The Tour

Delilah walked off the dais and didn’t bother to check if people were following her or not. She went to the left and around the wall behind the throne. A set of three elevators was there. “These elevators will take you most anywhere you need to go in the hotel. Since this version of the hotel isn’t located in three-dimensional space, you might notice some things move on occasion, at least relative to what you perceive as adjacent rooms. Now, I will say that the elevator in the middle can only be used by the Master, though others may ride with him. Zachary, if you would do the honors.”

Zach rolled his eyes and pressed the button for the elevator. He did notice that his elevator was significantly larger than the ones on either side of it. The doors opened a second later, revealing a large, comfy couch on either side of the elevator. Oh, those are definitely meant for when we get ‘stuck’ in here. Zach got on, followed by everyone else.

Lynn plopped down on the couch, as close to Zach, who was still standing, as she could. “Well, at least the furniture is comfortable.”

Zach looked at the buttons and found the standard buttons for each floor, of which there were twenty-five, including the ground floor. There was a second set of buttons higher up, listing things like: Pool, Master’s Suite, Kitchen, Gym, Bar, Random, Gardens, Contestant Rooms, BP Store, and many more.

Delilah spoke up behind Zach, “As you can see, you can either go to a floor or most of the important rooms at the push of a button. Some rooms, though, can only be found by exploring. Zach, would you please press Contestant Rooms.” He pressed it, and the elevator seemed to lurch to the side and not up, at least at first. It made several jarring turns, causing everyone but Delilah to get tossed around the elevator a bit. By the end of the ride, everyone had taken a seat. Much to Lynn’s delight, this resulted in Zach pressing up against her several times. Xin was the one to be on his other side, and she found it rather embarrassing to be so close and rubbing up against him.

The doors opened up to a hallway with a door on either side and one at the end of the hall. Delilah stepped out of the elevator and stopped upon reaching the two rooms on opposite sides of the hall. “Now, these are the suites for those who aren’t in the top two of the popularity polls. On the left, we have the Tentacle pits, which Heather and Piper will be staying in.”

Both blanched. Piper said, “Umm, I’ve seen hentai, will we be—”

“Ravished by tentacles constantly?” Delilah said with delight. “Alas, no. Your holes are Zach’s to do with as he pleases. That isn’t to say that the tentacles will leave you alone completely, but we want you to be able to get some sleep. Though I’m sure you will find your stay in the Master’s suite to be more to your tastes.” Delilah opened the door to the room, allowing everyone to see inside. The room was somewhat dark, as most of it was black. Tentacles seemed to come from everywhere, all of various sizes. Zach was pretty sure that the carpet wasn’t carpet, but a bunch of tiny tentacles, judging by the way it seemed to undulate.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Heather said, covering her mouth. “I have to stay here? What if I refuse?”

“Yes, and do you really want to find out where I’d stick you instead as a punishment?”

Heather shook her head while covering her mouth. Zachary had a momentary pang of sympathy for Heather, and then it passed as he remembered his anger with her. When he saw Piper, he had real sympathy for her, and he frowned slightly.

Delilah closed the door and opened the one across from it. “This room is called The Press.” Inside was an extremely narrow room that looked like it was designed to **** people to squeeze through areas. “Melinda and Caroline will be staying here for the round.”

Caroline asked, “I’m assuming that the room doesn’t really get wider, does it? Is there even a bed?”

“No, and yes. I’ll let you discover that part for yourself, though.”

Melinda looked down at her now curvy body and realized she was almost certainly going to end up having to press her breasts up against stuff to move around that room. Since there was absolutely no way that she and Caroline would be able to move past each other without pressing up against each other. Could be worse; I could be in the tentacle room.

Caroline asked, “I take it we can’t voluntarily swap rooms either?”

“No, you can not. After the first round, though, you are welcome to spend the night in the Master’s suite, provided the Master and the individual whose date night it is agree to allow it. The first round, that won’t be allowed, though. On to the last room.” Delilah strode down the hall. The final door was covered in gold filigree and a beautifully detailed doorknob. “I present to you The Gilded Cage.” She opened the door, and inside, looked like a nice hotel room. There was a queen-size bed, a sofa across from a TV. There seemed to be an attached bathroom, even a coffee maker. “Xin, and Lynn, you will be staying here for the round.”

Piper said, “Why are the other rooms so much worse! This actually looks comfortable.”

