Miss Friday, don't you know? I don't really care about taking it slow

Holly made the short walk of shame back to her room.

This is awful. I’m supposed to be helping keep Nick’s urges under control? I have to keep him from having sex with other girls, when I’m at the bottom of the popularity rankings? It was like some sick joke. As if her early hostility towards the “master” due to their past issues was being brutally punished. And as grateful as she might have been that Nick was trying to control himself…

That shouldn’t be my responsibility.

What was she supposed to do, though? Let him take advantage of the other girls? Dawn, Dani, Kim, poor little Mary?

…Me?

She was trapped in an untenable position. If she were a more suspicious woman, she might suspect that Nick had roped her into this deal on purpose in order to sabotage her. But he wouldn’t do something like that, would he?

Stop doubting him. That’s how you got here in the first place, you reckless idiot! If only you'd followed your heart back then, when he confessed to you, then we wouldn't be in this mess!

She only had herself to blame for the hole she'd dug herself into.

Do you even want him to restrain himself? A passing thought caused her to stop halfway to her door.

Be honest with yourself. Deep down, what you really want is for him to give into those urges, and throw down those other girls, sating his desires with their bodies, isn’t that right?

The thoughts were becoming more intrusive. Before, they’d just been passing whispers, dismissed as soon as they’d arrived, and forgotten about just as fast. But as the week progressed, they'd gotten firmer and more insistent, leaching their way into her thoughts until she couldn’t deny the treasonous urges welling up inside her.

Nick had been worried about the game altering his mind and the minds of the girls. He was right to be concerned. Of everyone here, Holly was definitely changing at the most drastic pace, as far as she could tell. The thought of her, of all people, wanting to see Nick have sex with other girls? She had been changed on a fundamental level, she couldn't deny it.

And maybe that’s what I want…

She bit her lip, paralyzed with indecision as she hovered in front of her door.

Then it opened and Dakota stepped out. She was dressed to impress, wearing a sleeveless black turtleneck that clung to her chest and a willowy black skirt that danced about her ankles. Her face was made up nicely to accentuate her elegant features while making her golden eyes pop, and her curly dark tresses were teased out in a windswept styling. No matter what angle you looked at her, you’d be hard-pressed to find any similarity between her present countenance and the pale ghost girl she’d been when Sylvia first revived her.

To Holly it felt like her beauty was an attack. She wilted under Dakota’s imposing glare and meekly stepped aside, seeing far too much resemblance between the black-haired beauty walking past her and the popular girls she’d used to envy during her shy bookworm days in high school.

“See you tomorrow, Holly,” Dakota called behind her as an afterthought. “Don’t wait up.”

Holly swallowed and ducked into her room, sequestering herself in her own private sanctuary. Just the thought of Dakota and Nick spending the night together doing God knows what was getting her unbelievably worked up.

---

Nick’s heart pounded in his chest as he descended the elevator, knowing that when it stopped, he’d finally be able to see the girl he was waiting to talk to all this time.

Dakota.

Of all the girls he had wronged in the past, she was the one who he owed amends to the most. He’d killed her. It may have been an accident, but that didn’t change the overwhelming guilt he felt. He couldn’t deny what had happened. Even the fact that she’d been brought back to life didn’t change things.

But when the doors opened and Dakota stepped into the elevator, all thoughts of apologizing to her slipped from his mind.

She looked amazing.

Nick had been too overwhelmed by her resurrection to get a good look at her naked body when she revived. And though he’d gawked at her in the gym, the circumstances and his exhaustion had kept him from really getting a good look at her up close like this. But now there was nothing separating them. She was a vision in black standing in front of him, as if her body had been perfectly sculpted to suit his every sexual fantasy.

Her breasts were amazing, large and firm and sitting high on her chest, almost unnaturally perky for their size. They weren’t as big as Carly’s “built-for-sex” tits or Dani’s magically-inflated hooters but they would more than fill his hands if he touched them, and seeing the way they bounced in her tight shirt as she approached him, he knew they must have been soft as hell.

Next his eyes slid down past her chest and towards her waist. She wasn’t stick-thin like Gina, rather her body sloped inwards like a sharp hourglass. Her tight shirt revealing just enough of her midriff to emphasize the flatness of her stomach, with just the faint hint of developing abs; it was the physique of a girl who worked out just enough to look good for her man, but not so much that she’d feel hard where he wanted her to be soft.

