‘Anyway, let’s move on,’ Kelsey prompts, sensing trouble at sea.
‘Yeah,’ Neil says, clapping his hands together before grabbing another card. ‘Jessa, what is Brody’s favourite music?’
I mean… it could be anything. And if we’re cheating, it can be anything.
‘Early 2000s pop punk,’ I say with faux confidence.
Brody’s face doesn’t crack, but I notice him swallow and it looks a little too hard for me to think I just so happened to get that one right.
‘That is… correct!’ Brody reveals.
Nikki’s chair squeaks loudly on the ground as she pushes herself away from the table in temper.
‘That’s a lie,’ she shrieks. ‘They’re cheating. There’s no way. I mean, I mean… I’ve heard him listen to hip-hop and power ballads and just… inexplicably, a bunch of Bee Gees.’
‘The Bee Gees are great, to be fair,’ I chime in – and yes, I know I’m not helping.
‘What’s your favourite song?’ Brody asks me with what looks like a genuine sparkle in his eyes… although we have established he’s very good at this.
‘Oh, “Love You Inside and Out” – no contest,’ I reply. All of this is easy when you’re telling the truth.
‘Me too!’ he replies. ‘Wow, see, we’re still learning so much about each other, finding out we have so much in common.’
His smile seems so genuine but, truly, I think he’s getting off on this. If I’m being completely honest, so am I.
‘Brody, you don’t listen to pop punk,’ Nikki insists.
‘He does,’ I reply. ‘We listen to it together. He loves Sum 41, Blink 182…’
‘All the number bands,’ Brody jokes.
‘So, what, you’re just switching between moshing and jiving?’ Todd asks, his brow furrowed with disbelief.
‘You haven’t lived until you’ve listened to “Still Waiting” with a “Stayin’ Alive” chaser,’ I add, trying to drop enough information, should Brody need to pick any up.
‘It’s like a HIIT workout in the bedroom,’ Brody adds cheekily.
‘Huh,’ Al says thoughtfully. ‘Good to know.’
‘Okay, can we just… not? Thanks,’ Nikki adds. ‘I’m not playing unless it’s fair. In fact, let’s go, just us two versus Brody and Jessa, head to head, and the losers can’t play.’
‘What? Like penalties?’ Todd asks, because of course he does.
‘Sure,’ Nikki says. ‘But no cheating – we have to whisper the right answer to someone, who can verify if they match.’
‘Right, okay, well, how about I ask the same question to both of you, that way you have an even chance… sort of,’ Neil suggests, although he already looks like he regrets indulging Nikki in this.
‘Do it,’ Nikki says. ‘Quick.’
We stand by the pool in our couples, Neil standing in front of us with his question card. Todd and Nikki have Al by their side and we’ve got Kira, the idea being that one person tells their answer to them first, so they can verify the match. There’s no cheating this time.
‘Okay, so Nikki and Jessa, step forwards, you’ll be answering first,’ Neil instructs us. ‘The question is: if your partner had to live in another country, where would they choose?’
Oh, I mean, come on. It could be literally anywhere. How many countries are there? Pushing two hundred. I don’t like those odds.
Todd and Nikki go first, which buys me some time. Todd whispers his answer to Al, who nods.
‘China,’ Nikki says confidently.