“This is a reward for performing well in the popularity poll. It might not be that next time that determines who gets this room, but room assignments will be based on your performance in the show in some way. If you want this room, then earn it. Plus, there is a part of the room that isn’t immediately obvious, but I’ll let the two of you figure that out. Now, it’s late, and I really don’t care if anyone, but Zachary here, is happy. So that will be the end of the tour. I assume you all aren’t so dumb that you can’t operate the elevators, even Xin, should be able to manage while stupid, if she chooses to forgo the outfit I gave her. Now, Zachary, would you like to invite anyone up to your room? Normal rules apply to staying in the Master’s suite. You sleep in his bed if you go up.”

“Yes, I would actually. Piper, Caroline, Xin, if any of you want to come up, I’m willing to tolerate that. Lynn, you, of course, are welcome as well.”

Heather wasn’t surprised she wasn’t invited, as was Melinda. Caroline was actually surprised she was invited and grateful that he invited Piper.

Piper jumped at the chance. “Yes! I’ll come!” Piper moved to cling to Zach’s arm. A moment later, she let go of it, slightly embarrassed. “I mean, thank you. I really appreciate not having to stay… in that tonight.”

“I’ll come up as well,” Lynn said, sliding her arm into Zach’s and not letting go.

Xin wasn’t sure what to do. “I… um… thank you for the invite… but I think I’ll just stay in my room.” Xin blushed, entered her room, and shut the door behind her.

Delilah turned to Caroline. “What about you?”

Caroline sighed, “I’ll come as well.”

“Very well, let’s return to the elevator. Heather, Melinda, you should retire to your rooms. You wouldn’t want to be caught wandering the halls alone after hours.”

Melinda nodded and went to her without much fuss. Heather visibly shuddered as she stepped foot in the room and the door shut behind her with a loud thud. A loud “AHHH!” of surprise came through the door a moment later. Delilah didn’t wait for the others to follow her to the elevator. A short and still jarring elevator ride later, they arrived at the Master suite. From the elevator, there was a hallway that simply ended in ornate, polished black doors. Zachary went forward and opened them to find dark polished floors with crimson accents. A massive bed that would easily fit the entire harem on it, situated on a raised platform. A walk-in closet was on one side of the bed, and a large bathroom that included a waterfall shower, a deep soak tub, and even a hot tub was on the other. Across from the bed was a combination entertainment area and monitoring suite. There were over a dozen screens displaying various rooms. With the bottom six currently showing the contestants. Three showed different angles of his own room, while the other three showed Xin, Melinda, and Heather. Off the entertainment area was a full kitchen stocked with all sorts of snacks and drinks.

Before Delilah could say anything, Zach asked, “Is there any way to turn off these monitors? I have no desire to see my ex-wife in any way.”

Delilah nodded. “Right here.” She gestured to a control console at the base of the wall of screens. “This will allow you to change what is displayed at anytime. Also, it allows you to order whatever you might find lacking here, for instance, if you wanted a couch to watch TV on with your women. Now, I’m sure you’re tired. Please get some rest, and I’ll see you all tomorrow.” With that, Delilah left the suite, and they heard the door lock shut behind her.

Caroline immediately turned to Zach and said, “Thank you, Zachary. I realize you almost certainly invited my daughter because of how awful her room was.”

“You’re welcome, Caroline. As I said earlier, I do hold a grudge against you, Piper, but I don’t hate you. I’m also certainly not upset with you enough to let you be subjected to that room when the alternative is to simply deal with you in my own. That bed is large enough that we won’t be uncomfortable sharing.”

Piper nodded, “Thanks. I really appreciate it. I don’t look forward to tomorrow.”

“Now, I’m actually willing to stay up for a bit if any of you want to chat. I feel brimming with energy. Mentally, though, I am a little tired.”

“I’m just going to get changed and crash.” Piper said, “Assuming that there is something for me to wear in the closet, I guess.” Piper walked off into the closet to see if there was anything.

Lynn looked at Caroline appraisingly. Caroline said, “I’ll let you two talk if you want, see if there is anything that will fit me as well. That being said, I would like a moment or two to talk with you, Zachary. Preferably in private.”

Lynn frowned at that but didn’t say anything. Zach looked at Lynn, finding her smiling at him, no trace of a frown. “You two have your talk. I’ll go see about clothes myself. I might end up taking up a lot more of your time than her. I don’t want to keep her up needlessly.” Lynn gave Zach a hug and went to get changed. Caroline gestured to the kitchen, which had at least some level of privacy.