And finally, her ass. Her figure widened at her hips, pushing out her skirt to match the contours of her sensual curves. The strong foundation of her legs, unseen as they were, was enough to sell Nick on the idea of her round and firm bubble butt without even needing to lay eyes on it. Every inch of her was the perfect woman for his tastes.

But none of that mattered because she was Dakota.

The first thing he did when he saw her was throw his arms around her, pulling her into a hug that even had her surprised. With all the times she’d hugged him in their youth she earned no points for the gesture, but the sentiment warmed her heart regardless.

Nick didn’t care about the thin waist his arm wrapped around, or the soft titmeat squashed against his chest. In that moment the girl he was hugging was his long-lost childhood friend, and it didn’t matter that Sylvia had revived her in a body from his filthiest wet dreams.

She’d have been perfect no matter what.

“You’re alive…” He sobbed, hugging her as hard as he could, terrified that she’d disappear if he let go. “You’re really here…”

“…I am,” Dakota murmured, returning his hug. It hadn’t been what she’d planned, but it was nice. “I made it back to you.”

“Ahem.”

After an eternity of hugging in the elevator doorway, the sound of a throat being cleared made the reunited friends finally part. They looked to see Sylvia leaning against the wall, her face unreadable.

“Yes, a touching reunion, I know, I’m happy for you both,” she said sarcastically. “But unless this is the prelude to some sweaty elevator sex, I must insist your date begin now.”

Dakota aimed her golden eyes in an irritated glare. “Couldn’t you give us five more minutes at least?” She asked.

Sylvia scoffed. “I’ve given you enough already. If you want to keep hugging him, by all means, but at least wait until you’ve reached your destination.”

“Forget about her,” Nick said, pulling Dakota back into his arms and into the elevator with him. “Right now, we’re the only ones here.”

The doors closed behind them, and they were sealed away in their own little world.

“I missed you so much,” Dakota murmured, tears welling up in her eyes. Now that she was hugging him again, she didn’t want to let him go. “I never thought I would be able to touch you like this again, but now…”

“What happened?” Nick asked. “Sylvia said… your memories and things, about being dead, I just don’t understand. What happened?”

The elevator skidded to a stop, as if the supernatural **** that was guiding it had slammed on the brakes. At the same time, Dakota pulled away from him, staring into his eyes like she’d been slapped.

“Don’t ask me that.” Her voice was a mixture of angered plea and **** beg. “Please. You can’t.”

“Why not?” Nick asked. There was so much about her situation that he didn’t understand. “Sylvia said that you’d grown, not just physically, but mentally, right? I just want to know what happened to you, how you got to this point.”

His feelings were muddled. He wanted a salve for his guilt, some level of closure about what she’d been through so he could lessen some of his burden. But at the same time, he wanted to know how Dakota had matured, because as much as she was the same girl he knew, she’d changed. It had been 15 years since her ****, after all, and the girl in front of him was no 12-year-old.

The only answer he got to his conflicted question was a sad smile.

Dakota didn’t hug him again. She turned to the door and stepped through it, and Nick froze when he saw what lied on the other side.

It was a playground. A simple jungle gym with two slides, a climbing wall, and little slidey-poll, in the middle of a pool of woodchips. A few feet away was an old swing set that had once been colored blue, but had long-since lost its paint job, and beside that two tiny plastic boxes on thick springs for children to play on, one shaped like a car and the other a ladybug. The familiar greenbelt surrounding the playstructure was unnecessary, Nick knew exactly where he was.

“How-?” He sputtered, turning to Dakota. “Is this that Dream Alley thing?”

No, it couldn’t be. He knew it wasn’t because nothing past the park was the same. The sidewalks running beside the woodchip floor didn’t branch off into cul-de-sacs, they just stretched away for miles through the grass. And without the cul-de-sacs, none of the neighboring houses were there. Not the house he’d grown up in since he was a baby, nor the house of one Dakota Johnson right next door to it.

This wasn’t a scene from his memory. Rather, someone had carefully crafted an exact replica of the playground that had defined his childhood free time, and plopped it right in the middle of this hotel.

