An Abundance of Ashleys

Cora stopped in front of the doors to the dining hall, taking a minute to prepare herself. She smoothed out her pink sundress and checked her perfectly coiffed blonde hair in one of the hallway mirrors. She already knew her appearance was near-perfect, a perk of being a Host, but the rituals helped soothe her. She had survived much as a Host - a season with an asexual Master, Producer meddling, the Great Cancellation Wave of '94 - but nothing, nothing, had prepared her for this. This was her eighth season and it was proving to be her most challenging by far. But she would survive. She would endure. It's who she was and it had gotten her this far.

Cora took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, then plastered on a winning smile. It was a showman's smile, one that had carried her through tough decisions and personal victories alike. A smile for the audience that tuned in week after week to Harem Hotel for all the love, heartbreak, joy, and defeat they could stomach.

"Never let them see you break," she thought. She pushed the heavy wooden door open and stepped inside.

The dining hall was elegant in its simplicity. Over the years Cora had moved away from the gaudier sets, finding beauty in quality over quantity. The main feature was a series of floor to ceiling windows that ran the length of the far wall overlooking a white sand beach and the ocean beyond. It was early, but the sun was already shining through bright and brilliant, reflecting off the sand with blinding intensity. The slight tint of the windows mediated the effect while giving the sky and sea an unnatural blue hue. The hall itself was relatively small, the size of room one would find in a local restaurant or boutique hotel. The room was painted in smooth pastel blues and greens that mirrored the water outside. The light grey hardwood floor was worn smooth with artificial age. Cora's rope wedge heels made satisfying clunks as she crossed the room and she grounded herself in the sound. Gathered at the wooden tables against the windows sat the source of her trials and tribulations, her personal cross to bear: this season's Master and their harem.

"Good morning all!" Cora said through her smile, coming to a stop far enough away from the group that it was clear she wasn't joining them, but near enough to be clearly heard without raising her voice. "I trust everyone had a good night?"

"Some better then others," someone muttered in the back. The harem broke into a chorus of coughs and snickers while the Master blushed and their date for the previous night winked mischievously.

"Yes, a very good night based on the Victory Point gains," Cora smiled as the harem tried and failed to stifle their giggles. In seasons past she would have made a show of going over the rankings at this point, lavishing praise for the VP gains while gently chastising the laggards, but not this season. She couldn't bring herself to look at the leaderboard. Not yet. She took a breath and pressed on.

"We are now two days out from our third challenge. All of you have preformed admirably thus far and I'm sure you'll continue to prove yourself worthy of your place in the Master's harem."

She was stalling. She was stalling and they could tell. She could see it in their wicked grins, in the little side-eye glances they shared. They were leaning forward in their seats, eyes hungry, just waiting to pounce, ready to break her.

I will hold fast. I will stay firm. I will show no weakness.

The moment had come, she could delay it no further. Once again she would have to endure the unendurable, the little **** she had been **** to experience day after day ever since this damned season had begun. They would not allow her to avoid it. She had tried once, but she had been pursued into the hallway and harried until she gave them what they wanted.

It was worse somehow, knowing she only had herself to blame.

"Today the Master's date is," The harem leaned in expectantly…

"Ashleigh."

"Which one?" The retort was lightning fast.

The harem fell into hysterics, laughing and giggling at the same dead horse joke that somehow had not grown old (for them) over the last couple of weeks. Cora smiled so hard she thought her teeth would break. As the peals of laughter continued she felt another small part of her shrivel up and die.

Don't break don't break don't break don't break.

Cora turned away from the self-styled comedians as she fought to maintain her composure. Unfortunately this brought her face to face with the VP leaderboard, the six contestants' names proudly displayed, mocking her.

• Ashleigh
• Ashlee
• Ashli
• Ashlie
• Ashly
• Ashlea

And to top it all off of course the Master had to be named "Ashley" too. Cora could barely keep the slump out of her shoulders as she allowed herself a small sigh. Her assistant had tried to warn her, that was the worst part. Reva had tried to tell her that something was going terribly wrong but noooooo, Cora had insisted on an absolutely blind pull of contestants.

