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Residing at the Playa Des Losers was bittersweet for those who were voted off. Sunshine, a pool, luxury food and hotel rooms—thank the heavens—but no $100,000, which could’ve easily bought all of the aforementioned.
Even so, with the order the campers were being voted off, nobody was too eager to mingle. With an eccentric lot of eliminated contestants—and so little time to make friends for those who faced early elimination—everybody remained rather distant.
Katie, was tired of that.
The BFFFL wasn’t even as adamant about winning the prize money as she was about making friends, and she ended up getting booted fifth, and it isn’t like those eliminated before her were all that great either.
Sure, Justin was nice to look at, but you can only stare at a criminally blessed hunk like himself for so long before boredom pays you a visit.
Then everybody after her: Tyler, Izzy, Cody, Beth…
Well, Beth wasn’t too bad.
That was why the two girls stood together on the moonlit dock of the Playa, hands tightly scrunched over their hearts in anticipation as they waited for the Boat of Losers to arrive. Somebody from the Killer Bass was eliminated tonight, however, the TVs there cut off right before the elimination ceremony, and the two girls had no way of knowing who that was until the boat arrived.
“Ooh, I have a feeling it’s gonna be Courtney,” Beth lisped.
“Me too,” Katie nodded, not looking at Beth—and then the Boat of Losers came into view.
And with it, the eliminated camper.
Katie gasped, immediately recognizing the passenger by her outfit—hell, she made that outfit—and a fit of squeals escaped her as she jumped up and down.
“Sadie!” the girl squealed as the larger girl disembarked and glomped her. Beth clasped her hands together, happy to see the two girls reunited.
“Oh, I don’t even care about being eliminated now,” Sadie gushed, pulling away. “When Chef told me everyone else was at a resort, I like, couldn’t wait!”
“That was the same as me,” Beth smiled, nodding. “There’s literally a pool, and a hot tub.”
Sadie gasped, and the two jumped up and down, squealing. It was up to Katie to calm them down.
“I know you guys are excited, but I’ve got an idea to really spice things up around here.” She grinned impishly. The other two girls exchanged curious glances, awaiting her idea. Katie paused for dramatic effect, and then…
“Seven minutes in heaven.”
***
Tyler didn’t leave his room much upon arrival at the Playa. After suffering the embarrassment of being eliminated over chickens (it too was a justified refusal. His teammates just didn’t understand true phobias), and then being made fun of on international television, then facing all the angry calls from his parents—who were angrier over his loss on the money, than his phobia, which his parents are very aware he has—he couldn’t muster the energy to leave his room.
He lay on his bed, hands folded behind his head and staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression. The silence was comforting (almost—it was difficult when random battle-cry-like screams sounded from Izzy’s room every few minutes). He flinched when he heard a knock at his door, disturbing his (semi) peaceful silence.
“It’s open.”
He wasn’t positive it was open, and if there was a God, it would be locked. However, the universe doesn’t seem to like Tyler very much right now, because it is open and in steps Katie with Sadie and Beth in tow, all bearing varying looks of mischief.
Tyler cocked his head to face them. “What’s up?”
“Well,” Katie started, advancing, “we were just talking about how boring it is around here… and we came up with an idea.”
“Which is?”
“A surprise.”
***
“Seven minutes in heaven? Are we eleven years old?!”
Eva crossed her arms, staring daggers at Katie. She’d only agreed to this because she wouldn’t stop whining and yapping. If she had known she would end up playing seven minutes in heaven, then she would still be lifting weights.
Aside from Eva: Noah, Justin, Katie, Tyler, Izzy, Cody, Beth, and Sadie all sat in a circle on the floor of Katie’s hotel room. It took Katie, Beth, and Sadie a great deal of convincing to collect all of the losers. Some more than others (Noah and Eva).
“I agree with the fitness buff,” Noah said, and Eva glared at him, “the only thing worse than being randomly paired with someone like some dating app, is sports.”
“I know, I know some of you guys aren’t too thrilled about it,” Katie held her hands up defensively, “but we all didn’t know what to do. It was starting to get seriously boring here!”
Noah grumbled, running a hand over his face. “And this was the best you could come up with?”
“Don’t we need,” Cody spoke up, “ah, what’s his name… Ezekiel? Where’s he?”
