Bachelor Behavior -

Bachelor Behavior - Part 4

by Simon Underfoot

Copyright 2022, All Rights Reserved

Day 7

Nobody joined me for Pull Day in the exercise room, and I found I didn't have nearly as much energy as normal -- it hadn't taken long to get used to the distraction and motivation my workout partners offered.

After showering, I stepped from the bathroom and found Red sitting on my bed, snuggled under the sheets. She was doing something on her tablet, so I snagged some underwear and a pair of shorts to get changed, but she cleared her throat loudly. "Morning, Kai." Her smile was all bright, with none of her usual cheekiness.

"Good mood this morning?"

"Very good." She patted the bed next to her. "Come sit and you'll see why."

Conscious of just having my towel, I sat and scooted until I was where she had indicated, hoping I hadn't flashed the cameras too badly. "What's up?"

"We talked last night until almost four. About lots of stuff."

I wasn't sure where this was going, but it made me glad that they'd had time to work through some of the open issues. "And today things are...?"

"Definitely better." She handed me her tablet.

The scene on the screen was like something out of a movie, if that movie had a bunch of gorgeous women that happened to have a thing for me. Even from the single frame, I could see the lighting was good and they'd applied some light makeup to go with their nightwear, which had somehow become much skimpier than when I'd seen them the previous evening. I gave Mandy a curious look.

"After we got through the hardest part, Amy suggested we act like it was a sleepover -- bonding time, she called it -- which went way better than I expected, especially since it was new for Kat. I guess that's not a thing where she grew up. Anyway, Merci showed us how to give an amazing five minute foot massage, then Kat had us trying on each other's clothes; Amy even taught me a few tricks with makeup."

"Well, you look lovely." To be honest, she looked fucking amazing with a matching set of pajamas made from a satiny, pastel purple colored material -- I was struggling to keep my eyes from returning to her obviously hard nipples, which had created a crease down to the hemline.

Mandy grinned and sat up a little straighter. "Thanks, they're Stephanie's."

"Really?"

"Don't be so surprised, Kai -- she's a firecracker. Once she gets a little more comfortable, she's going to be a force."

"Don't mess with Texas?"

"Something like that." I got lost in Mandy's smile, and her beautiful eyes, and silently raged against the fates that we weren't meant to be. Red's expression faltered just a bit and I saw her disappointment peek through; she patted my hand. "Here, watch this." She reached over and hit Play.

Amy: "It can't be Kat."

Kat [offended]: "Why can't it be me?"

Merci: "Because you'll break him. Or ruin him. At least give the rest of us a chance."

Kat [to Merci]: "Who then, you?"

Merci [shaking her head]: "I'm not ready to take that step. What about Stephanie?"

Amy & Kat together: "No!"

[pause in the conversation, then all women but Stephanie start giggling]

Mandy [to Stephanie]: "It's because he's so into you already."

Stephanie [blushing]: "Oh."

Amy [definitively]: "So it has to be Mandy."

Stephanie [to Amy]: "Not you?"

Amy [indicating Kat]: "She'd never let that happen, and I don't blame her."

Kat [to Amy]: "We could do it together."

[Mandy laughs and claps]

Amy: "I think we might literally break him."

Kat [grinning wickedly]: "Would that be so bad?"

Amy [to Kat, grinning]: "Maybe we save that for the second or third time."

Amy [to Mandy]: "So, Red... what do you think?"

Mandy [smiling broadly]: "I think I'm going to do my damndest to make him forget about the rest of you."

Red took the tablet out of my hands and swung her leg over my much larger lap, then settled onto my hardening cock. "You heard, I get to be first." With a quick flourish she was out of her top. My eyes boggled and my mind shut down. Absolutely-fucking-gorgeous. Puffy nipples, well formed breasts, and a dusting of freckles sneaking down her cleavage. But something was still bothering me.

"I thought you were leaving."

"After, but right now, I'm going to show you how to fuck."

I rolled on my hip and dislodged my gorgeous rocker chick, then tried to get off the bed, only to have my towel pull away because she had landed on the edge. Standing there nude in an extreme state of arousal didn't help what I was going to say, but I bowled forward anyway. "I can't, Red, not when I know it won't be us together at the end."

