before either of you could answer, a familiar chime echoes through the villa.

kayda’s head whips around, “no way.”

across the garden, aniya shoots to her feet, phone already in hand.

“I GOT A TEXT!”

the villa erupts into cheers as everyone rushes toward her.

aniya grins, clearing her throat dramatically,

📱— islanders! it’s time to show who’s a cut above the rest in today’s challenge . . got wood? 🌲🪓 #lumberjackseason

— the challenge was already halfway through by the time corbin’s turn rolled around.

by now, you’d been picked a handful of times.

sincere and zach had chosen you first for the seesaw challenge with kc plus gabe, laughing the entire time as you tried to keep rhythm with them two each time.

along with getting picked randomly by sincere and bryce to kiss them in the fake wood cabin.

you couldn’t help but laugh by how much you had gotten picked so far, “why the hell do i keep getting picked?” you call out.

“you’re popular!” jen teases.

now it was corbin’s turn. bryce chose kenzie to do the seesaw challenge with him. you nod softly, a small laugh escaping you.

just for him to say, “i choose kenzie!” for the wet log challenge. caleb’s eyebrows furrowed in a offended manner, you glance over to trinity with a told you way.

y/n’s confessional “honestly i wasn’t surprised. corbin likes to have fun and be around kenzie so i’m not that upset.”

y/n’s confessional “he somehow picked me in the random beaver thing so i guess win is a win,” you shrug softly with a small laugh.

lastly, was caleb. he climbs up the fake tree in his blue flannel and blue jorts. he chops down a branch as he jumps back down.

“which boy needs to branch out from his couple?” caleb reads, his deep country accent loud.

a wave of “oh shit” and “oooo” goes around the islanders.

caleb holds the wood chopper, turning to sincere.

“my bad man!” he says and sprays sincere with the yellow power and feathers.

you wide your eyes as you glance to melanie.

caleb lays down as the giant seesaw, waiting for sincere to choose a lady to get on with him.

sincere looks down the line of girls, pretending to think.

“now . . .” he starts, rubbing his chin dramatically.

caleb looks at sincere.

“see ladies . . caleb was tellin’ us earlier which girls he thought were the most attractive to him.”

the villa immediately erupted.

caleb covered his face with one hand, “man . .” he lets out a nervous laugh.

“and he seemed real excited talkin’ about one in particular.”

kenzie straightens up as you and the girls tease her quietly.

sincere grins from ear to ear.

“so . .”

sincere points directly at you.

“Y/N! get over here!”

your eyebrow shoot up, “me?”

“yes, you!” sincere laughs.

you turn to trinity and jen. both looking between you and caleb with the most confused but very happy expressions.

“wait—” trinity cheers.

“fuck yeah!” jen claps while jumping up and down.

kenzie’s smile falters for the briefest second before she quickly covered it.

you press your lips together to stop yourself from smiling as you walk toward caleb.

as you reach him, he looked up at you with that same easy grin he’d worn since entering the villa.

“hey.”

“hi,” you laugh, climbing on top of him. his large hands quickly finding your butt, his thumb snugging barely under your denim shorts.

you two start to move up and down, the seesaw moves loosely. you squeal as you hold onto his caleb’s biceps.

“oh my God!” you shout, laughing loudly after.

“y/n, sit on his face!” kayda exclaims, her tone clearly joking.

you slip a little, moving higher . . forcing you to be steady on top of caleb’s abs.

“i got you,” he chuckles and his hands fly to your waist to help you keep steady.

after the seesaw stops, caleb hurries to get up first before you do. holding his hand out to help you down.

you glance up, “thank you, caleb.”

he smirks, “my pleasure,” he tips his imaginary cowboy hat.

moving onto his last challenge, which was to pick a random stuffed beaver that had a number, behind it a random girl’s name. take her into the cabin and share a kiss.

“caleb! choose a number,” paige smiles.

caleb looks at the guys, “which one?”

“number three, my lord!” sincere shouts, throwing his hands in the air.

“nah— number four!” corbin says.

caleb looks at number four, picking it quickly. a grin spreading across his face before shouting, “y/n!” he reads out with a satisfied smile.

“let’s fucking go!” kc shouts, flexing as he jumps around.

corbin’s confessional “i was like damn! i shouldn’t of said number four,” he says with a laugh.

corbin’s confessional “that was on me.”

