She’s a manipulative bitch, sorry for the word,” he grinned. “You deserve better than to be friends with any of them. They have a goal in mind and they are desperate to get it.”

She looked down at him with a faint smile. “Thanks,” she said in a whisper.

“I don’t suppose you want to talk about my growing feelings?” he asked reluctantly. He saw the look on her eyes and he said, “Okay, I don’t think so,” and he heard her chuckle. About a full minute passed with just silence and when he finally spoke once again, his voice was somber. “I can’t send Pauline home.”

He looked at her and when she didn’t say anything, he cringed.

“The producers want to keep her until the top four,” he explained. “People kind of liked her after our date.”

She snorted. “They liked her after she told you she hates me?”

“Yeah, sort of,” he frowned. “They found her honest and true.”

“Yeah, right,” she said dryly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s fine. You don’t control everything. It’s not like I was really expecting you to send her home.”

“I was planning to,” he interjected strongly. “I don’t want people reading you all wrong, Jules.”

 *****

Julianne felt her heart swell gratefully. She didn’t doubt his words—apart, of course, from the I LOVE YOU thing. She smiled and looked ahead through the window. “Thanks.”

He checked his watch and said, “We only have one more minute left.”

“And?”

“I think we should spend it wisely,” he grinned at her wickedly before he stood up and took her hand to guide her to her feet. She didn’t complain when he pressed her closer against his chest and kissed her ever so gently. She had done more than that with him so why push away? She was supposed to get whatever she could, right?

“Okay, I think it’s enough,” he rasped out a moment later. “How do I look?” he asked her.

Confused, she frowned up at him, “What do you mean?”

“Do I look like we just kissed? You know those ladies out there. They will know.”

She smiled and looked at him through her glasses. Reaching up, she righted his hair that somehow got tousled by her fingers and wiped away a smudge of lipstick from his lips. “You’re good to go,” she finally uttered.

He grinned down at her and brushed her hair with his fingers. “You’re good to go, too.”

“Okay, time’s up!” Pauline’s voice said from behind the door.

“I hate that voice,” he groaned and Julianne chuckled.

“Get used to it. You’ll be around her until the top four.”

“If I can still look at her, that is,” he complained, leading her toward the door.

It opened before he even reached out for the knob. Pauline’s beaming face popped in and said, “Come on, you two!”

Julianne shook her head and went out with Zach behind her.

 *****

The game ended not in the way everyone expected it to be. Even Zach himself was confused when Jack Carter’s authoritative voice spoke up and said that they had enough taped for the show and that they all better get to sleep.

It all started when the bottle was once again pointed at Kim who, this time, chose to have a dare.

It was Julianne who read it. “Do a lap dance on Zach.”

Everybody cheered except Zach and Julianne—and Kim. Her face was flushed and Julianne saw her look behind Zach once again, right where Jack Carter