Sweet dreams are made of this

Carly and Nick collapsed in bed, gasping for air. They’d only managed to go two more times since the shower, and Nick was completely worn down. It felt like he’d emptied nine years of blue balls inside of Carly; he was numb from the waist down.

“Wheew! That was a blast!” Carly grinned, lounging back on the golden sheets. Even covered in sweat with her hair a mess she looked gorgeous, shining in the afterglow of their sex. She turned to Nick and grinned. “I hope it was worth the wait.”

It had been. It had been so great Nick felt a little embarrassed now that it was over. “Um… so I… was it good?” Like with Gina, his insecurity was rearing up. Carly had no-doubt been with countless men (and maybe women?) and he couldn’t help but worry how he’d matched up.

“…I’ve had better,” Carly admitted, and his heart sank. She reached over and pinched his cheek playfully. “But I’ve had a lot more that were worse.”

His heart fluttered a little at the compliment.

“Definitely worth it after all that time waiting though,” she said, staring up at the ceiling with a giddy smile on her face. “And here I thought you’d always be the one that got away.”

“Well, if you’d stayed in school, we probably would have done it by now,” Nick admitted, turning over to look at her profile. The way her breasts heaved with each breath she took made him wish he could be with her again.

“Yeah, maybe,” she mumbled.

“Why did you leave, anyway?” He asked curiously.

“Not important. Good night!” Her voice was cheery, but as she turned away from him, he missed the solemn expression that crossed her face.

Dani felt rather awkward sharing a room with Rose after turning the blonde’s offer down. She’d done it for the right reasons and didn’t regret her decision even now, but she still felt a little uncomfortable about it.

Rose had offered to sleep with her, yeah? Did the offer still stand? No, right? After all, it seemed pretty clear that she'd made the offer for the quid pro quo of Dani choosing her to be her buddy if she won next round.

She may not have been the smartest woman in the world, but she had enough sense to recognize that, at least.

Still, while Rose was showering, Dani felt uneasy. What if she came out in a skimpy negligee? Or worse, naked? While Dani had resisted in the moment, days of stimulation from Carly had gotten her worked up, and even relieving herself didn’t make her urges go away completely.

It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine, she encouraged herself, taking some deep breaths. She’s probably not going to do anything. And even if she does, that doesn’t mean you’ll have to betray Carly over her. Just explain you don’t want to be pressured to work against your friend like this.

Her self-encouragement wasn’t working. Knowing that she had another horrible dream coming her way tonight made her feel even more anxious. She wanted to at least get some pleasure while she was awake.

Dani stared at the wall, watching the blue waves cascade down the water feature. The entire room had a soothing quality to it like the shower currently running, which made it difficult to stay up. Her eyelids were already feeling heavy. She yawned.

Then the shower turned off, and the muffled sound of a hair dryer filled the room. Dani gulped, her heart pounding in her chest. Here it came. Rose would be out any second now.

The door creaked open and a few seconds later she felt the weight of the bed shift as the other woman got on. Only then did Dani finally summon enough courage to face her bed partner for the night.

What she saw took a second to process.

Rose wasn’t sleeping in slinky lingerie. She wore an oversized red shirt. It reached about midway down her thigh, not covering as much as her dress, but still looked very modest. Or at least it would on any other woman. But on Rose’s sensual curves, even a nightshirt took on a seductive quality, and the fact that the blonde was still gorgeous even with her makeup removed made her that much more tantalizing.

“Disappointed?” Rose tittered, and Dani let out the breath that she didn’t know she’d been holding.

“N-No!” She gasped out, shaking her head frantically. She turned pale as Rose laughed again. It was clear that the other woman was amused by her awkwardness, which only made her feel ashamed. “I guess I just…”

“You thought you were in for a little peep show, oui?” Rose shook her head, wagging her finger from side to side. “No no no, for that… well. Let’s just say I thought we could both use a little rest, wouldn’t you agree?”

Dani tensed. She glanced at the mirror and saw how tired she looked. While not the most skilled person with makeup (she’d never worn it before coming to the island) she’d been doing her best to conceal how tired she really was. It had been over a week (in real time, not one of the weird island weeks) since she’d gotten a good night’s rest, and it was clear the strain was wearing her down.

