Starlight Key - Scene 13 Starlight Key (Aurora)

“Mingle.” Aurora spoke softly to herself. “Such a simple concept.”

Yet it still had her feeling more nervous than anything.  As she rounded the hedge she was back in the garden looking at seven bewildered men standing on a brick patio surrounded by twinkle light adorned foliage.

“Hi.” She waved like a dork.

They all smiled in return.

She breathed out her nerves and walked into the fray.

“Hey, would you guys mind if we stopped the one on one stuff for the night? I’m starting to feel a bit brain zapped and I figure we’ll have all the time in the world really to get to know one another, given we’re living together.” She felt a little green again at the thought.

“Yeah, Big Brother meets the Bachelorette, right?” Aiden smirked.

She swallowed hard hoping it really wouldn’t look like that when it was all said and done.

“Tell you what…” She looked over her shoulder at a large red sectional. “Let’s all go sit over there together, and you all talk. I’ll listen and when I’m not feeling quite so overwhelmed…”

“One step at a time, sweetheart.” Keiren took her hand and started leading her to the sofa.

The others all followed and in the end, she was seated between Kieren and Aiden, with Romeo on the ottoman in front of her and the other men spread out on either side. There were gardenia bushes behind them and the scent was heavenly.

She looked over her right shoulder and caught Mal’s gaze. It comforted her. Like she could go on, just because she knew he was there.

She looked back at the other men and a ridiculous giggle bubbled out from her nerves.

“This is trickier than it looks.”

She shrugged, hoping at least one or two would understand.

“Aurora.” Romeo held out his hand to hers and looked around at the other men. “I think it’s safe to speak for everyone when I tell you we’re all here for you. Whatever you need, whether that be time alone with one of us, or with yourself, you let us know.”

He looked again at the other men.

“Let’s make a pact now, each of us promises to respect and protect Aurora above our own feelings, above this production, above each other.”

“Knights of valor.” Mal chimed in.

“A little over the top, but sure.” Romeo spoke again. “I get this is all going to be captured on film and in a few months we may not get to walk down the street again without people giving us weird looks, but we aren’t here for that, we’re here to find love. Each of us chosen for whatever reasons, I know what the screening process was, I feel confident to say there isn’t one man that made it through that has any agenda other than Aurora. Am I right?”

Again he looked to the other men.

She looked at him, her hero. He was wrangling the men to help her handle all of this.

The other men agreed with him and he asked again… “Aurora’s needs first, yes?”

Several of them chimed back at him, “Aurora’s needs first.” Others simply nodded.

He leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his knees and holding her hands.

“This is a surreal experience for us all, but together, we’ll get through it and hopefully…” He shrugged one shoulder. “Well, you know.”

Happily ever after.

“Yeah. I know.”

It was a gallant offer and idea, but she wondered how long this current comradery would actually last. It’s not like she hadn’t watched her share of reality dating shows, okay,

more than her share. That aside, they always seemed to get ugly at some point, even those with the best of intentions. There just were no guarantees. She could only handle all this one moment at a time and try to remember to have fun with it.

Camera Confessions ~ Romeo

“No, I absolutely meant what I said. Look, I’m the middle kid of a single mom who raised us right. Yeah, I want the girl, same as the rest of us, but more, I want the girl to feel safe, comfortable… if she’s all stressed all the time, we all lose. She has to be able to feel safe with us so she can open up and get to know who she really clicks with and who she doesn’t. There’s no elimination tonight, but there is one soon and if I get sent home, I want it to be with no regrets and no missed opportunities. So whatever I have to do to facilitate that, I will. Just makes good sense all the way around.”

They spent the next little while talking about careers. She found out Kai was a Washington D.C. lawyer. Reggie was a programmer from Silicon Valley, while Rhys was a firefighter from San Diego, and Kieren a fisherman from Maryland. Romeo was a hairstylist of all things, in Los Angeles, Aiden a musician who now lived in Vegas and Mal… well he had never been entirely forthcoming, so she tagged him as some sort of spy. At least until she knew otherwise. He was quiet, she wondered if that was his natural disposition, or if it was a by-product of the weird environment.

