Baby Davey's first crush

"Our first contestant was David's first crush," Motley's voice echoed in the empty stalls, "and she knew our Ringmaster for many years, having been his babysitter when he was just a boy!"

"No..." David's heart sank as Motley continued.

"It isn't hard to see why he developed a crush on her either; smart, funny, and devastatingly pretty. Now a lawyer in London, welcome to the ring... Cassandra Brooks!"

Cassandra turned the page, and brought the wine glass to her lips, and frowned. Empty already. She sighed, bookmarked her page, and walked to the kitchen. Another glass of Merlot, then. She had earned after the Johnson case. Three long weeks of grueling litigation. But she had won. Hell, with the work she put in on that case, Cassandra reasoned she'd earned the whole bottle. Wine in hand, she returned to her armchair, placed the bottle next to her refilled glass, and she opened her book. She was just getting back into her novel, when the light from her reading lamp flared and blew, plunging her into darkness with a loud pop and the faint smell of Ozone.

God damnit.

So much for her relaxing night in. She stood, ready to feel her way to the light switch or, failing that, the circuit breaker. The Darkness seemed impenetrable, and as she stood, a wave of vertigo washed over her and she fell forward, hands grasping for anything to hold. As they gripped a wooden table, light bloomed in the dark. Bulbs flickered into life and she saw she was holding on to a dressing room table, with a mirror ringed in humming Edison bulbs. Their glow illuminated the desk and, on it, a thin brochure for something called the Harem Hotel.

Dave wanted to find a hole to crawl into and die. He wanted the ground to swallow him up. He wanted so much to be literally anyone else in the world, rather than staring as a tall woman in sharp skirt-suit and horn rimmed glasses strode into the ring. He took her in as polite applause echoed from the seemingly empty stalls. Her brown hair was straighter than he remembered, and her critical gaze lacked the warmth she'd always had when they were young, but her eyes were the same dazzling blue that looked like a small pool of summer sky. She looked at him for a moment and her face softened, "Wait... Davey, Is that you? What's going on?"

"H-hey." David stammered. "I don't know, Cass, these people kidnapped me, and now they're **** women too. I swear, I didn't want -"

Motley cut him off. "Now Sir, lying to a lady? You may not have asked us to bring her here, but let’s not pretend you aren't happy to see her. After all, what man wouldn't want to see his crush vying for his affections?"

"That was fifteen years ago!" David cried. "I was a dumb kid, who saw a pretty girl spending time with me while my head was a mess of hormonal bullshit and decided he was in love!"

"And now you have something your twelve year-old self would have killed for, a shot at making her yours! You can thank us later, Ringmaster! But first, lets have her introduce herself for our Audience. So Ms Brooks, care to tell us a little about yourself?"

Cassandra's eyes glazed as her mouth moved seemingly of its own volition "Hello, my name is Cassandra Brooks. I am 30 years old, and I work as a Barrister in London. I had been planning a quiet night in following closing on a major case. I don't get out much and haven't had a boyfriend since high school." She blushed but her mouth kept going without her. "I live with my cat in Soho and haven't thought about the Master in over 10 years."

"Well folks, a high paid legal professional! A job that requires her to make serious decisions and think critically! Let's hope the mental transformations aren't too severe... or maybe a change of perspective is just what our 30 year old virgin needs!"

"Transformations?" David balked.

"Oh yes, dear Ringmaster. But fear not! All shall be explained more thoroughly Once all the contestants are here! Speaking of which... Bring on Contestant number two!"