Chapter 3 - Odd One Out

It was day three and Lynan was already nearing the end of his tether.

Yesterday had been exactly what Kosh had said, settling into the mansion and getting to know the people he would live with for the next few months.

Lynan was getting more depressed by the hour.

There was a creepy set of female twins that would just randomly finish each other’s sentences and tossed thinly veiled suggestions of a threesome with Yael around as though that might help convince him to pick them.

The pony had been sent back home but the chicken, who he learned was called Sato, was still around and their owner was rarely seen without it in tow.

It was surprisingly docile and a little bit cute… for a chicken.

There was the club manager that Lynan had been forced to listen to for an hour, ranting about his soon to be requited love, the good looking elegant man, the bubbly idol, a mechanic, an artist. A woman claiming to be a professional housewife even.

The list went on.

Only Lynan seemed to care less about appearance as they were all dressed to the nines in the hopes of impressing the Bachelor. But it was currently eight am and pre-coffee Lynan had already given up.

So, he stood alone in the kitchen in his pajamas with bed hair still intact while everyone buzzed around, eager to get a glimpse of Yael.

Liev was the only other calm one and he stood to the side of the kitchen in another stunning embroidered traditional robe, waiting for his pick up.

He seemed quietly smug over getting the first date and they would be out for the entire day, the date even going into the early evening.

Speculations ran wild on what would be happening.

Lynan had never actually seen the show before, not that it seemed to matter as they had already changed how it worked, and all their suggestions seemed so over the top.

Was the show really going to fork out so much money just for one date? How many were still to come?

They were called into a lounge area and everyone squashed together onto three couches.

Liev stayed on the outer edge and Lynan gratefully sunk into the couch beside him, legs pulled up in front of him and coffee nursed in his hands.

Kosh swept into the room with as much flourish as Lynan recalled from the first night although this time, he was dressed in a white suit.

Wasn’t it too early for such things?

Amused hazel brown eyes lingered on Lynan’s pyjama pants that were covered in little cartoon dinosaurs.

“Nice pajamas,” the man said as he smiled at him.

Lynan blushed slightly before mumbling his thanks and burying his face in his coffee.

Too early for this.

Thankfully, he was saved from further embarrassment as Kosh moved his attention to Liev.

“Now, today is the first solo date. Yael has picked out an excellent itinerary for the two of you. Are you excited Mr. Henrich?”

The man in question gave a small smile and tossed his hair back. “I am very much looking forward to it.”

Kosh nodded and grinned, opening his arms wide. “Now, I know the rest of you will be keen to know what is going on so I will introduce you to another part of this show. We are live streaming everything, as mentioned earlier, and this particular TV here is all set up so you may watch any of the camera channels from here.”

He held up a remote and flicked through the channels to demonstrate as he explained, “There is even a channel to go back and watch highlights from the day. These highlights will be picked out by our editing staff but also our viewers who tuned in during the day. These highlights will most likely be what makes it into the TV episodes that will be released weekly. Even more exciting is that the first group date will be tomorrow and for this first one, everyone is invited along!”

The room erupted into excited whispers but were quickly shushed by Kosh.

“Tomorrow’s theme is History. I’ll leave you to think over that one, but without further ado, I would like to bring in our Bachelor, Mr. Kalis!”

The excited whispers came back along with clapping as the man himself entered the room.

He was dressed as usual in a three-piece suit and tie, it was almost a shame. He would probably look totally hot in jeans.

There were a few snorted giggles next to him and even Liev swung around to give him an amused smile.

It took a moment for Lynan to realize he had spoken out loud and he tried to sink down and become one with the couch.

Sheesh! How embarrassing!

Thankfully he had spoken quietly enough that only those right beside him heard and then Liev rose to his feet after accepting Yael’s hand.

He had to admit, they made a truly striking pair together.

The man was slightly shorter with a slimmer stature, but they both had the same kind of elegant gracefulness and calm confidence. The glimpses he had of calculated cunning also suggested that Liev would not back down without a fight.

But that was a thought for a caffeinated Lynan later in the day.

Slowly, the rest of the people dispersed except for one or two that stayed to play with the TV. He watched disinterestedly until Taylor crowed with delight as Yael and Liev came on screen.

He seemed to be settling in to watch those two talk for the day and Lynan started in surprise as he watched them board a helicopter.

Maybe the dates really were all over the top.

The view from up there would surely be awesome from his camera lens.

When the bitchy narrative started, Lynan vacated the room with a roll of his eyes.

No way he was going to sit and listen to that.

Instead, he would work out how they did the food here because if he had as much time up his sleeve as he thought, then he was going to cook at least some of his own meals. The distraction would be very welcome.

After that, he might curl up with his handheld gaming console.

*****

What ended up happening was that he supervised the most chaotic lunch preparation for over ten people before getting dragged into a girl’s gossip session with cocktails in another lounge area.

He had been given the go ahead to cook for himself and put a list on the forum for any groceries he wanted the day before they were needed.

A surprising number of people requested to join in as he cooked, although some of the help was a little more enthusiastic than useful.

After averting more than one disaster- good thing he never wanted to be a chef as he couldn’t handle running a kitchen if it was anything like this- Lynan was cornered by Amulet who grabbed both his hands in hers.

“Please teach me how to cook, Lynan!”

So now, he had three ‘apprentices’ that apparently wanted to sharpen their ‘housewife skills’. He let the insinuation slide with a grimace.

If that wasn’t the worst thing, being pulled in for an impromptu selfie with Amulet and her new BFF Stelle was close.

It topped the list of Worst Things Ever when he later saw that he was tagged once again as #SleepingBeauty.

He was now certain he would never live that down.

But the cocktails were tasty and the four girls he had been adopted by were relatively nice.

Amulet was a little air headed but sweet and he appreciated Stelle’s snark. She wasn’t malicious, just vocal in her commentary.

Yui was another model, a little more arrogant and aloof than the others but she wasn’t too bitchy either. The last of their little group was Eve, the oddball chicken owner that was a little too blunt and quiet.

Unfortunately, their enjoyable late afternoon drinks were interrupted by a strangled screech.

They all froze, but they didn’t have to wait long before an explanation came.

“THAT SNAKE STOLE THE FIRST KISS!”

Ah.

“Somehow I doubt that was a first kiss for either of them.”

Giggles met Lynan’s dry words.

“Yeah, but he already stole the first rose. He’s just being greedy now,” Amulet said with a pout.

Stelle hummed thoughtfully as he strut back after running towards the scream earlier. “Technically, it IS a competition. He gets points for getting in quick but stealing a kiss means nothing at this point. I mean, isn’t this partially just an excuse for flashy dates and make out sessions? Besides, what are you screaming over a chaste kiss by the hand? We’ll have a good opportunity tomorrow to win a rose and snag a solo date. If none of us get it, then let’s get drunk and make our own fun!”

Well, there was always that.