Each of the men showed more than genuine interest in her career to the point it became laughable. No man wants to sit and discuss the difference in fabric thread count, but these seven did. It was a tad bit creepy, but an equal amount endearing.

Camera Confessions ~ Reggie

“My mom and my sister signed me up for this. I think they were trying to make a point about my lifestyle being too solitary. They just don’t understand that I’m happy the way I am, but I went along with it to make them feel better. None of us thought I’d actually make it here though. I mean come on, I’m not your typical reality show hunk by a long shot. Still, here I am. Honestly, until I actually saw Aurora, I thought I was being set up. You know, like those dating shows where they try and make a point by having all the guys be geeks or something?

Now I’m thinking, who knows, this could be fate, kismet… Aurora could actually be the great love of my life.” He tugs his bow tie. “If I can only get over my nerves enough to actually talk to her. I’m not an idiot, I know I’m going to have to push my way in… I just have no idea how I’m going to do that yet.”

 The next she knew, they were all sprawled out on the patio, her in her gown, the men in tuxes, all playing Jenga! The bricks weren’t comfortable by a long shot, but she was having more and more fun as the night went on.

When the blocks all fell, she laughed as Aiden and Romeo trash talked one another in friendly fashion. She wasn’t used to being in a group of guys, but it wasn’t as bad as she feared.

Later, Reggie regaled them all with a very animated ghost story and when he finished, he somehow managed to pull her away to himself for a few moments and as they walked away from the group who were all arguing the finer parts of his story, she felt happy for him that he’d found a way in.

“You are a very good story teller.” She smiled at him, honestly impressed.

He shrugged and she thought she saw a faint trace of a blush across his cheeks.

“I’m a gamer. I like the ones where you have to make up character backgrounds and big stories to play. Comes naturally I guess.”

They walked a little further away from the rest of the guys who seemed entirely clueless that she left.

“I think that’s really cool. Do you program games as well?”

“I’ve done a few, but it’s not my day job.” He tugged at his ear and smiled shyly. “That’s a lot less interesting. Just programming really, all day coding. Nothing to really talk about.”

She felt very comfortable with Reggie, maybe because he was the only one of them who didn’t seem to be trying to get her to like him.

“You must be a genius. I’ve had to code a few things, for websites mostly, I end up wanting to bang my head against the keyboard. It’s not pretty.” She laughed softly as they traversed the grassy path back towards the pond she’d been to earlier with Aiden. Her heels were sinking into the soft soil with every step so she tried to compensate by walking  more on her toes.

“I’d bet that anything you did would be pretty.” He spoke honestly.

Sudden shyness crept up on her and she looked away, but not before she made eye contact with him and hoped her gaze expressed gratitude for the lovely compliment.

He was sweet, and shy, and not playing her for anything. That felt really, really good. He was cute too. His hair was swept back off his face in a rather severe manner, but his eyes were kind and his smile charming. She could see herself falling for him if given the time.

“Hey, Aurora, we need you guys back here. Time to wrap up.” Jules shouted from the garden behind them.

“Really?” Reggie huffed.

Aurora smiled, knowing he was disappointed.

She put her hand against his cheek and placed a soft, quick kiss on his lips.

“We’ll have more time together later. Thank you for this though.”

“Um well, yes, thank you. Uh, you’re welcome! Yes. Right.” He cleared his throat and placed his hand in the small of her back to lead her towards the garden they came from.

 She had actually started to forget the entire production when Jules stepped in. It was good to think there would come a time when she’d relax enough to just be herself.

“Okay everyone, you all did good!” Jules was saying as they re-entered the garden and everyone applauded, which seemed a bit silly, but she went along with it and joined in.

“Now I need you all on the side lawn where we’re going to take some publicity photos.”