"Just give me their backgrounds without any names or rolls attached. I want to pick a cast completely free of bias or partiality."

Cora had thought it would be an interesting exercise, picking contestants from the Master's life based solely off the descriptions of their personalities. She had been deeply curious if the draw would end up with a similar spread of archetypes as a typical season or if something truly unexpected would happen. She thought she had prepared for everything: all Ex's, friends of the wrong sexual orientation, even all family.

But who could possibly expect someone who had encountered six other people who shared their own name?

"It was an incredibly popular name in the late 1980's, early 1990's," Reva had dutifully informed her, while Cora had slowly nodded, resisting the urge to strangle her ever so helpful assistant.

That had been over two weeks ago. It was now the middle of the third round of the season and chaos continued to reign on set. Cora had tried everything she could think of to no avail. Calling everyone by their surnames was the obvious solution, but that had lasted right up until Cora discovered she had an "Ashlee Green" and an "Ashlie Greene" - or was it the other way around? It didn't help that she and the show staff where the only ones using the surnames. It was "too impersonal" the Master had objected and the contestants all readily agreed.

The second effort had been name change transformations. The transformation vote following the first challenge had seen half the contestants - it would have been all the contestants if her Producer hadn't interfered - receive an option that would permanently change their name in some way. Cora had nearly pulled her hair out when none of those options won.

The Host was becoming increasingly convinced it was all a conspiracy against her.

She was stuck in this hell of her own making for another three weeks. Three more weeks of "Which one?" Three more weeks of contestants pretending to be confused about who she was referring to. Three more weeks of Spartacus and Slim Shady references.

Smile stabilized, Cora slowly turned back to the Master and their harem. The group had finally stopped laughing at the stupidest joke in creation and the conversation had moved on, leaving her mercifully ignored. Cora took advantage, and slipped out of the dining hall before someone thought to ask her how many points "Ashlea" had, or whether "Ashli" had any mail. These questions were always asked with a knowing grin, daring her to guess which contestant they were asking for. Cora never got it right, and even she didn't think her luck was that bad. She stalked down the hallway, all vestiges of a smile erased.

"If I survive this," she vowed, "If I survive this I'm going to purge every variation of the name "Ashley" from the multiverse."

"I had fun on the beach today," Ashley said, as they and Ashleigh entered the elevator to the Master's Suite. "I don't know that I've spent a full day on the beach since I was a kid."

Ashleigh nodded, pulling the beach towel draped across their shoulders tighter against the cool elevator air.

"The water temperature was perfect. Do you think it's naturally like that or does Cora keep it that way?"

Ashley scoffed lightly in an almost laugh. "I don't think anything here is natural."

"I don't know about that," Ashleigh's fingers gently brushed against Ashley's before they gently intertwined. Ashley turned to find Ashleigh looking down, a crooked smile on their face.

"This seems pretty natural."

They playfully bumped Ashley with their shoulder. Ashley grinned, and leaned back against the elevator wall. The burnished metal was cool against their skin, still warm to the touch after a day out in the sun. They gently tugged on Ashleigh's hand as they slowly fell back against the wall, pulling them so they were now face to face.

"Pretty sure I remember you saying something different during the first week." Ashley teased.

Ashleigh's brow knitted, but their mouth twisted into a smile as they stuck their tongue out.

"And I'm pretty sure I remember you saying 'hell no' during the first week," they retorted, leaning in closer to the Master. "But we were different then. I was different."

"And now?" Ashley whispered, their hand gliding up the outside of Ashleigh's thigh before coming to rest on their hip. Ashleigh just smiled their crooked smile before pressing forward, their lips finally connecting. The contact was electric and Ashley couldn't help but gasp when their companion pulled away.

"I'm not hearing any complaints," Ashleigh purred and their lips met again, a wave against the sand.

