Love Elimination (20 page)

‘Did you go with your parents and Kate? Where’d you go?’

‘Yeah. We learned to ski at Falls Creek. My dad taught us.’

‘What are your parents like? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak about them before.’

‘Neither have you.’ Anna covered her discomfort with teasing, but Luke saw through the act. Her parents were obviously a soft spot. Whose family wasn’t?

‘Fine. I’ll go first,’ Luke said. ‘But not until we get onto that run. Come on!’

* * *

Luke shuffled forwards and, with a glance back to make sure she was following, launched himself down the slope. At first Anna didn’t think she’d be able to catch up. Adrenalin shot through her body and her hands shook with the force of it. Her descent was slow and cautious. In moments, Luke had effortlessly slowed himself and waited for her. They skied about two metres apart. It was as close as Anna was comfortable with, given the dangerous objects on their feet.

As they reached the fork in the path, Luke steered off the course that the cast and crew had been instructed to follow. Anna hadn’t even noticed the alternate slope on the first two runs. She looked at it now and it didn’t seem much steeper. Luke skidded to stand at the sign announcing the harder difficulty level. Anna struggled to pull herself to a stop, employing some gradual weaving to slow her speed.

‘I’ll stick with you the whole time,’ he said, reaching out to rub her back. With so many layers of clothes, Anna barely felt it. But it still warmed her in more ways than one. A flush rose to her cheeks. She was enjoying his attention too much.

‘Okay. Let’s go.’

This time, Anna pushed off first. She took the run carefully, skiing horizontally down the steeper surface. Each shift in direction was wide and deliberate. Luke called out encouragements every few turns. For the first time, Anna could imagine him as a coach. She guessed he’d be a really good one: fun and supportive, but also driven and demanding full effort.

They didn’t stop until they reached the bottom. Whether that was Luke’s plan or not, Anna didn’t know. But she didn’t have that much control. Her thighs screamed at the effort needed just to remain upright. A couple of times her skis drifted to point forwards. Each time Luke spotted it and yelled out so Anna could correct them before she started bounding straight down the hill like a character in a comedy film.

She breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the bottom—a differently levelled area than the one that connected to the easy slope. Luke skidded to a halt beside her, taking the last few metres at high speed. He snapped open the latches and jumped out of his skis, grabbing them and hoisting them over his shoulder before Anna could process what he was doing. She rushed to follow, but her gloved fingers fumbled.

‘Here. Let me help.’ In a flash, Luke was gently pushing Anna’s fingers aside. He flicked the straps loose, allowing Anna to step out onto the snow. Then he lifted her skis as well, joining them with his own. ‘How about a coffee?’

‘No’ obviously wasn’t an acceptable answer. Not that Anna wanted to refuse. There was no camera crew or GoPro-clad stalkers where they were. Finally she’d be able to interact with Luke without cameras in her face or the threat of getting caught. Anna trudged through the snow after him. They left their skis outside a café and hustled into the warmth.

The place wasn’t nearly as full as the one on the easy slope. It was also a lot quieter, since it was completely devoid of young children. Anna found them a seat in the corner and waited for Luke to grab their drinks. The fact that the spot she chose was cosy and romantic was a coincidence.

‘Good choice.’ Luke placed a table number in front of them and scooted onto the seat beside her. ‘So, parents are the topic of the day. Right?’

There was no way to avoid it. Anna just nodded.

‘I’ll go first,’ he said. ‘Here’s the CliffsNotes version. My mum died when I was two. She was pregnant with my sister and there were complications that killed them both. I don’t remember her at all. My father was heartbroken. He still hasn’t gotten over her.’

Anna sucked in a breath. The revelation tugged at her heart and tears clogged up her throat. He knew what it was to lose a parent. She took his hand in hers and rubbed small circles on his palm.

‘So you were raised by your father?’ she asked, her voice gentle.

‘Plus a few nannies. And I went to boarding school from Year 8.’ Luke’s voice was dismissive, brushing off the question and his answer. Did he not care? Or was he so hurt that he couldn’t talk about it honestly, even now? Anna’s heart felt heavy thinking about it. Perhaps, like her, Luke wasn’t close with his only remaining parent.

