They preeing my style and they liking my style

Kim’s words with Nick about Rose’s current capabilities as a mother were still sticking with him when Rose herself walked into the Banquet Hall.

He looked up when she entered, not realizing it was Rose until his eyes landed on her. And when Rose looked back at him…

The two froze, neither expecting this turn of events.

What is she wearing? That was the first thought to cross Nick’s mind. While he knew about the enhancements to Rose’s breasts as a result of Vivian’s transformation, he didn’t expect her to emphasize them so blatantly by coming down wearing an unbuttoned shirt. The light garment was practically hanging off of her curvaceous figure, looking like it was ready to slip off at any moment. And the dark lace bra cupping her boobs didn’t help her modesty all that much.

At the same time, Rose was stunned to see Nick right back. He had been spending his mornings in the Master’s Suite these days, with whoever his date of the evening had been. In this case, it was Vivian. So why was he down here so early? Rose had thrown on his shirt expecting her transformation to have worn off by the time Nick decided to show himself, and she’d been looking forward to starting her date with him properly when it did.

But now here he was, looking right at her, and Rose was struggling to come up with an explanation for her state of partial undress. Sure, she could have told him it was a result of Dakota’s transformation, but then she would probably look like an idiot to him, and she couldn’t have THAT, either.

“Morning, Rose!” Kim chirped, taking a nice, hearty sip of her milk. She was loving the look of flustered shock on the blonde’s face, especially since she knew what Nick had to be thinking after their conversation earlier.

“K-Kim,” Rose **** past her lips, raising her head and looking at the other girl. It came easier to her than focusing on Nick. “Good morning.”

“Yup,” Kim said bluntly, not letting Rose engage in any small talk. She brought her glass back to her lips again, and stared pointedly at the blonde.

Nick finally recovered from the surprise of seeing Rose so soon after his discussion with Kim about her boon. While the thought of a pregnant Rose kept playing through his mind, he had to put those notions aside, and focus on the woman in question standing in front of him. He stood up and went to greet her, and she seemed to relax as he approached.

“Hey.”

Rose turned to look at him, flinching slightly when she heard his voice. When their eyes met, however, she suddenly melted, as if all the pressure she’d been feeling from his presence was nothing to worry about at all.

Her lips curled up into a gorgeous smile and she batted her eyelashes. “Good morning, mon compagnon,” she breathed, leaning forward slightly to give him a nice look at her cleavage. “You’re up quite early this morning!”

“What can I say, I was looking forward to our date together,” Nick said with a grin.

The way Rose stiffened like a board nearly put Kim to the floor in a fit of laughter.

“Y-yes, well, I’m sure it came as quite a surprise to you,” Rose said, standing up straight and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She had recovered from her shock quite nicely, actually. “That we would not be meeting in Dream Alley today.”

“It did, actually,” Nick admitted, sitting back down and gesturing for Rose to do the same. She didn’t. “I was really expecting you to invite me on some fancy date or something, but if you want to spend time around the hotel together, I’m fine with that too.”

He could have fun with Rose wherever they went, that was one of the things he liked about her. Even if their date was something as simple as watching a movie together, he knew that they would both have a good time.

Rose still looked a little uncomfortable though, much to his concern. But she did a good job of masking it. Only someone who knew her well was likely to notice the tension in her eyes, and the way her lips curled up a little more than usual to suggest her smile was ****.

“If you’ll pardon me, I’ll be getting something to eat now,” Rose informed him. “Then I’ll be happy to join you both.”

She emphasized the “both” part, drawing attention to Kim in particular. After what went down between them the day before, the actress must have felt understandably awkward about the other girl’s presence.

“Actually, I think I’ll be going,” Kim said, taking the opportunity to excuse herself. “I’ve already finished eating, after all, and besides… I wouldn’t want to get in the way.”

She finished off her glass and gave Rose a knowing wink. She might not be taking part in this date (she’d let Dawn have that honor, if Rose so chose) but she’d have plenty of time with Nick tomorrow.

Even if it did mean she might have to take a Sick Day.

“Oh, and Nick?” Kim stopped at the door of the Banquet Hall and turned back to the table, her voice loudly carrying across the room.

Nick tensed, intrigued and worried in equal parts about what Kim might insinuate.

Seeming to sense his concerns, Kim’s lips curled into a smirk and she narrowed her eyes. “Keep in mind what we were talking about before,” she cooed. “About your responsibilities.”

Nick turned red, something Rose picked up on immediately. She frowned, not thrilled that someone else had captured Nick’s attention on their day together, and returned to the table with her tray only half full. She’d skipped the sweets this time; someone had picked that section clean and she didn’t want to seem like a glutton by asking for a restock right now. Nope, it was a fruit cup.

That would leave a good impression on him!

“Responsibilities? What did she mean by that, I wonder?” Rose cooed, sitting down across from Nick with a playful smile on her face, trying to play it casual while pumping him for information. Of course, Nick knew exactly what she was trying to do.

He sighed and scratched his head. “Do you really want to know?” It was serious and it involved Rose. He felt like she deserved to know that they had been talking about her behind her back.