It was strange to see Jules in such a power position. For the last few months all she’d seen Jules as was her friend. It was a lot of pizza dinners in sweats to be honest. It was kind of fun to watch her in action. It was a totally different side.

The photo shoot turned out to be more of an ordeal than she ever would have thought. Who knew it was so hard to stand there and smile? It seemed every photo taken, someone blinked, or sneezed, or… started talking with hand puppets.

Long story.

They blew off steam from time to time by making faces, or doing things to aggravate one another. It was quite sixth grade class picture all over again, but they made her laugh and that made the entire evening more than simply bearable, it was fun.

After the photos were taken, the camera crew wrapped up, all but the one who was on duty for the overnight, Gabbie and Jules left too and it was just her and the guys… and all the embedded cameras and mics. It would never really be just her and the guys. Something it would do her well to remember. There’d been a few times over the evening where she had relaxed enough to almost forget, but when you have cameras on you twenty-four-seven, it’s not wise to forget.

They changed clothes into sweats, swimsuits, jeans and shorts and hung out on the back patio where there was an outdoor kitchen and beyond that a lawn filled with water games, a trampoline and even two golf practice areas. The production team was clearly trying to give them as many activities as they could to keep them engaged, Which was a good thing because the truth of the situation was that while she was off on dates, a lot of the guys would be sitting here killing time. It seemed unfair, but she had to remember what they all signed on for.

Her favorite thing though was the old fashioned photo booth sitting on the back patio. Something about the idea just appealed to her and she decided to make it a nightly thing, maybe after dinner, she’d invite one of the guys for pictures.

Yeah, it was kinda goofy, but then, so was she.

Camera Confessions ~ Aurora

I mostly watched. There seemed to be an easy friendship start to form between the men. Of course they have been together longer, but I’m pleased about that. I really spent most of the night, after the cameras left, quietly observing. A couple of the guys asked me to take a walk or something, but I said no. I’d pretty much had enough if I’m honest. I know I have to spend more one on one time with them. I have to get to know them, but baby steps, I’ll get there. I hope. I mean, I’ll have to just make it up as I go along. There are no rules, no “norms” for something like this. We’re all going to have to make it up as we go along.”

She had been silently hoping someone would mention the sleeping arrangements so she wouldn’t have to, but it was getting to the point where she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Some of the guys, Mal, Kai and Aiden were sitting around a patio fire, roasting marshmallows. Rhys and Reggie were playing a lawn game where you throw a wooden stick across at wooden pieces trying to knock the other player’s pieces over, but she had to get some sleep. She just wasn’t sure how to broach the subject and her stomach retied in knots.

“Um guys.”

Her voice cracked as she spoke and every one of the guys turned to look at her. It seemed to have gotten surreally quiet and she half wondered what on earth they could have thought she’d say that would be so important as to warrant this.

She rubbed the back of her neck and couldn’t quite make eye contact with anyone.

“I was thinking that I might go to bed. I’m wiped out.”

A small chatter began amongst the men.

“I’ll just take one of the beds. I mean, I’m assuming we’ll all stick to the same bed each night at least, right?

“Honey, take whatever  bed you’re comfortable with, we’ll fight it out from there.” Kieren spoke up.

Taking charge seemed to come naturally to him, but she noticed Romeo in particular seemed unhappy with that.

“Okay, then. It was good meeting you all, night.” She gave then a formal wave and turned to grab her stuff from the dresser she’d chosen earlier. There was one half-bath on the main level of the barn, enough to change and take care of any evening business. She dressed in shorts and a tank top, keeping the sleeping ensemble simple and covering all necessary parts. She then made a dash for the second bed from the far end although couldn’t have said why. It just seemed like a good spot. She slid beneath a thick quilt and super soft sheets that must have been at least eight hundred thread count, and pulled the covers up over her head. She’d let the men fight the rest out having no clue how this would actually work.

At least she didn’t feel in it alone. The men were somewhat on her side, even if she did think most were on their own side first. She also had Gabbie and Jules and the crew.

