Only God Can Judge Me [Date Challenge Scoring]

Michael

The setting sun was beautiful here, in the Hotel’s fantasy world. There was none of the pollution he’d sadly grown used to as an Angelino, the Hotel skies were clean and air crisp. Michael left his suite well before the time the concierge call had told him to be ready for filming outside, settling on a bus bench for a line that was obviously never going to arrive. Starting his day with a sunset rather than ending it was still unusual, but weirdly he was growing used to that too after a few days.

It’s insane what one get used to. Michael thought. That second day here, Ronnie had come onto him, a reconnection that they both needed. But Michael was left with powerful guilt about it the morning afterwards, a worry that in seizing his old love he had lost his new one.

But that’s not how he felt today. He felt… light? Happy even? Why shouldn’t I, really? I’ve been drawing Aces lately. He facepalmed at his own terrible metaphor, but he couldn’t deny it. Three days ago he had been in almost the same position as now, with seven women waiting for the judgment of a pack of unseen voters.

But how much can change in such a short time! He’d allowed fantasies back into his mind, ones that he wasn’t proud of but couldn’t find himself able to shake. Danica… Vivian… Janet…

Then they came true! Danica had come to him. Dressed to kill. Apologized. Agreed to bury the hatchet with Ronnie and the others. And then showed a naughty side of herself that he’d been wanting to see for years. Vivian came onto him like a feral cat and made lov-No, that was fucking. There’s no other word for what happened. And he’d had such a vivid dream about Janet… Ok, that was Mallory, and that was deeply wrong. But, nothing years of intensive therapy can’t fix, right? Scratch the last one. But even after having some real tough moments with the others, it’s pretty damn hard to feel sorry for yourself after sex with three different women in two days. Two! We’re ignoring the last one! He reminded himself, with a slap across his cheek to emphasize the point.

And so now, he waited for this show to assign each of them transformations to make them sexier to him and to arrange the schedule to visit his bedroom, with the end goal of making them into his loyal harem. He’d been a CEO for years, an NCO before that, he’d commanded people before.

Could he do it again? To women he loved and respected? While still loving them and respecting them?

Could he get used to that?

“You’re zoned out for sure.” Luciana said, vaulting the bench and flopping down next to him. “Early, too.” The concierge had told Michael to dress ‘appropriately for being on television,’ so he’d slipped into a suit. And not just any suit, one of his older, much nicer suits that he’d purchased early in his career when he was feeling particularly flush. For the conference where I met Vivian, he suddenly remembered. Regardless of its provenance, the grey Armani was still stylish and he felt like a champ in it. Only he’d grown out of it as middle-aged men with desk jobs sometimes do. Until he came here, and suddenly all his clothes fit like a second skin. He’d slimmed down and bulked up. Slightly, but more than could be justified by anything but magical intervention.

Luciana, however, either didn’t get the memo or interpreted it wildly differently. Her black hair was done up in braided pigtails coming out from under a Miami Heat fitted hat. She had slipped on an oversized black Wu-Tang Clan t-shirt over red basketball shorts and white high-tops. A different set of high-tops than she’d worn before, he realized. In fact, he realized he’d never seen her wear the same pair twice.

“They’re D-Wades,” she said, following his eyes to realize his question. “Haven’t busted these boys out in a while. And you’re still zoned out.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking out here for a bit.” He said. “Why are you so early?”

“Sun’s setting, figured I’d be out here for the changeover. Still not used to people watching it.” He looked confused, so she continued. “You already saw it, nothing new to you.”

“They must have seen it by now. Besides, they’re going through changes too.”

“I don’t know,” Luciana shrugged. “It’s just weird around them.”

“You don’t strike me as shy.”

“I’m not.” Luciana said. “But I also haven’t been through shit like this before.” They sat, watching the sun. It was halfway down the horizon and her body was midway through its change, her softness starting to show through. The last time he’d seen it, they were traveling to Florida so the change was nearly instant. This looked much more comfortable. Michael stole glances over as her muscular form slowly receded, like a tide, with her breasts and hips swelling in response. Explains the baggy clothes, at least a little bit. She caught him peeking and laughed. “I was gonna ask what you were thinking about, but I bet I can guess.”

“Try me.”

Her eyes flitted to the tent in his trousers. “You’re thinking about Vivian last night.”

Michael sheepishly crossed his legs, but the damage was done. “Ok, busted.” He left out the other parts. Confess to one and hopefully she won’t press further. Of course, Luciana was deflecting herself, but caught out as he was, Michael didn’t notice.