“I was shocked when I found it,” Dakota said, staring wistfully at the playground. Nick wondered if it could have been a gift from Sylvia. Some perfect little spot from history for the two of them.

Dakota took him by the hand.

“Shall we?”

---

It was rather silly, seeing two grown adults in a park meant for children. But then, there were no children present. The greenbelt seemed to stretch on for miles in every direction, leaving them free to play to their heart’s content.

Since Dakota’s curves made the tunnel slide an impossibility and the only other slide around came up to Nick’s chin, that basically just left the swings.

Dakota pumped her legs back and forth, her dress fluttering in the breeze as she flew through the air, the sky filling with her laughter. Nick was content just to watch her, barely rocking on his own swing as she enjoyed herself.

Then to his shock, she jumped.

The brunette was a mass of twisting limbs and black cloth as she tumbled through the air, before landing gingerly on her feet. A large mass of woodchips buckled out from where she landed, flying every which way from the **** of her impact.

“What do you think?” She called back to him, her red face aglow with joy. “As good as an A-push?”

A-push. That was a blast from the past. Back in the good old days, when Nick was at a far more appropriate age for playing on a playground and Dakota was still among the living, his father had often given them pushes on the swings. He had this one special push, an “A-push” they’d dubbed it, where he grabbed the seat with both hands pulled it back, and then flung it with all his might.

The two of them just loved jumping off at the height of the arc, completely ambivalent to how likely it may have been that they be injured. Even now, Dakota had landed far too close to the concrete ring around the playground for comfort, and the image of her new body being smashed into the sidewalk made Nick feel a little nauseous.

But she was fine. More than fine, she’d had the time of her life. She skipped over to Nick, her face bright and rosy, and slipped behind him before he realized what she was doing. Then he felt two hands on his back, and his body was pushed forward.

Nick grabbed the chains of the swing out of reflex, even though getting pushed out of his seat would have had all the effect of taking a step forward. Instead, he felt his body lift up with a surprising amount of strength, before dropping back down towards his original position.

Dakota was pushing him on the swing. Maybe that was some weird sex kink that somebody had, but to Nick he was just confused. But when her childish laughter touched his ears, he decided to leave it be. If Dakota wanted to push him, then he’d let her. It’s not like he lost anything by it.

But it was still a painful reminder. It’s not like we can go back to those days. It’s been 15 years. We’re adults now. We can’t just play around on our old playground like nothing changed.

That thought made his heart ache. But he kept up his smile so as not to ruin his best friend’s mood.

Nick had a thousand questions he wanted to ask Dakota on their date, but all of them stemmed from a single source, really. “What happened to you after you died?” This was the first chance he had to really talk with her since she came back, and while he was relieved to see she was alright, and she certainly was still his Dakota, there were so many things he just didn’t understand.

Finally, though, he’d had enough. He jumped off the swing at the arc of its rise and landed in the wood, nearly falling over. It took some getting used to, being back in that mental state. But the time for playing around was over. He turned back to Dakota, and could see from her solemn expression that she felt the same way he did.

“Dakota…” He croaked out, fighting back the urge to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

She was at his side in a second, like she’d slipped through space to get to him. Her hands reached up to caress his cheeks, as if she was trying to wipe away his tears one after another.

“Hush,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Don’t cry, please. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But it’s my fault! If it wasn’t for me, if Gina and I hadn’t… then you’d…”

“I know,” she murmured, never taking her eyes away from his. “I know. But it was an accident. I was upset and jealous, and I… I wanted to make you love me. I thought that if I threatened to run away, I could get you to forget about her, and focus only on me again.”

Her face was strained with regret. “I’ll never forgive myself for hurting you like that. I left you. I fell, and then… then I was gone. And your final memory of me was being upset with you, trying to make you love me. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.”

Her lips, plump and kissable now, curled up into a familiar smile.

“But I made it back. I made it back to be with you, Nick. And now we can make so many new memories together.”

Before he could say anything, she pressed her lips against his in a forceful kiss that stopped his heart.

Kissed the Master! +1 VP

She pulled back and smiled, her golden eyes sparkling. They were the only part of her that had really changed. While her face had aged to adulthood with features that reflected both her newfound femininity and the tomboyishness of her youth, it was still unmistakably Dakota’s. But those eyes, nothing like her original hazel, were different. But they still held Dakota’s light in them.

