Pepe sat at the edge of the pool silently. The villa's late-night calm pressed in after a stressful night of tears, yelling, and tension. He’d learned America had chosen him to couple with Hannah, right when she realized her heart was with Charlie, and now Charlie was gone after the islanders voted him off.

Inwardly, Pepe felt a twinge of triumph over America’s vote. Outwardly though, he was unsettled. He replayed the moment: Hannah’s tear-streaked voice the moment that they had said Charlie’s name, the fracture in her gaze, and the Villa’s tears during the elimination. He should have felt relief or excitement—but instead, he felt a little hurt. He got the girl, and yet there she was crying elsewhere over someone else.

His mind circled back to the vote: he was America’s pick, yes, but not entirely Hannah’s. The chemistry had been there initially, but now he wasn’t sure if she would even open up given she was so distraught over Charlie. He wondered if the audience had pushed him forward merely because it shook things up. In the quiet, that question echoed louder than any pump-up beat.

Bubble-headed confidence had brought him here. He hadn’t expected to feel so vulnerable all of a sudden.

Pepe sighed a little, rubbing the back of his head as he headed inside to get himself ready for bed.