It's not the moonlight that sets me off

The sun was just starting to set as Nick, Amelia, and Sylvia returned to the hotel. The trio had spent a long day out together, and while Nick wasn’t sure if he’d managed to give both women the experience they deserved, he didn’t hear any complaining, either.

Just the opposite, in fact.

“Oh, Daddy, that was such a wonderful date!” Sylvia gushed. Nick thought he saw actual stars sparkling in her eyes. “I can’t wait for when we go out for real, on our night together! You know, ever since the first round, where all the girls were arranging their perfect dates with you, I wished that I was able to do the same…”

She let out a wistful sigh as she imagined what that could have been like.

Nick just smiled. “Well, Sylvia, it won’t be exactly the same, but your day is coming up soon,” he pointed out. “And I do have a promise to keep about making sure it’s the best date possible for you. So even if you won’t get to design it yourself, it should still be a lot of fun.”

He hoped, anyway. But if today had showed him anything it was how underequipped he was at understanding Sylvia’s needs and accommodating them. He needed to get to know her better if he wanted to come up with a great date for her.

“I hope today was helpful for you, Nicholas,” Amelia said, looking at him with eyes that glimmered with cold kindness. “It may have been heavy-handed, but I believe that it was necessary.”

Nick could see how Amelia could come to that conclusion. And while he wasn’t thrilled about the pressure she’d placed on him with her tests, he appreciated the new perspective she’d helped him arrive at. He did need to do better at being attentive to the needs of the women he was with, and try to make things better for everyone, there was no denying that.

Amelia’s methods may have been harsh, but they still helped him arrive at the right conclusion, and for that he could be grateful.

As happy as he was about this date, even if it wasn’t really a date, it had to come to an end. So when they made it to the lounge, it was time for them to go their separate ways. Amelia would be off with Nick to the Master’s Suite, while Sylvia would head back to her room.

“Goodbye, Daddy,” Sylvia said with a smile, giving him a tiny wave with just her fingers. “And goodbye, Amelia,” she said, giving the other woman a beaming grin of her own.

Amelia returned the smile in her own way, and nodded. “See you tomorrow,” she said brusquely, which Sylvia thankfully didn’t take as any form of rejection. She nodded and skipped off to her room, leaving Nick and his stepmother to go up to the Master’s Suite together.

Tonight was gonna be a long night, and Nick wasn’t sure if he was looking forward to it or not.

Sylvia was definitely looking forward to tomorrow, though. She had a skip in her step as she entered her room, and looked around to see that Gina was nowhere to be found. How odd! She’s been gone all day! …Then again, it’s not like I’ve been around either, so maybe I’m overthinking it?

One of the many things Sylvia missed about being the host was her ability to keep tabs on everybody. She always felt better when she knew where other people were and what they were doing, but now that Dakota was in charge, that power, like all the others, had been stripped from her. It had taken some getting used to, accepting that she had no ability to monitor the people she was interested in, but part of being a person now was respecting the privacy of those around her.

Even if that didn’t help her insecurity in the slightest.

She decided that it wasn’t worth bothering about. Gina would be back tonight- probably coming in drunk as hell and a total mess, and slumping into bed, waking up Sylvia when she was just drifting off to a nice rest.

The girl had a bit of a reputation.

So expecting that wholeheartedly, Sylvia changed out of her date clothes and into the skimpy negligee she wore to bed (she didn’t have a lot of clothes to choose from, sadly) and studied her bathing suite closely.

Was this the right one? She wondered as she looked over it. I know I couldn’t pick a more modest one due to my transformation, but I’m not sure now if this was really the right style. Maybe?

The door opening made her jump. She dropped the swimsuit on the bed and whirled around, her eyes wide.

Then she smiled. “Oh! Gina! You’re back! Hey!” She skipped over to her roommate and then stopped herself. “…Wait, why are you dripping wet?”

Gina flinched. She pulled her dripping bangs back from her forehead and sighed. “Oh, uh… don’t… don’t worry about it,” she muttered, averting her eyes. She looked over at the swimsuit lying on the bed. “…Oh, you… that’s right.”