Nick didn’t know what to make of the kiss. He had never kissed Dakota before, he’d never even thought about it. And in the moment, it had been wonderful, but then…

It still felt wrong. Like he was kissing a child. He could see clearly that she was an adult, not just in body but in mind as well. And yet there was so much about her that escaped him. How had she grown up like this? What had happened to her between falling into that river and being brought back on the island? How had Sylvia or whatever masters she served changed her?

He didn’t know what to make of the situation, and judging by the disappointed expression she made, it showed on her face.

“What’s wrong?” She asked. “It… it wasn’t… good?”

“N-No, it’s not that, I just-”

“Was Gina better?” She asked, growing more anxious. Then her eyes landed on her hand and saw the number “11” emblazoned on it, and everything changed.

“11?!” She exclaimed, stepping back and holding her hand away from her body like it was covered in shit. “11 points?! Why?! It should be 12!”

She whirled towards Nick, her eyes wild with hurt, confusion, and anger. “Who was it?!” She demanded. “Who did you kiss before me?! Was it Holly?! Did she-”

“What?! No, it wasn’t Holly!” Nick sputtered in disbelief. “Why would you think that?! Holly wouldn’t kiss me if I was the last man on earth!”

Dakota shook her head, glaring accusingly at Nick. “You know nothing,” she spat. “That girl is a snake in the grass. She might hide behind her sweetness, but deep down inside… fine. If not her, then who?! Was it the slut with the huge boobs?! Or no… that simpering redhead?! It was her, wasn’t it?! I knew she got those two points from somewhere! That fucking cow, she better watch her back…”

There it was. The part of Dakota he'd almost forgotten. The jealousy. The bitterness. The way she hung around him possessively, as if the thought of him having other friends was a threat to her. She was like a clingy sister, and that was how Nick always thought of her.

It had been so long since he’d thought about her possessiveness and he’d been so focused on making her happy that one of the first things he’d learned from childhood had completely slipped his mind.

Do not make Dakota mad.

But as soon as the anger flared up, it passed. She slumped to her knees in the woodchips and stared up at him with pleading eyes. “Why wasn’t it me?” She wailed. “Why didn’t you want to kiss me first? Again?”

She burst into tears and buried herself in his pantsleg, and Nick couldn’t do much more than just sit down on the cement ring and let her cry.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, reaching down and running his fingers through her hair. Dakota’s mood swings came upon her suddenly and were quick to fade, but making contact like this was a good way to soothe her when things got rough.

A few minutes later she’d dried her tears, and then she looked up sheepishly.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I shouldn’t have overreacted like that… I messed up your pants…”

Dakota’s mascara had run down her face and stained the leg of his pants, but Nick didn’t mind. He was just glad she was happy again.

“It’s okay,” he said, running his fingers through her hair again. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

“I shouldn’t have gotten upset,” she shook her head. “It’s not your fault that one of them kissed you. It’s the point of the game, after all. But who was it?”

The idea of deflecting the question or lying to her never crossed Nick’s mind. “It was Kim,” he blurted out. “She kissed me on the Ferris wheel.”

A shadow immediately crossed her face and he knew he’d just done it again.

“Kim,” Dakota spat her name like a curse. “I should have known! That little minx! Acting all sweet and innocent and then goes and steals you from me like… no, no, no.” Dakota took some deep breaths and closed her eyes. “Calm down. Calm down.”

A few seconds later and a serene smile crossed her face. She opened her eyes and they sparkled golden with peace.

“I did it,” she boasted. “I controlled myself. I didn’t lose my temper this time!”

She said it like it was something to be proud of, as if not getting angry at another girl for playing along with the game’s rules was an accomplishment.

She’s always like that, though, Nick thought, reminiscing on the good times. He never felt more treasured than he did when Dakota’s eyes were on him. She really does love me more than anyone.

For a guy who’d spent his life until this last week experiencing the pain of girls wanting nothing to do with him after a specific point, to be so utterly adored by someone he loved soothed his broken heart more than he could have imagined. So what if she had mood swings every now and then?