Rose’s suggestion might help. But right now, she didn’t have that option.

She caught something in the mirror and turned her head. Rose had set down her opal necklace, taking care to leave it on the night stand. Her movements were delicate, even Dani could tell.

“Is that important to you?” She blurted out. Immediately she regretted asking. Having spent the last few years living in her parent’s basement, her worst qualities had been given time to flourish, and among them was a disregard for personal boundaries. Part of being a natural tomboy, she just had a need to be compulsively direct, even when it may not have been warranted.

But Rose didn’t seem to mind Dani’s clumsy question. She smiled a different smile than the one she normally wore. It was gentle, without intending to seduce or beguile. She ran her fingers over the shimmering stone.

“Oui,” she answered softly. “It’s something precious to me. A memento of my maman. My mother.”

Dani winced.

“Oh, please don’t make that face.” Rose’s fake smile returned and she patted Dani on the arm. “You didn’t know. Don’t worry. She passed away many years ago.”

“Still, I’m sorry,” Dani apologized. “That must have been very difficult for you.”

Rose’s eyes were glassy. “You’re very kind. I’m quite jealous of Carly. Having such a compassionate buddy must make things so much easier.”

Dani winced again. The conversation had drifted to a point she didn’t feel comfortable with again. Guilt overwhelmed her. It wasn’t like Dani had a particular fondness for Rose; she barely knew Rose. It felt like the blonde-haired girl was holding part of herself back from the others, which made it hard for an honest girl like Dani to really be her friend. But she didn’t want to see her get eliminated, either.

“Hey… I’m sorry again,” Dani apologized. “You know. That I couldn’t choose you to be my buddy. I would under other circumstances, but if it means betraying Carly, well…”

“I already said it’s fine,” Rose tittered, shaking her head. “You’re so sweet to be concerned. But you don’t need to feel guilty. You like Carly and you want to be her buddy, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Dani turned red. “W-Well, I mean, when you say like, it’s not… I mean, yes, I do like her! B-But, not, like… like like her, it’s just… well…”

Rose held back her laughter. Dani was a terrible liar, and she would know. But she didn’t press the issue out of consideration for the poor girl’s feelings.

“It’s just how the game is played,” Rose stated matter-of-factly. “At the end of the week, someone is getting eliminated. If it’s not me, then it will be someone else you know. It’s painful, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Fortunately for me, there are a few people here who may choose to take me as their buddy, so it’s not as if my elimination is set in stone.”

She smiled and patted Dani on the shoulder. “Don’t worry ma chére. You have nothing to feel bad about.”

Dani was still frowning.

“But… isn’t that really difficult for you?” She asked.

Rose blinked.

“What do you mean?”

“W-Well… the other girls… if they stick with their buddies like me, and you get eliminated, that’s one thing. But if you get chosen over another girl, then it’s like you eliminated her yourself, right? If I was in your position, knowing that, I’d feel awful…”

Rose stared at her for a long time. A shadow crossed her face, but she kept up her smile.

“You’re a very sweet thing ma chére,” she cooed, caressing Dani’s cheek. “If everyone was as gentle as you, this would be a very different game indeed.”

Dani thought she saw a hint of sadness cross Rose’s face for a second. A tiny chink in her mask. But if she did it didn’t stay there long, and the master actress suppressed it.

“But alas not everyone is so sweet,” she murmured. “I’m a bad girl, after all. Now then, we must be getting to sleep. You need all the rest you can get, non?”

While Dani was still trying to process the meaning of Rose’s words, the blonde turned out the light and flopped over in bed, leaving her alone in the darkness. She rolled over herself, staring at the water feature, just barely able to make out the tiny sparks of cascading water in the darkness.

A bad girl? I suppose she certainly comes off that way, Dani had to admit. The way Rose acted around others and how she all but admitted to intentionally driving wedges in the other groups certainly gave off that effect.

But Dani always tried to see the good in people. She wondered if there was a side to the actress she was missing.