“Huh?” It took Sylvia a second to process what Gina was looking at. “…Oh! This. Yeah, Daddy took Amelia and me out shopping today,” she explained. “We bought some bathing suits- Amelia’s treat!” She hummed cheerfully to herself, excitedly imagining the lovely day she planned to have at the beach tomorrow.

Gina… was not as excited.

“Yeah, well… it’s a beach party, so it’s bound to be fun, right?” Gina **** a smile to her face and shrugged, shedding off her soaked jacket and heading for the bathroom.

Sylvia didn’t like the sound of that. Gina sounded off somehow.

She followed her into the bathroom to get to the bottom of the situation.

“Hey!” Gina scowled at the blonde, pulling her shirt back on. “A little privacy, please? I’m trying to take a shower here!”

“Sorry!” Sylvia hastily apologized. “It’s just… I’m a little worried, Gina. Are you okay? You seem kinda… I don’t know.”

Gina scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she spat. “Just a little miffed. I know that your time running things got you used to disrespecting the privacy of other people, but I’d really appreciate it if you just gave me some time in the bathroom, okay?”

Sylvia could tell there was more to it than that, but Gina’s words had struck a sore spot with her, and sapped away her ability to argue with the punk girl. With a **** nod she left Gina to take a shower, and went back to the bedroom.

Suddenly, fawning over the swimsuit didn’t feel as nice anymore.

A few minutes later Gina came out of the bathroom. She was just as wet as before, but her expression was contrite.

“…I’m sorry.” Gina apologized immediately when she saw Sylvia’s glum expression. The blonde looked up at her with concerned eyes.

“I’m just worried,” Sylvia said quietly. “Gina, are you sure you’re okay? Did I do something? Are you mad at me?”

“Hey, no, come on,” Gina groaned. “I’m not mad at you, I was just a little upset earlier, that’s all!” She assured the other girl, waving her hands. “Trust me, Sylvia, it’s fine. You’re fine.”

But Sylvia didn’t feel fine. She just looked down at her knees and sighed.

Gina winced. This was exactly what she didn’t want to have happen.

“…Okay, you’re right,” she admitted, coming over and sitting next to Sylvia on the bed. “I was in a really bad mood earlier.”

“Was it… my fault?” Sylvia asked, wincing preemptively in anticipation of whatever Gina would have to say.

But Gina just looked at her in shock.

“What?! Your fault? Of course not!” She said, shaking her head. “Why would it be your fault? We haven’t spoken to each other all day!”

Sylvia just shrugged. “I don’t know… I feel like, when people are mad around me, it’s usually because I did something, you know?”

Being a former host meant that Sylvia was the target of a lot of deserved ire and frustration. She could say that it didn’t bother her, but on some level it definitely did.

Gina sighed and slumped her shoulders. “…No, Sylvia, it’s not your fault,” she assured the former host. “This is a me thing.”

“…Oh.” Sylvia sat up a little straighter after hearing that and sighed in relief. “…Is it about your drinking, then? Is that it?”

Gina glared at her.

“…Okay, I guess not… um… well. Do you want to talk about it, then?” Sylvia wasn’t sure what she could possibly have to say on the matter that would resonate with the other girl, or how she could make Gina feel better, but if there was anything she could do, then she wanted to try.

Gina just smiled and laughed. “Ah, you’re quite nice, asking like that,” she chuckled, patting the other girl on the back. “Look, Sylvia, it’s like this, okay?”

Then her expression turned hard.

“…I’m not the sort of girl to talk about when stuff pisses me off. Get it?”

Sylvia winced. “I-I’m sorry… I just… I didn’t mean to… I mean… I just, I… I wouldn’t…”

She was at a total loss for words and just started fumbling around with no composure. It gave Gina pause for a moment.

When she saw the distressed look on the other girl’s face, she immediately felt terrible for being so hostile to the idea.

“Hey, wait, I mean… I… um…”

Her face fell and she looked away. A stabbing pain got her in the gut.

