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Pepper was in the middle of watching a cheesy rom-com on her phone when she heard a knock at the window, and her heart raced when she did. She jumped up from her bed, locked the door, double and triple checked to make sure Salt wasn’t in the room or the bathroom, and raced to go open it.
Taco tackled her once the window was open, forcing her to the ground and peppering kisses along her jawline.
Pepper couldn’t help but giggle with glee. “Miss me much?”
This was how their current arrangement played out. At first, it started as just Pepper letting Taco crash in her room when it was raining so the shorter woman didn’t have to brace the storms of the island. The two never expected to enjoy each other’s company. Their secret evolved into affection, with Taco now occasionally sneaking into Pepper’s room so the two could catch up. Pepper would tell her all about the misadventures of the hotel, and Taco would give her firsthand updates on the goings of season two.
Of course, it’s not like that was the only reason the two ever hung out.
Pepper lay cuddled with Taco in her bed, snuggling deeper into her arms. “So like, what happened this time? Yin-Yang has been a…weird new person to have around. I don’t like him.”
Taco played with her hair with one hand, holding her by the waist with the other. “MePhone actually switched things up this episode. The challenge was a mansion and- remember Bow?” She always seemed to light up just the slightest when she was recounting events to Pepper.
“Ugh, yeah. Why?”
“I’m fairly certain she’s a ghost now, along with Dough.”
Pepper looked up at her. “Who’s Dough?”
“Oh. I suppose I forgot to tell you about him. It doesn’t matter, you would’ve hated him anyways.”
Pepper planted a kiss on the shorter woman’s collarbone. “If you say so, then I guess I would have.” She grabbed Taco’s arm and pulled it off of her waist so she could hold her hand.
“I’ve been thinking about getting involved,” Taco said after a moment of sharing in comfortable silence.
Pepper gave her a look. “What does that mean?”
“Involved with the game. Forming a partnership to get the million.”
“Like you did with Pickle?”
Taco squeezed her tighter. Too tight. She wasn’t supposed to bring up Pickle.
“Sorry, sorry,” Pepper said, ashamed.
Taco sighed and loosened her grip on the woman. “No, not an alliance. This would be more strategic. More…calculated. I would need to find someone willing to work with me, for one.”
Pepper relaxed herself into her arms again. “Who did you like, have in mind?”
Taco started tracing patterns with her thumb on the back of Pepper’s head. “That Microphone girl. Everyone seems to hate her. Even herself, it would seem. I bet she would agree to anything if it meant someone would find her useful.”
Pepper felt her face flush. “It’s really hot when you talk about manipulating people like that.”
Taco traced a finger now under Pepper’s chin, forcing her to look up at her. “Is it, now?”
Pepper moved her arms so she could grab her face, keeping her there. “I would let you use me if it meant you would look at me the way that you do.”
Taco kissed her hand, giving it a small bite. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, Pepper.”
Pepper gripped her harder. “I told you not to say my name.”
“Fine,” she leaned into her ear, “darling.”
Pepper shuddered, feeling her breath on her neck. She needed to change the subject. “What would you even do if you got your hands on the million?”
Taco shifted the way the two were laying so she could pull her up to face her. She smiled a devilish grin. “I suppose I could always blow most of it by spoiling you.” She held her tighter. “Get a house far away from here, far from the hotel, where you’d never have to worry about Salt or any of this ever again.”
Pepper frowned and looked away. That broke the illusion. Pepper was never supposed to bring up Pickle, and Taco was never supposed to bring up Salt. Their secret meetings were supposed to feel exhilarating, with no reminders of what they were both running from.
Taco tucked some hair behind the other woman’s ear. “Sorry, darling. Just wanted to help you imagine something exciting.”
It was exciting. She could feel her heart beat faster at just the thought of running away with the infamous villain of the show. It made a statement that Pepper was always too scared to say out loud.
She grabbed Taco by the hair and pulled her in closer to kiss her. “I don’t like darling, think of something more unique.” Something less familiar was the part she didn’t say out loud.
Taco kissed her back. “Ok princess, what would you have me spend the million on?”
She buried herself back into her arms. “Me.”
Taco held on tighter to the girl in her arms, running another hand through her hair. This was nice. It was simple. It was hers. It felt good to have that control over someone else again, but this time in a more genuine way. Pepper was a simple girl. It made everything less complicated, just to lay there with her, in a bed of promises that may be empty or not, she wasn’t quite sure yet.
Pepper yawned. “You should have won the first season. You’d make a much better millionaire than OJ.”
Taco considered that for a moment. She wondered what things would have been like if she did win. If she took his path. “If I would have built a hotel, it would have been very different. Maybe I’d let you in my penthouse suite, and he would have to stay outside in the rain.”
Pepper nuzzled herself deeper into Taco’s embrace. “And if you built something now, it would be far away from here. No competition, no stresses, no having to keep up with other seasons.”
Taco sighed. “None of MePhone’s antics.” She paused. “How would you view that life?”
“No drama.” Pepper smiled as those words left her lips. She loved gossip, but it always felt like an obligation. She was “Pepper” of “Salt and Pepper.” She had a part to play, and no one ever expected her to change. Not the hotel, not herself, and certainly not Salt. “We could like, catch the show on TV sometimes and totally make fun of it, but we could also turn it off when we want to.”
“…Leave it all behind. No obligations. I like that.”
A knock at the door startled the two girls, with Pepper falling off the bed. She pushed her hair back and sighed when she heard the voice coming from the hallway.
“Pepper! Like, open the door! Paper was talking about some sort of pool party tonight, and we totally have to be like the first and hottest people there!”
Pepper sighed. Back to the roles she had to play. That was part of what made Taco so exciting. She had destroyed her reputation in one moment of forcibly claiming her win, getting rid of any roles or expectations she once had. She was free.
She stood up and smoothed out her clothes. “You should probably go,” she whispered. “If Salt found you here, she would definitely tell OJ.”
Taco tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Then I’ll see you later, princess. Wish me luck.” A kiss, and she was gone again, back out the window sooner than what felt right.
Pepper, now left alone, with Salt outside waiting for her to open the door, shuddered. She liked being someone else’s princess. It was exhilarating.
It made her feel free.