Searching

Robert woke up the next morning alone in his bed.

Sarah had warned him that she was a very early riser, but he figured he'd wake up when she slipped out. Apparently he had not. He stretched his arms over his head and reflected on the strangeness of having gone from not even dating to having had two different women across the past two nights share his bed.

Last night had been another evening of unusual sleeping arrangements. Absolutely determined to keep their bodies from coming in direct contact, Sarah had taken his extra blanket and completely wrapped it around herself like a cocoon. It seemed to have worked, even if Robert had woken up in the middle of the night to find himself spooning the tall woman and her sub-consciously grinding her hips back against him in her sleep. He had gently pulled away from her and slid out of bed to use the bathroom. Once he returned he left some space between them, even though he hadn’t wanted to.

Robert got out of bed and began to get ready to face the day. Back home he typically showered first thing in the morning, but since he didn't have to go to work and was planning on hitting the gym later he put it off for now. He'd shower before his date tonight.

His thoughts drifted back to the previous night. He'd had a lot of fun with Sarah, something he definitely hadn't been expecting. He didn't necessarily think she'd be a bad date, but if you had told him just a few days ago that he'd be watching the stern department manager line dancing he would have laughed in your face.

Sarah being so upfront about her transformation and intimacy was a surprise, but a welcome one. He hadn't been planning on looking for a lot of action anyway, but there was something reassuring about her willingness to just tell him what she was comfortable with instead of him trying to guess it. That was the part Robert always hated the most about dating (back when he had been dating), the guessing games and the innuendo. It made him feel like he was walking on eggshells.

Finally ready and dressed in a t-shirt and pair of khaki shorts, Robert exited his suite to find Ava waiting for him again.

“Sleep well?” the Host inquired with a strained smile. “I'd hope so since you didn't do much of anything else last night.”

She was standing right in the middle of the doorway, blocking his path to the elevator. She was smiling, but her eyes had a manic look to them. It made Robert's skin crawl.

“I'm...I'm not sure what you mean...”

“Robert, Robert, Robert...” Ava said, shaking her head. “You've spent the night with two different woman and all we've gotten is a kiss? One single kiss?”

Robert's face reddened with a mixture of indignation and embarrassment.

“I've just met most of these women for the first time. What did you expect?”

“Much more then kissing, that's for sure.” Ava's tone of voice was beginning to match her eyes. “You do understand what kind of show we're running here, right? The audience has expectations.”

“Well, I'm sorry I'm not living up to what your audience expects.” Robert huffed. “All of those women have had a pretty rough last couple of days and I don't want to put them in an even more uncomfortable situation.”

He tried to slide past her but Ava stepped into his path, blocking him again.

“First off Master, they aren't just my audience, they're your audience. They aren't here to watch me. Alienate them at your peril.”

Ava's strained smile twisted into a sneer..

“Second, let me remind you that your harem needs Victory Points and that you are the most consistent way for them to earn them. If not for the audience, consider doing it for them.”

“Are you trying to tell me I should be intimate with these women for their own good?” Robert asked.

Ava's smile returned, but there was no warmth in it.

“He can be taught! And while that might seem incredibly self-serving I'll let you in on a little secret. This show can be particularly unforgiving to those that refuse to participate.”

She spun on her two inch heels and strode towards the elevator.

“Is that a threat?” Robert called after her, his challenge filled with unconvincing false courage.

The elevator doors opened immediately when Ava pressed the call button. She didn't turn around to face him until after she stepped into elevator.

“Consider it a friendly warning. You only have six weeks. Make the most of them.”

******

Bailey had hoped that Sarah spending the night in the Master's Suite would allow her to sleep in this morning. Her hopes where half-realized.

At 7:05 Sarah waltzed into the room and made a beeline for the bathroom. Bailey could nearly scream as the increasingly all-too familiar racket of her roommate getting ready was delayed by a mere two hours. Sarah couldn't leave the Master's Suite before 7:00. Was she just sitting up there, dressed and ready, waiting for the door to unlock?

Bailey threw the covers off and sat up fuming, her nethers already growing hot due to her anger. She'd managed to mostly keep her mood in check the past two days. She hadn't been happy by any stretch of the imagination, but she'd managed to keep her temper and thus her arousal at a low simmer. It was uncomfortable, but manageable. The only day she'd grown angry enough to reach the point of orgasm was the first night.

She was already off to a bad start this morning. She could feel her hard nipples rubbing against her silk nightie and a growing dampness in her matching panties. With Sarah in the bathroom Bailey couldn't go through her usual morning skin and makeup routine. Technically she could, the bathroom door didn't have a lock on it. However, Bailey had no desire to be in the same room with the naked woman that was such a bitch to her fiance. She got out of bed with a huff, and stomped over to her closet. If she was going to be awake, she might as well create some distance between herself and the source of her frustration.

Bailey threw on a set of workout clothes, determined to actually exercise this morning. Back in the real world, meeting her friends at the gym in the morning was part of her daily routine. She hadn't realized how much she depended on the social aspect until she had tried to workout the other afternoon in the empty hotel gym. It was empty and quiet, and she only managed to jog for a few minutes on a treadmill before she grew bored. She had ended up at the hotel bar afterwards. She seemed to end up at the bar at lot the past two days.

As Bailey laced up a pair of neat white athletic trainers, there was a quick, soft knock at the door. Before she could answer, a small envelope slipped under the door. She picked it up and opened the door, but whoever had dropped the letter off was already gone. Frowning, she turned her attention to the envelope and opened it. It was a short note, on crisp white stationary emblazoned with the Ambassador Hotel's initials.

Bailey,

Just wanted to remind you that your date with the Master is this evening. Hope you make the most of it.