I felt gutted, not because of my obnoxious waving dick and the lost opportunity to use it, but because she was a great woman that deserved a great guy, and I sincerely wished we met some other way.

"What if I stayed?"

"Would it be for the right reasons?"

She didn't reply and the moment stretched. "Fuck." Mandy wasn't a crier, but I could tell how upset she was -- her peppiness was entirely gone.

A knock on the door frame surprised us both. I looked down at my nakedness, then at Mandy's -- oh well. "Good morning, Amy."

She gave me a nice smile, but her expression made it clear that what she was going to say was important. "Kai, I know this is going to sound crazy to you, but you need to get this over with."

"I... what?"

"The rest of us, we're committed to the process, but sex has become an obstacle. It's going to lead to even more hurt feelings and conflict. Mandy's awesome, and as far as the show goes, safe -- it's why we all agreed that she's the best pick."

I gave Amy a disapproving look. "I'm not going to use Mandy to make the rest of you feel better."

"Actually, Kai, I really, really want you to use me."

"Stop it, Red, you're not helping."

Amy continued on. "Pretend, just for a few hours, that you met a great girl on a date and things progressed from there. Forget the show, forget the rest of us, and focus on her."

"Seriously?" I shouldn't have been struggling so much, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it. "The others are okay with this?"

"Some more than others," Amy replied evasively. "Don't you trust me?" She seemed hurt; I waggled a finger in response.

"You and Kat are forces of nature, and Merci and Steph are probably still overwhelmed. I can't, not until I have a chance to talk with them, and even then I'm still thinking it's not a good idea."

"Fair enough," Amy replied. "I'm sure they'll be along in about forty-five seconds.

Right on time, the others walked in. I was still feeling self-conscious about my state of undress when Kat led the procession over to me, blondes in-tow. "I will get you ready for her," she said, then dropped down between my knees.

"Woah!" I exclaimed, pushing myself away from the now pouting woman on the floor. I pulled the bed sheet over my lap, although I had no hope that it would actually protect me from my would-be fellatrix. "Merci, help." It hadn't worked the day before, but I thought I'd try again.

She walked around the bed so she was on the side opposite from Kat, who had stood. "I want to take it slow, but in this... situation... Mandy is the least threatening. If it means that things will be easier in the future, then you should... you know."

"That's the thing," I reasoned loudly, "I don't know." I looked at the gorgeous redhead, practically holding her breath while we talked about her. Her pale features, her toned body, and those fucking freckles. "What if I fall for someone that can't love me back?" It came out in a near whisper.

"Oh, Sweetie," Merci responded, her eyes full of compassion. She used a finger to pull my chin toward her so that we could look into each other's eyes. "I told you yesterday that you're mixing things up. Let her take care of you and you'll understand."

I tried one last escape route, finding Steph's eyes with mine. She didn't say anything. "Steph, is this what you want?"

"No, but I'm too scared to do anything myself right now." She took a breath and let it out. "We are still working things out, but I think it'll be fine, as long as we continue to be open with one another."

I looked around the room, and while I still didn't agree, they all seemed to be on the same page. "Fine, but not today." I pointed at Merci. "Would you like to go out for lunch?" A surprised grin and nod came my way, so I looked to Stephanie. "Dinner?"

"I accept." The smile she gave me was warm and it made her whole self light up.

I breathed out in genuine relief, then turned back to Mandy. "Can you be okay just being friends for a while longer?"

~ ~ ~

Lunch with Merci was a dream, because Merci herself is a dream. Engaging, smart, sweet, and generally, genuinely charming.

I don't recall the flow of our conversation, or exactly what was said, but we covered a lot of ground. I already had a good starting point from her biography, so after more than four hours of talking, it was like I'd known her most of my adult life. By the time we finished, I was well on my way to falling in love and almost certain she was the one I'd choose to marry.

I wasn't the only one.

We ate at a cafe with a view to the water a few blocks from the apartment. On the brief walk there the cameras caught people's attention and it quickly turned into a bit of a parade. The first marriage proposal floated Merci's way before we were even close to the restaurant; two more arrived while we were eating, and one of those was from a strikingly pretty Latina woman two tables over. My date took it well, but did turn a pretty pink in her cheeks -- I think she liked the attention.

