A Date for the Hunt (The Dating 4) - Page 8

Erin winks at me before I’m directed to stand on the stage while holding my egg. She comes down to the stage and says a few things to the show host who I’ve seen on numerous other reality TV shows. His name is Ryan Cruise, a former NFL quarterback who got hurt and turned to television because he definitely has a face for the TV with his devilish smile. By looking at the way the other women are staring at him, I’m starting to think the bachelors should be worried about their matches running off with the former athlete.

All in all, I’m in awe of my sister. She gets to meet all these famous people. Once she’s done talking to Ryan, she waves at all of us and points to the cameras. “You ready, ladies?”

Everyone screams yes, except for me and the woman standing to my right. When she picked up her egg, the name tag in her spot said her name is Makayla. She’s a beautiful woman with dark red hair and bright green eyes. The people in wardrobe put her in a sleek green dress that looks amazing with her skin tone. She tilts her head toward me. “Am I the only one who’s nervous?”

That makes me smile. “No. I’m terrified.”

She snickers. “Good. We should stick together then. I’m Makayla.”

“Allison,” I whisper back. “But you can call me Allie.”

The camera lights flash on and Ryan takes his place in front of them. The time has come. He introduces himself and my cheeks are already hurting from smiling so much. I know the cameras are on us and I don’t want to look like I’m miserable. I feel silly.

When it comes time for me to be introduced, I smile at the camera. The other ladies had such amazing introductions. Several of them have traveled the world, been in movies, know how to speak ten languages, and so forth. All mine is going to be is my name, where I live, what I do for a living, and that my interests are gardening when I have the time. Basically, anything outdoors is what I love to do. There are plenty of other things, but I didn’t want to bore the viewers. I’m pretty sure I will now that my life doesn’t sound as spectacular as all the other women. To my surprise, that’s not the case at all. There’s a mention of how adventurous I am, and how I love bridge and rock jumping. I almost forgot about that time in my life. Seems so long ago. Not that I did crazy things all the time, but I had my moments. In Vermont, I jumped off a covered bridge into the river below. And in Mexico, I jumped off a cliff into the ocean. The only person to know that stuff about me is Erin. I should’ve known she’d hype up my introduction somehow.

Once Ryan’s done with my introduction, he motions for us to leave the stage. It’s time to hide our eggs. All the other ladies take off in the courtyard, searching around for the perfect spot. Makayla waits for me to get off the stage. “Want to be hiding buddies?” she asks.

It’s actually a relief to have someone with me. Maybe then I won’t feel so stupid. Nodding, I stop right beside her. “Sounds good to me. Let’s go.”

We only have fifteen minutes to hide our eggs, so we don’t have much time to converse. There really aren’t many hiding places in the courtyard. All we have are palm trees, several bushes by the walkways, and tons of sand. It was written in the agenda that if we hide our eggs in the sand, we have to mark the spot. The resort doesn’t want their beach all dug up which I fully understand.

Makayla looks over at me and smiles. Out of all the other women, she had an introduction just like mine. She’s an elementary school teacher who loves the mountains and white-water rafting. From what I can tell, she’s down to earth.

“What do you think the guys will be like?” she asks. We continue to look around for good hiding spots, but they’re all getting taken by the others.

I shrug. “No clue. I have a strange feeling I’ll be a huge disappointment to the guy who picks me. I’m not like the other women.” For a second, I forgot about the cameras.

Makayla snickers. “Honestly, same here. I’m no super model like these other women. On the weekends, I like to sit on the couch and binge watch shows on Netflix.”

“Same,” I laugh, loving how easy it is to talk to her. I look down at our eggs and sigh. “Time’s running out, Makayla. We should probably hide our eggs.”

She nods. “Want to help each other?”

I nod back. “Sounds great to me.” We walk around the courtyard and there ends up being a large crack in one of the palm tree trunks. It’s big enough for her to slide her egg in.

Tags: Heidi McLaughlin The Dating Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net
readsnovelonline.net Copyright 2016 - 2024