Watching the unusual scene unfold by the edge of the pool, Jett nodded when Anna said she hoped Nina was okay. He had never empathized with a girl for being elbowed or hit—to be honest, he still wasn’t sure [i]what[/i] had happened, since it had all gone down so fast—in the crotch before, but there was a first time for everything, he supposed. At least it looked like the crew had some medically trained members. Almost as soon as it became apparent that Nina had hurt herself, she was swarmed by a group of men and women in black who spoke to her in low voices and then carted her off to be treated without an audience. Like an injured football player rising after taking a tumble, the rest of the cast golf clapped supportively as she disappeared into the house.

He was just about to lean back into his lounge chair when the host announced that he and Anna were one of the next pairs to face off in the competition. Apparently he wouldn’t be getting a break just yet. “As I’ll ever be,” he stood up and arched his back in a stretch, following her over to the pool. Even though he wasn’t on the best of terms with his teammate, he wasn’t so petty that he would let their personal squabble impact his performance in the game. He’s signed up to see this thing through to the end, so a guarantee not to be kicked off before the end of the very first week would have been nice.

The water was lukewarm as he stepped into it, heated by the California summer sun that had been beating down on it all day. It was pleasant now, but Jett knew getting back out of it later would be like closing himself into a walk-in freezer. If they made it far in the tournament, they’d have to wade in and out a few separate times too. Idly, he wondered if the crew had towels around to make the transition more comfortable. Considering the type of show they were filming, he doubted it. Fans of reality TV loved watching their favorite cast members parade around in scanty swimwear, so the producers probably expected them to tough out the cold for positive ratings.

Once he was set up where he needed to be, he took a second to size up their competition. Ashley and Nathan looked similar enough to them in height and weight that it was hard to tell how difficult they would be to beat. It was probably going to come down to skill. He hoped Anna could come up with a few tricks to knock Ashley off her partner’s shoulders, since most of the work was going to land on her. All he had to do was hold on tight while they brawled against the others and try not to let her fall.

Turning to her, Jett offered a hand to help her balance when she climbed on top of him. “Hop up fast,” he advised just before dunking his head under the water to make it easier for her to straddle his shoulders. He waited for her to get in place before he came back up for air.