Chapter 28

The high lasted all the way through to the next afternoon when the fifth week's rankings were announced. Ada was at Cas's side the moment Freddie finished reading the announcement text, winding her fingers through Cas's.

"How are you feeling?"

"Okay," Cas said. And she was. She'd long come to terms with the fact that she was in the bottom of the rankings and was, in all likelihood, going to remain that way for the rest of her time in the villa.

She didn't need to be well-liked anymore. Ada liked her. Sienna and Femi and Tia and Freddie liked her. That was enough.

The television was already on when everyone entered the lounge, and without speaking, they took their seats on the sofa. It was nice, for once, sitting on this couch without the constant worrying about where she was going to rank, to be here without feeling overwhelmed by the result.

She was curious, sure, but it was less stressful. And thank god, because she'd had more than her fair share of cortisol this summer.

As always, they started with the women first.

Leo's phone beeped. "?‘In first place this week, we have Sienna.'?"

Then Femi's phone beeped.

"?‘And the second most popular girl this week... Ada.'?"

Reece was up next, and though Cas heard the text he read out, it took a second for the words to click.

"?‘The third most popular girl this week is... Cas.'?"

Cas saw Ada turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye, felt the extra pressure she used to squeeze Cas's hand.

She was in the top three. Top three. After weeks spent languishing in the bottom.

Ada leaned over and kissed Cas's cheek, whispered "Well done" in her ear, but all Cas could think about was the fact that she'd more or less rocketed up through the rankings in the last two weeks.

Two weeks ago, this would have been her dream. It was exactly what she was hoping for, enough of an improvement to make getting to the finals feel all the more achievable. Now, though, she couldn't help but wonder if this success was tied up in her relationship with Ada, if it was only because of her relationship with Ada.

After weeks of not clicking with the public, there was no other clear reason for the shift. It wasn't as if she had a sudden personality change. Given that same-sex couples were few and far between, she appreciated the show of support the ranking clearly indicated, but the idea that she was only doing better because she happened to be in this partnership, and that thatmight be what saved her? It made Cas feel sticky and uncomfortable.

For the first time since she'd arrived, Tia dropped into the bottom half of the rankings, and Lucy, surprising no one, was last, but she took it on the chin.

"Oh well," Lucy said, sliding into Leo's side. "Hard to compete with you ladies."

There was a short round of applause before the girls started getting notifications for the boys' rankings. Femi was consistent in the first spot, but the real surprise was Freddie, who came in at number two. It was an enormous jump for such a short time in the villa, but it was clear by how well he got on with everyone that the viewers could see he was a standout. Reece had dropped to third, likely because of a small argument he and Tia had earlier in the week but then squashed, which left Leo for last.

Cas felt like she was in a bit of a haze as they all filtered out to the back garden. She grabbed one of her two permitted glasses of prosecco off the kitchen island and, without waiting for anyone else, took a large sip on her way down to the pool deck.

The outdoor lights had switched on while they'd been inside, and the reflection of them shining in the pool was one of Cas's favorite views here. There was something almost magical about it, the navy blue sky, the sparks of light throughout the back garden, the whisper of the breeze through the trees.

Cas sat down heavily on the end of one of the deck chairs, pressing her knees together in an effort to keep the cameras from being able to see up her too-short skirt, and took another drink.

She wasn't upset exactly. Part of her was actually quite happy with where she'd ended up, happy that, after weeks, she'd finally managed to get herself into the position she'd been hoping for since the beginning. And given Ada's placement, it was almost a sure thing that they'd be in the finale at this point.

But there was something undeniably sticky about the reality of the situation—the fact that it was probably less Cas herself and more the relationships she'd fostered that had led to this reversal in her fortunes.

She knew that was part of her initial strategy—she wanted that friendship couple, wanted good connections—but she hadn't expected to care so much about the people in the villa. Hadn't expected to feel so guilty about using those relationships, manipulating them to get something she wanted.