“looks like i got lucky,” he adds.

the guys cheer loudly and a lot . . . as you huff out a scoff, glancing at kenzie. she has wide eyes and a big forced smile,

“go girl!”

you drag your feet towards the cabin as caleb stares at you walk over.

y/n’s confessional “i was so tired of locking lips in that damn cabin!”

sincere’s confessional “i could lowkey tell that caleb was enjoying getting y/n a lot. he has two fishes in his sea now,” sincere says with a smirk. (with his hand lifting)

caleb glances over at the guys, he puts his finger to his lips, making a shh motion while fighting a grin. you look up at caleb as he shuts the door, he immediately looks down at you.

he grabs your face quickly, kissing you. it felt hungry, as if he’s making up for lost time.

you let out a surprised laugh against his lips, your arms finding their way around his neck. he goes down, rubbing your waist, having you two kiss for longer.

outside, the islanders are basically vibrating with anticipation. bryce bounces on the balls of his feet before grabbing onto zach’s shoulders.

“bro they’re taking forever!” gabe bursts out laughing.

the door opens a bit, jen glancing in. she sees caleb against the wall as you take the lead more. she gasps, “they’re really kissing!” she shouts with a excited scream.

you break away from the kiss, caleb resting his head against yours. you turn looking at jen with soft nervous smile, shutting the door.

the girls scream as they jump around each other.

the door finally swings back open, with you thrown over caleb’s shoulder. he flexes like a greek God as the islanders explode with cheers and applause.

sincere couldn’t stop laughing, “i told yall! i told yall!”

caleb just laughs, one arm securely around your legs as he carries you back towards the line. he lowers you back down to your feet.

you fix your red flannel, trying not to react too much as melanie and aniya jump on you. you smile excitedly, you couldn’t stop it.

caleb smirks down at you, patting your butt. you whip your head to him, “did you just slap my ass?” you laugh.

his brows lift innocently, “no, i’m gentle.”

the villa lets out into shouts of :

“nahhh!”

“he did!”

“caleb!?”

you slap his bicep, covering your mouth in embarrassment.

“you’re ridiculous . .” you say softly. he shrugs, walking back to the line with the guys.

y/n’s confessional “i’ve never dated a white guy. never dated a fucking cowboy type of dude so . .”

y/n’s confessional “after that though . . i was like maybe caleb is an option.”

y/n’s confessional “riding a cowboy could be fun,” you burst out laughing after joking.”

after the challenge, the islanders head back to the villa. you and the girls were sitting on the big couch near the kitchen as the guys sat at the fire pit.

trinity was the first to bring it up, “bitch! we have to talk about caleb and y/n! like what the fuck?” she states with a smile.

kayda jumps up and down in her spot, “like whattt!”

you look up from your nails, “let’s not,” you joke.

“dude! you got picked twice!” melanie puts up two fingers.

kenzie speaks up, “yeah— you were with everybody’s man,” she says with a flat tone.

the girls look at her. trinity looks at you before looking back at kenzie.

“in a challenge,” jen speaks up before you could.

y/n’s confessional “okay— yeah whatever. i did hump with gabe, kc and caleb. did kiss bryce, sincere, corbin and caleb again but like—“

y/n’s confessional “girl it’s a challenge. let’s pipe down.”

your brows twisted quickly, “girl . . kenzie, don’t do that.”

“i’m just sayin’! doesn’t mean you have to entertain it,” kenzie defends herself.

you sit up straighter, putting your hands in your lap before saying, “i’ve never had a conversation with caleb. unless you wanna count when all of us talked to him when he came in.”

you laugh, more out of disbelief than amusement.

“i let you talk to corbin everyday after bombing caleb with acting like you had interest in him. you and i barely talk to caleb at this point.”

“i didn’t mean to have you feel a way,” kenzie states.

you nod barely, “and that’s fine! but i didn’t chase caleb right now.”

“sincere picked me. the random beaver picked me.”

kenzie sighs softly, “you’re right . .” she rubs the back of her neck.

“i don’t know,” she admits quietly. “i guess seeing you two together today just got to me.”

you soften almost immediately, “i wasn’t trying to disrespect you,” she adds.

“it’s all good! everybody gets in there head . .” you start.

“but corbin and i already said that we’re just gonna see it through until the next recoupling. so you can have him,” you smile softly.

kenzie smiles back, “m’sorry.”

you kick your feet as you hug her, “shhh! it’s okay!”