Not surprising really, because all of us were exhibitionists of one kind or another.

I asked to do a reality television show, so that's pretty obvious.

Steph is an on-air TV personality.

Red is a wannabe rock star.

Amy is an actress and model.

Kat was also a model, once upon a time, but of a more risque variety -- I hadn't mentioned it to the other ladies because it wasn't my place, but the trend held true.

However, I hadn't figured out Merci yet, other than that she agreed to come back in front of the cameras. I explained, in general terms, my musings. "What do you think?"

Rather than stop at pink, her cheeks raced right on to red. Delicious. I told her so and earned a beautiful, toothy smile, but nothing more for the moment. We finished our walk back to the building in silence, but it was of a strange sort -- her pace increased and she pulled me forward, making it clear she wanted to get back more quickly than our initial pace had projected.

Through the outer doors and toward the elevator, speedwalking, leaving poor Bill and his camera behind, stuck outside lobby's rotating door, waiting for someone with a key card to open the regular door for him. I'd have done it, but Merci was insistent.

Into the elevator we went and she hit the button for our floor, slamming the gate shut as she did. As she turned around to face me, the look she gave was playful, if intense, so I stopped worrying. As soon as we lifted she hit the Stop button, bringing the car to an abrupt halt that left us bouncing briefly -- up to that point, I didn't think those buttons actually did anything.

She held out her arms with a smirk, so after an appropriately glib eye roll, I picked her up. She wrapped her legs around me and smiled warmly from inches away, then closed the distance.

Our first kiss was soft and sweet, then became more insistent, much like Merci herself. I could feel her opening to me, walls being knocked down one after another. I put all of my feelings into that kiss, turning to press her up against the elevator wall. Her breathing hitched and she started squeezing rhythmically; I hardened immediately as I realized what she was doing.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

The voice came from a speaker next to the button Merci had pressed.

"Oh, shit. I mean, sorry, we didn't mean to call you." I pushed the Stop button again and the car lurched upward. I turned back to Merci with a mildly accusatory 'I can't believe you did that' look that made her start laughing into my shoulder. Then we arrived at our floor and I was carrying her toward my room.

The other ladies were there in the hall, talking, each holding a phone or tablet. Sassy, in particular, looked ready to burst when she saw us, so I set Merci down. Rather than the blow up I was expecting, Amy pulled my Delicious blonde into a hug, laughing appreciatively. "I thought you had him."

"Me, too," Merci replied without looking up at me; I could see she was still wearing her naughty-guilty-mischievous look.

I poked her shoulder and gave her a mock glare. "What does that mean?"

Before she could answer, Steph grabbed my hand and let me toward my apartment. "It means she was trying to get into your pants where nobody could interrupt, and with as few cameras watching as possible."

"Woah, wait a minute. How do you know that?"

"Because the same thing occurred to me," Stephanie said, swatting my behind as she guided me into through my door. "Go take a cold shower, but no playing around, just in case we do something later -- we're leaving for dinner in twenty minutes.

I looked at my watch and couldn't figure out how the afternoon had flown by so fast. Then her 'just in case' hit me; I looked up and she smirked, then stepped into the hall to get ready.

You already know I'm not good at backing down from a challenge, and because she didn't want me rubbing one out anyway, I followed her trail and caught up just as she entered her new apartment, having been moved up from the crew floor.

"Wha--" she exclaimed as I picked her up from behind.

I made sure to support her so she wouldn't feel unsafe, and also to keep my hands away from anything that might be deemed too inappropriate -- it left her sitting on one forearm with my other wrapped around her waist.

"I guess we could just stay in," I whispered into her ear. "Save you the trouble of trying to trap me in an elevator."

She leaned her head back, exposing her throat to me, and let out a sexy purr. "I would have gotten you into the studio -- there's just two cameras, and they can't see the whole room.

I kissed her jaw, then her ear, then worked a little lower, down the side of her neck; her purring got louder. When I scraped my teeth lightly against her collar bone, she sat up in my arms, and tapped me several times urgently. "Down, set me down, please." I did so immediately.

"Are you okay?"

"No, not really," she replied, moving to the other side of the living room. She took several deep breaths to calm herself, then looked over to me. "I was staring over the edge -- I almost said 'Fuck it' and jumped."

I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "Should I apologize?"

