And I feel better, better, better than before

Nick woke up feeling rested, rejuvenated, and only the slightest bit sore from all the working out he’d done yesterday. Not to mention the “workout” he’d gotten with Kim and Dani after that, which lasted well into the night.

On the other hand, he woke up in a pretty nice position. In spite of the fact that most of the night had been spent with Kim sandwiched between him and Dani, at some point in the evening things had changed and they’d gone to sleep with him between the two of them.

It was a position that was enviable for some reasons, and concerning for others. Still, it wasn’t like he’d woken up with arm cradled in Dani’s boobs or something, she was flat on her back on the other side of the bed.

Kim, though…

“Mmm… morning,” Kim greeted him with a smile. Her eyes were wide open and staring into his, and she hugged his arm to her chest. She was wide awake, a stark contrast to Dani who was snoring next to them.

“Kim, you’re already up?” Nick rubbed his eyes and sat up, surprised. Or tried to, anyway. Kim’s grip on his arm was deceptively tight, and she was very much enjoying her present position.

She giggled and batted her eyelashes at him. “I work pretty early,” she reminded him with a teasing wink. Let me guess, you’re surprised because I was so worn out last night?”

That would be the reason, yes. Nick couldn’t help but nod. That got another laugh out of her, and the tomboy shook her head. “Oh, Nick… don’t you know me enough by now? With all the jobs I’ve worked over the years, if I wasn’t able to recover from a long night after a short rest, I would have collapsed ages ago!”

Fair point. But Nick had one of his own.

“Doesn’t mean you should have to, though,” he pointed out. “Remember what we talked about before? About you taking care of yourself and resting when you needed to rest?”

Kim looked at him and blinked, surprised that Nick of all people would say that, given how hard they’d worked last night to NOT rest. Then again, that was just how Nick was, wasn’t it? He was that guy, the guy who would make sure that his girls were taken care of, even when they weren’t taking care of themselves.

She grinned bashfully at him. “Well, will wonders never cease?” She hummed. “He stays in the morning, AND he compliments me in bed.”

Nick laughed at her playful little joke.

“Well… I’m glad you stayed, too,” Nick said. “Waking up to someone this happy to see me is a nice treat indeed.”

Then his eyes widened. “Shit! I almost forgot!” They’d gotten so into last night, he hadn’t even considered that…

His eyes slid to the kitchen door first, as Mary, Holly, and even Nola flashed through his mind. He’d been so wiped out after his second round with Kim… had he even remembered to let them out of the kitchen!? Or had they spent the whole night in there?!

A glance to the bed confirmed that wasn’t the case. Mary was curled up nice and snug under her comforter, and just past her was Holly in her cage with a blissful smile on her face. Nick sighed in relief and relaxed.

“Yeah, I guess you must have let them in or something, or they got tired of waiting,” Kim said with a shrug. “Not sure. I was the first one to fall asleep last night, if you remember.”

Nick really didn’t. There were a lot of things about last night he remembered, but how it had all ended wasn’t one of them. He had been too tired.

“How are you feeling?” Kim asked, her brow furrowing with concern. “Between the workout yesterday and all that sex, you must be pretty sore, right?”

“Aww, how considerate. You’re a lucky man, Nick.”

Nick and Kim both jumped. There, standing at the foot of the bed with a twisted, amused smile on her face, was Dakota.

“Something wrong with me being considerate?” Kim snapped, narrowing her eyes. There were times when she was hostile to Dakota and times she didn’t mind her that much, and this was definitely the former.

Dakota just shrugged, and batted her eyelashes. “It’s a compliment,” she said smoothly. “That’s all. As the host, I’m touched by your concern. It would be a problem if the master’s body was to break down on him due to one too many bench presses.”

Nick was pretty sure Dakota was just talking off the cuff, because no one used the term “bench presses” but that wasn’t his concern right now. “Thank you for being so considerate,” he said sarcastically, throwing Dakota’s own patronizing tone right back at her.

The look on her face showed that it was effective.

“Are you here about the bounty?” Kim asked. “Because no way you’re telling me that didn’t count as a threesome.”

“…Snork. Hng. Wuzzat?” Dani snapped up with a dazed expression on her face, feathery hair in a tangled mess of bedhead. She rubbed her eyes. “Someone say threesome?”

“Among other things,” Dakota said, ignoring Dani’s presence with a curt nod. “Before we get to that, I’d like to congratulate you, Kim!”

Kim blinked, regarding Dakota’s words with surprise and then suspicion. It wasn’t often that she received congratulations; usually she was overlooked.

“Congratulations for what?” She asked warily.

Dakota beamed from ear to ear and tapped her cane lightly on the floor. “Why, just check your hand!” She purred. “It’s all right there.”

Kim looked down at her hand and gasped in surprise at what she saw. “Oh!” Her eyes widened. The light on her hand read 94 VP.

“94 Victory Points!” Dakota purred. “That puts you in a nice, comfortable third place! Just a little more hard work, and you’ll have secured an official slot in Nick’s harem once this show ends! And isn’t that a wonderful thing?”