“Oh,” Katie exchanged a glance with Sadie, “well, we couldn’t, like, find him.”
“Well he should be included too, no?” Beth asked, crossing her legs.
“I mean, if any of you guys wanna try and find him, go on ahead.”
Tyler climbed to his feet, stretching his back with a crack. “I can go grab him,” he offered with a shrug.
***
Tyler blinked absently as he stood in front of Ezekiel’s door. He wasn’t exactly friends with the prairie guy, but he did feel bad for him. As far as he knew, nobody here bothered to talk to Ezekiel, and he spotted the beanie-wearing boy all alone—on the rare chance Tyler left his room, that is.
Tyler broke the hallway's silence by rapping his knuckles against the door. He waited idly, shifting his weight onto one leg and drumming his fingers against his thigh.
Just when he raised his knuckles to knock once more, he heard faint shuffling on the other side. They didn’t look very well, Tyler thought as the door unlocked and opened slowly.
Ezekiel peaked his head out, eyes widening in confusion at the visitor. “Tyler…? What’re yoo’ doin’ here, eh?”
Tyler crossed his arms, looking to the side. “Uh, I dunno, Katie wants all of us to meet in her room… something about—”
***
“Seven minutes in wha…?”
Ezekiel—now seated next to Tyler—questioned with his hands on his knees, expression etched with wonder.
“That a magic place or somethin’?”
Beth giggled. “No, it’s a party game.”
“A terrible one,” Noah deadpanned, slouching back against the bed.
Katie rolled her eyes. “Look, let me explain.” She adjusted herself, sitting criss-cross. “So, basically, two people get picked at random, and they both have to spend seven minutes together in the closet. Whatever happens in there is totally up to the people who are picked, however,” Katie’s eyebrows knit, grinning impishly.
“The two people must kiss.”
A series of ‘oohs’ rang through the bedroom, while Noah and Eva rolled their eyes.
“Ohhh, I think I get it.” Ezekiel nodded, albeit slightly confused still, but he plopped into a more relaxed position and looked around. “So, how do we decide who goes first?”
Katie’s grin only deepened, and she reached behind her and produced an empty bottle of Captain Morgan. Everybody gasped.
“Wow.” Noah clicked his tongue. “I know teenagers are disgusting, hormonal rule-breakers, but I didn’t expect you to be the one to get blasted first.”
Cody busted out laughing while Izzy cackled and slapped her thigh repeatedly beside him. Katie held her hand to her heart and gasped. “This isn't mine. It washed up on the shore here, and then that’s when I thought to get everyone together to play this!” she said defensively.
“Guys,” Izzy whined, snatching the bottle from Katie and placing it in the center of the circle, “who cares if Katie drinks? C’mon! I wanna see some second-base action!” She cackled, giving the bottle a firm spin.
“I don’t drink!” Katie retorted as the bottle came to a gradual stop in front of a certain redhead.
Izzy whooped. “These games normally end once I get picked,” she tapped her chin. “It’s not my fault nobody can handle Izzy,” she mused before throwing her hands up. “But let’s see who I’ll be with!”
She spun the bottle once more, everyone eyed it with anticipation as it slowly came to a stop.
In front of Noah.
“Kill me.”
Izzy cackled loudly, practically springing next to the bookworm, yanking him to his feet, and dragging him to the closet.
“Everyone, I am now selling tickets to my downfall. Come and watch as this very action catalyzes what’s to come,” Noah quipped with sardonic interest, allowing himself to be dragged into the closet by Izzy and her near-manic grin.
Some snickered, while some laughed and cheered them on. “Maybe she’ll whip him into shape?” Cody joked, smirking.
“That’s tame even for Izzy,” Sadie bit her lip, and everyone broke out into fits of giggles.
Once Noah disappeared into the closet and was officially claimed by Izzy, things quieted down as everyone’s gazes remained affixed to the door, listening for any hint of movement or talking.
BANG!
“Ow! Izzy, what the heck?!”
“Jeez, you have really sensitive nipples.”
Everyone went bug-eyed while Cody howled with laughter. “What are they doing in there?” he laughed, verbalizing what everyone else was thinking.
“My best guess is something not suited for children,” Eva smirked, enjoying this game immensely more when she wasn’t in the spotlight.