Rose was a little surprised. Nick wouldn’t ask that so seriously without a good reason. “Does it involve me?” She asked, just as serious.

Nick nodded in confirmation and the actress bristled.

“Then yes,” she said firmly, pinching her lips together tightly. “I would like to know.”

He figured as much.

“Kim told me about the boons everyone got after Gina’s slumber party,” he said, using his glass of orange juice as an excuse to buy some time. “And she told me about the one you got.”

Nick waited to see Rose’s reaction before he went any further. And he wasn’t disappointed. The blonde’s cheeks reddened and she bit her lip.

“I see… so… you know, then, about my boon,” Rose sighed, sitting up straight and playing with her hair again. She was trying to look flirtatious, but it looked a lot more like nervousness, which was unnerving; Rose didn’t do “timid” very well.

“Rose, it’s not that big of a deal,” Nick said. “I mean, it wasn’t your choice to get that boon. And it’s not like you need to do anything with it.”

“Oh?” Rose looked a little pouty. “Does that mean you weren’t planning on us making love tonight?” She asked.

Nick’s jaw dropped. “What?! That… I mean… I wasn’t even thinking…”

“Relax,” she tittered, relaxing slightly herself. “I’m only teasing!” She leaned forward and her eyes sparkled. Her prior nervousness seemed to have vanished entirely now that he was a little nervous himself. “But it would be inconvenient if you did. I’ve set a few plans in motion, you see,” she said ominously.

“…What kind of plans?” Nick narrowed her eyes.

Rose smirked. “Come now, would it really be so fun if I just told you?” She asked with a smirk.

While Nick could understand her perspective in that regard, it didn’t exactly make him feel better. On the other hand, he was happy Rose seemed a lot more relaxed.

“What’s with this, then?” He asked, changing the subject and indicating to Rose’s unbuttoned shirt. “That part I didn’t hear about.”

“Mm? Oh, this is just one of my bounties,” Rose explained. “I received a random clothing transformation for 24 hours, and will get a bit of BP due to that. I’m not sure when, but I should be hitting the deadline any minute now…”

On cue, Rose felt a shift in her BP total again, and her hair got a little bit longer.

Rose: 14600 BP + 300 BP = 14900 BP

She looked a little irritated. So close to 15000 BP, and yet not quite there.

“I suppose that’s that, then,” she said, reaching down and beginning to do the buttons of her shirt back up. She paused about halfway through. “…Unless of course, you like me dressed like this?” She teased, pulling on the sides of her shirt again to emphasize her cleavage. “I mean, usually on our dates it’s just the two of us, but anyone could walk in,” she pointed out, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Like what happened the other day…”

Nick blushed as he remembered the awkwardness that had ensued a couple days ago, when Rose had managed to tempt him into playing around in her room for a little bit. As much as he’d enjoyed her new breasts, Cinder walking in on them and completely losing it had not been a pleasant experience.

…That being said, he wasn’t doing anything wrong right now. If Rose wanted to keep a few buttons open so she could show off how nice her breasts looked in that lacy bra, Nick certainly wasn’t going to complain.

“You know me, I would never try to control what you should wear,” Nick said with an exaggerated croon, holding his hand over his chest. “You should feel free to wear whatever makes you comfortable, Rose. That’s what I’ve always thought.”

Rose gave him a frosty look. Her lips curled up into an amused smirk and she leaned forward, resting her chin on top of her hands. “Oh, is that so? Then I suppose you wouldn’t object if I happened to do away with my bra completely then, hmm?”

So she wanted to play it like that, huh? Well, Nick wasn’t going to back down.

“Like I said, only a real jerk would try to assert their standards of modesty onto a young woman’s appearance,” Nick replied, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest tauntingly. “If you want to take off your bra, heck, take off your entire shirt, it’s not my place to say anything.”

Rose raised her eyebrow. She looked a little irritated, which was exactly what Nick had been betting on. He knew that as daring as she was, she wouldn’t just strip down in the middle of the Banquet Hall, where anyone could see.

The actress like to tease, but this would be a bit more than teasing, and they both knew it.

Soon enough, the irritated expression on Rose’s face drifted away, and she pinched her lips together in an amused smile. “You almost had me,” she tittered, shaking her head and making her blonde locks bounce. “But I’m not going to give you a sneak peek so easily. Why skip the fun parts?” She buttoned up the rest of her buttons, concealing that lovely sight from Nick’s gaze, much to his chagrin.

But again, he’d expected that. While Rose was absolutely the sort of girl who would eat her dessert before starting on her dinner, she also knew the merits of building suspense and tension. She had a plan for holding their date here in the hotel, especially considering how much money she had at her disposal; and going around basically topless clearly wasn’t part of the plan.

“I’m surprised though,” Rose mused, finally getting started on her breakfast now that the tone had shifted away from their exchange of flirtations. “I really would have thought someone else would have come down for breakfast by now.”

She glanced over curiously at the door.

“Oh, so that wasn’t your doing?” Nick asked.

“What do you mean?” Her surprise only confirmed that his suspicions were baseless.

