(all characters are 18 or older)
The dining room only seated sixty, but it had the biggest TV screens in the complex, so Paul headed there to learn the day's scores. There was a vacant chair next to Dianne, who was chatting to the Asian woman who she'd made out with on camera, who had an arm draped around Ethan's shoulders. "Hi," she said, as Paul sat down. "This is Xuan."
"Hi." They stared at the screen as it named and showed the competitors who'd lost in the first game, then the day's score was announced: seventeen men out, but only eight women.
"Is that unusual?" Xuan asked. Despite her appearance, her Texan accent was nearly as strong as Ethan's.
"You haven't watched the show?" said Paul.
"Only some of last season," she said. "I'm nineteen, and my parents didn't get Fuxtel."
"Oh."
"It happens," Dianne replied. "A lot of women choose to stay even if their partner's kicked out. They can usually find another partner if they make it through the next few games. The next game will probably be something designed to almost even the numbers, though they'll lose some men too."
Ethan nodded. "They like to get rid of half the couples by the end of week two," he said. "Less time in make-up, more time for the games, and we can all eat in one shift and get to know each other. Then half of those the next week, and half of those the week after that... it's like Xena's Paradox."
The scoreboard dissolved, and was replaced by the sleeping assignments. "Odd number," said Ethan. "Does that mean people get a bed to themselves?"
"Only one, I suspect," said Dianne. "They don't like people sleeping alone, even if it means empty beds."
"What happens if we move to another bed?" asked Xuan.
"People have been kicked out for that," Paul replied.
"If they hook up with their partner," said Dianne, nodding. "Otherwise, they sometimes let the audience vote on whether they can stay. I don't know how often that works --"
"I can find out for you," said a man sitting at the table behind them. "There's a website with all the stats."
"If we can access it," Paul countered.
"Fair point," said the man mildly. "I don't know what sites they've blocked." He stood, and he and his wife walked to the screen to read the small print. Paul and Dianne followed.
"Looks like we're in different dorms tonight," said Dianne, looking down the list of names. "I won't have to listen to you snore, and you won't have to listen to me moan."
#
The contestants' sleeping quarters were large rooms, each containing six queen-sized beds separated only by floor-to-ceiling curtains that blocked light but did little to muffle the sounds of other couples fucking. Paul found his way to bed D6 and saw the redhead with the butterfly tattoo searching the drawer in the nightstand. "Oh, hi," she said, looking over her shoulder.
"Hi," he replied. "I'm Paul."
"Khaleesi."
He raised an eyebrow. "Your real name?"
"Sure. Every class I took in school, there was at least one other Khaleesi, and at least one Dani who didn't want to admit to being a Danaerys. Guess their parents must've had a shock when they saw the last episode." She sat on the bed. "We were in the same group this morning, weren't we?"
"Yes. You, um..."
"The facial, yeah. That poor guy." She tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't quite keep a giggle out of her voice. "Still, it looked good on the show."
Paul considered saying, "I guess it's sort of a compliment," but wasn't sure how she'd take it. "What's in the drawer?"
"Lube, toys, and makeup. Probably product placement, but good stuff, expensive. Magic wands, rabbit vibes, suction vibes, dildos, butt plugs, beads, strap-ons, ball gags, cuffs... what's your pleasure?"
"Well, I'm not into bondage. I'm sort of vanilla."