You made it back to me, he thought, staring down at her loving smile. We’re together again.

---

Lunch had been somewhat awkward. Whatever life (or afterlife) Dakota’d had after drowning, clearly it didn’t involve food. Because she was completely flummoxed as to what restaurant she should pick. Eventually, she settled on McDonald’s, as Kim had, saying it was one of the only places she remembered from when she was a kid.

“Remember when your dad would take us?” Dakota laughed. “After we finished our Happy Meals, we’d play around in on the playstructure with our toys? Those were some of the best memories of my life.”

Of course they were, Nick thought with a pained wince. After all, your life ended before you became a teenager.

He **** the smile to stay on his face, knowing Dakota hadn’t meant anything by her statement. She wasn’t accusing him or blaming him, of course, it was just more of her usual clumsiness. She smiled innocently back at him. She’d decided to wipe off the remains of her makeup, showing that even without it, she was still just as gorgeous; maybe even more so, since the lack of accentuation added to her tomboy charms.

“So what do you have planned for this afternoon?” Nick asked. “Because I think that you’ve thoroughly exhausted all the possibilities of the playground.”

Yes, they’d really spent their entire morning on the playground. It had actually been rather fun.

Dakota smiled mischievously. “Oh, you’ll see,” she giggled. “Let’s just say there’s a reason that I removed my makeup.”

That… was strange. Had Dakota always looked this evil? Even at her worse, she was just a bit of a prankster, at least when she wasn’t flying off the handle.

I suppose it’s just because she’s an adult now, her smile looks more malevolent, Nick decided. He was still thoroughly enjoying his date with her.

When he saw where she’d taken him, however, his mood quickly turned.

“Dakota, you can’t be serious,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t. I don’t want to do this.”

“It’s important,” she insisted, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. “It’ll be fine. I’m right here. Don’t worry. It’s just water.”

A pool. Dakota had taken him to a pool.

It looked like something from a country club, or a water park. A giant pool that even came with a long, curvy water slide on the far end. Like the shopping center and the botanical gardens, this section of the hotel was also confined within a large glass observatory, allowing plenty of sunlight in if one wanted to get in some sunbathing on the large deck chairs.

Why Sylvia would think to install a pool in a hotel with a beach less than five minutes away was anyone’s guess, and not the predominant thought in Nick’s mind right now.

“You know I can’t swim,” he said. “Why would you bring me here?”

Dakota looked up at him, her face filled with sadness. She reached up and cupped his cheek. “Because I did that to you,” she whispered. “You’re afraid of the water because of me. Because of what happened to me. And that’s not fair. You shouldn’t be. So please, let me help you learn how to swim, at least,” she pleaded with him.

Nick winced. The pleading in her eyes made it hard to argue. He sighed, and nodded. Her face lit up with glee.

“Oh, thank you! You won’t regret it, I promise!” And then to his shock, she began stripping off her clothes.

“W-Wait, Dakota, you can’t-!” But it was too late. Her shirt was off, and she was already unfastening her skirt. That’s when he realized that she wasn’t wearing a bra- the black fabric cupping the perfect swells of her breasts was a bikini top!

Dakota tossed her skirt aside and revealed the low-riding matching bikini bottoms, standing proudly as she presented her body for him. And if Nick thought she looked good this morning, that was nothing compared to the sight of her glowing white skin hugged by such scant fabric. He swallowed, reminding himself that he shouldn’t be lusting over his friend like that.

“I-I think I’ll use the changing room,” he mumbled, going inside and getting changed into the swimsuit Sylvia had so thoughtfully prepared for him. A skintight speedo, a size too small. Because of course it was. He emerged a few minutes later feeling embarrassed and shameful, but those emotions were quickly forgotten as he looked on in horror at the sight before his eyes.

Dakota was doing laps in the pool.

Immediately, his mind flashed back to that day, and the vivid sight indelibly burned into his eyes of Dakota being swallowed up by the raging river. He wasn’t even thinking as he ran across the tile, throwing himself into the pool.

“DAKOTA!”

Nick wasn’t in the hotel anymore. He was 12 again, jumping into the raging river the way he should have done all those years ago. If he had, maybe he could have saved her somehow, and brought her back to safety. Maybe they both would have been okay if he’d been a little more brave.