He laughed and shook his head. “Never mind, just me being silly. I just thought, it would be such a ‘you’ thing to do to ask the other girls to give the two of us the Banquet Hall to ourselves for the morning!” Nick explained his silly though.

Rose tittered. “That would be a smidgeon too excessive, even for moi.”

“Really? You?” Nick raised his eyebrow. “Excessive?”

Somehow he found that hard to believe.

Rose squinted and pinched her fingers together. “Oui, just a smidgeon.”

The two shared a good laugh.

“But truthfully, Nick…” Rose tucked back her hair and brought her spoon to her lips, taking a bite of the fresh raspberries she’d buried her oatmeal in. A look of delight spread across her face. She raised her head and gazed adoringly up at him. “I am not so selfish a girl.”

He couldn’t come up with a response to that question. While he didn’t believe Rose was a selfish person at heart, saying that would sound strange.

And she didn’t seem to want him to say anything, either, if the mysterious look on her face was any indication.

“…I’m serious,” she said. “I do know how to… share.”

Okay, there was definitely something going on here. Something where Nick wasn’t in the loop. And even though he could press her for answers (and knowing Rose’s big mouth, he was liable to get some if he went at it enough) he decided not to.

Rose clearly put a lot of thought into this. Whatever she’s planning, I’m sure it’s at least going to be something I enjoy. So I might as well let her have her way.

“Is something wrong?” Rose studied Nick closely. “You don’t believe me?”

“I believe you completely,” Nick assured her. “I know you love to share, Rose.”

“Ah?” Rose sat up a little higher in her seat, her face gleaming with pride as she accepted Nick’s praise heartily.

“In fact, I’d consider you to be an oversharer.”

The way the smile slid from her face warmed Nick’s heart, it really did. Maybe Amelia would chastise him for playing with Rose’s heart like this, but he couldn’t help himself sometimes when she looked so cute when he did.

“Very funny,” she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn’t really that upset, though- Nick knew when Rose really got upset.

“Just teasing,” he said. “If you want to keep your secrets, I reserve the right to tease you about them. I think that’s only fair, don’t you?”

Rose sighed, smiling in exasperation and shaking her head. “I knew this would be a good idea… look at that. You’re already having fun.”

She had been worried when she walked into the Banquet Hall and saw the tense expression on Nick’s face. It had confirmed her fears from this morning, when she ran into Vivian in the hall. The heiress had seemed completely different from the woman Rose had admired and gotten to know; like she had been crushed by some immense weight.

Seeing Nick had confirmed her suspicion that something very bad had gone down on their date together; Rose had a bit of experience with that, herself.

So for Nick to laugh and joke around like it wasn’t that big of a deal? It came as quite a relief to her. She just hoped that things would remain positive for a little while longer.

I don’t know what happened on that date, but at least he’s smiling now. Sorry, Vivian, but I can’t help you. I have to devote my attention to him. Rose hid her worries behind her teasing smile, and the flustered face she gave Nick when he thought he “got” her.

In truth, this was all just one big part of her plan, to bring out the smile on Nick’s face and keep it there. Sure, she might not be as smart as Dawn, or as cunning as Dakota. But Rose knew how to play the game. And that’s what she was doing-

Playing the game of making Nick smile.

But while Rose was enjoying herself playing around with Nick and coaxing him into having a good time, the person who she’d dismissed earlier was ostensibly not.

It wasn’t as if you could tell anything was wrong with Vivian just by looking at her. She had been smiling from ear to ear when she returned to her bedroom. And when she found Dani alone in bed, she actually teased the feathered tomboy about not taking advantage of the opportunity.

“What’s the matter?” Vivian chuckled, flopping down onto the mattress. “Didn’t feel like having someone over?”

“Maybe I did,” Dani teased back. “But I asked her to leave before you showed up. You know, to be respectful.”

“That right?” Vivian pinched her lips together tightly. “Well… I suppose it’s only fair that you got to have your fun. After all, I had quite a bit of fun myself on my date with Nick…”

“Ugh, I don’t want to hear that,” Dani groaned, getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom to get started on her day. “Look, if you two had sex, you don’t have to tell me about it!”

“Don’t worry,” Vivian called after her. “I’m only teasing! Just playing around, that’s all!”

Dani closed the door behind her and Vivian sank down, letting out the tense breath she’d been holding.

“Right, just… playing around, that’s all,” she mumbled to herself, trying to keep the smile on her face. “Just teasing…”

It was going to be a long time before she felt like herself again, she feared. And until that happened, she was determined not to tip her hand. The last thing she needed was for people to find out what had happened on their date, and how it stuck with her even now.

Vivian bit her lip, and turned to Octavia.

“Hey… I… I want pancakes,” she pleaded with her butler. “With chocolate chips. …Please?”

Octavia blinked. She had noticed something different in her charge from the moment Vivian stepped inside, but said nothing.

“…Of course,” she acquiesced with a nod. “As you wish, Lady Carrington.”

A relieved smile blossomed across Vivian’s face and her whole body relaxed. That was just what she wanted to hear.

Yeah, as long as I’ve got you, I’ll be just fine!