Guilt.

“…Fine,” she relented, hanging her head. “It’s not like it’s a big deal, anyway… but promise you won’t laugh?” She looked pleadingly at the other girl. “Please? Promise me…”

“What?! Of course I’m not going to laugh!” Sylvia was horrified at the notion. How could Gina think that way!? “If there’s anything bothering you, then I want to help! That’s what I’m here for, to help make you happy, my girl!”

It was Gina who laughed, at that point. “Help make me happy, huh? You’ve certainly got a funny way of showing that, my girl,” she said, shaking her head in amusement.

Sylvia’s cheeks reddened and she looked away. “W-well… I just… I… um…”

“Look, we’re cool, okay?” Gina said, giving the other girl a shrug. “I’m not that bothered. By any of this, really. I just thought… well, look. It’s not a big deal in my book! Just an annoying nuisance.”

She was stalling. Sylvia could feel it. But the last thing she wanted to do was rush Gina when the punk girl was finally opening up and confiding in her. That would just make everything infinitely worse. So she sat patiently and waited for Gina to work up the courage to say what she wanted to say.

“…I don’t know how to swim,” Gina finally managed to spit out. Her face burned with shame and she couldn’t even look Sylvia in the eye.

Sylvia just stared at her.

“…Huh?”

“I just said!” Gina said, her shame quickly turning to anger. “Didn’t you hear me?! I said I don’t know how to swim! What’s hard to understand about that!?”

“N-nothing!” Sylvia stammered, shaking her head frantically. “I just didn’t expect… well, for you to say that, that’s all!”

Telling Sylvia she didn’t know how to swim? What was Sylvia even supposed to do with that information?

…After all, that was something she was already quite aware of.

It wasn’t like Gina was some mystery. Sylvia used to be the host of the show! Dakota and the producers had **** her to go over every detail about the girls and their lives before the show to prepare her for her job. Gina not being able to swim was one of countless facts that she had memorized before setting this season into motion.

But she couldn’t exactly say that, now could she?

“…What? At a loss for words?” Gina sighed and shook her head. “It’s ridiculous, right? I mean, look at me! I’m this cool, badass punk girl, I’ve got tattoos and wild hair, and I don’t even know how to swim? It’s pathetic is what it is!”

“I don’t think it’s pathetic at all!” Sylvia said, shaking her head.

“Eh? …Yeah, sure, whatever,” Gina grunted, rolling her eyes. “Did you know? I’ve actually been taking lessons. From that siren chick, Serenity? That’s why I was wet earlier. I just came back from her helping me learn. But… I still suck. I’m just not good! And now, there’s this whole beach party coming up, and what, I’m supposed to buy a swimsuit or some shit?”

“You could always use the one I gave you before,” Sylvia cheerfully offered.

Gina stared at her, remembering the plain one piece that Sylvia had dressed her in for the impromptu swimsuit contest before the first challenge. It was the only one she had, and what she’d been wearing to practice with Serenity.

Under duress.

“…Yeah, I hated that swimsuit,” she replied dryly.

Sylvia winced. “Ow… I liked that style on you…”

“Look, you’re just not getting it,” Gina sighed, flopping back onto the bed. She stared up at the ceiling and shook her head, rubbing her wet hair into the mattress. “Going to a beach party, when I don’t even know how to swim… how lame, right? Half of me just wants to skip it… but at the same time, I want to hang out with everybody! I do! I just… I wish I knew how to swim, is all.”

Sylvia wasn’t always the most perceptive person around. But she could guess why Gina never learned how to swim.

Guilt, plain and simple.

She remembered the shy, modest little girl she’d met in the last challenge, the meek blonde who clung to Nick and went along with whatever her friends suggested.

The thought that the little girl from that time had transformed into the brash punk she roomed with had always seemed odd, but now, seeing Gina so **** like this… she finally recognized her a little.

Her heart went out to Gina, the poor girl.

“Gina… can I tell you a secret?” Sylvia reached out and placed her hand on Gina’s shoulder. The punk girl looked back at her and groaned.