But his body told the truth of the situation. Nick was no better a swimmer now than he was 15 years ago. He floundered desperately as he sunk like a stone, coughing as the chlorinated water filled his lungs and stung his eyes.

Then he was breathing air. He’d made it to the surface somehow, even with all his helpless thrashing.

The reason for that was clear. Dakota was hugging him, having lifted him out of the water herself. She’d saved him, while he had been unable to save her.

“It’s okay,” she whispered into his ear, wrapping her arms tight around his chest. “I’m right here. I won’t leave you again. Together since birth, Nick, I promise. This time, for forever.”

Nick felt the strength of the arms around him, and the soft tickle of her wet hair against his chest. He could hear the beat of her heart and could practically feel it pounding from how tightly she pressed up against him.

He couldn’t do anything but cry and hug her back.

“That’s enough,” Dakota smiled, pulling away from him. “Come on now. This is the shallow end. We’ll be fine. I’m right here with you, and I won’t let anything happen to you. Let’s get past your fear of the water together, shall we?”

Nick nodded, wiping the stinging feeling from his eyes. He followed her guidance, trying his best to learn how to swim. Maybe it was the fact that he was an adult now, or maybe it was the fact that a heated pool was different enough from the river Dakota had drowned in that it didn’t seem as frightening. But the important thing was that Nick didn’t feel afraid of being in the water for the first time since Dakota had drowned.

Maybe the reason for that was because she was finally back at his side.

---

They swam until the sun started to set, and it was time to make their way back to the Master’s Suite. Well, Dakota had been swimming, Nick was barely able to doggy paddle. At the very least, he’d learned to tread water, which was a good way to keep from drowning, but as good a teacher as Dakota might have been, one lesson wasn’t enough to turn him into an Olympic athlete.

He was surprised that Dakota could swim so well, though. Back when they were kids, she was almost as bad in the water as he was. And even though she could actually swim back then, at least, she wasn’t nearly as good as she was now.

He figured that was another part of the mysterious 15 year gap that she kept refusing to elaborate further on.

Dinner had gone well, and the two had joked around like old friends. And then it came time for some more relaxing activities. The two of them were on the couch, debating whether or not to watch something on Nick’s massive TV.

“Seriously?! One Piece STILL hasn’t ended?” Dakota’s jaw dropped in shock. “But… but WE were reading that! That was 15 years ago, how hasn’t it ended yet?!”

Nick only had a shrug to offer his revived friend. She shook her head in disbelief.

“Unreal. What about Pokemon? Did Ash ever win a Pokemon League?”

“Well, actually…”

“You’re kidding me! Seriously?!”

“He’s still 10 though. Oh, and he went back to get Pidgeot.”

“See, that’s just bullshit!” She exclaimed. “Oh, but good for Pidgeot.”

“You know… I, um…” Nick’s face fell. He blushed a little. “I actually… I kept all your old games. Your family let me keep a lot of your stuff, as mementos, actually. I still have most of it back at my new place.”

Dakota stared at him, not sure what to say. Then she leapt across the couch and pounced on him, pulling him into a tight hug.

“You’re the best!” She gushed.

“Um, thanks, I know,” Nick grinned, patting her on the back. Then he realized that he was basically lying down, and she was on top of him.

Dakota seemed to realize that too, because she pulled back, staring at him with an expression he couldn’t quite understand.

“Nick… you’re still mine,” she whispered, shuffling back so her soft ass was resting comfortably on top of his crotch. Feeling that round booty rub against his penis was starting to make him rise to the occasion, much to his horror. “And now that I’m like this… we can finally do stuff. Things that the other girls won’t let you do.”

“W-Wait, Dakota-”

“I’m not like them,” she said coldly, as if the other girls were beneath her consideration. "No waiting." She slowly pulled her shirt up over her head, letting her boobs flop out freely. Nick sucked in air as he realized she hadn’t left her swimsuit on after getting changed. She was completely topless and those perfect breasts were sitting high on her chest, firm and supple and softer than he could imagine, looking so tantalizing to his eyes.

“As far I’m concerned, this body is yours,” Dakota whispered, taking his hand and slowly bringing it up towards her chest. “I got it just for you to enjoy… so we could experience our first time… together. I know you haven’t been with anyone else yet. That’s why… please, with me… before anyone else can… I want to be with you completely.”