“Assuming the show ends at all,” Nick said dully, staring at Dakota. Knowing her, and after their last exchange, he was suspicious if she ever intended to let him go free or if she would keep pushing the goal back.

Dakota didn’t react to his comment. Not with a flinch, or a sneer, or any sign that he’d touched on something she’d rather he didn’t. It almost seemed like she didn’t even hear him. He wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“…Now that you’re almost to a hundred, I’m sure you’ll want to prepare a speech of some sort for when you cross that threshold?” Dakota crooned, milking this moment for all it was worth.

“Yay,” Kim said sarcastically. That about as much of a speech as Dakota could hope to get out of her this time.

Dakota just smiled.

Truth was, Kim actually did feel pretty good, in spite of the fact that she shouldn’t have cared at all about her position on the leaderboard. It wasn’t like being the queen of Nick’s harem was something she cared about after all; she had too much respect for Mary’s feelings for her husband to try and impose on their relationship.

But it was like when she’d gotten first place in the Popularity Poll. For someone who was used to not being noticed by others, the fact that she was actually doing so well for once was just surreal. It made her feel all bubbly in her chest.

Not that she’d ever let those feelings show to Dakota of all people.

“As for you, Dani,” Dakota continued, turning her focus onto the tomboy and narrowing her eyes. “Hmm… yes, you…”

“What about me?” Dani was wide awake now, and looking at Dakota like a wounded animal on her guard.

After all, her relationship with Dakota wasn’t exactly what people would consider “amicable”.

But Dakota was still smiling.

“I’m very… impressed,” she said finally.

Dani looked at her in shock. “…Huh?”

“Your performance last night,” the host clarified, clearing her throat. “Very impressive. I didn’t think you had it in you. I expected you’d go kicking and screaming to the bitter end, before you would involve yourself with Nick to that extent. I thought for certain that I’d have to use far more heavy-handed tactics to **** you to participate.”

Dani scowled. “Well, sorry for not being predictable and following your script,” she replied coldly. “I went as far as I was comfortable with, and if that wasn’t enough for you, then too fucking bad,” she spat at the other woman.

Dani didn’t take crap from hosts. She didn’t take it from Sylvia, and she wasn’t going to take it from Dakota, either.

Dakota jut looked exasperated though. She rolled her eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh. “I already told you, what you did was more than enough.”

She held up her hand and tapped it, indicating to Dani to check her number.

Dani was pleasantly surprised by what she saw. 78 VP.

“Wow, I… I really did get it,” she said with a smile.

“That’s right,” Dakota purred. “78 Victory Points. That’s… not really very impressive, I must admit, but considering you’re a lesbian? I’d say you should be proud. Of course, now you’ve eaten most of the low-hanging fruit. If you want to keep getting points, I would suggest finding other things that you can get comfortable with. Say, a handjob? Or maybe using those silky-soft tits of yours?”

A shadow crossed over Dani’s face and she glared fiercely at the pale woman. “Don’t push your luck,” she growled.

“Dakota, I think you’ve made your point,” Nick snapped. “Stop pushing.”

Of course, that was unlikely. Even when Dakota desisted and stepped back with her hands raised, Nick wondered how much of it was just an act. This was Dakota they were talking about, and he doubted she knew how to do anything but push and push and push.

The important thing right now, at least, was that she had stopped pushing for the moment. A small victory.

“Now, if you can bring three other contestants to orgasm, that’ll be a few more VP to add to your total,” Dakota advised. “Maybe see if some of the other women will let you join in on their night with the master this round? I’m sure there may be at least one taker. But you don’t need to take my word for it, of course.”

Dani didn’t like the way she’d said that. Then again, she didn’t like the way Dakota said most things.

“Or if we’re dealing with Rose, I’m sure a bribe would go a long way for-”

“Dakota, do you have anything else to say? Or can you get lost?” Nick was running out of patience. He flinched at the dark expression that crossed Dakota’s face, but he didn’t back down.

“…Fine,” she grunted, sighing in exasperation. “I’m just trying to lighten the mood a little bit. But since you asked…”

Lighten the mood, right. As if Dakota had any clue how to do something like that.

Dakota turned her attention back to Kim, who looked guardedly at her. “Yes, Kim, let’s get back to business, shall we?”

“What now?” Kim asked, frowning. Then she remembered the whole reason Dakota had come here in the first place. “Oh, that’s right. The prize! For my bounty!”

“…Oh, yes,” Dakota said, blinking. “That’s right, that was what we were talking about earlier, wasn’t it?”

“Huh!?” Kim looked at her in surprise. “But… wait, then why…?” What business did Dakota have with her if not-

“Are you going to be taking a Sick Day today?” Dakota asked with a sweet smile, cutting the other girl off. “Or will you be working?”

Kim blinked. “…Shit! I totally forgot!” She groaned, slapping her face. “That’s right, work… how could I have forgotten!?”

She’d gotten so caught up relishing the luxury of the Master’s Suite that she’d completely forgotten that she had a job to do!

“That’s right,” Dakota purred, “today is your date with Nick, isn’t it? You’re quite a lucky girl, Kim, getting to spend two days in a row with him. Other girls would kill for that sort of privilege. I think you owe Dani a big thank you, don’t you?”