She could feel the tension drain from her body as she breathed deep and let the warmth bathe her into a relaxed state. As she fell asleep, listening to the chatter of male voices, she realized just what she’d signed on for, but it wasn’t that sickening feeling she’d had all night that got her… it was excitement.

* * * *

“You certainly put on a good show of things.” Romeo spoke directly to Kieren in a tone that Aiden recognized and made him take notice.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kieren answered back less than concerned.

They stood on the back patio in the outdoor kitchen. Aiden had noticed tensions between Kieren and Romeo a few times over the course of the night. He imagined Romeo had been waiting for just this moment when Aurora had gone to bed so he could unleash on him.

“I mean you’re so responsive to her, so casually caring. Looking out for her with your honeys and sweethearts, but something about you doesn’t add up for me and I’ll be watching.”

Aiden noticed that the camera was taking in the entire confrontation and he half wondered if Romeo were doing this on purpose to make certain he became a character to watch so that he’d get more than his fifteen minutes.

“Watch all you want hairdresser, you’ve got nothing on me.” Kieren raised both his hands in surrender and walked away.

Aiden viewed the other guys. From his place by the small fire, Mal had noticed the interaction, as had Kai, but Rhys and Reg were too far away to really hear what was going on.

He wasn’t sure yet what his role to play in all this would be, but he was an observant man by nature and found it to be a useful technique when dealing with groups of people especially. He would use his easy going rocker persona for the most part, but if Aurora triggered his deeper personality, he wasn’t going to hide it from her.

For now though, there were some formalities to get out of the way.

“Hey Romeo, you okay, man?” He sat down beside Romeo at a long wooden table meant for them to have communal meals at.

Alongside a brick wall behind them there was a long counter space, a sink and a wood burning pizza oven. He imagined the fridge to the side was fully stocked, though he hadn’t checked. The bar on the opposite side of the patio was very clearly stocked and if they stocked the bar and not the fridge… well that would be really fucked up.

“I don’t like that guy.” Romeo’s jaw was taut and he avoided eye contact by staring at his hands resting on the wood table.

“Yeah, I think he got that. So what are the odds we’d each know someone here, right?” He slapped Romeo on the back, trying to shift the subject and hoping he’d have a certain level of previously earned trust working for him here.

For the first time Romeo turned his head to look at him.

“Yeah, what are the odds? This isn’t really your scene, Aiden, or have you mellowed since last I saw you?”

Aiden gave Romeo a half smile and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t mellow.”

Romeo got up and stood over him.

He chose to stay seated giving Romeo the illusion of dominance he clearly wanted. He purposefully set his gaze on the small swarm of gnats flying around the light hanging over the table and forced a blank look on his face, not giving away any emotion.

“Look, I have no arguments with you, but that guy—” Romeo pointed in the direction Kieren had gone. “—had better stay the fuck off my radar and if he messes with Aurora, so help me, no holds barred there.”

He walked away.

“I guess then we all know where you stand.” Aiden spoke under his breath and noticed the camera zoom in on him.

He hadn’t expected to enjoy the intermix of men as much as he was. Seeing the alpha dogs come out, watching the betas struggle. He was getting a taste for a whole different game, one he never expected, but would enjoy thoroughly… provided Aurora would allow it.

He considered the implications as he watched a stray cat pounce on a small bug over by the rose hedge.

“I’m going to turn in.” Mal spoke as he walked passed.

Aiden got a weird chill.

“Sleep good.” He spoke without any real connection as his mind was still on Aurora.

“It’s going to be a long eight weeks, but so long as everyone respects her free will and her choices…”

Aiden looked up at Mal wondering if there was some threat in his words and if Mal had been reading his mind.

“I’m all about free will, man.”

It was true. He just also knew most people didn’t know why they were making the choices they were and when enlightened, they often made different choices.

He intended to make sure Aurora’s eyes were wide open to what her choices were because after tonight, he wanted to play, and Aurora was his only ticket in to this particular game.