“I came out here to do some thinking too,” She admitted. “I guess we’re gonna be together now?” She asked. Michael didn’t consider himself a deeply perceptive man, especially when it came to women, but even he recognized the layers to that question.

“Well, in some kind of way.” He said, attempting to be diplomatic. Pretending that he hadn’t just been thinking and wondering about the exact kind of way he was going to be with all of them. “But, we’ll work that out together.” He thought he should take her hand, which was resting on her thigh. Or put his arm around her shoulder. But he couldn’t decide on a move, or whether one was advisable at all, and let the moment pass. Not yet.

Michael noticed some movement from the corner of his eye and looked back to see … Sarah!? She strode across the pavement barefoot and nude but for the ropes which still wrapped around her curvy thighs and midsection. Her short brown hair was wild and unkempt. They had slacked enough to allow her to walk, and hung just loose enough to reveal a tattoo just above her pubis, but Michael could not read it through the shifting web of rope on her body. Sarah was bare-chested but made no effort to cover up, striding with her arms at her sides and her head high. The two ends of the rope hovered over her shoulders. The effect was to make Sarah look like a sexy Medusa cosplayer.

+2 Bared her breasts for the Master *

[* It has come to the attention of the Scorekeeper that these points should have been awarded during Sarah’s date. This was an unfortunate oversight on the part of Harem Hotel, and any further complaints about it will be treated as an application to join the Harem Hotel Staff in a permanent role. That is all.]

“You two seem to be getting along,” Michael said, gesturing to the rope and fighting the very strong urge to stare at Sarah’s round, voluptuous tits. The effort he had made to hide his erection from Luciana was immediately in vain.

“Three, actually.” Sarah said. “These two each have a mind of their own.” She flicked the ends with her fingers in a bizarrely playful way. Is she … bonding with them? Michael couldn’t help but wonder. Sarah stepped over to the route signpost for the fake bus stop, and one of the rope ends began to wrap itself around the pole. Sarah moved in close so that it could wind its way around her midsection and up her arms until she was bound up tight.

“...You ok there, Sarah?” Michael asked.

“These little punks get annoyed if I fight them on it, so I just try to pick out something semi comfortable and let them do their work.” Sarah said as the ropes knotted off and left her trussed up with her breasts hanging free.

Michael looked at Luciana for confirmation that this was weird behavior. But Luciana barely even registered it, or her physical shifts, as worthy of her attention.

What are we all becoming used to? Michael wondered that more and more as the remaining women joined them at the curb to await the limo.

Danica, having lost access to the relaxation pills, had been **** to take consecutive doses of the expansion pills and her hourglass figure was even more dramatic than the nights she had visited him. Her bust was forming its own gravity at this point. Mallory had previously been the most endowed woman at the hotel, and Michael recognized the spaghetti strap red dress she had clearly loaned Danica to wear. It was supposed to be loose and flowy to her knees, but it could no longer contain Danica’s assets, which were spilling out of the cups and pulling the fabric taut around the backside. Michael was suddenly reminded of a fertility goddess statue he’d seen on a museum field trip in high school. In his horny 18 year old brain, it had stuck with him as an image of erotic womanhood, and here one approached.

“How long can you keep taking those? Soon I don’t know if you’ll be able to walk upright” Sarah said, her tone snarky but Michael noticed her interest.

“I sold the relaxation pills to Vivian,” Danica said. “And I’m not ready to try the…other ones.” Danica gave Michael a meaningful look, but said nothing. He thought he heard her mumble “Not yet” under her breath, however.

Sarah and Michael weren’t the only ones with eyes for Danica’s new figure. When Janet arrived, she too was drawn to it. Standing a little closer and being a little touchier than she’d been even in the days earlier. Janet was in a long-sleeved dress that could have started life as a nightgown, still keeping herself as buttoned-up as ever. Michael smiled at her, but she blushed and could not meet his eyes.

Ronnie could. They heard her coming even over their chatter. With Vivian and Mallory’s point jumps, Ronnie had fallen into fourth place, and her now-6” stilettos clacked on the pavement. She had done her best to make herself up, but there were clear rings under her eyes as if she’d been crying heavily.

Michael whispered to Janet, who was standing closest to him. “Is she still upset about her mom?”

“Uh… no. She got to the… Dobby part last night.”

“Ohhhh.” Michael said. “She really loved that little guy.”