Silence settled over the group, and the occasional giggle or alarming string of words from Izzy kept everyone on their toes. Soon enough, the two reemerged, Izzy grinning with a pep in her step, and Noah practically sauntering with a satisfied expression and a thin smile.
“Whoa-ho! You guys look like you had fun,” Tyler grinned, eyeing the two teens, “me next!” He readjusted himself, leaning forward and clutching the fabric of his pants. The excitement of this game seemed to pull him out of his depressive funk.
“Oh, ‘fun’ would be an understatement, my friend.” Izzy winked at Tyler as she sat down next to him. Most were staring at Noah as he plopped back into his spot.
“It was… a little more fun than I expected.” Noah waved off those who were staring. Despite his efforts to cover up his enjoyment, he couldn’t help the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.
“All right, now Noah needs to spin for the next person,” Katie clapped, and Noah—rather carelessly—leaned forward and gave the bottle a flick. Cody was left shrinking in on himself when the bottle landed on him.
“Oh man,” he squeaked, chuckling sheepishly, “here goes nothing.” He bit his lip as he gave the bottle a spin, and it whirred to a stop in front of a certain pig-tailed girl.
Katie’s eyebrows raised. Cody was scrawny and geeky and boyish, and he was already head over heels for Gwen. Also known as the “Anti-Katie.” How good could this go?
***
Well, Katie would have to give the whole experience a solid sixty on the “goodness” scale.
Cody went into the closet looking smug while Katie appeared hesitant. Now the former was giggling like a child while the latter bore a smug smile.
“Wooowie, looks like the ladies are dominating tonight, eh?” Izzy nudged Tyler with her elbow, who chuckled in response.
“You have no idea.” Katie—confidence having been blasted through the roof—winked to Cody, who blushed and fell into a giggling fit.
“Well anyway.” Katie stuck her tongue out playfully as she spun the bottle. “Best of luck,” she sang.
Best of luck indeed. Beth and Sadie were smiling with excitement, Eva and Justin didn’t look too thrilled, and Ezekiel twiddled his fingers. However, nobody’s spirit quite matched Tyler’s, who was bobbing up and down and grinning as his eyes spun round and round with the bottle. He had no idea what brought on this zealous pizazz, but all he knew was that he wanted a turn in that damn closet.
Like a terrible taunt, the bottle came to an agonizingly slow stop. Tyler let out a cheer when the bottle ended up pointing at him.
“Hell yeah!” he shouted with glee, springing to his feet and pumping his fists. He then attempted to calm down to spin the bottle himself. He ended up not knowing his own strength and flicked it so hard it was nothing but an unrecognizable blur.
“Oh boy,” Eva’s brow bent in mischief as she rubbed her hands together like a cartoon villain, “what’s the best outcome here? Izzy? Definitely Izzy,” she mused to herself as the bottle spun.
“Well I’ll hafta see if ole’ grumpy grumps here approves before I go kissing another guy.” Izzy chuckled, jerking her thumb to Noah.
Noah, having—for the most part—recovered from his swoony, awestruck state, rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter, this is just a silly party game,” he crossed his arms, and Izzy suddenly appeared behind him.
“Aww, are you jealous? Do you wanna kiss Tyler?” she teased, poking the top of Noah’s head.
“No.” He swatted Izzy’s hand away. “I’d actually like to go back to my room and read now that my turn is over.”
“Aww, what?” Izzy cocked her head to the side, “Already back to your pessimistic self, huh? Do I need to kiss you harder next time—” she was cut off by a series of taunting ‘oohs’ directed at Tyler, who stood with his eyebrows bent in hesitance, biting his lip.
The bottle had landed on Ezekiel, who also bore a similar expression to Tyler’s, but was more confused.
“So, it’s a redo since I’m a boy, right?” Ezekiel scratched his head through his beanie, looking at Katie with a cocked eyebrow.
Katie stuck her tongue out playfully. “Ah ah,” she waved a finger in Ezekiel’s face, “the rules say nothing about redos. Best of luck!”
***
Tyler was excited about getting picked, however, he never thought of the possibility of his partner ending up another male.
After a bit of objection and reluctance, the two boys were ushered into the cramped closet—dimly lit by a lightbulb and filled to the brim with Katie’s belongings—and neither could look the other in the eye.