Zach followed her there and asked, “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Zachary, I’m going to be blunt. What do I need to do for you to at least leave my daughter alone, if not protect her? I’m not excusing her actions, especially if she actually spread false information maliciously. She’s still my daughter, though. Screwups or not, I want to protect her. So if I have to let you screw me, so be it.”

“Ms. Brown… Caroline, if you are worried about me forcing myself on her, that isn’t going to happen. I’m not a ****. If you mean not being intimate with her at all, are you sure that’s wise?”

“You mean because she would get eliminated, right?”

“Yes. I want to make this clear to you as well: I’m not going to extort you by using your daughter as leverage. If she does something that ticks me off, I’m not going to bargain with you over whether or not I’m going to retaliate. I’ll listen to you, and you can try and persuade me, but I’m not going to entertain you giving yourself to me physically to make up for her actions.”

“I almost wish that you would. It would make this so much easier for me if you were willing to just let me sleep with you in exchange for keeping her safe.” Caroline’s shoulders sagged, half in defeat and half in relief.

“Caroline, I was being truthful earlier about the transformation she got. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing if we can resolve our differences.”

“If you were truthful, that also means that you’ll use it against her if you two can’t.”

“Yes, and I will. It seems I’m stuck with all of you as much as you’re all stuck with me. I’m not going to let that end up making me miserable. I’m willing to look past what she’s said tonight because of the circumstances. She needs to change her attitude, though.”

Caroline nodded, “Okay. I’ll see what I can do about that. You might not be willing to bargain, but you should keep in mind that how my daughter is treated will affect how I treat you.” Zach nodded. “Then, I think I’ll get some rest. Have a good night.” Caroline walked out of the kitchen to find Piper already in bed, but she could tell that her daughter wasn’t actually asleep, even if her eyes were closed. Lynn exited in powder blue silk pajamas. “So they have normal PJs. I half expected the only options to be semi-transparent lingerie.”

“Oh, they have those too. Piper set aside a set for you that should be about your size.” Lynn then strode past Caroline and went to find Zach in the kitchen.

Zach was looking through the fridge when she entered. He glanced up and pulled out two beers. “Want one?” He waved the beer in his hand.

“Oh, God yes.”

Zach popped the tops and handed one to Lynn. They stood in companionable silence at the high-top table for a time. Finally, Zach asked, “Lynn… is anything Delilah implied about you true?”

Lynn tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t dodge my question with a question.”

Lynn nursed her beer some more before responding. “Yes.” Zach raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, waiting for her to elaborate. “She spouted a bunch of garbage, but there was some truth. She didn’t lie about my plans for the evening. I had planned on seducing you.”

“Really? Why did you never tell me?”

“I’m pretty sure I was fairly obvious about how I felt about you. You clearly weren’t interested…” Lynn looked hurt, “But I’d rather have you in my life than not, so I didn’t push. That was before, though. I figured tonight was a chance, where I could try, and if things went poorly, we could laugh it off, and still be friends.”

Zach rubbed his forehead in frustration. Then, to Lynn’s surprise, he reached out, grabbed her face, and kissed her. Slowly at first, and then he moved to bring her closer and wrapped an arm around her. A minute later, he broke the kiss.

+1 VP Kiss the Master (x2 First)

Lynn’s world was spinning, and she loved it.

“Lynn, you big dummy. You're my oldest friend, I thought you of all people would realize I’m not particularly astute when it comes to whether someone is interested in me. Plus, I felt the same way as you; I didn’t want to risk you leaving if you didn’t feel the same way.”

Lynn swayed and leaned into him. “I guess I am a dummy. Well, apparently I’m yours now anyway. So, we don’t have to worry about either of us leaving now. Are you going to play along with all this?”

“You mean will I sleep with the other women?” Lynn nodded. “Certainly not, Heather, and probably not Melinda. I don’t know about the others. Depends on how they act. That bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“Of course it does, but if anyone deserves a harem of **** girls, I think you do. Plus, I can’t help but think about how to make each one willing serve you. So, let me know if you want help pushing them in a particular direction.”

“You don’t have to do that, but I’ll keep you informed.”

“Zach, I actually do now. I don’t have a choice.”

Uncertain what to say, Zach just let out a low “Hmmmm.” When they finished their beers, Zach went to change. He heard Lynn in the bathroom when he came back out and slid into bed, leaving plenty of room between himself and Piper. Lynn turned off the lights and joined him in bed. She didn’t hesitate to press her back up against him, and he wrapped an arm around her, both drifting off to sleep after a long day.