Page 34 of Unscripted

If I was being honest, I also didn’t want to be the first Bella to admit their match was not working out. If watching the show taught me anything, it was that single girls did not last long in here. Those who immediately didn’t like their partner garnered the impression of being picky and were often sent home within the first two weeks. Conversely, if I tried too hard to get to know too many of the guys too soon, I could be seen as flighty and unserious and then still get sent home early. I needed to be here as long as possible, so neither of those storylines were going to work for me.

Moving on from Callum would need to be done carefully and strategically.

“He’s not much of a talker, is he?” Jess said.

“Oh, you know, it’s still just day one.” I was trying to project lightness, to act like Callum was just a bit shy and simply dealing with the nerves of the day. Inside, however, a feeling akin to relief rushed through me. Maybe it wasn’t just me he was cold with. Maybe that was just his personality.

After what seemed to be every skincare step ever invented was applied, we gathered at the bottom of the stairs.

Nervous anticipation welled in my chest as I stood in the hallway in my pajamas.

I was about to share a bed with Callum.

It was another staple of Bella Amore: every match slept together in the same bed. On top of that, all Bellas slept in the same large, communal bedroom. When I binged the show, I loved watching that part. I thought it was a riot that ten grown adults had to sleep in the same room, like they were at sleep away camp.

The setting also happened to perfectly facilitate the spiciest bits of the show. Production used high-tech night vision cameras that could pick up anything happening in the darkened room. Every bedtime make out or under-the-covers romp was captured in high definition. The setup was pure, reality television gold.

Being about to live it, however, was something I was not particularly keen on at the moment. I had signed a contract agreeing to it, knowing exactly what I was getting into with my sleeping arrangements. I had even wondered if I would get one of those butterfly-inducing nighttime kisses.

The reality of my current situation could not be further from what I had fantasized.

A producer’s voice rang out from the ceiling’s speakers, letting us know we could head upstairs. “Don’t take your mic packs off until lights are out,” they said.

I couldn’t imagine there would be any kind of conversation between Callum and me that my mic would need to record, but I nodded along anyway, giving the camera nestled up on the ceiling at the base of the stairs—one of the clearly visible ones—a thumbs up.

I was immediately scolded for doing so. “Don’t look at the camera, please, Poppy,” the speaker voice sang out. Not wanting to get told off a second time, I put my head down and quickly headed up the stairs.

When I reached the second floor and stepped into the rectangular bedroom, my immediate thought was that it felt smaller than it appeared on TV. Everything else in the villa had been exactly how I expected it. The bedroom, however, with its five double beds all in a line against one wall, felt more intimate than I anticipated.

Any other thought after that seemed to fall out of my brain immediately when I looked around and found Callum already in our bed. Shirtless.

Shirtless, as in nothing covering his smooth, tanned skin. Not one stitch of fabric over the wide shoulders and defined abs that were currently peeking out above the comforter.

I paused for a moment, trying to collect myself and calm my nerves. He was a prick. I could not let his hot body distract me from ignoring him.

Avoiding eye contact as best as I could, I crossed the room and slid into bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. The comforter felt like my only line of defense.

I rolled over onto my side, putting my back to him and trying to scoot over to the edge of the bed as subtly as possible.

The bedroom’s blazing overhead lights were still on, and the couples around us were all chatting. I had made an effort to talk to Callum in the kitchen earlier and was essentially shot down. That would not be happening again. I closed my eyes and pretended I was so tired I had immediately fallen asleep.

The lights finally went out and soon enough the neighboring pillow talk died down. I slipped off my mic pack, letting it drop to the floor next to me, and rolled onto my back.

Blinking up at the darkened ceiling, I listened to the soft snores surrounding me and thought back on the whirlwind the day had been. It felt like I had been in here for a month, not just a few hours.

I thought about everything that happened and everything that would come. Mostly, though, and to my own chagrin, my mind kept wandering to the man sleeping just inches away from me. I rolled back over to my side, forcing my eyes shut and all thoughts of him out.

It was no use. I could feel the warmth of Callum radiating across our shared bed, reminding me of his presence right up until I finally drifted off to sleep.

17

The next morning began with a bright, rude awakening.

I’d slept pretty well, considering the large man-child next to me and the eight other bodies sharing the same air. I’d give it to production; the beds were extremely comfortable. So comfortable that I was in a deep, heavy sleep right up until the bedroom lights were thrown on, and I was shocked awake by what felt like my eyeballs being exposed to direct sunlight.

I jerked straight up, looking around in a panic. For a moment, I forgot where I was: that I was not in Blair’s guestroom, not in the dingy hotel room my previous job put me up in, not even in my old bedroom back in New York.

Coming back into my body, I squinted around the room. The stage lights hung up in each corner of the ceiling, strategically placed to ensure the space was well-lit for the cameras, were on full brightness. I understood why the girls on past seasons would immediately put their sunglasses on while still in bed every morning. I had thought it was a funny British thing, but I realized now it was more of a practicality.