Page 18 of The Baking Games

I find what appears to be a bathroom near the kitchen and smile back at the cameraman. “I’ll be right back.” I’m trying not to talk directly to him because the producer told me we need to pretend they aren’t there. He claims after a few days, we won’t notice them. Okay, sure.

I walk into the room and flip on the light, only to find Rhett sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. “Oh my gosh!” I say, putting my hand up to my chest. “What are you doing? Are you trying to watch people going to the bathroom?” He quickly jumps up and reaches around to turn off the mic pack that’s attached to my lower back before he sits back down.

He rolls his eyes. “Oh, come on. Seriously? You think I want to see people pee? Or worse?”

“Then why are you in here?”

“Lower your voice, Greene.”

“Why?” I say in a loud whisper.

“I needed a break from all of… that,” he says, waving his hand toward the door. “If you keep screeching like a barn owl, they will know I’m in here.”

“How did you lose your camera guy?”

“He had a technical issue, so he said stay there, and he’d be right back.”

“And you didn’t stay right there?” I say, which is a stupid and obvious statement I immediately wish to take back.

“Right on top of things, as usual, Greene.”

I hate that he calls me Greene. I repeatedly reminded him in school that my name was Savannah, and I didn’t want to be called by my last name. That made him do it more.

“Whatever. Well, I actually do have to pee, and my camera stalker is right outside, so…”

“So?”

“I have to use the restroom. Get out!”

“But I’m not done hiding from the chaos out there,” he says, leaning back and crossing his arms. This man is infuriating. And built like a truck. In school, I only saw him in our requisite white aprons. Today, he’s wearing a tight gray t-shirt and jeans. I want to say I find him ugly, but I can’t say that. He looks like someone chipped him right out of a large piece of marble.

“There’s going to be a puddle on the floor in a second.”

He stands up, and I think he’s leaving. Instead, he turns around and presses his face to the wall. “Fine. Go ahead.”

“I’m not peeing with you in here! You’ll hear me!”

“I’ve heard people pee before, Greene. It’s no big deal.”

I can’t afford to argue anymore. That huge iced coffee I had on the plane is ready to make its landing. “If you turn around, I swear…”

“I won’t. I’m a man of my word.” The way he says it makes me believe him. “So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?”

“What do you mean?”

“They set us up.”

“They set me up, you mean.”

“How so?”

“Well, they put me in here with my archnemesis and my ex-boyfriend, so it seems I was the target.”

“Wait. Your ex-boyfriend?”

I finish, quickly pull up my capri pants, and then walk to the sink to wash my hands. Before I can answer him, there’s a knock at the door.

“Savannah, are you in there?” It’s my cameraman.