When Dani’s breathing stilled and Rose was certain she was asleep, she climbed out of bed and snuck into the bathroom. She crouched in front of the toilet and began to throw up.

Her heart ached in her chest and her stomach swam. Time was running out.

Just a little bit more… after tomorrow, I definitely…

“Feeling a little under the weather are we, my girl?”

Rose jerked up, stumbling to her feet and turning to see Sylvia standing over her with a smirk.

“…Just a bout of food poisoning,” Rose lied, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “Nothing you need to be concerned with.”

She and Sylvia traded false smiles as the two blondes sized each other up.

It was Sylvia who blinked first, her smile falling away to reveal a cold expression underneath.

“Is that right?” She murmured. “And here I thought maybe it could be your nerves acting up on you.”

“Nerves? And what would I have to be nervous about?” Rose tittered. “I have Dawn eating out of the palm of my hand, and as for Holly, well… there’s still time.”

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. “Is there? You only have a few days left you know. And your performance this far… well, you’re playing your role perfectly, no complaints there. But as for progress…”

Rose winced. Her eyes shot to the floor for a second before she refocused her gaze. But that second was all Sylvia needed.

A twisted smile spread across her lips.

“Wait… you’re not feeling guilty, are you?”

“Guilty? Whatever would I have to feel guilty about?” Rose scoffed, putting on a brave face. “Those girls are putty in my hands. With how meek and helpless they are, half of them would be eliminated without me having to lift a finger!”

Sylvia laughed. “You’re a great actress, Rose, but sadly not that great of an actress. If you were, you wouldn't be here.” She pointed her cane at the refuse filling the toilet. “Your body is betraying you. What a shame. And here I had such high hopes for you… I really thought you’d shake up this season, but… it seems like you’re getting cold feet at the last second.”

“I-I’m not getting cold feet!” Rose snapped. “I’ll show you! I’m going to play my role perfectly from here on out! I’ll make Holly fall no matter what! And if not, then Dawn-”

“So why were you so shaken by Dani’s words?” Sylvia asked, jamming the head of her cane into Rose’s chest. “Why did you give up on seducing her so easily? You could have been in bed with her tonight, fulfilling all her fantasies, but no, you decided to come in here and vomit your guts out. Not exactly the sort of sexy behavior we’re looking for from our seductress, my girl.”

Rose’s face burned with shame but she held her ground. She’d been through worse than this.

“How I approach things is my business, not yours,” she snapped. “You’re supposed to remain impartial, isn’t that right?”

“This and that are unrelated,” Sylvia replied, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s not like I’m telling you who to target for elimination. I’m just saying that if you can’t win over the hearts of your fellow contestants, then it’s bye-bye miss American Pie.”

Rose flinched.

“Well…” Sylvia tapped her chin thoughtfully. “It seems like you still need some motivation. You do still want your reward, don’t you, my girl?”

“Of course I do!” Rose hissed.

“Oui, yez ov couse!” Sylvia applauded, mocking her with a garish accent. “Chrys must be so happy he’s got such a brave big sister willing to sacrifice her body for him! I'm expecting great things from you these next few days, then!”

Rose felt that wave of nausea rise up in her gut again. It didn’t go unnoticed by Sylvia. She raised her eyebrow quizzically.

“Oh? Still feeling guilty? What, don’t tell me you’re actually taking that inflated bimbo seriously,” she laughed. “Or… no. It’s your brother, right? You’re worried about what he’d think, if he could see you now.”

Sylvia patted her on the head. “Don’t worry my girl. Whether you’re eliminated, or survive another round, the chance of seeing your brother again is next to nothing. So don’t worry. He’ll never know how much of your dignity you’ve had to sacrifice for his sake.”

Rose used every bit of self-control she had to resist vomiting all over the floor. She managed to stand her ground.

Sylvia liked that look much better. “Well, as long you’re resolved. Ta!” She turned to leave the bathroom, only for Rose to grab her by the arm. The temperature of the entire island dropped about ten degrees.

“My girl, I should warn you,” Sylvia hissed, turning back to Rose, “the last people who laid their hands on me… it did not go well for them.”

