FADE UP:
TITLE CARD.
Bright graphics.
Blue sky. Dazzling white beach. Palm-fringed coasts circle a little Pacific paradise surrounded by ocean.
Strange structures protrude from its lush peaks:
A circus tent.
A glassy gymnasium.
A studio soundstage.
The characterless office tower of a major world bank.
A giant bronze statue of three entwined lovers.
And a forbidding, domed medieval prison.
Nothing on the island fits together. None of it makes sense.
SENSUAL MUSIC underscores everything, until --
The CRACK of a gunshot.
Blood spatters the screen.
A title blasts over:
CHAPTER 1:
THE GAMES BEGIN
Rakesh Vaibhav sipped the cold bottle of San Pellegrino that the pretty assistant had handed him.
The couch was comfortable -- everything in this nicely appointed green room was -- but his knee wouldn't stop bouncing up and down in his seat. Rakesh was nervous.
Twenty minutes ago, his wife, Diana, had gone backstage to get made up and into her "outfit".
They were seconds away from starting.
His eyes flickered about the room. For the umpteenth time, they landed on the vase of red flowers on the low coffee table. They were double-bloom Alsatian gerberas, a rare and peculiar species of daisy that he had nonetheless identified in an instant. Their presence here, in a studio green room in Burbank, California, mystified Rakesh. He felt an odd, prickly unease down the nape of his neck.
The pretty blonde assistant came back, clutching her clipboard.
"Rakesh?" she said with a smile. "We're ready for you."
He took a last swig of sparkling water, wishing it had been a tequila shot. He got up and followed her.
"I'm Chloe, by the way," she said, turning and shaking his hand with a smile.
"Nice to meet you," Rakesh replied. He realized it had come out as a croak. He was on edge. He still couldn't help but admire the puckishly attractive woman in front of him, wearing a tight green dress that ended where her thighs began. Her tousled blonde hair was pinned back by a headset-microphone.
"It's so fucking rad that you're doing this," she said, continuing to walk. "Your wife is very lucky."
His eyes moved down to Chloe's shapely ass as she walked ahead of him. Its thick apple silhouette was evident through the thin material of her short dress. She was clearly wearing a
G-string or a thong, one of Rakesh's favorite pieces of underwear to see Diana in. Was he going to see his wife in a thong tonight, he wondered? And he wondered other things...
Somehow his nerves must have rattled down to his crotch, because he realized that despite his heart beating eighty miles a minute, he was growing hard inside his jeans.
"Uh, so, the flowers in the green room," he said, attempting a casual tone. "Did they bring them in specially? I know they're very hard to find. They're my wife's favorites, so every Valentine's..."
He trailed off as they rounded the corner to the flats behind the stage. He could suddenly see the bright stage lights piercing through. Worse, he could hear the murmur of a full audience.
Chloe
shh
'ed him with a friendly smile and led him to two other men, waiting there. Rakesh thought they looked just as nervous as he felt.
One was a skinny white man, perhaps in his early thirties, with neatly combed hair and a Wall Street haircut. His button-down shirt was tucked into his slacks.
The other was a shorter, stocky man with a large paunch, somewhere around forty-five. He was in a t-shirt and jeans, with shaggy hair and a close-cropped beard.
Rakesh nodded hello. They nodded back.
He didn't want to look down to check, but he wondered if they were just as excited as he was.
Chloe touched his arm and smiled at him.
"Don't be nervous," she whispered. "You're gonna have fun..." She bit her lip. "I hope."
She snuck a glance down at his bulging crotch.
"At least, I'm sure he's gonna have fun," she said with a wink. Rakesh blushed furiously.
Music boomed. A rumble of bass and a sexy, driving drumline shook the whole room. Applause broke out as the lights dimmed. And then came the thundering sound of the announcer over the speakers.
"Welcome to the filthiest, sexiest, most popular adult show streaming everywhere in the world..."
Spotlights circled and crossed, out over the stage. Rakesh craned to get a view through the stage wings.
The audience cheered, some of them shouting along with the announcement. The show clearly had rabid fans. So many people were going to watch this live, Rakesh thought. And even more at home.
"Featuring the naughtiest women from around the planet, living out their hottest fantasies..."
Rakesh involuntarily mouthed along himself. After all, he'd watched this show a hundred times, privately, masturbating to it on countless nights when his wife was fast asleep.
"With their husbands right by their side..."
Only tonight, Rakesh was going to be a part of the show... and so was his wife Diana.
"It's... The Wife Games!"
Music blasted. The two hosts came out to thunderous applause. The lights rose to a full wash.
"
Who's feeling naughty tonight?