They had kissed before, but it was careful, exploratory, a testing of boundaries to see what gave and what held firm. Nothing held this time. Ashley could taste the salt and sweat of the beach on Ashleigh and could imagine nothing more delicious. It tasted of freedom and fearlessness, of surrender and salvation. Ashleigh wasn't giving, they were claiming. They were claiming their Master like the mussels claimed the rocks around the small tidal pools they had explored earlier, determined to hold fast against all the storms and waves to come.

The kiss deepened and Ashley gasped into Ashleigh's mouth as their bare back was pressed fully against the cold metal of the elevator wall. Ashleigh's tongue took advantage of the opening to claim more of their Master. Ashley's head was beginning to spin and their hand squeezed tigher around Ashleigh's fingers. Ashleigh's free hand had found it's way to Ashley's chin, cupping it and tilting their head up slightly as their tongues clashed together.

The chime of the elevator intruded with a cruel ding as it reached the Master's Suite, and Ashleigh broke away with a smirk and a squeeze of their hand. Ashley was left leaning against the wall, breathing heavily and trying to regain some sense of composure. However their efforts were utterly wrecked as Ashleigh paused just outside the elevator with a hand on their hip and looked back over their shoulder.

"Aren't you coming, Master?"

Ashley tried to drag Ashleigh to the bedroom there and then, but Ashleigh slipped their grasp giggling and instead headed towards the bathroom.

"Not until we shower and get this sand off," Ashleigh said and Ashley audibly groaned in frustration. They tried to follow Ashleigh into the shower, but they stopped the Master at the bathroom door.

"Good things come to those that wait," Ashleigh teased in a sing-song voice as they shut and locked the door behind them.

Ashley picked up a book as a distraction, but they found themselves just unthinkingly flipping through the pages while waiting for Ashleigh to finish taking what felt like the world's longest shower. It felt like all the tension in their body was pooling in their crotch, and they had to fight the urge to release it themselves.

Ashleigh finally - finally - emerged from the shower, a towel wrapped around their body and their black curly hair still slightly damp. Ashley met them at the bathroom door with their lips, but Ashleigh broke the **** kiss with a laugh, while gently pushing Ashley towards the bathroom.

"Your turn. We don't want to get sand in the bed."

It was the fastest shower of Ashley's life. Images of Ashleigh's teasing smile kept flashing through their head as they frantically scrubbed off the salt, sand, and sweat from the beach. Ashley dried off quickly, not taking the time to tame their short auburn hair. It stuck out wildly, a medusa in miniature, but all Ashley could think of was Ashleigh running their hands through it. Ashley realized too late that they had forgotten to carry any clothing into the bathroom with them. After briefly considering just walking out naked, needy sex on full display, they grabbed a towel and wrapped it around their waist. Determined to not let Ashleigh delay the inevitable any longer, Ashley took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom.

Ashleigh was waiting for them, still wearing nothing but the towel and a crooked grin, but they weren't alone. Facing the bathroom door - in between Ashleigh and Ashley - was Ashlie, their slim hands squeezed tightly together. The mousy brown-haired intruder stood in stark contrast to Ashley's date for the day. Ashlie was clad in their typical attire; tight jeans, a graphic t-shirt referencing an obscure sci-fi show, and nervous energy. Ashlie's gaze first landed on Ashley's bare chest, still glistening with water from the shower, before making brief eye contact then darting away to the corner of the room, a faint blush spreading across their pale freckled cheeks.

"A-Ashleigh asked me to come," the words spilled from Ashlie's lips a little too quickly, responding to Ashley's unasked question. That question had died in Ashley's mouth, which still hung open in surprise. Ashley finally willed their mouth closed and met Ashleigh's gleaming eyes. The raven-haired tease hovered behind Ashlie, the impish crooked grin still highlighting their sharp cheekbones and pointed chin.

"We've been talking," Ashleigh explained with a calmness that belied the nervous anticipation building in the air. "Ashlie told me they wanted to be more…open…with you in the bedroom but they're a little nervous."