“I’m not trying to threaten you,” Rose said, proving her sincerity by letting Sylvia go. “The reason I stopped you was because I wanted to make a deal with you.”

Sylvia raised her eyebrow. “Oh?”

Rose reached into the pocket of her nightshirt and withdrew a folded up piece of paper, presenting it to the host.

“Your list of things to purchase,” Sylvia mused, scanning over it briefly. “Well, why are you giving it to me? You can make purchases at any time through your tablet.”

“With what BP?” Rose asked.

“That… is not my problem. You managed to get your hands on some BP earlier. It’s not my fault if you spend money faster than you make it,” Sylvia smirked.

“I want to buy something on here,” Rose continued. “From my special selection of items.”

• 500 BP: Siren’s Throat Spray – Contestant Rose will be given a special tube of throat spray that will make her voice irresistibly alluring and arousing to all who hear it. (Effects last for 1 hour. Contains enough for 3 doses.)
• 2000 BP: Silver Screen –Contestant Rose will star in a sex dream with another Contestant or the Master. (Contestant Rose may choose the parameters of the dream and how she acts in it. All other parties will act as they naturally would in the situation presented, whether acquiescing to her advances or rejecting them.)
• 7500 BP: Fake-Up Makeup – Contestant Rose will be given a Makeup Kit that will allow her to take on the appearance of any Contestant for a period of 6 hours. (Can only be used once per round. Contestant Rose make take on the appearance of the selected Contestant from any point in the season, even before any Transformations were issued. This includes her own appearance.)

“You’ve got quite a few interesting ones, my girl,” Sylvia nodded. “Let me guess. Your plan is to purchase Silver Screen, and insert yourself into Holly’s dream tonight. That way she’ll be subservient to you like she was last night, allowing you to weasel your way into the Master’s Suite with her, isn’t that right?”

Sylvia held her hands together and smiled. “I just knew you could figure something out if you put your mind to it!”

“…So you’re saying it works that way?” Rose needed to be sure. “I can insert myself into someone’s dream even if their transformation would compel them to have a different dream?”

“Why of course!” Sylvia nodded. “It wouldn’t be fair otherwise, to make you waste all that BP and then have your gambit fail!”

Rose sighed in relief.

“…But of course, we still return to the matter of payment,” Sylvia reminded her, tapping her cane on the floor thoughtfully. “I can’t just GIVE you BP for nothing, you know. That’s against the rules.”

That brought a scowl out of the actress.

With a flick of her wrist, Sylvia presented something to her.

“Of course, there’s always bartering. If you were to give me such a precious trinket as this, I could certainly give you as much BP as you’d like!”

Rose’s eyes widened as she saw her necklace clutched in Sylvia’s fingers.

“G-Give that back!” She cried, reaching for it frantically. But Sylvia held her back by pushing the head of her cane into Rose’s gut.

“Fine, fine, no trading away family mementos,” Sylvia sighed, tossing it at her. Rose frantically snatched it out of the air. “But then… still. We return to our old problem.”

She narrowed her eyes. “How will you pay?”

Rose’s mouth was dry. She swallowed and tried to put on a brave face.

“I could… make a deal with you.”

Sylvia’s eyes widened. “Hmm. A deal, you say? But weren’t you just chastising me earlier for not being impartial? And now you’re asking for a deal… no, no, this just won’t do.”

Rose crossed her arms indignantly. “Then why are you still here? You know there’s no way I can get my hands on any Bonus Points right now without your assistance. You wouldn’t have humored me this long something was on the table. Isn't that right?”

Sylvia’s eyes glittered dangerously. “Careful, my girl… you’re hardly bargaining from a position of power here. Like I told you, my duty is to remain impartial. Cutting a deal with a contestant, well…”

Rose snorted. It was time to play her last ace. “If you’re supposed to be so impartial, then why did you throw me into this game with a handicap?”

“What? I would never!” Sylvia held her hand over her mouth like she was aghast at such an allegation. “How dare you impugn my integrity!”

“All the other girls got Bonus Points from their rankings in the popularity poll,” Rose reminded her. “I was never in that poll, so I started with nothing. And that’s not all. One of the rules for the Auditionee is that they inherit the Bonus Points and Victory Points from whichever girl was previously eliminated, right?”