Ronnie finally reached them. “These things are gonna make me crazy,” she said, shifting her weight. “This is higher than I’ve ever worn, and if the vote goes bad I could end up teetering even taller.”

Luciana stood. Between her sneakers and Ronnie’s towering heels, the two were finally eye-to-eye.

“Look on the bright side. You could finally dunk.” Ronnie’s mood cracked, even she had to laugh at that one. “What do you think they’re gonna do to us next?” Luciana continued.

“I don’t know,” Ronnie said, some of her anxiety returning. “This season isn’t going anything like my first. They never let us out of the hotel the first time, otherwise I’d have gone to see Michael.” Michael beamed a little that she would have visited, then realized that 25-year-old Michael probably would have punched the other Master in the face. And then he recalled just how lucky he was that Roberto didn’t do exactly that.

Vivian and Mallory were last to arrive, just under the wire for their deadline. Vivian refused to let the prior day’s experience break her down - if anything she looked even more deliberately put together then she had for the date. Her makeup couldn’t totally hide that she was still a little flushed, and Michael was not alone in noticing her quick, involuntary glances at him. He wanted to return them, but even after his internal pep-talk, he wasn’t ready to openly lust for her in front of the others.

Mallory was deeply nervous, in a way Michael almost never saw, and given that Vivian was a shared object of Danica and Ronnie’s anger, Mallory was practically hiding behind her, looking like a church girl caught smoking in the rectory, just as Janet had earlier in the competition. After their little fiasco the night before, she’d retreated out of the room and shut the door with Michael having no desire to follow. She’d apparently spent the intervening hours in the bottle, because even from a distance, Michael could smell the **** on her breath.

The arrival of the pair cratered the smalltalk, and replaced it with silent tension and prayers for the limo to arrive so they could get this over with. When it appeared from nothing and slid to a quiet stop in front of them, they entered in an orderly fashion, more than Michael would have expected. But he was thankful, nonetheless.

There was an ornate envelope with Michael’s name on it resting on the rear center seat. Sarah tried to open it, but the paper would not give way.

“Probably some magic on this thing.” She said, handing it to him as he sat down. “What’s the deal?”

Michael slid it open. To Sarah’s chagrin, it wasn’t even sealed for him. Inside was a single piece of paper on Hotel stationary. Oh shit.

“It’s a rule change.” Michael said to the car load of nervous women. He tried to keep his voice level to keep from adding to that fear, but it was cracking through a little. “It says if you finish last… you lose everything. All your victory points go to the other girls…”

“Fuck, how would ever you catch up?” Sarah wondered aloud. …By sleeping with me. Michael thought but didn’t vocalize. And there was the guilt again, a flame simmering underneath that he’d thought was burned out. He hadn’t even read out the really bad part yet.

“It’s worse…If you finish last twice… you’re out.”

“Out?” Janet quivered.

“Eliminated.” Ronnie said, and the look on her face amplified the fear of everyone else. If she’s scared…

The drive-in where they’d chosen to host the second round post-show could have been adjacent to the casino, but the hosts wanted a short drive to build tension. And it worked like a charm, the luxury limo now felt like a prison bus. Michael couldn’t even enjoy himself by remembering his wild encounter with Vivian on the floor a few feet away.

The limo slowed to a stop and Celene, dressed now as a cigarette girl with a tray of cocktails, gestured for them to head up a flight of stairs to a stage built atop the projector. None of them took a drink, though probably all could have used it. Vivian gave them an especially suspicious look as she passed. Onstage, Al and Ruby were once again happy, enjoying the looks of concern on the faces of the women at the results to follow … and then the transformations to follow immediately after that.

“Are you serious? Two strikes and you’re out?” Ronnie asked as they took their seats.

“Absolutely, baby.” Al said. “What, stakes a little higher than the last time you played?”

Ronnie didn’t answer, but it was obvious that they were. And not a soul among them was comfortable with that.

Al and Ruby watched as the final seconds ticked off the vote clock.

“And the round is closed! Thank you to everyone who voted!” Ruby said to the camera.

“Absolutely Ruby. If it weren’t for you fine folks at home, Ruby and me’d just be two weirdos talking to ourselves in the middle of nowhere. Now let's get started with the vote results!”

Some of the staff had apparently brought or been provided drums, and a thunderous beat came up from the crowd, building to a crescendo while Ruby spoke.

“Since we all know you’ve been waiting long enough, let's start with our big winner! Earning 25 points and a boon in the transformation round is… Luciana!”