For some reason, Nick pulled his hand free. She stared down at him, her eyes filled with confusion, but also with naked desire. Her hunger was even more furious and primal than Carly’s, and it wasn’t like he didn’t feel the same. His penis was aching in his pants, pressing firmly up against Dakota’s ass, trying to tear through his jeans and get into the warmest thing it could, the tight and slick hole between her legs. And it would be amazing, too. The rest of her body had been designed to his specifications, so Nick had no doubt that her snug little pussy would have been perfectly crafted to fit his dick.

“Please…” She begged. “Those other girls… forget about them for now. Do it all with me. Every first you can. My boobs, my lips, my hands, my pussy, even my feet, or my ass, I’ll give you all of them. They’re all for you, every last inch of me is for you, just please… let me be first…”

She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her fingers across his chest, leaning down leaving delicate kisses along his collarbone as she rubbed her ass sensually against his erection, coaxing him, urging him to get even harder, to put his tool to work and just… just…!

God, of all the temptations he’d faced this week, Dakota’s was both the filthiest and sweetest at the same time. She wanted to be his, absolutely. She wanted him to use her body, to own her body, to treat her as if she were some walking sexdoll designed to be his perfect fantasy.

And wasn’t she right, in a way? He had no doubt now that’s what Sylvia had done. She was too perfect, too gorgeous, too... everything to be anything other than his fantasy incarnate.

But she was Dakota. Dakota who he’d known since they were babies. They’d played together since they were children, for God’s sake! And while she wasn’t a child now in any sense of the word, Nick couldn’t help how he still saw her.

“…I can’t do it,” he said, turning his head away. No matter how much he wanted to, the thought of seeing Dakota with lust unnerved him.

“Why not?!” She exclaimed, digging her fingernails into his chest so hard he thought he would bleed. Her eyes flashed with fury as she stared down at him, unable to understand. He warily looked up to meet her glare, totally deserving of the condemnation in her eyes.

“I just can’t,” he sighed, shaking his head. “I can’t see you that way.”

“The hell you can’t!” She shouted, leaning back to show him how she looked in her full glory, round breasts bouncing and tight ass grinding against him. “I can FEEL how much you want this, so what’s the problem?!”

He could have told her the same excuse he gave to Carly, or give her the speech he gave Holly about wanting to fight off Sylvia’s temptation. But those would be lies. On a deeper, more primal level than that, there was a fundamental reason he couldn’t give her what she wanted.

“Because the last time I thought about you, you were 12 years old,” he admitted. “And I know you’re different now. I know your body is an adult. But just a week ago, you were a 12-year-old girl in my thoughts, and even now… even with how you look… I still see you that way.”

He felt sick and miserable. “Maybe if we were really childhood friends who grew up together, who’d lived our lives together, maybe then I wouldn’t feel this way,” he said, almost on the brink of tears. “But like this… if I’m with you as if nothing happened, nothing had changed… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

Nick lay there in silence, waiting for the rage to come. But it never did. Dakota stared quietly down at him, her face an unreadable mask. Her golden eyes glowed in the darkness as if she was studying him like a specimen. There was a coldness to her that he’d never seen before now, as if she wasn’t completely the same girl he once knew.

She was still there, but there was something else there as well, a darkness she’d been hiding from him, and was just now starting to peek out through the cracks.

And then it was gone.

“Very well,” she said, getting off him. “I suppose there’s no helping that.”

Nick sighed in relief and felt his body relax. He was so grateful that he didn’t have to experience one of her rage attacks that he completely missed the murmured addendum to her acquiescence, whispered under her breath.

“Not yet, anyway…”

---

Sylvia watched with glee as exactly what she’d expected came to pass. Dakota really should have known better than to push. She was too impatient! No matter how much Nick may have wanted her physically, in his mind, she was still that 12-year-old girl.

There’s no way he would have been able to have sex with you like that! She crowed to herself. Your mistake was trying to lean into your past, my girl, when you should have been trying to separate yourself from it. Maybe you can convince him you’ve matured enough given a bit more time, but right now? You poor thing…

She may have derived a slight bit of sadistic pleasure from seeing Dakota so thoroughly clam-jammed. For once, she wasn’t upset about the torrent of boos from the comment’s section, or that Nick had failed to lose his virginity heading into the end of Round 1. The show had been too good!