“Ugh, if this is something about what you and Nick did today, to try and cheer me up, I’m really not in the mood,” she muttered. “Look dude, I get it, but it’s not a problem, okay? Just seeing you with that swimsuit, it didn’t exactly make me thrilled.”

“No, it’s not…” Sylvia sighed and shook her head. She pinched the bridge of her nose and wondered what she could say that would get through to the other girl.

“…I don’t know how to swim either.”

Gina’s eyes snapped open and she sprung up in bed. She looked at Sylvia in shock.

“Wait, what!?”

Sylvia shrugged and averted her eyes. “…I don’t know how to swim,” she repeated. “Look, I don’t know what you want me to say here! I was created by Dakota just a few years ago… or longer. It’s kind of hard to tell, you know? Because of how time works on this island. But the point is, you think that she created me knowing how to swim? Of course not.”

Now that she mentioned it, that didn’t sound like something Dakota would do at all.

“…I guess not,” Gina said, nodding.

“And it’s not like I ever saw the need to learn it myself, either, since I was the host of the whole island,” Sylvia continued. She fidgeted her hands, and it took Gina a second to realize that she was playing with an invisible cane, thinking back fondly to when she had all that power in her hands.

It was almost sad, until Gina remembered what exactly she’d done with that power.

“Sylvia…”

“I think it’s really cool that you’re learning how to swim, Gina,” Sylvia said, turning back to the punk girl and flashing her a big smile. “Maybe I could get Serenity to teach me! I never really thought about it before.”

“Well, maybe… so wait, you really don’t care? You’re going to the beach party, even though you don’t know how to swim?” Gina shook her head incredulously.

Sylvia had always been a rather shameless person, but doing something that brazen… Gina was honestly a little impressed.

“Of course I am!” Sylvia said. “Did you see how cute the swimsuit I bought was? …Well, Amelia bought it for me, but you know. I can’t wait to see Daddy’s reaction to it! I kept it from him for a reason while we were shopping,” she sniggered. “…It wasn’t the cutest one, but I couldn’t wear those darling one pieces with my transformation…”

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders exaggeratedly. “…Look, it’s a beach party! We’re gonna have a lot of fun, there’s gonna be food, and games, probably! We’re not all going to swim, I bet!”

Sylvia didn’t know any of this for a fact, of course. All the info she had about beach parties were captured from movies in the 80s and 90s that she’d managed to watch without Dakota’s knowledge.

But it sure made her feel good, thinking about things like that!

Gina held back a grin. “Well… you’re not wrong,” she agreed. “I guess it wouldn’t be that bad, going to the beach and just hanging out with people.”

Knowing that she wasn’t the only member of Nick’s harem who couldn’t swim made her feel a lot better.

“And don’t worry, I’m sure there are other people in the harem who don’t know how to swim!” Sylvia stated. She knew for a fact that there were, but after what Gina had said earlier, she didn’t want to violate their privacy. “So don’t worry, I’m sure we won’t be alone! Plus, I doubt Daddy is going to want to do much swimming either.”

“…Yeah, you’re right,” Gina agreed. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would spend the whole party splashing around in the waves.”

“Exactly,” Sylvia confirmed with a resolute nod. “And where Daddy goes, that’s where the women in his harem will be! They’ll all be showing off and competing for his attention! I’d be surprised if anyone went into the water at all!”

“Well… not Dani,” Gina said, and the two girls shared a laugh.

It felt nice, being able to laugh without the burden on her chest. Gina cracked a smile. “…Thanks, Sylvia. You know, you really helped me feel a lot better.”

“Happy to help!” Sylvia said, cracking a beaming smile. “Trust me, tomorrow’s going to be great! No one’s even going to be able to tell that we can’t swim, because we’ll be too busy looking awesome in our swimsuits!”

Gina winced. “Right… yeah, the swimsuits… you think there’s enough time for me to get a new one before the beach party?”

Sylvia’s eyes twinkled. “Actually… I have the perfect idea for that, my girl!”