Okay, rest day four. Let's go. Thanks for reviewing, AnonBrowser, Ellismskd24 and lordgemini.

I took Dakota's advice and did my best getting to know Mike during the rest day, with a few flirty glances and subtle signs thrown in, nothing too obvious. I knew he was a sweetheart, but I also knew I had to tread carefully. Sweet but not too confident men tended to get scared off if I got too pushy with the flirting. I tactfully asked no more questions about his disorder, but asked a few more questions about his cooking prowess, and it turned out he was really into experimenting with Asian dishes, particularly Chinese.
"You know, I love Chinese food," I said honestly, "Unless it's whatever we were serving last season."

Mike laughed. "I saw that episode, but no, that's not what I'm cooking. Last time I had a try, I tried doing soup dumplings. They didn't come out as pretty as they were supposed to, but they held enough broth to work."

"Wish I could have that on this show," I sighed. "Maybe I could keep you on the island and make you the new chef if you get eliminated."

Mike laughed again, saying "Well, I'm not planning on giving you that chance, Toni. I'm here to win! Well, and to make friends. But also for a million dollars."

"Well, I know I'm host," I said, "But I was hoping to make a few friends myself." I purposely pretended to look shy, glancing down and playing with the end of my ponytail.
"I can't speak for everyone else," Mike said, "But I can tell you you've made one." He grinned and pointed to himself. "And Zoey told me she wanted to get to know you better," he added. "Maybe we could all hang out this afternoon, and Cameron will probably want to join us."

"Yeah, I guess." I said cautiously. But when Zoey asked me if I wanted to go for a swim that afternoon, I couldn't think of a good reason to say no and went back to my trailer to get into my bikini. It wasn't really that revealing or anything, just a plain black thing in a bra and panties cut, so I was showing a bit of cleavage, but nothing else. Zoey's lime swimsuit was much more modest. So my response was to start a water fight with the boys. Cameron didn't actually swim, he just stayed on the dock because he'd never swum before and had decided he didn't feel confident enough to join in with something like that. But during the water fight, he called out encouragement, especially when Zoey and I decided to team up together.

It was sort of a circumstantial team-up, not conscious. I purposely concentrated on soaking Mike, so Zoey went for him too. "Girls versus guys!" she said, giggling.

"No fair, I'm outnumbered!" Mike protested, but he was laughing, too. He'd purposely worn a wetsuit rather than trunks, probably to keep Vito in, but he still looked hot in them. It wasn't a pretty costume, but I could see his abs defined through them, and there was that subtle muscle in his limbs, something you couldn't really see when he was dressed.

I tried to take some notice of whether Mike went for Zoey or me more during the water fight. I think he was going for me a tiny bit more, but it was pretty even, so it didn't help much. We were all giggling and screaming so much that it didn't seem to matter. I didn't even feel resentful of Zoey and knowing that she was my rival.

Again, I ended up asking Dakota for advice. I even told her about the water fight and how I'd thought that might solve things, but it hadn't. "He's a gentleman," she said, raising her eyebrows. "He was going for both of you equally because he didn't want either of you to feel attacked. Or maybe he just hasn't made up his mind yet." She paused. "I saw the way you were flirting this morning. Good call on being subtle."

"But I'm still none the wiser about who he likes best, or who he'd date!" I wailed. "Even if it is Zoey, I'd rather just know it now!"

Dakota paused, thinking. Then she said "Okay, small talk over for you. You've gotten to know him, you've played games, you've had fun – now start dropping real hints. Make insinuations that you're interested, things like that. You'll know if he responds that he likes you. And based on what I've seen, he'll let you down gently if he doesn't."

"I hope so." I sighed. "But even if he does, I'm pretty sure that host-contestant relationships are forbidden."

"The season won't last forever." Dakota shrugged. "And it's not like if Chris was going to date a contestant. You're what, seventeen?"

"Sixteen and a half." I corrected. "The old contestants were all several months older than me."