“Wait, what?!” She said, her stoic face cracked with surprise. “How the fuck did that happen?”

“You got better votes than the others. That’s how this works, sweetheart.” Al taunted.

“I get that part, asshole.”

“Then what are you complaining about?” Al continued. Ruby jumped in before he could bait her any further.

“Luciana, excellent work. You really won over the fans with your heartfelt date. Although, it was a very close finish. Though she finished second overall, she had the most first-place votes… Danica!”

“Who knew fucking your husband would get you ahead in this show?” Al shrugged to the camera.

Michael smiled at Danica, but despite her win she was not in the mood to return it. He could tell how worried she was about Mallory, and given the results so far…

“In a still respectable third place,” Al took over, “we find Rhonda!” He stood and clapped his hand on Ronnie’s shoulder. She immediately slapped it off, but he replaced it and held it tighter. “Rhonda here spent her whole date with her clothes on, and despite a lovely little interlude in public, earned no points from the date itself. Still, she managed to win over enough of the crowd to stay in the top half.” He pointed at her shoes. “Should help with the size of those things, moving up in the rankings.”

“Speaking of moving up, apparently those two friends showing up were a blessing, because in fourth place is the team of Janet and Sarah!” Ruby clapped, the audience joined along, and even the two rope heads smacked together in their own attempted rendition.

Mallory and Vivian, left alone at the bottom, clasped hands in solidarity. Al was upset that his team was guaranteed a seat at the bottom, but his inner (and outer) sadist was enjoying watching the girls squirm. He rubbed his hands together and chewed on his cigar with unrestrained satisfaction.

“So now it’s come to the big moment,” he said, raising his arms like a conductor and forcing the two women to stand from their seats. The drum roll built up again, Al allowing it to reach even higher than before. “ “Fifth place gets five points, Sixth place loses them all to the other girls, which means that everything that lady did with Michael was for nothing! In last place, we have… Vivian!”

Vivian looked as if the soul was pulled from her body, so crushed that even Michael wanted to give her a hug. Her stoicism lost, she turned into Mallory’s arms and hid her face in the taller woman’s blonde hair.

“But it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings,” Al said, though the tone of his voice suggested it was pretty damned close, “To keep Vivian fighting to the end, she gets an extra special bonus.” He touched his knuckles together and then pulled them apart, causing Vivian’s dress to rip open, exposing her left buttcheek. He held open his palm underhanded, as if he was going to grope her from several feet away. Vivian jumped and yelped in pain as a large black X appeared on her backside as if branded. “Give it a smack, Mallory.”

Mallory didn’t want to, but seeing how close she came to being in Vivian’s shoes, she did not want to push her luck. She reared back and spanked her right on the X.

Stay on Target - A contestant who receives a strike also receives an X across her backside. Spanking the X, even if she does it to herself, gives her a burst of motivation to complete whatever task or goal she is currently chasing.

Vivian’s head popped up as the smacking sound echoed across the open desert. Her eyes had the renewed focus and drive that Michael had once admired, then feared, now somewhat craved.

“While Vivian lost on points, Mallory, you’d better consider yourself one lucky bitch. Because you got the most sixes of any contestant. By a lot.” Al said. The screen updated with the results of the votes:

“But nobody but hardcore stat nerds cares about that, lets see the scores! After taking Vivian’s points and spreading them around, here are our standings!” Al said, waving his hand again and changing the screen to reveal the scoreboard:

“Sit tight ladies,” Ruby said, “because up next are your transformations!”

Maybe we’re not as used to this as I thought.

[For those scoring at home:
Janet: 23 points + 7 (Sleeping with Mallory) + 10 (4th place) + 4 (Vivian’s points)
Luciana: 10 points + 1 (Kissing Michael) + 25 (1st place) + 4 (Vivian’s points)
Rhonda: 20 points + 15 (3rd place) + 4 (Vivian’s points)
Mallory: 16 points + 7 (Sleeping with Janet) - 9 (Insulting Michael) + 1 (Talking Michael into fantasizing about her) + 10 (Handob) + 1 (Swallow) + 5 (5th Place) + 5 (Vivian’s points)
Danica: 0 points + 5 (Sleeping with Michael) + 20 (2nd Place) + 5 (Vivian’s points)
Sarah: 0 points + 2 (Baring breasts) + 10 (4th place) + 5 (Vivian’s points)
Vivian: 10 points + 17 (Sleeping with Michael) - 27 (6th Place)]