Sylvia nodded. Rose’s heart quickened as victory glimmered in front of her.

“But I never got that chance!” She reminded her. “No one was eliminated, so I inherited nothing! You don’t consider that to be unfair to me? How is that being impartial?”

This was it, her last card to play.

And judging by the smile on Sylvia’s face, it had worked. “…You’re far more cunning than I gave you credit for, my girl,” she applauded. “I didn’t expect that from you. But you’re right. You’ve started from a uniquely disadvantaged position that none of the Auditionees to succeed you will. Fair enough.”

Rose shrugged, and smirked. “What can I say? I happen to be rather close with a certain someone who memorized the entire rulebook. So are you going to make this right? Or should I bring it up with the master and see what he thinks about your impartiality.”

Sylvia's eye twitched.

“…Fine. 2000 BP, it was? Simple enough,” Sylvia nodded, lifting her cane and making it so with a thought. “I’m so proud, my girl. This was exactly the kind of play I expected. Now, I expect you’ll be working up quite a sensual little wet dream for our little cuck?”

Rose summoned her tablet screen and double-checked her points. “You can’t go back on this, right? These are my points now.”

Sylvia frowned. She didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”

“Weeeell… I wasn’t quite being honest with you,” the actress smirked, leaning back against the counter. “Yes, I wanted 2000 BP to purchase Silver Screen. But… I think Holly’s had enough of me in her bed already.”

That threw Sylvia off a little, but she quickly recovered. “Oh? Then are you thinking of giving the master some sweet dreams? Fair enough.”

But Rose shook her head, her golden curls bouncing.

“I wanted… well…” Verbalizing her request was more embarrassing than she’d expected. “I wanted to give a dream to… Dani.” She barely managed to whisper out the other girl’s name.

Sylvia stared at her, more than a little shocked.

“…Dani.”

“Yes. You said it can overwrite a dream from a transformation, right? Then instead of having to dream about Nick, I want her to dream about me.”

“You realize she’s right there, and if you made a move on her, it would be just as likely to work, right?” Sylvia reminded her, pointing her cane at the bathroom door.

Rose shook her head again. She put on a confident smile to mask her true intentions. “If I made a direct move, then she’d think that I’m being intentionally seductive and manipulative, and it would work against me. But if she has a sexy dream with me in it, then she’ll think favorably of me, right? It’s a calculated move to put me ahead!”

Sylvia frowned in disappointment. “Considering your profession, I expected you to be a much better liar than this,” she scoffed. Rose blanched and took a step back.

“That’s…”

“She’s going to know something’s up immediately, since her dream won’t be about Nick,” Sylvia reminded her, shaking her head. “If that was your goal, you picked the absolute worst contestant to target. Nope. Not buying it, my girl.”

Rose blushed, too tired to keep up the act any further. And while she might not have had to verbally acknowledge Sylvia’s question, her body language was enough of a tip-off.

Sylvia smirked. “She got to you, didn’t she? I was right! You really ARE having a bout of conscience, playing with these girls’ hearts! That’s why you’re doing this, isn’t it? Some token of pity, so you can feel better about your horrible behavior! Oh, how rich!”

“Shut up!” Rose hissed, worried Sylvia’s raucous laughter would wake up the tomboy.

“Ah, my apologies,” Sylvia sobered up, shaking her head. “Buying a nice little treat for her just because she was nice, when it's you on the hot seat. You’re far easier than I’d hoped, my girl. Throwing away 2000 BP on a goodwill gesture, when you’re just a plant to throw some drama into the game.”

“She can barely get a good night’s rest,” Rose muttered. “She deserves something.”

“We can discuss what she deserves at a later date,” Sylvia scoffed. “For now, make your purchase. Hopefully you don’t end up regretting it, my girl. One good deed won’t make up for a week of misbehaving.”

Rose sighed and went to work crafting a nice dream for Dani. Even if she would have to wake up and play the bitch again in the morning, she wanted to at least do something nice for the girl who treated her so kindly even after Rose had tried to manipulate her. Her conscience compelled her to.