"I'm afriad I'll mess something up," Ashlie whispered, their eyes still steadfastly fixed on the empty corner of the room. "I…I haven't done a lot of things…"

Ashley felt tenderness bloom in their chest. "You're not going to mess anything up Ashlie," they said quietly as they quickly closed the distance between them. "You're amazing just the way you are."

Ashley's hand reached out and gently squeezed Ashlie's shoulder through their t-shirt. Ashlie gasped quietly but still wouldn't meet Ashley's eyes. Ashley looked up over Ashlie's shoulder to Ashleigh, whose grin had morphed into something softer.

"We're going to take care of you," Ashleigh reassured Ashlie. "Together."

Ashley gently led Ashlie back to the bedroom while Ashleigh trailed closely behind. Ashley's nethers felt like they were vibrating with anticipation, but Ashley managed to keep their focus on Ashlie for now, trying to give the slim newcomer a safe welcome. However once the three reached the bedroom Ashleigh took over.

"Why don't you go ahead and climb on the bed Master," they purred. "Make yourself comfortable."

Ashley was all too eager to do just that. They clambered atop the bed and reclined, back against the pillows, still upright enough that they could see Ashleigh and Ashlie standing at the foot of the bed. Ashlie's eyes were darting nervously around the room while Ashleigh stood close behind them, cool and composed in their towel. Ashleigh gently squeezed Ashlie's shoulders, then leaned over to whisper in their ear.

"Are you ready?" Ashlie responded with a quick, nervous nod. "Good. First I want you to pull Ashley's towel off. Can you do that?"

Ashlie nodded again, a little more surely this time. The bed was too big for Ashlie to reach the towel from the foot so they climbed up onto it next to Ashley. Ashlie's slim hand took firm hold of the towel and gently tugged it off.

Ashley had to raise their hips to allow the towel to slip out from under them. Ashlie gasped as the towel slid away, revealing Ashley's hips thrust forward, their sex presented. Ashlie didn't look away this time, instead gazing at the place in between Ashley's legs, her mouth slightly parted.

Ashleigh slid onto the bed on the other side of Ashley, bracketing them in between themselves and Ashlie. They ran a hand up the inside of Ashley's thigh causing them to shiver in pleasure.

"Do you want to touch it?" Ashleigh asked Ashlie. Ashlie nodded and murmured a fervent "yes." Ashleigh reached out and took Ashlie's hand, gently placing it on top of Ashley's mons pubis before slowly sliding it into place, causing Ashley to gasp.

"Do you want to learn how to make Ashley feel good?" Ashleigh didn't ask for an answer this time, as they begin to gently move Ashlie's hand under their grasp against Ashley. Ashley's gasps slowly turned to groans as Ashlie under Ashleigh's guidance began to pick up speed. Ashley closed their green eyes, just enjoying the pleasure, when they suddenly felt something new. Ashley's eyes flew open to find Ashleigh gently running their hands up along Ashley's torso, working the way up to their chest. Ashlie continued on below, completely on her own now, but looking more and more into it.

Ashley pressed their head back into the pillows and let out a long low moan as Ashleigh's fingers finally found their nipples. Between that and Ashlie continuing to work their sex Ashley was getting close.

Which made it all the more frustrating when both Ashleigh and Ashlie suddenly stopped. Ashley sat up with a plaintive "whhhy" only to find Ashleigh with their wicked crooked grin. They had hold of Ashlie's wrist, who was looking equally as confused if less frustrated then their Master.

"Nuh uh uh, Ashlie," Ashleigh cooed. "We don't want them to get off too soon. Then the rest of us won't get to play."

"Dammit Ashleigh," Ashley groaned through gritted teeth. "I was soooo close."

"I know babe," Ashleigh said, leaning forward and kissing Ashley on the forehead, "But remember what I said about those that wait."

It was hard for Ashley to remember anything considering the current direction of their blood flow, but Ashleigh was already gently pulling them up off the pillows and managed to deftly switch places with them. Ashleigh was now leaning against the pillows, towel still wrapped around them. They reached out and gently pulled Ashlie to them, maneuvering them until they sat leaning back against Ashleigh, facing Ashley.