‘What was that like?’

‘It was normal for me. I didn’t really realise that my upbringing was in any way unusual until high school. Then I got serious about snowboarding at sixteen and left school to be privately educated while I was training and competing.’

Anna tried to imagine him as a child. ‘Do you regret it at all?’

‘Not really. I love snowboarding. I’ve been exceptionally lucky to compete and travel at the level I have. My dad did his best and gave me a great life.’

‘Still. You missed out on so much. And it must’ve been hard dealing with the pressure and media so young.’

‘Maybe.’ He ran a hand through his hair and avoided Anna’s eyes. ‘But I won’t be revealing my emotional baggage on the show.’

‘Damn. All I wanted was a little drama. You owe me that after a week of utter boredom.’ Anna couldn’t help joking around. She wanted to see him smile. Her reward came quickly as he flashed her a grin. He was so handsome it took her breath away.

‘Nope. Sorry to disappoint.’

They paused to sip at their drinks, taking in the café around them. The cameras still hadn’t found them and no one was looking their way. For the first time in a long while, Anna didn’t feel like she was being poked and prodded into an invisible line. This felt like a date, not a contrived production for a TV show.

‘How about you?’ he asked. ‘What’s your family like?’

Anna stopped, cup raised halfway to her lips. Did he sense how much of her history she was hiding? There had to be a way to be honest. ‘Well, I’ve also lost a parent. We have that in common. My dad died when I was fifteen.’

‘Anna … I’m so sorry.’ He reached out and clasped her hand. His thumb rubbed circles in her palm. The action warmed her like no hot drink could. It was easy to just sit there and let him soothe her.

‘What’s your mum like?’ he asked, leaning across the table so he was closer to her.

Anna pressed her eyes closed for a moment and took a deep breath before answering. ‘We’re estranged.’

It was the closest Luke would get to an answer. The only person she’d ever told about her mum, and those awful years before Anna ran away to join Kate in Sydney, was Ben. And when she told him, she hadn’t been rigged up to microphones. Anna was hopeful that by pushing the microphone under her jacket and scarf, she’d managed to muffle the sound. Though there was no telling what the technology could capture.

She cupped her hands around her drink and took a sip. The scalding liquid slipped down her throat, coating it with milky chocolate. She looked up at Luke and caught him smearing froth across his upper lip, forming a white, edible moustache. She giggled, surprised by the touch of childlike fun after such an intense conversation.

‘What? Is there something on my face?’ he asked, tilting his head and flashing her a trickster’s grin.

‘Actually, there is.’

He leaned in until there were only centimetres between them. ‘Maybe you could fix that for me?’

‘Oh, no way. I’m not falling for that cliché.’

Luke didn’t give her a chance to say no. He dipped his head and the distance between them shrank until his lips brushed against hers. They were soft and warm and entirely irresistible. Anna stopped thinking about the show. She forgot the threat of the cameras finding them and the microphones clipped under their clothes. She forgot everything except the temptation to open her mouth to him. The feel of his breath, the taste of chocolate, the texture of the froth on her upper lip. His tongue caressed hers.

The best thing to do would be to pull away. Anna knew she couldn’t let it go on. It wasn’t fair. This kiss wasn’t for the cameras. It wasn’t part of the act. Their conversation had transcended the type of information she was willing to project to the world. She was playing with fire.

Luke’s hands cupped her head. He pulled her into him. Anna found her own hands linked behind his neck, unsure which of them placed them there. It was instinct to curl into him. To surrender her mouth and press her body against his, their winter gear getting in the way. Her tongue met with his. A burning, needy sensation spread through her.

Neither of them broke away until a cold breeze blew through the café, accompanied by the sound of a door slamming. Anna glanced towards the entrance, suddenly sure that she would see the cameras turned on them. It almost would’ve been a relief. She could’ve justified the kissing. Without the crew, it was a normal kiss motivated by nothing other than attraction.

It was only a middle-aged man, not a full camera crew, but it freed Anna from the strange trance she was in.

‘We should go,’ she mumbled, unwilling to meet Luke’s eyes. His hand hadn’t moved from the back of her neck and, to be honest, she didn’t want it to.