And it wasn’t even the best thing on television right now.

While Nick and Dakota had been living out their wholesome little reminiscence, Sylvia had been following another certain someone, whose day had been a bit more engaging for the viewers.

That morning, Holly had waited until the door closed behind her, and Dakota was safely out on her little date. Then she let out the breath she'd been holding and moaned.

Finally. She was finally, finally alone. All week long she’d been trapped by a roommate who refused to leave and give her some privacy, and she'd been too ashamed to risk taking care of herself outside. But now Dakota would be gone for the entire day. Finally, she could get the release she craved.

She scrambled over to the closet, ignoring the possibility of the cameras. Sylvia already knew her dirty little secret, so it didn’t matter if the audience found out. Maybe if she’d been thinking rationally she would have reconsidered, but she was too caught up in her lust to give a damn about anything other than finally getting off in the only way she could after all these years.

Holly tore the key from her necklace, her fingers shaking so much she could barely get it into the lockbox she hid preciously at the back of her closet. She tore open the lid and availed herself of the treasures hidden within, letting out a lusty sigh.

The box was stuffed to the brim with photos of Nick. Some were taken consensually, and some were creep shots when he wasn’t looking, but he was the center of all them in one way or another. But that wasn’t all. Used erasers, loaned pencils, even an old book he’d left in her room by mistake, if it had belonged to him and had ended up in her possession, it was sealed away in there.

But the greatest prize of all was a pair of boxer shorts she’d filched from his laundry. She clutched it to her face and took a deep whiff, sighing as she felt his steamy musk wash over her.

Half a decade later, there was no trace of Nick’s scent still remaining in the cloth. But the way she’d ritualistically smelled it for so many years had formed pathways in her brain, calling back that familiar odor as if he’d just worn them yesterday.

Pressing the underwear to her face with one hand, she dug at her sopping pussy frantically with the other, too **** in her heat to bother getting to the bed. She played with herself right there on the closet floor.

“God, Nick, unf, oh, yes, please!” She moaned, her tongue flailing about as her body shook with an immediate orgasm, the first of many for the day. If this was her only chance at respite, then she was going to make as much use of it as she could.

Sylvia watched all of Holly’s debasement with a filthy smirk. Hours later and she hadn’t slowed down in the slightest, losing her entire day to her onanistic desires. This was the girl Nick was counting on to keep him from crossing the line? A filthy stalker so depraved that she couldn’t get off without imagining the smell of his underwear?

You never knew Holly at all, my boy, she thought with a smirk, shaking her head with glee. She watched over both members of Team Passion (or as she privately called them, Team Obsession), one going without pleasure for the evening and one drowning in it, and felt confident that she’d picked the perfect girls for each team after all.

But the time for pleasure was over, as sorry as she was to see it end. Now was the time for business. After all, this was the final date.

“Hello there, viewers!” She chirped, turning to the audience. “Today has been quite an exciting week, don’t you agree? We’ve had a lot of fun here on Harem Hotel: Island Holiday Season!” She paused to let the canned applause play out.

“…But with Round 1 coming to a close, it’s time for two important details! Or, more accurately, two polls! Your second vote for your favorite gal, and along with it, your vote for which date you liked the best!” Sylvia winked at the camera. “Think carefully now, there’s all sorts of ways you could consider! Which date was the steamiest? The sweetest? The funniest? Which date did Nick like the most? Heck, you could even just vote for which date had your favorite girl in it, and be content with that.”

She turned up her lips in a mock pout. “But I really wish you wouldn’t! What's the fun in this just being another popularity poll? None, I say! The game’s no fun unless we treat it seriously!” A recorded laugh track accompanied this statement, to emphasize how ridiculous it was. Sylvia smirked.

“So with that in mind… here are our two polls! Be sure to vote, and remember, this will determine how many Bonus Points each girl will get this round!”

Round 1 Popularity Poll:

https://strawpoll.com/polls/w4nWrd9oQyA

Favorite Date Poll:

https://strawpoll.com/polls/3RnYl19qQye