"Ashleigh what are you-" but Ashleigh simply shushed Ashley, while their hands begin to slide along the hem of Ashlie's t-shirt.

"You made your Master feel good," Ashleigh whispered into Ashlie's ear. "Now it's time for them to return the favor." Ashleigh's one hand continued to tease the hem of Ashlie's shirt while the other begin to slide up the outside of the fabric along their slim body. Ashlie gasped, but Ashleigh's gaze was fixed on Ashley.

"Don't you want to see Master? Don't you want to see what this tight little body?"

Ashleigh's hand had now slipped up and under Ashlie's shirt, while the other traveled back and forth across the fabric from nipple to nipple. Ashlie was beginning to pant under the attention.

"Don't you want to be good for your Master?" Ashleigh's lips were right against Ashlie's ear. "Are you ready to show them everything?"

Ashlie nodded desperately and gasped out a breathy "yes." Ashleigh reached down and pulled Ashlie's t-shirt up over their head and off, tossing it onto the floor. Ashleigh's towel was right behind it, leaving them completely naked.

Ashley's breath caught in their throat as their eyes explored the two nude forms on the bed in front of them. Ashleigh was all clean lines and defined angles, a form fit for anatomical drawing studies. But if Ashleigh was a study in lines, Ashlie was drawn in charcoal, their thin body softly blended from one part to another.

Ashleigh pulled the slim topless figure back against them and Ashlie gasped as their naked skin connected. Ashleigh's hands were roaming the body in front of them, but their blue eyes were locked firmly on Ashley.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Ashleigh whispered, whether to Ashlie, Ashley, or themselves was unclear. "Don't you want to just feel them all over?"

Ashley did, and they crawled up the bed towards the two intertwined forms. Ashleigh confined their hands to Ashlie's shoulders while the Master explored Ashlie's torso with their own fingers. Ashlie started to whimper under the combined attention, and it only grew worse as Ashleigh began to slowly kiss their way up and down Ashlie's neck.

"What do you think?" Ashleigh asked.

"Beautiful," the Master replied, meaning Ashleigh and Ashlie, and both of them together. "Just beautiful."

Ashley's lips found Ashlie's, drawing a surprise yelp as the slim figure was sandwiched in between the Master and Ashleigh. They were soon eagerly returning the kisses, even as they melted back further into Ashleigh's chest. Meanwhile Ashleigh's hands were never idle. They slide from Ashlie's thighs, over to Ashley's and back again, all while her lips found the junction of Ashlie's neck and shoulders.

This was amazing, and spectacular, but Ashley wanted more. Even as their tongue explored Ashlie's mouth, Ashley's hand was fumbling, trying to find the button to Ashlie's jeans. Contact was finally made, and Ashley smiled into Ashlie's lips as they undid the button by hand. Ashleigh could sense Ashley's design, and helped their middle partner shimmy out of their pants. Ashley's hand eagerly slide down Ashlie's torso, past their lap, and was delighted at what they found. Ashlie wasn't wearing any underwear.

"Do you always go commando?" Ashley asked between increasingly hungry kisses. "Or was this just for me?"

"For you," Ashlie panted. "Just for you."

Ashley could almost feel Ashleigh's crooked grin at that, but their focus was elsewhere. Ashley began to kiss their way down Ashlie's tight body, pausing slightly at their navel and taking time to shower kisses along their waistband. By the time Ashley's lips found Ashlie's sex the whimpers were almost whines.

As Ashley's mouth made contact Ashlie bucked her hips with a broken "OhHhhHh!" Ashleigh gently pinned Ashlie's arms against their side, while down below Ashley's hands clenched down on their thighs. Ashlie squirmed and wailed and shook under Ashley's ministrations, but the hands of both guides kept them from escaping. It was clear they weren't going to let Ashlie run from the pleasure, so the only thing left was to experience it. The only direction left for Ashlie to move was back and so she did, grinding their pert butt back against Ashleigh's groin. Ashleigh was all too happy to grind back and soon their groans joined the pleasure. Face buried between Ashlie's legs, Ashley could now smell the arousal of both their partners and it was driving them wild.