Luke refused to shift. ‘We haven’t finished our drinks.’

She could still feel his breath on her cheek. Instead of pulling him back into her, Anna reached for her drink and took a large gulp. The hot chocolate had barely cooled even though it felt like an hour since she’d taken the first sip. She could probably have counted the minutes that had passed on one hand, but she couldn’t spare the brain power. Her mind was occupied by the man in front of her.

‘I have to go,’ Anna said. Her chair scraped against the wooden floor as she hurriedly shoved herself backwards. She’d made a mistake. The knowledge flooded through her. It wasn’t just a crush. If she continued on with the show, she’d fall in love with Luke. Maybe she was already there, but her denial would keep it from hurting. All she needed was to leave, to go home to her business and only see Luke when she passed a magazine stand. Surely with only five real contestants left, plus her, Kate could get her eliminated? She needed an out and she needed it now.

Luke didn’t try to kiss her again. They didn’t even speak as they caught the chairlift back to the easier slopes where the camera crews were waiting. But he watched her. She felt his eyes on her and it made her insides burn with equal parts desire and anxiety.

At the top, the camera crew pounced and Anna was dragged away for an interview. Any opportunity Luke had to mention the kiss or her reaction had passed. Anna could let herself breathe again. Except doing so only invited the stabbing pain of the cold air into her throat.

The crew directed her to stand, sheltered, behind the wall of the café for an interview. Luke had already been dragged off. She had watched the back of his head rise in the chairlift, beside Rachel. The air stilled around her as she waited while a hair and make-up person rushed forwards to fix her hair. She would tell them nothing; just that she and Luke had skied the harder slope and then caught the chairlift back up the mountain.

A producer Anna didn’t know very well stood behind the camera. ‘Anna,’ he said, smiling like he was her best friend. ‘Was that your first time kissing Luke Westwood?’

Anna’s stomach dropped out from under her. The man watched her reaction like a scavenger bird, a sickly smirk on his face. He had her cornered and they knew it.

‘Would you say you’re falling in love with Luke Westwood?’ he asked. It had to be clear that she wouldn’t be answering his questions. Anna pursed her lips shut. Isn’t that what celebrities and politicians did when they didn’t want to answer—just say ‘no comment’ or push the cameras from their faces? Anna couldn’t trust herself to speak now. She wasn’t good at lying and she couldn’t tell them the truth.

‘Doing interviews is part of the deal, Anna. Give us something we can work with.’

A hiss slipped through her lips. Anna’s chest constricted and she no longer noticed the cold air biting at her nose. It was the first time she felt truly vulnerable in front of the camera. She knew her face was giving away her secrets: that she liked Luke, but that she wouldn’t talk about it. If she had been talking to Ben, she would pick apart her feelings, ask for advice, circle around the problems between her and Luke until she felt they had found a solution. But this wasn’t her best friend, this was a producer and the camera was going to broadcast her every vulnerability Australia wide.

‘Anna. Just tell us how you felt when he kissed you.’ The producer went back to playing the nice guy. It wasn’t as convincing the second time. When she didn’t answer, he continued, ‘Fine then. Just tell the camera that he kissed you. That’s all we need for now. We can try this again later.’

‘He kissed me,’ Anna whispered.

‘I can’t hear you.’

‘He kissed me,’ she said, louder this time. Then she walked away without waiting to be dismissed. It didn’t help to recognise the strange loneliness in her heart. She couldn’t allow herself to be that close to Luke again, with the cameras there to censor every word and movement. She couldn’t trust herself around him.

* * *

‘Hadie!’ Anna called. She’d just finished five or six runs by herself, not including the GoPros recording her every movement. Hadie was the first fellow contestant she’d seen in that time. The familiar bob of blonde hair—snagged in the tight scarf around her neck—flew down the last few metres of the slope.

As she reached the bottom, Hadie looked up and caught sight of Anna. She waved.

‘I’m getting the hang of it, Anna!’

‘You ready for a break?’

‘Sure.’ They removed their skis and Hadie followed Anna to the café. Jessica was already in there, warming her hands around a mug. When she saw them walk in, she raised a hand and beckoned for them to join her. They each ordered their drinks and pulled back a chair at Jessica’s table.