What the Doctor Ordered

Round Two. Twenty Contestants Remain. Appearance Fee: $4,500.

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Kristina’s bed was too soft.

Nothing about the bedroom the production staff had set up for her felt right. There was too much opulence. Too much marble for her taste, and why the hell was there a big screen TV that extended out from the foot of her bed? Who needed this?!

The bathroom was easily the largest she’d ever seen. The shower was four times bigger than the one she normally had and – oh. Oh god the water pressure was perfect.

A nice hot shower with perfect water pressure. Now that was a way to start the day. She was halfway through lathering herself up with soap when a gentle knock rapped at the bathroom door.

“Kristina?” Diane’s voice rang out. The door inched slightly open, only for Diane to immediately fall flat onto the floor, her face landing on a clipboard. “I’m here to review your schedule for the day,” she muttered into the board.

Kristina rolled her eyes. There wouldn’t be many moments of peace until this was done. “Fire away.”

“You’ll start to go on some one-on-one dates over the next two days.” Diane picked herself back up. “We’ve picked the first set randomly. Kyle’s scheduled to take you horseback riding though the countryside, then Spike will take you to a private concert where his band will play for you. Finally, Craig has two box seats for a show.”

“Does Evan have any idea how to ride horseback,” asked Kristina.

“I… believe they’ve brought someone to bring him up to speed,” Diane admitted.

Then Evan’s not long for this world – or this game, Kristina thought to herself. Being a rancher’s daughter meant you knew your way around a horse. “Craig is that nervous wreck of a doctor, right? Please tell me he didn’t pick an opera.”

Diane flipped through her clipboard. “He selected You Can’t Take It With You.”

That caught Kristina by surprise. That was one of her favorite shows. “How did he know to pick that?”

“He asked me what I thought you’d enjoy and I told him,” said Diane with a smile. “He’s actually a nice guy once you get to know him.”

Kristina guessed that she had to find some guys who might be here for the right reason. Unlike some people she could name.

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Jules sneezed in the middle of Craig explaining his plan to go on a date during lunch.

“Gesundheit.”

“Thanks,” sniffed Jules. The bachelors had started sorting themselves off into their own cliques, with Ryan and Warren joining them. Warren had turned out to be a pretty cool guy when he wasn’t being spurred on by a fellow meathead. Jules almost felt a twinge of regret he’d left him to the wolves against Hans.

Almost. It was just a game.

Warren slapped Craig on the back, nearly making him bug out. “How’d you know which play to take her to?”

“I asked her assistant, Diane.” Craig smiled. “She’s the sweetest gal I’ve met. I asked her if she knew whether Kristina liked any of the shows being played, and she told me one of them was Kristina’s favorite!”

Jules had to admit that Craig had some game. Doing his research, paying attention to what the girl liked… maybe he was right about his getting past the first impression. If Craig could survive the one-on-one date, he could make a deep run.

Good for him. Not so much for Jules.

Worse for Jules, it seemed that trifecta of jerks Christian had assembled with Parker and Zach had attracted a new member – Garret. Garret was always wearing shades and a suit, like he was some kind of secret agent. Maybe he was with the Department of Douchebaggery.

As the lunch lingered on, Jules noticed there was one bachelor who was sitting by himself. Tyrone, the… best friend? Ex-boyfriend? Jules wasn’t sure of what his deal was. What he was sure of was that he wasn’t making any friends out here.

“Hey guys?” Jules brought Tyrone to their attention. “Might be a good idea to bring him in from the cold. Odds are good he knows some stuff – and it would be a dumb idea for his personal life if he was here for the money.”

Ryan hemmed and hawed over it. “If you think it’s a good idea.”

Jules got up from his table and made his way over to the only table with one guy sitting at it. He wasn’t sure how to start a conversation with him. ‘Hey, so, did you two hook up at some point?’ ‘What’s the deal with you and Kristina?’ ‘Is a hot dog a sandwich?’

He finally got to the table. “Tyrone, right?”

Tyrone waved his hand. “Piss off.”

“Right then, good talk.” Maybe he’d try again later.

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Kristina kept checking her watch.

She’d been watching Spike’s band play for the better part of an hour in front of a live audience. He was pouring his heart out on stage, rocking his mohawk back and forth with the beat.

Was it weird that they’d rented out an entire theater for a band no one had heard of? Yes. Was she convinced they’d only show twenty seconds of this with judiciously chosen camera angles? Also yes.

As the audience applauded the finale of the band’s set, Kristina turned to Diane. “He’s in love with something and I don’t think it’s me.”

Diane agreed more politely. “He has his passions.”

When the two were finally freed from their concert, Kristina took a deep sigh. She was already very tired from these one-on-one dates. Kyle’s horseback riding date led them to a romantic picnic in the woods, only Kyle couldn’t sit down because he was horribly saddle sore.

Amateur.

Then this concert which, alright, punk rock wasn’t her favorite music genre. But when your date shows more raw interest in his work than you, the relationship isn’t going to last. At least neither of the men had tried making out with her. But she knew that wasn’t going to last.

She didn’t remember getting into the limo and being driven away. All she wanted to do was go back to the mansion and – oh. Diane was shoving an energy drink in her hand and telling her she needed to perk up for one more date.

Kristina only remembered the date was for Craig when she saw him opening the limo door for her and carrying a bouquet of flowers.

“G-Good evening,” Craig smiled. He handed Kristina his bouquet after she got out. “You look beautiful.”

Maybe it was the energy drink kicking in. Or it was seeing that Craig was complimenting her sleeveless dress that exposed her thick arms. She thought she looked like a tube of meat squeezed into a small dress.

But Craig didn’t mind. He took Kristina’s hand and gently led her into the theater.

And that turned into the best one-on-one date she’d had yet. It wasn’t hard – the man took Kristina to her favorite play performed by a great cast. By the intermission her sides ached from laughing so much. It seemed like Craig was having a great time too.

During intermission, she had an epiphany. This wasn’t just the best date she’d had while on this show. This was the best one she’d had in years. When was the last time a man took her to do something she wanted to do?

The damning thing was that the one responsible was this guy! Craig was making a better impression than the rest of these clowns and he’d been a nervous wreck when they first met! Craig! The flop sweat guy!

The second act was as uproarious as the first. But one other thing was grabbing her attention. She didn’t look like the only one who was enjoying Craig’s company. Diane was making the occasional eye at him.

As the cast took their final bow, Kristina wasn’t sure she had any feelings for Craig. But she was willing to give him some runway to see if he took off. And if it didn’t work, she knew someone’s number to give him.