course while I was tossed out and chastised?
I watch her as we walk, and realize she’s ugly. And by that, I mean she’s one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen. The kind whose body, face, and bearing make the rest of us feel woefully inadequate. And she’d be obviously stunning if she just sat in place, conversed, smiled and nodded. But Kylie sneers, the moment she opens her mouth. Rancor fills her model’s eyes when cast at anyone beyond her own reflection. Even when she looks at Ivy, who seems to be sliding into place as her BFF, I see competition. Kylie is one of those people who can’t relax and be . She’s always looking to be best . The zero-sum written all over her sculpted body turns her into a troll, though I’ve seen the men salivating to gobble her up nonetheless.
“Nobody knows what to think of you,” Kylie says. “You either think you’re too good for the rest of us, or you realize you’re out of your league and are covering up how obvious it is. You’re either an excellent actor, or that Poor Jane way you slump around is real. Either way, you’re going to ruin things here. Trevor won’t say, but I have ways of asking without asking. And I know you bother him, the way you sit there and judge.”
“I’m not judging anyone.”
“Don’t bullshit me.” She sort of puffs up, and I can tell she’s trying to be the bigger woman so she can try again. “You can’t just be here. They’ll kick you out. You need an ally if you want the money.”
I look at Erin. I think of Jessica, with whom I’ve already made a deal remarkably similar to Kylie’s proposal. I won’t do what it will take to make runner-up, but I’ll lie on the tracks until that first elimination, no problem.
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
Kylie’s manner snaps. “You think you’re keeping your secret. But you’re not.”
I want to say, Nobody can prove anything, but that’s just playing into this. So I shrug and say nothing.
When we enter the new room, I see the exact same setup I saw on the control room monitors: stacks of cards facedown, placards, sheets of paper and pencils. There’s an iPad on one of the tables, and Logan moves to retrieve it. He picks it up and starts reciting instructions as if we’re about to take a test.
Trevor is in the front. I saw him on the monitor, but what I didn’t see was the rather obvious erection tenting his pants. I think back to what Daniel said, about how the first half of this experiment was pure and how the second was bound, by force of the people in it, to degrade almost immediately.
Trevor is rock hard. His face is flushed. If I had to guess, he spent the last session exactly the same way the girls in this group did: frustrated, awaiting the inevitable.
All you need to understand is that the true competition is about to begin. Not because of anything we’re doing, but because of what the girls probably will.
I look around. The atmosphere in here is charged enough to burn me. Subtle shifts of bodies. Hair being touched and primped. Legs being crossed and uncrossed, as if uncomfortable. The men are acting professional, but the signs are on them. The name of this game isn’t waiting or testing. It’s resistance. Who can hold out. Who can make the other flinch.
It’s about foreplay. And restraint. And lack thereof.
Strange attributes for Trevor Stone to be seeking in a wife, it seems to me.
Kylie sits next to Trevor.
She puts her hand on his leg while Tony speaks to the group. She moves her hand to his bulge, but Trevor doesn’t react. Except down below as Kylie subtly brushes her hand back and forth. Light and casual, like she doesn’t know what she’s touching.
But Trevor still doesn’t acknowledge her.
What kind of competition is this? Is it really to find the biggest whore? Or is there something else happening?
Everyone is looking at everyone else. Daniel was right. The men are engaged in a
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