“group hug!” kayda shouts.

trinity’s confessional “the girlhood in here is real. i love my girls.”

it was later into the evening, you took a shower and changed into a white striped colorful dress. the villa had settled into it’s usual nighttime rhythm.

music drifts softly through the speakers while small groups scattered themselves around the garden.

some islanders hang by the fire pit.

others sat around the kitchen island, laughing over snacks.

you found yourself chatting with corbin and melanie near the swing chairs, your legs on melanie’s lap.

across the villa,

kc nudges caleb with his shoulder, “bro,” kc starts.

caleb looks at kc, his smile coming as soon as kc speaks.

bryce grins, “are you just gonna stare or are you gonna go talk to her?” he snickers.

caleb glances over at you before looking at kc and bryce, “we’ve talked today,” bryce scoffs instantly.

“you guys kissed today!” kc says, fighting his smirk.

“brother . . if anything that’s more reason to go talk to her,” kc adds. bryce nods in agreement as he grips caleb’s shoulder.

caleb rubs the back of his neck, “i don’t wanna interrupt.”

bryce smacks his lips, “dude— go! now!”

“go steal her.”

caleb frowns, “i ain’t stealin’ nobody . .”

kc snorts, “i’m about to call her over here if you don’t go over there.”

caleb glances at you, then at kenzie before sighing, “aight.”

corbin was mid sentence when you three hear a familiar southern accent.

“if it’s okay with yall . . can i steal y/n for a second?”

you look up, seeing caleb with his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his feet.

corbin looks between you two, “yeah, for sure.”

melanie smiles immediately, “of course!”

you smile as you stand up, “yeah!” he grabs your hand, helping you walk to the speakeasy.

kc and bryce fist bump each other from across the villa, aniya and sincere looking over and cheering silently with each other.

the walk there was quiet, caleb laughing nervously as he opens the door for you. you look around the speakeasy as you sit down on the red couch.

caleb sits across from you, quiet.

you stare at him, laughing suddenly, “what’s happening?”

“i just figured it’s about time we talk,” he states. you tilt your head, “i guess it is.”

caleb’s confessional “y/n is such a gorgeous woman . . i was honestly really nervous and excited to talk to her.”

“so, how you feelin’?” he asks you, rubbing your shoulder.

you sigh dramatically, “it’s been a long day. the challenge made it longer honestly,” you look at him.

caleb stares at your crossed legs for a second before speaking, “you can put your leg up here if you want,” he looks at you.

you shoot a confused look for a second, “hm?”

he smiles, “like how you were with mela earlier . .”

your eyebrows raise before smiling back, “okay!” you shift, one leg resting across his lap.

without thinking, caleb’s hand settles lightly around your ankle. you catch yourself glancing down every now and then, watching his thumb absentmindedly trace small circles against your ankle while the two of you talk.

about 15 minutes later, you sigh, “well . . we should head back,” you look back at him.

not surprised, he’s already staring at you. you smile softly as he pouts barely, “i have one more question.”

you tilt your head, “what’s up?”

he spots for a second, debating himself, “. . can i get a kiss?” he gives a nervous smile.

you pretend to think as you nod, “yeah.”

he leans forward slowly, giving you every chance to change your mind. you meet him halfway.

this kiss was nothing like the one in the cabin. there’s no cheering.

no boys banging on the door.

no girls screaming from outside.

just the two of you.

you finally pull away, your smile finding you face.

“so . .” you look at his lips.

“oh hold on.”

caleb stares at you with the softest look you’ve seen all day, “huh?”

your thumb finds his bottom lip, “my lip liner.”

he moves back, “no.”

your brows furrow, “what?” laughing in disbelief.

“leave it,” caleb says proudly.

“dude—“

“i’m serious.”

you roll your eyes, “you wanna walk around with my lip liner on?”

caleb shrugs, “i don’t mind.”

you stand up laughing, “you’re a dork.”

he stands up after you, giving a small hug. you hug him back, his hands finding the bottom of your dress to fix it.

you smile, “see ya in the morning!” you rub his bicep. he nods, licking his lips.

“yeah . . sweet dreams, y/n.”

“goodnight, caleb,” you walk out the speakeasy.

caleb’s confessional “honestly . . y/n really has my eye right now. i’m just gonna work it up tomorrow and hopefully the next recoupling we work it out.”

y/n’s confessional “caleb is so sweet! he’s really the only one i’m interested in . . so we’ll just see.”