Who do you love?

5

As worried and anxious as Calum had been to start the day he was right in his earlier assumption that once it had begun he would be fine. The women he was surrounded by, each one unique and amazing in her own way, made it easy for him to let himself relax and just take in the strange place his life was at, at the moment.

He had enjoyed the hot tub and managed to make conversation with all of the girls that had joined him there before wandering inside and partaking of the onboard sauna. The whole group of them had done a yoga session and meditation that would have made Ashton and Roy proud. He'd have to tell them about it when he got a chance to speak to them next. By the time the girls wandered off, to get ready for dinner on the boat before moving into their night out together, he had spoken to each of them at least once and he felt a bit proud of himself for that as the task had before seemed daunting.

He hit it off with some better than others but there was no one who he immediately felt compelled to send home and that caused him a bit of concern so he found himself mulling over the choices of who he could let go the following evening as he sat on the bow of the boat, staring off into the distance as the sun began to lower and paint the sky in vibrant shades of oranges and purple.

"Everything okay?" Came the unmistakable voice behind him. He'd only ever spoken to her a handful of times and yet, he already recognized the gentle lilt.

"Hey Teal, and yeah, I think so at least." He said noncommittally, his thoughts wandering to when he had caught her staring at him earlier, wondering if she'd simply gotten lost in her thoughts as he so often did.

"So, yes?—Or no?"

"Both, maybe?" He said with a chuckle, his eyes shifting to watch as she lowered herself to sit next to him on the boat's wooden decking.

She didn't move to ask anything further, just waited quietly, her arms wrapped around her bent knees as they both watched the sunset.

"How am I supposed to just send some of them home?" he asked quietly, bending his own knees up and crossing his arms over the top before propping his chin on his forearm and then angling his face towards hers. "I don't know how to look someone great—because they really are all great—in the eyes and tell them that who they are, isn't what I'm looking for."

"I'd imagine you just do it like any other breakup." Teal said, her eyes narrowing as her face squished up into a scowl.

Calum's lips pursed and he looked away from her, eyes trained on the glassy sea as the waves gently lapped against the side of the boat. "I've never broken up with anyone before."

His honesty settled into the silence between them and Teal did her best to disguise the look of shock she was sure was daring to linger on her face. "Never?" She asked him, her voice failing to hide the surprise even if her face had managed to.

His eyebrows lowered and he shot her a frown. "I've only really dated two girls. One was in high school and she ended it before we moved to London and the other was one of our opening acts. We work better as friends, she just, had the courage to say it before I did, that one still broke my heart though."

Teal felt the astonishment on her face as he laid himself so bare to her. She felt this overwhelming desire to help him in a way she hadn't for any of the other people that she had worked with. "Well, um, I think at this point it's not like you guys really know each other all that well, right?" She asked, lifting her chin upwards in question. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his chin downward just slightly in agreement. "So just tell them it was nice to meet them and you hope they find someone great and call it a day."

"Yeah, but that's the thing innit? How do I even decide?"

"I don't know if I can tell you that." She said with a sheepish smile. "You've still got tonight to sort it all out. I'm sure a smart guy like you will find a solution."