CHAPTER THREE ERIK

Day Three

W e'd been told that within a day or so after the live show—when the series participants had been introduced—that we'd be flown to the new season's location, Vancouver Island, in Western Canada. This was day three and we were being transferred to the filming sites. The Pacific Northwest island was the forty-third largest island in the world and home to nearly eight hundred thousand inhabitants, according to my research. I might've missed training for physical endurance, but not reading inconsequential facts about our destination. I'd learned that most folks lived on the southern tip near the capital city of Victoria, with massive sections of unoccupied land lying in the middle, and in the northern parts of the island, terrain that was still very much wild and primitive.

The ten teams would be helicoptered from Victoria to Mooyah Bay where we'd be taken by boat up the inlet and onto Gold River. Ten separate waterfront spots were chosen to be similar in topography with the same available resources for everyone. To make it fair , per the article I read. Five teams on each side were across the river from one another separated by a minimum of ten miles of shoreline between us. There'd be zero chances we'd bump into one another and would have no idea whether the teams were still competing or had failed. If a player tapped out, their partners were forced to exit as well. The last team standing were the winners and would share the million-dollar prize.

Drew sat silently across from me in warm clothing. I found it odd that he'd dressed so cozy considering we were minutes from being forced to disrobe. "Nervous?" he asked, removing his ever-present baseball cap and raking through his blond buzz cut. "I always get nervous at first," he added, smiling.

"Afraid is more like it," I admitted.

"Wrong show, buddy," he quipped. "That's on Discovery, and they don't pay shit," he added.

It took me a minute to understand the joke. I had in fact checked on the Naked and Afraid series to see if they offered a prize. It didn't. "I heard," I said. "Kinda why I'm here."

"Looking for a big payday, are ya?"

"Something like that," I answered. More like desperate for one.

"Did you practice a lot? Do some extreme camping perhaps?" he inquired, studying my exposed arms in my tank top. I bet he thought I was too skinny to be in a competition like Bare Naked .

"Some," I lied. I couldn't maintain eye contact with him. Holding Drew's gaze was a lot harder than I'd imagined. I despised lying, so I told him the truth. Honesty was the basis of all successful relationships, after all. "Well…none, actually," I confessed. "That's why I'm afraid."

"Have you ever gone camping?" he asked.

I shook my head, warmth creeping down my neck.

"Hunt? Fish?"

"No," I whispered, gripping my seat. My stomach dropped when the helicopter ascended. "Oh, God," I said, fighting the urge to throw up.

Drew must've noticed my distress. "Ever been on a helicopter before?" he asked.

"I'm a student," I blabbed, trying to find any excuse for my lack of any sort of skill that would allow me to be on an outdoors television series.

"Too busy then," he said, placing his arm on the back of his bench seat across from me. I swallowed hard, trying not to stare at the immense bulge in his sweatpants as his legs parted. Why are they always gray in color?

"I'm sorry I didn't practice, Mr. Montana," I mumbled. "I realize now that I should have."

"Mr. Montana?" he asked. "How old do you think I am?"

"Thirty in three months," I blurted, surprising him at my knowledge of his birth date. "The thirteenth, I think. I could be wrong." I played it cool, but it'd been too late.

"You're right, Erik. How about you call me Drew?" he asked. "You and I are about to be very up close and personal." He winked.

That was an understatement. I'd watched last season's episodes a hundred times. Drew Montana was everyone's favorite on the show, and people obsessed over what he and his partner, Krissy, had possibly done when the cameras were off. Bare Naked was different from other reality shows of its kind. The contestants filmed themselves and producers were not at the camp locations. Plenty of stationary cameras were always on around the individual sites though, basically filming the participants nonstop. We were expected to record footage for daily diary moments, confessionals, and personal commentaries.

"How about we make a pact to be friends during this?" he asked. "It goes faster and much easier if we get along well, despite what the producers will want from you."

"What will they want?" I asked, unsure of my exact role.

"They'll want drama. Lots and lots of drama," he answered. "But let's not play into that shit. However, we'll still need to create some sort of narrative that folks will like watching. The more stuff we do that entertains them gets us more screen time," he added. "And don't forget, if there's a tie, the viewers vote for a winner."

"Could that happen?" I asked, feeling even more worried about my chances if the results depended on the viewer's votes. Drew Montana was a star. I was a timid city boy who couldn't handle it when my barista didn't give me enough pumps of caramel in my macchiato.

"It could, and it did. A coupla seasons ago, in fact," he reminded me. "Remember the two gals who competed that season?" he asked. "Amber and Becka, one a WNBA player and the other a pageant queen."

"Oh yeah. I voted for them. I figured everyone would," I said, nodding my head. "Then let's not tie with anyone," I quickly added. "Besides, I doubt we'll get votes with me as your partner." I turned away and felt my face flushing. I had no business being there with a two-time champion of the television game. Not to mention, a three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback.

Drew reached across the space between us and held my knee. "Hey," he began. "Don't think like that, buddy. We're a team now, and I don't like losing at any game. This is just that, a game."

Not for me it wasn't. It offered something that could help my family out of poverty. "I'm sorry you got stuck with me," I whispered, my chest tightening. "If you get tired of me, it'll be okay if you tap."

He stared into my eyes and I swear I heard a lock click open in my heart. "I would have picked you even if I'd been first to choose," he said. "Did you know that?"

"Really?" I asked. "You sure?"

"Really," he said. "And I like our chances, Erik. You and I are going to be a great team. You'll see."

My heart swelled at his words. I was afraid for sure, but I could be brave as long as I was with him. I bet I could pretend to do a lot of things as long as he was by my side. Pretend would be all I'd get from a man like Drew Montana. Men like him didn't go for men like me. I'd learned that the hard way my entire life. I was always drawn to larger-than-me guys, but all they saw was a dorky nerd and they'd look right past me.

I'd given my heart to a guy my sophomore year in college. He was a jock: tall, charming, and everything I'd dreamed of growing up. We'd met in calculus and he needed tutoring. I'd formed a crush hard and fast for the frat member. He'd needed help and flirted outrageously with me, so I had asked him if we could go on a proper date. I had thought he liked me that way. Well, he hadn't. He'd made a huge scene in the library so everyone would hear and he could be sure to shut down any rumors that he was gay.

You and I are going to be a great team . Drew's words kept repeating in my head. "I hope we are."

"I've got you, Doc," he said.

"I'm not a doctor yet," I clarified.

"Maybe, but your studies show your commitment to a task," he said. "That in itself speaks volumes to you as a person, Erik."

So, he'd read up on my show bio? He'd called me by my first name a few times too. Maybe I wouldn't have to pretend to be someone I wasn't. Hope sparked within me, making me believe we could actually win. I would never tap because I knew I'd want to spend as many days with Drew as I possibly could.

The helicopter swooped hard and right as my stomach remained in my throat. The river's edge zoomed into view when we approached the shore. A hundred yards of stone-strewn shoreline with damp, slippery rocks, made its way to a forested darkness beneath us.

"I'm still afraid," I confessed, turning from the window to Drew.

"Don't be. You've got me, and I'll protect you."

I heard my mind ask if he promised, praying I hadn't said it out loud.