“Sooo…” Tyler drummed his fingers against his thigh, looking off to the side, and one of Katie’s tops suddenly became the most fascinating thing in the world. “Katie’s got a lotta junk, huh?”
Ezekiel shoved his hands in his pockets, sniffing. “Smells nice, eh? Girls tend to smell good. Like,” another sniff, “somethin’ sweet.”
Tyler sniffed too, crossing his arms. “Like, flowery.”
Has anyone else noticed how captivating Katie’s closet is?
“Wait—” For the first time since they were pushed into the closet, Tyler faced Ezekiel, and he did the same, “—don’t you, like, not like women?” he asked dumbly.
Ezekiel shook his head, crossing his arms in distaste. “Never said that.”
Tyler’s eyes unfocused, trying to remember back to that day in the mess hall.
He didn’t say that, did he?
He wasn’t necessarily wrong either, men are naturally stronger. Although the smart thing, Tyler wasn’t so sure. He figured it’s at the very least justified in his case since he’s homeschooled, right?
“Huh. I guess you’re right. So, is that just what you were taught?”
“Ayup. Parents said to look ‘oot foo’r the women there, help ‘em ‘cause they can’t help themselves. My mom even agreed on that, eh.”
“Your mom? A woman?” Tyler had a little trouble believing that.
The prairie boy shrugged, “I dunno. But I do knoo’ that when I saw Eva, I had a feeling my parents were wrong.”
“Oh yeah…” Tyler looked sheepish, running his index finger on his cheek, “she kinda throttled you, didn’t she? You all right dude?”
“I mean, I bruise easily, so it looked worse than it was.” He smiled without his teeth, and Tyler felt a pang in his chest that—if not for the circumstances—would lead him to believe he was going to throw up. Maybe he was. Surely Katie didn’t need all these tops?
Silence fell over the two boys, and they both ventured their gazes elsewhere. Tyler fell into a daydream, zoning out and humming some Eminem song to himself. He almost forgot about the reason they were in the accursed closet.
Key word: almost. Remember? The universe is boycotting Tyler right now.
“So, we’ve gotta kiss, right?” Ezekiel tilted his head up slightly, and Tyler tensed, bringing his gaze to meet the prairie boy.
“Uh—yeah, right.” Tyler scratched the back of his neck, looking away again, and he could hear the giggling sounds of the girls outside. God, this was so awkward. Why was it so awkward? Probably because Tyler hardly spoke with the guy and now he was stuffed in a closet that smells like flowers with him and he’s forced to kiss him.
“Tyler?”
“Right!” Tyler smiled sheepishly, snapping out of his daydream and facing Ezekiel now. The boy’s eyes were shadowed by his beanie, peeking out from under it. He held his left shoulder with the corresponding hand and had his lip jutting out just barely, quizzically, cute.
What.
Tyler blinked, his conscience had baffled him. Ezekiel? Cute? When? What? Where? Who? Huh? He wasn’t fruity or anything, right? Tyler considered himself to be a particularly savory guy anyway. Boys are friends, homies, bros, comrades…
So why is Ezekiel not falling into any of those categories right now?
Maybe it’s the pressure of the game, knowing he has to kiss him. Tyler wasn’t a quitter, just nervous.
Very, very, nervous.
“Okay, so… how do you wanna do this?” Tyler shrugged, crossing his arms again. Ezekiel looked equally nervous now, twiddling his fingers now and tapping his heel softly.
“I dunno, eh. Never kissed another guy befoo’re.” Ezekiel popped his knuckles to distract himself. “The last two pairs sounded like they had fun.”
“Yeah… maybe we just gotta… go for it?—or somethin’.” Tyler treaded lightly, extremely unsure of himself.
“Maybe. Maybe once we do it then it won’t be so bad, eh?”
Yeah… yeah. Just get over the initial barrier and the tension and awkwardness will cease, right? Simple enough.
Tyler took a deep intake of air through his nose, focusing his eyes on Ezekiel’s and slowly bringing his hands to take hold of his upper arms. He didn’t miss how Ezekiel’s cheeks dusted themselves with a shade of pink. It wouldn’t have been noticeable thanks to the lightbulb—that was basically on life support at this point trying to stay lit—but the prairie boy was a pale fellow.
Tyler wet his lips. “Are you blushing dude?”
