“Cut the crap,” Mason said with a hiss. “You know, once you and Reese were together, he started spouting all of this woo-woo shit too. You made him different. Thank God he’s almost back to normal.”
“Almost?” Crim asked, winking at Mason. “Once I’ve touched somebody, they’re never the same.”
I bit my lip, thinking of when he was on top of me and Oliver. Oliver was draining the rest of his champagne flute, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing:
Crim was right. We would never be the same.
“You… you actually fucked?” Mason cried, his voice echoing in the bathhouse.
“Uh, yeah?” Crim said. “We were married. Why not take advantage of what married life has to offer?”
Mason was turning red. I couldn’t tell if it was from the heat of the tub, or if it was just pure rage. “You’re… you’re a real piece of shit, you know that?” Mason said to Crim.
Crim smiled even wider, enjoying the insult. “Does that feel good, Mayonason? Flinging insults at me like you do to everyone else? I know you’ve been asking around for dirt on me… all my dirty laundry is out in the open for everyone to see. It must be so boring for you.”
Mason looked like he was about to launch himself at Crim.
Oliver was in the corner of the tub, his green eyes darting from Crim to Mason.
I was leaning against the stone edge of the tub next to him, watching the scene unfold.
I only wished we had popcorn.
“You look like you’re in need of some fun, so let’s play a little game,” Crim taunted. “I’m willing to bet I can guess what’s wrong with every one of you. If I’m wrong, I’ll leave the show.”
“But you already signed a contract,” I said. “You’re legally bound to stay here,”
Crim groaned and rolled his eyes. “In case you missed it, Charcoal, I’m at the point where I don’t actually care what happens to me. I’m here to watch things unfold. And right now, I want to unfold each of you.”
Mason’s nostrils were flaring, but I could see his eyes light up at the prospect of Crim being gone from the set.
Removing Crim as an element of chaos probably gave Mason a sense of control. With Crim gone, everyone became a whole lot more predictable; a whole lot easier to manipulate the flow of gossip and rumors.
“Fine,” he said, setting his champagne flute down on the stone edge of the tub. “What are your exact terms?”
Crim’s purple eyes were dancing with delight, joyously entering this game. “If I can tell you why you, Olive Branch, and Charming Charlie over there will all forever be unhappy, we have a foursome.”
“What?!” I exclaimed, surprised by this sudden twist of events.
“Oh please. It’s not like you haven’t thought about it,” Oliver said.
He was right. I turned to Mason to examine his reaction. He looked stoic, watching Crim like he was prey. His eyes narrowed.
“Fine,” he said.
I couldn't’ believe what was happening in front of me, but at the same time, it all made sense. Me, Oliver, and Crim already had a threesome, and it was beyond amazing. I’d already had sex with Mason, and that was mind-blowing too.
In the fear reaches of my mind in the middle of the night, I was secretly wondering what having them all at the same time would feel like…
“Well, first thing’s first,” Crim said. “Oliver, do I have your consent?”
Oliver took one last gulp of his champagne. “If you can guess for me? For all these guys? Sure, fine.”
My mouth dropped open at his nonchalance. Maybe he was thinking along the same lines as me; that he already had me and Crim, and now he was wondering what Mason was like.
“And you, Charlie?” he asked looking into my eyes earnestly. Oliver and Mason were both staring at me, waiting for me to give the go-ahead.
“Um… yeah, I guess,” I said, feigning disinterest. Though when I gave my go-ahead, I secretly knew Crim had already won. This was going to happen no matter what. The only thing that could stop it was Mason. And if he was willing to play along, then…
“I’ll do it, too,” Mason said. “But if you get it wrong— for any of us, you have to be on the first flight out of here tomorrow. You leave the show, and you never talk to Reese again.”
“Deal,” Crim said simply, then they shook hands.
A whooshing sensation came over me, rocking me to my very core. Was this really happening?
I shared a look with Oliver and he shrugged.
Crim lined up the empty glasses of champagne on the edge of the tub, then refilled them one by one. He passed them out to each of us.
“Who wants to start, then?” Crim asked. “Remember, you can leave at any time. Though I doubt any of you will,” he said, taking a sip of his champagne.
I knew he was right. I had a twinge of fear urging me to leave, but my curiosity rooted me to the spot.
“I’ll go first,” Oliver said. “Read me to filth.”
“All right,” he said.
Suddenly the room felt different; it felt like there was a prickling running over my skin. Something about the energy of the room had shifted, and it reminded me of Hazel. That’s how I felt when I was around her, when I was dying her hair bright pink and she told me all about my “Big Love.”
Oliver moved to the front of Crim, the glowing green water rippling in his wake.
“What do I do?” he asked, tilting his head.
I could tell that Oliver thought this was a game; he didn’t have the experience with Hazel that I did. He didn’t understand this… this weirdness that he was up against.
I had all the confidence in the world that Crim would be able to read all of