Before Dani could respond to that Dakota continued, “Of course, you sure did ‘thank’ her a lot last night, so I’d say that just about evens it out. You were willing to set your sexuality aside and pleasure her sexually, after all, and that’s more than she’s been willing to do for Nick, who’s supposedly her best friend.”

Dani’s jaw dropped and Kim turned bright red.

“You don’t have to make it sound like it was some horrible thing, you know!” Kim snapped, glaring at the host. “It… it was just, well… …Look, I’m not gay.”

“Obviously not, you enjoy having sex with Nick too much for that,” Dakota pointed out the obvious, giving Kim a moment of pause.

“…I’m not a lesbian, either!” She quickly added, shaking her head frantically. “Err, I mean… no, that’s the same thing, what I’ trying to say is that I like boys! I’m not… what the other one is. The one where you like both. Bisexual! I’m not that.”

Kim hadn’t exactly been given the latitude to explore her sexuality before coming to the island. It was something she just didn’t think about. So why was Dakota getting her all confused and trying to make it sound like she should have liked it or not liked it?!

Last night was wild and exciting, and even though Kim wasn’t attracted to women, that didn’t mean she hadn’t greatly enjoyed the pleasure she’d received from her sex with Dani!

Kim looked over at the other girl, whose face was also red.

“Dani… I enjoyed it, you don’t have to feel bad,” she assured her friend. “Okay?”

“Uh… uh-huh,” Dani said, nodding slowly. Her face burned with embarrassment. “Let’s maybe just not talk about this, okay?”

Dakota smirked. The look on her face was one Nick recognized well, and one he hated to see. It was the face she made when she was relishing in the confusion and frustration of other people.

Not at all like the Dakota who he had grown up with, the Dakota he cherished. The Dakota he saw frighteningly little of these days, as she sank back into her role as the host of the show without hesitation.

It brought an ache to his heart.

“Now then!” Dakota clapped her hands together, making Kim and Dani jump. “Leaving the discussion of Kim’s sexuality for another day, Kim, have you made a decision yet? Would you like to take a Sick Day? Or will your date with Nick be interrupted at some point by a long shift at work? The choice is yours, of course.”

Kim looked cautiously at Dakota, finding it impossible to read her mood. Her last night with Nick, she had used the Sick Day transformation in order to get full use out of Dream Alley. But she wasn’t planning on using Dream Alley today, so…

“I… won’t use it,” she said, getting a surprised reaction from Dakota.

The host raised her eyebrow. “Really… you won’t? Even though tonight is your date with the master? You know, you haven’t used your transformation even once this round,” she reminded Kim. “Are you sure you don’t want to be free of the obligations of your transformations?”

“Yep,” Kim said bluntly. “I’m sure.”

Dakota frowned. “If you’re concerned that I’ll give you some sort of punitive transformation intentionally…”

Kim stopped her right there. “No, it’s not about that,” she assured the other woman, shaking her head. “I actually really liked the temporary transformation I got for it last time, if I’m being honest.”

“Really, you did?” Dani asked, surprised. “What was it?”

Kim turned red and her eyes shot to Dani’s chest. The tomboy may have covered up with a long shirt, but her cleavage was still very prominent.

“…That’s private,” she said, glancing away. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, Dakota, it’s not about the transformation. Just, well…”

She looked over at Nick. “…I think Nick could really use a break.”

Nick’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait… seriously?” He asked, taken aback. “You want me to take a break? That’s supposed to be my line!”

Kim laughed. “Fair enough. I do appreciate the way you’re always looking out for me. But it’s not like we’re going to be spending the whole day together this time. Take the morning, relax, maybe sleep in and enjoy yourself. We can meet for lunch, then we’ll have plenty of fun this afternoon. Sound good?”

She stood up and stretched her arms over her head, showing off her naked body without a care in the world. “That’s my position, anyway.”

Dakota nodded thoughtfully. She curled her lips into a diplomatic smile. “Well… I can’t really argue with that, now can I?” She admitted, shaking her head. “Not when you’re making such a gesture for the sake of the master’s comfort, anyhow.”

Kim gave her a lopsided grin in response. “Well, it’s just the kind of girl I am. Someone needs to look out for him, after all.”

“Hey, I look out for Nick, too!” Dani protested. “…Yes, I may have tired him out with our workout routine, but still, I’ve got his back.”

She gave Nick a wink and a grin and Nick laughed.

“Well, it sounds like you’ve got this all figured out,” Dakota said, nodding. She tapped her cane on the floor. “In that case, I won’t linger. You all have fun today. I’ll be going.”

And with that she vanished from the Master’s Suite.

“Well… better get ready for breakfast,” Dani said, getting out of bed. “Kim, you might want to throw something on, just saying…”

Kim looked down and gasped. “Oh shit! I didn’t even notice!” She hastily went to go retrieve her uniform, only to stop halfway there.

She gasped.

“…Shit! My prize! I totally forgot!” Kim groaned, grabbing the sides of her head in frustration.

Kim was so unaccustomed to asking for things she was owed that she’d completely forgotten about the reward for completing her bounty.