~ Ava

The Host's signature was ornate, and nearly as large as the rest of the message combined. Bailey crumpled the letter with a snarl, her pussy twitching treasonously. Of course she hadn't forgotten, much as she wanted to. She had been hoping to avoid thinking about the mandatory “date” as long as she could today. She was engaged to Thomas Valenti and she refused to make any more out of this farce then she had to. Adding insult to injury was the fact that Thomas couldn't stand Robert, an opinion he had frequently shared with her. By her fiance's accounts Robert was at best dull and tasteless, and at worse a shriveling wimp who folded at the first sign of resistance.

Bailey tossed the crumpled up note towards the small wastebasket tucked away in the corner of the hotel room. It missed, bouncing off the wall. She didn't bother to pick it up. Instead, Bailey stormed out into the hallway and towards the elevator bank, trying to ignore the sensation of her flushed pussy lips rubbing together with each step.

She had to spend the evening with Robert, but she didn't have to put any effort into it.

******

Despite being confined to the Master's Suite until 7:00, Sarah had tried her best to make the most of her morning.

She had slept in til 6:00. Habit prevented her from sleeping much past that. She had awoken to the sensation of Robert's morning wood pressed against her pert ass. She had shot out of bed and taken refuge in the bathroom until she calmed her new instincts somewhat. Even then, she avoided looking at Robert as she ventured back into the bedroom to retrieve her clothes and she went to the next room over before she changed out of her pajamas. In the clear light of the day after, she felt somewhat foolish in her short denim shorts, tank-top, and flannel. It was the outfit of a younger, more adventurous girl, not a woman with a managerial job and responsibilities. It had been a long time since she had to preform a walk-of-shame, and she hoped she could make it back to her room without being spotted. She made a mental note to bring a change of clothes next week.

She found a pen and a notepad similar to the one in her own room, and while waiting for 7:00 to arrive she begin to plan her day. Her date and the preparation for said date had eaten up nearly half of the day before. She was determined to make up for it today. 7:00 finally arrived, but Sarah **** herself to wait until 7:05 before she left the suite to make sure she didn't accidentally incur a penalty of some kind.

Sarah went straight to her room to change clothes, shower, and get ready. Bailey was still in bed when she arrived, but had disappeared by the time she exited the bathroom. Sarah briefly wondered how her roommate was spending her days as she got dressed. She grabbed a white blouse, a nice pair of slacks and a matching blazer to wear, and put her hair up in a professional bun. By 8:00 she was descending down to Dorsia to grab breakfast.

As Sarah sat in the dining room eating her small plate of scrambled eggs and looking over her scribbled notes from the Master's Suite, Chloe stumbled into the room. Her cheeks were puffy and there were small bags under her blue eyes. She poured herself a cup of coffee, adding plenty of cream, before grabbing a danish and plopping down in a chair across the table from Sarah.

“Date go well?” Chloe mumbled.

Sarah slowly nodded before responding.

“Better then your night went, by the looks of it.”

Chloe winced, and took a long sip of her coffee.

“Robin's transformation is keeping her, and thus me, up most of the night. She's sleeping now.”

“She told me it was pretty rough.”

“It certainly looks rough.” Chloe replied. “Her skin is so sensitive she can barely stand to touch anything. Her other senses are just as wired. I'm trying to talk her into buying the upgrade for it, but she doesn't trust the transformation shop at all.”

The petite blonde took a sip of her coffee and shook her head.

“And maybe she's right. Cassandra upgraded one of her transformations yesterday and I'm not entirely sure it's better, just different.”

Sarah's eyebrows arched.

“Cassandra bought an upgrade?”

Chloe stopped nibbling on her danish before answering.

“Technically Samantha bought it for her. Cassandra didn't have enough to afford it herself.”

“What did it do?”

“Best as I can tell, it changes her clothing to match whatever activity she's currently performing. She said she didn't want to be stuck in formal wear all the time. Well the upgrade gave her that, but she has no control over what clothing she ends up in.”

Sarah pursed her lips as she considered the implications of this information. She hadn't completely written off the transformation shop, but it seemed she'd need to be approach it with caution. She was drawn back out of her thoughts by Chloe asking her something. She had noticed Sarah's notes, and was asking her about it.

“There's still a lot to learn about what's available to us here on the studio lot.” Sarah replied. “I didn't get a chance to explore yesterday because of my date, so I was hoping to look around more today.”

“Anything I could do to help?” Chloe asked.

Sarah took a second to consider before answering.

“Yes, actually. Ava mentioned that we can rent Soundstage 1 and told us to ask the studio office for more information. She also pointed out the Props and Wardrobe buildings to us, but she didn't give us any details about those.”

Sarah tapped her notes with her pen.

“I'm guessing the purpose of Props and Wardrobe are linked to renting the soundstage. Would you mind walking over there to see what they're about?”

“Sure, I don't mind.” Chloe responded cheerily. “What are you going to be up to?”

“I want to check out the library.”

“The library?”

“Yes. Robin pointed out to me that things here seem to run on movie logic. I want to try to find more information about our situation here, and I figure the library is my best bet.”

Sarah paused before pressing on.

“I think there's been other seasons of this show before us, based on some things Ava has said. I want to try to find anything I can on those seasons to see if it can help us here.”

Chloe knitted her fair brow.

“That seems like a long shot.”

“It probably is,” Sarah replied, “but I at want to at least try before we write off the idea completely.”

Chloe was nodding, but Sarah's mind was drifting. She was thinking of last night, of sharing nachos and dancing. Of Robert and of the physical emptiness she felt inside. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Focus. We need more information.

I'm not giving in yet.