Stephanie shook her head at once. "No, it was my fault. I was teasing, trying to get you interested -- I knew you might take the bait. I just didn't expect the pull to be so strong."

"Dinner first?"

She shook her finger at me menacingly, but her eyes made it clear she wasn't actually mad at my return of her implication, which may or may not have been serious -- I doubt either of us knew for sure. "Dinner, then we'll see."

"Well, we better get going then. I have a standing Netflix and Chill date with Red at eleven." I turned and stepped out before she could retort, feeling like I'd one-upped her. She practically stormed out a few moments later. "Italian okay?"

Caught off-guard again, she stopped cold, then folded her arms indignantly. "I love Italian," she snarled.

"Excellent. Me, too." I held out my hand, which she took after giving me a pinch on the arm, and I led back toward the elevator. The ladies were still in the hall, and as I passed, Kat gave me a very loud, aggressive smack on the ass. I stopped mid-stride.

"To remind you of us," she explained sweetly.

~ ~ ~

Dinner with Stephanie didn't have the easy ebb and flow lunch had, but I enjoyed it anyway, although the conversation was much more intense. Rather than tip toe around key issues, Steph jumped right in, which set the tone of the meal. The main point was that Stephanie Renee Perkins had big aspirations. To achieve those, there was a certain game she had to play, and it wasn't the one with me and the other ladies.

"If I cross that line, Kai -- hell, if I show up nude on camera -- I'll never have a chance."

I nodded. This was an issue my money couldn't fix -- despite my relative success, I didn't have nearly enough to influence media networks. "So what is it that you want precisely -- to be famous?"

She shook her head.

"To be wealthy?" At least that one I could work on, but she shook her head again.

"Attention?" That one earned a shrug, which was at least a start. I began to suspect that Stephanie had decided a long time ago what success meant to her and was afraid to challenge that notion. I decided to push a little.

"A question then: when you were thinking about what you wanted to be when you grew up, did host on an internet reality dating show make the list?" She barked out a short, rather unrefined laugh; fortunately, my jibe caught her when she didn't have any food in her mouth.

"As a matter of fact, it did not." Her tone was a little snarky, but there was no vitriol behind it.

"And yet you signed on anyway. Left a pretty good gig behind, too." She didn't respond right away, so I gave her time, enjoying my veal.

"It was because of you."

"So it's my fault?" I replied with a smile.

"You're unique," she continued, ignoring my comment. "That was clear the first time I was in a room with you, right after the Super Bowl. I know you said you remembered it, but for me, it's clear as cut crystal. You were engaging without even trying -- just naturally charismatic -- and then there's this "Ah, shucks" thing you have going that I knew would play well in a series."

Rather than let her divert the conversation, I set my fork down and pushed away my plate. "Right. So now you're an integral part of a show that's doing even better than expected. I don't really know what's considered good, but I assume you've seen whatever numbers are published?" She nodded. "And they're good?"

"Better than good."

"And you'll get compensation for that, right? They said I'd get eleven points."

Steph's eyes shot wide and she looked at Will frantically. "Don't let that go out." He nodded behind his camera and hit a button attached to a black box on his belt.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Jesus, Kai -- you don't tell people how much you're making -- it creates all sorts of resentment." She leaned back in her chair. "Eleven points -- even I'm jealous."

I leaned forward, putting my forearms on the table. "Sorry, but I was trying to make a point. If the show's as successful as you say, will whatever percentage you get be a lot?"

She shrugged and allowed a little smirk to show. I sat back up and held my arms wide. "Then I don't see the problem.

"By the time we're done, you'll be recognized everywhere you go, you'll have enough money to do most anything you want, and it's even possible you'll have found a guy to spend your life with." I ticked words off on my fingers: "Fame, Fortune, Family. That doesn't sound completely awful."

Stephanie was back to being quiet, an introspective, contemplative version of silent that didn't break when I ordered dessert, nor when I motioned her over to sit on my lap, or when I fed her little bites of

crème brûlée

.

It wasn't until our walk back that she spoke again. "You're making rational arguments when dealing with emotions. I don't think that works."

"Okay, so make an emotional argument."

"I can't do that, either," she said with an embarrassed grin. "They'll all lead to me fucking you in the elevator."