"Right," Dakota nodded. "Same age as the rest of us. I'm turning seventeen in November." (So she was a month older than me). "Anyway, my point is, it's not like if Chris tried to hook up with a teenager. You are a teenager. Nothing wrong with hooking up with someone the same age as you. Check with the producers and if they give the green light, do it on the island. If they don't, you've got ways of getting past the cameras. Keep it there and then go public after the season."

I looked at Dakota gratefully. "Thanks for this. Also, I'm sorry I called you a princess before. You're not the diva I thought you were. You give good advice, even when someone's not smart enough to ask you for it."

I couldn't explain the way Dakota looked at that moment. She just completely lit up. "No one's ever said that to me before," she said, sounding unsure but pleased. "But I do know a little about dating."

I went to dinner with the contestants as well, although I didn't eat anything. I couldn't sit with Mike because he already had Zoey on one side and Cameron on the other, so I plonked myself down next to Jo. We didn't talk that much on rest days when we weren't on our run, but she seemed to like me enough to actually talk at all, so I guessed she wouldn't mind too much.

"You know," I remarked to her casually, "I know you'd like to get favours out of me. I'm glad you know I won't hand them out."

Jo's blue eyes were suspicious at first, but then her expression relaxed and she laughed. "I know you look at confessionals," she shrugged, "But it doesn't mean I'm not going to try and see if I can trick a few favours out of you. Assuming you don't only fall for one trick, Pony."

I pretended to look sad. "Pony? Is that what you're calling me now? I'm disappointed in you. I thought you'd come up with something more creative for me."

Jo smirked and pulled my ponytail lightly. "You run like one, and you have a tail like one. I could come up with something worse, like Grey Bricks over there," she said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at Brick, who was on the other side of her.

"She comes up with new names every day," he elaborated, looking cross. "It's been ever since that embarrassing trivia game. Half the time it's some kind of army stereotype, the other half it's about that one incident."

I couldn't help giggling. "Don't worry, we've all been there once. Anyway, think about it, you're a strong guy. You don't need someone to stop calling you names to know that."

Brick smiled shyly and went back to the food.

"You're way too easy on him." Jo told me, but she said it playfully.

"Levels out," I replied with the same tone. "You treat him harsh, so I don't dish out my sass to him. I'm saving it for someone who actually deserves it. Did you see what I said to Alejandro last season?"

"Yeah, I heard it." Jo laughed. "Now there's someone who doesn't tell it like it is. I hope he comes on another season though, and I can be there. Then I can take him down a few pegs. He thinks he's so much more mature than everyone else. It drove me nuts when I watched that season."

"Yeah," I said, giggling, and raising my voice a little just so Mike would hear over his own conversation. "I'm through with that kind of guy, anyway. He was hot, but I like people who, you know, have a sense of humour about themselves, someone you can have fun with, who you can laugh with, but also someone who has a romantic side and would run to you every time you were in danger." And then, to add to it, I caught Mike's eye and flashed him my sweetest smile. I usually reserved it for fake sweetness, but this time, it was real. Mike said nothing to me that night, but that was okay. It had only been a week, after all. I had at least another day to flirt.

Still, when I went running with Jo the next day, it looked like she was going to keep calling me Pony for the rest of the season. Or Pony Toni, occasionally. I didn't mind – we got on well, and I enjoyed her company. But after the run, I had to go back to my trailer, make sure my TDI cameo of the episode was there and introduce her to Dakota, and then call everyone to the docks.

So Episode 5 is coming up! I just wanted to address a few reasons why Jo and Toni get on so well. The prime reason is that they're both sporty girls who can take a little ribbing and respect those who can take the heat well. But also, none of my other OCs like Jo – they don't like her attitude. Toni doesn't necessarily like everything about her, but it's fun to write someone who can actually appreciate Jo's more likable side. I'm trying not to Draco in Leather Pants her, but she does have a softer side shown here. As for her friendship with Dakota…well, she's the only one suited to giving Toni dating advice and she's there.