Everyone was buzzing around up in the kitchen, conversation lively as they poured prosecco, celebrated their spots, enjoyed clearing this latest hurdle. This was the last ranking until the public vote at the end of the next week, the final vote before they were in the Hot Summer finale. They knew they wouldn't all last that long—Cas thought that most of them who weren't in a stable partnership, like Freddie, weren't expecting to make it to the final three—but there was a rush around it all the same. At being this close to going home, to testing out their relationships in the real world.

Or, if you were Cas, being one step closer to fulfilling her contractual obligations.

She could have just let herself get swept up in the connection she had with Ada and enjoy the very real benefits in terms of her popularity, but it felt gross, thinking about that side of things. Thinking about their relationship as something that had a kind of payout. A cold, calculated transaction.

She preferred thinking about it like she had in the peach orchard: beautiful, untarnished, with untold amounts of promise.

She was staring out at the horizon, sipping away at her prosecco, when someone came and sat down beside her. Cas knew who it was without looking, and, all at once, Cas felt something settle in her chest.

"Hey." Ada's voice was soft, a perfect match to the moment. "Are you okay? You disappeared kind of quickly."

"Yeah." Cas twirled her cup around in her hands, watched as a leaf floated down off a nearby tree and landed in the pool. "I was just feeling weird about the rankings."

"Were you hoping to be higher?" There was no judgment in Ada's voice. How she managed it, Cas would never know.

"God, no. I was shocked I was third."

"I'm not." Cas looked at her, surprised, but Ada's expression was even. "You've been more yourself recently. I feel like you're so much more relaxed than you were at the start of the summer."

"I don't feel any different," Cas said, but Ada was already shaking her head.

"You're not different, exactly, but you're just... you feel less tense, you know? Less aware of the cameras all the time."

Cas's brows pinched. "What do you mean?"

"In the first week or two, it seemed like you were always so afraid of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. I always wondered if maybe it came from all your knowledge of the show or something," Ada said, and it was that exactly. It was scary how well Ada knew her without Cas even having to say anything.

"I think maybe you were just thinking too hard about it," Ada continued. "It seems like you've stopped thinking so much."

"But what if people only like me because I'm partnered up with you?" Cas didn't quite know what she was asking Ada to say, if she was hoping for a confirmation or a denial, but she needed these feelings in her chest to go away.

"People are going to rank us for whatever inane reason, we can't control that." Ada said it so simply, like it wasn't the cause of so much of Cas's turmoil at the minute. "But I don't think that's why things changed for you. Really, I don't." She took Cas's hand, squeezed it like she was trying to press the words into Cas's skin. "The public is just starting to see the real you, Cas. And I know that's probably stressing you out, but it's okay to let them see you."

And, god, how prophetic those words would end up being.

@tiffstuff:I'm so obsessed with cada like you don't understand

@dayla14:what are the odds of them uhauling the second this show is over

@tiffstuff:alksdjf pls there are no odds its 100%

@charleybee:did you hear that rumor about Cas though???

@tiffstuff:... What rumor?

@ciarap1246:uhh... did everyone know that Cas worked for a dating company?

Link:dailypost.co.uk/entertainment/hotsummer/11july...

What you don't know about the lovers!

@isobelleking:I thought she said she was a party planner???

@ciarap1246:did you read the article? She works for Friday. It was on her Instagram bio, but she took it out when she went on the show. There were a few people talking about it a few weeks ago

@isobelleking:okay but like... how does her being there for her company make any difference?

@anjalimarx:well it's weird that she lied about it either way. everyone else shared their actual jobs

@isobelleking:no I get that part, but like... why would she lie?

@anjalimarx:fuckin weird right

@caracoven:are there any internet sleuths out here who can investigate???

@nowenthings:what are we looking for

@beannnews:evidence that something weird is going on probably

@somehowl:... what about confirmation that there's a contract AND an NDA involved?

@milianarogers:I'm a reporter with the Daily Post—can I DM you to talk about this?