Adventure to Love by Bethany Ramos Page A

herself.
    “I think they have rock-climbing gear and clothes for both of us.” Ky gestured to the linen suit he was wearing. “Obviously, I’m not really dressed for rock climbing either. So we’re probably going to change when we get there.”
    Sure enough, the limo pulled up to a jungle hut next to the beach. Two of the familiar butlers from the resort were there with shorts, T-shirts, tennis shoes, and rock-climbing harnesses in hand.
    She was directed to a changing area in the hut. There she shed her gorgeous maxi dress for ill-fitting gym clothes that she squashed into a too-snug harness that rode up on her crotch.
    Seriously? She had cameltoe in the front and in the back after putting on the harness. It was possibly the most unattractive look she could have envisioned for her first on-screen date.
    She peeked out of her changing room to see Ky checking himself out in the mirror. Amazingly, he somehow made the drab gray shorts and plain white T-shirt look good. Especially given the fact that his goodies were now perfectly on display thanks to the snug climbing harness strapped around his waist.
    At least she would have something nice to look at while she climbed up some big rock for no reason at all. She had never understood rock climbing. Especially at those indoor gyms. What was the point of working up a sweat and climbing and climbing to reach nothing at all?
    It was even more embarrassing to fall off of the rock-climbing wall and hang there, dangling like a piece of bait with everyone looking at her. That was one particular personal training incident that she wanted to erase from her memory.
    Ky nodded at her. “Okay, glad you got ready quickly this time.” Was that sarcasm she detected? God, he really needed to get over it already. “If you’ll just follow me, we’re going to hike to our rock-climbing area in the jungle.”
    Hike? The date was getting worse and worse. She trudged behind Ky as they hiked on an all-terrain trail deep into the jungle. She didn’t even bother to walk next to him and strike up a conversation. Fuck it.
    Even if the cameras were on them every second, she really wasn’t in the mood to have a cheerful conversation. Not when she was dripping sweat and trying to keep her makeup from running in 100 percent humidity.
    After what felt like hours, she finally saw an enormous rock with pegs sticking out of it at the end of the trail. “Finally,” she griped to herself.
    Ky, with his bat-like hearing, had somehow heard her. “Yeah, that was a good five-mile hike, wasn’t it? I just love anything that gets the blood pumping. I feel totally invigorated.” He smiled.
    At least one of them was in a good mood. Hers had completely plummeted. Crashed and burned. She wasn’t sure she could go through with this whole rock-climbing adventure. But opting out would mean a quick ticket home.
    She channeled her inner yogi and focused on the faces of the women in the competition. That was the only way she was going to get through this extreme adventure date. She had to beat all those stupid bitches and show them that she really was better than them. She wasn’t going to let something as lame as rock climbing kick her out of the competition.
    She wiped a stream of sweat off the side of her face. That was lovely, just lovely. Her extensions were sticking to her back, drenched in sweat. She had no clue how she was going to clean and dry them in time for their morning meet and greet at the Great Pool the next day. On top of that, she was going to look like a drowned rat for the rest of the date.
    She approached the rock with caution. Ky was already halfway up the rock without a spotter. Showoff. He stopped, looked down at her, and waved. She wanted to give him the finger. But instead, she used that finger to grab onto the closest peg she could reach.
    With a little, okay, a lot of grunting and swearing, she was able to use her weak upper body to pull herself up onto the pegs. Now what was she