Pretty dumb question since Tyler’s own face feels like he swallowed whole fucking habanero pepper.
Ezekiel bit his lip, his heart jumping into his throat and getting stuck there. He curled and uncurled his fingers, finding himself unable to pry away from Tyler’s consuming eyes.
“I dunno… should I not be?” His voice was higher. The tension was thick enough to cut through as a silence fell over them, Tyler’s grip growing tighter on Ezekiel’s arms as the two challenged each other who would look away first. They had either tuned out those outside the door, or they had shut up and were just as silent as them.
“No. No, it’s fine…” Tyler’s gruff voice was lower, almost mumbling when he said that as his eyes flickered from Ezekiel's slightly parted lips and back to his shy eyes. He might have been getting a little caught up in the moment, or maybe it was all those blows to the head that Tyler suffers from all the sports—maybe it was both—but he couldn’t conjure why Ezekiel—Ezekiel—appeared so damn cute right now. He also didn’t have the time to sit and ponder why he was anxious (and not in a scared way) over a boy. Was he not making out with Lindsay in the communal bathrooms a few weeks ago?
Well, at least Ezekiel will remember this.
Tyler swallowed hard, dipping his head down just a tad, before pausing, the two boys made eye contact, noses almost touching, and then…
Somebody knocked on the door.
Izzy knocked on the door.
“Boooys,” she sang, startling the two boys, “it’s been pretty quiet in there, no one’s on their knees, right?” Izzy’s voice seemed to flow downwards and soon enough her voice was coming through much more clearly from the bottom of the door.
“Ah, nope! Two pairs of feet.”
“Izzy,” Tyler cried out, eyebrows knitting in anger, “give us—a second!”
“A second? But you still have, like, three and a half minutes.”
“Izzy,” Tyler’s tone hardened, and she backed down, leaving the two boys startled and with bated breath as they refocused on each other.
“Um, anyway,” Ezekiel breathed, shifting his foot and blushing again when it hit him that Tyler was still holding onto him.
“Right.”
The jock was able to get to the point of their noses nearly touching before he froze up again. He chewed on his lip and was suddenly aware of the way his hairline had dampened with sweat. He rubbed his thumbs into the fabric of the prairie boy’s hoodie to distract himself, and the sound of Ezekiel swallowing and exhaling softly snapped Tyler back to reality again.
“Here, let me,” Ezekiel‘s eyes flickered down, and shortly after Tyler felt Ezekiel’s hands gently settle themselves just above his hips. A chuckle arose in his throat since that’s a very ticklish spot of his, but he quickly melted into Ezekiel’s hands. He felt his anxiety subside a bit with a sigh through his nose.
“Saw it on TV once, eh? I guess that’s how yoo’re supposed to do this stuff.” He lifted his eyes again, a grin playing across his face and his face was pink and God when did he get so cute?
Tyler chuckled again, smiling himself. “Nice.” The jock felt his face heat up as silence settled again, a lot less awkward this time he noticed. Huh.
“So,” Ezekiel nearly muttered, looking down at Tyler’s feet, “unless those times I watched TV failed me, we’re supposed to kiss now, right?”
His gaze lifted, lips barely parted, eyes needy and intrigued; Tyler found himself drowning in those gray eyes of his. All at once, the atmosphere softened: Tyler’s muscles relaxed, the sweating stopped, the foot tapping ceased, and all the jock uttered was a low “yup” before he lost control of himself. He was simply watching through his eyes like windows as this played out.
The last thing Tyler saw was the blurry flutter of the prairie boy’s eyelashes before he closed his eyes. He pressed his lips into Ezekiel’s; they were soft, only slightly chapped, and with a lingering sense of coffee on them. The jock hardly had time to process and believe what he was doing before the kiss was over. The two boys were left inches from each other once more, blushing madly, mouths slightly parted, and silence.
It was good.
They liked it.
Ezekiel was the first to speak. Stammering, “W-Wow, eh… uh—hmm…” He raised his fingers to his bottom lip, tracing it gingerly and brushing them against his stubble. He bore a faraway expression as he processed that short and sweet goodness. It was his first kiss ever, he wasn’t sure what to expect or what to think.