Ashlie's yelps were growing more and more ****. Ashley could feel them coming apart and redoubled their efforts. When Ashlie finally did come their whole body shook with the **** of it. They threw their hand back against Ashleigh's shoulder with a cry, and their thighs clamped around Ashley's head. Ashlie convulsed for several blissful seconds before their body went limp with a final sigh, collapsing bonelessly back against Ashleigh. Ashley eagerly slid up the bed, joining Ashleigh in leaning against the pillows.

"That…that…incredible…" Ashlie panted, their voice as broken as their body. Ashley turned to find Ashleigh's crooked grin.

"We're just getting started," Ashley replied. Their lips found Ashleigh's, who moaned as they tasted Ashlie's release on Ashley's mouth.

"DAMMIT." Cora screamed at the computer monitor as she advanced the replay footage of Ashley/Ashleigh/Ashlie's activities frame by frame. "Dammit dammit DAMMIT," she repeated, allocating one 'dammit' per frame.

She sat in her office, hunched over her desk, glaring at the screen. Her pink sundress was wrinkled from the day and her blonde hair a tousled mess. It was growing dark outside but she hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. The only illumination was the glow of her monitor and a small desk lamp that Reva had turned on so the assistant could see the clipboard balanced on her knee as they manually tallied Victory Points.

The call from Harem Hotel's tech department loomed large in Cora's memory, one of the first stations on her personal Via Dolorosa. During the opening round they had informed her that the system used for automatically allocating VP had never been tested with a season with so many duplicate names, and it was experiencing "issues" awarding points to the correct contestant. Cora quickly discovered that "issues" was code for "doesn't fucking work," and that she'd have to manually award VP at the end of each day.

Until now it hadn't been too onerous. Annoying, definitely, but not world-ending. As part of her Host duties Cora was already in the habit of watching replays of any intimate encounters, so all she had to do was add a score sheet to her evening routine. Tallying kisses, heavy petting, and the occasional oral at the conclusion of each day had been simple enough when there was only the Master and their date, but with three people?!

"Green, four points, oral," Cora muttered. At least here she could use surnames. Her eyes were already feeling glassy as she rewound the same sequence for the umpteenth time, trying to determine whose hands had touched whose parts.

"Is that Green or Green-e?" Reva asked, laying emphasis on the final letter.

"Greene. Green? Fuck, I don't know anymore…" Cora sighed, falling back in her chair and running her hand over her eyes. She reached over and grabbed the bottle of wine she had been drinking directly out of only to discover it empty. She slammed it back down with a snarl before turning her attention back to the screen. Reva sat silently, fidgeting with her pen.

"I can page the kitchen for more," the assistant finally offered as she scribbled something on the tally sheet.

"No…" Cora grumbled as she tried to decide if she'd already seen this particular scene or not. "I need a semi-clear head if we want any chance of finishing this before tomorrow. How much total footage again?"

Reva flipped back through her notes before responding. "Three hours all total."

"Three hours?!"

"It's not nonstop sex. There's parts we can skip."

"And get flamed by the audience because we missed something and 'unfairly' denied their precious waifu a couple points? Fat fucking chance."

Reva was too good of an assistant to visibly betray her objections - it's why Cora had now hired her for three seasons straight - but even Reva couldn't hide the exhaustion growing behind her half moon glasses. Cora considered asking how long they'd been at this but quickly decided she didn't want to know. Knowing couldn't possibly make the situation better or more bearable. As she restarted the footage it felt like her fatigue was creeping up her optic nerves and straight into her brain.

"Ashleigh, Nipple Sucking, four points and a first time bonus."

Reva's response was out before she could even think once, much less twice, about it. Later she'd blame the exhaustion, definitely the exhaustion, though privately among other assistants she's point out that her Host had slipped up first. However it came to pass, it was Reva's one mistake that would haunt her for seasons to come.

"Which one?" Reva asked thoughtlessly.

Cora screamed.