Tyler swallowed hard, absently rubbing his thumbs into Ezekiel’s hoodie and tenderly kneading his biceps with the rest of his fingers. He felt the prairie boy’s arms relax under his touch, and Tyler stopped, not wanting to push too far, however, he kept his hands where they were.
“Uhh, yeah… what didja think?” Tyler managed a smile, cocking an eyebrow with a playful innocence. His chest tightened and untightened and his stomach was doing triple axels faster than Tonya fucking Harding and wow he might actually throw up—
“I dunno…” Ezekiel managed, not looking Tyler in the eye and instead wearing a faraway look as his fingertips still hovered around his lips.
Tyler was struck with confusion when he found himself worrying if the kiss had upset the prairie boy. Why would he care if Ezekiel didn’t enjoy it? This is just a game—which he has already beaten now that they’ve kissed—so why does he care what he thinks? Why is he still holding onto him? Why is he feeling what can only be described as his stomach being squished into a tight little ball and shaken like an organ milkshake?
Ezekiel hummed. “I didn’t—really get a chance to, y’knoo’, feel it.”
Oh?
Oh.
Words arose in the jock’s throat before his brain could even give the green light, “Oh okay… do you wanna, like, do it one more time?” Why the fuck does he want to do it one more time? Why does Ezekiel want to do it one more time? They could walk out of the closet right now—
Tyler’s train of thought sped right into a fog apparently, and his ability to think for himself faltered. React now, think later type shit.
“Uh huh…” was all Ezekiel uttered before anything else he would’ve said died in his throat. The two boys made eye contact for a moment before their eyelids shut. Their lips brushed together; Tyler felt as if his veins were surging with electricity. They fell into a kiss once more, and the jock felt like his insides would pop from excitement when Ezekiel let out a small, mewl-like sound. Tyler wasn’t sure he could pinpoint when he started massaging the shorter male’s arms again, but he was, and Ezekiel seemed to enjoy it.
The kiss didn’t stop this time after just one, pulling away for a split second only to breathe before their lips met once more. The jock slithered his left hand to Ezekiel’s back, bringing it to the back of his neck as if to pull the farm boy closer. Tyler’s strong and calloused hands made Ezekiel’s hair stand on end, and in a good way too.
The prairie boy figured he should do something with his hands too, so he slid his hands to the jock’s back, aimlessly exploring his generously toned backside. Tyler breathed a chuckle through his nose, expressing his interest in Ezekiel's touch.
They continued for another minute before pulling away, red in the face, lightly panting and with satisfied, open-mouthed smiles on their faces.
“Didja feel it now?” Tyler gave him an honest grin, however, his tone was laced with a sly edge.
Ezekiel took in a deep breath, preparing to respond before the door suddenly snapped open, and the two boys gasped, startled by the bright light. An Izzy-shaped shadow was stuck to them as said girl stood holding the door with her eyebrows knit together.
“It’s been nearly eight minutes, did you guys not hear—” her face softened in an instant, doting on the way the two boys looked, “—ahhh, I see. Carry on then,” she chirped, beginning to close the door again. Tyler was quick though to smack his palm against the door.
“No no—we’re all done, actually,” he retorted, pushing the door back open. He gave Ezekiel an apologetic smile, whispering (albeit not very good): “Lemme know what you thought later, yeah?” Ezekiel returned the smile, blushing with a nod before Tyler turned to exit the closet. He followed suit, and out came everybody’s reactions.
“Could you guys have been any quieter?” Sadie huffed, throwing her hands in the air, and Katie nodded in agreement beside her.
“I know,” Izzy responded with a hand on her hip, “I could barely hear them with my ear pressed to the door. Swear I heard something about feeling something…” She curled a finger around her chin in thought. “Dunno what that’s all about!” She skipped back over to her spot while Beth gasped, pointing at the two boys.
“You guys are totally red in the face!”
A series of taunting ‘oohs’ followed and Tyler was quick to raise his hands in defense. “Relax you guys, nothing happened, we just played the game, all right?” He crossed his arms and some more whooping rang out before the losers began to clutter around the bottle for another spin.
Tyler cast one more smiling glance at the rather nervous-looking boy, who couldn’t help but grin in return. Tyler wasn’t thinking right now. In fact, he wasn’t even thinking about thinking.
Oh well, he’ll get to that later, all he knew was that that was fun as hell.