The Playground - 7. Dinner Party Secrets

The clinking of cutlery and plates mixed with chatter and scraping of chairs against the floor as the remaining six contestants took their seats in the dining room for their morning meal. Even though not all of them were hungry, they decided to sit and have a meal together, knowing that every day their group was getting smaller.

“It feels so empty now that it’s only the six of us,” Tiffany was the first to state the obvious. “I miss all of them, even Gloria.”

“Even Gloria!” Marcus couldn’t help but laugh. “What did the poor girl ever do to you?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that! I just mean, even though we’ve only been together a day, I still miss her presence here.”

“I know,” the dancer nodded at her, sending her a comforting smile. “I miss her too.”

“What about you, Eric? Do you miss your nemesis?” Samson asked.

“Of course, man, I’m heartbroken!” the quarterback replied, feigning sadness. “What do I do now? There’s no point in competing anymore.”

“Well, if you want to give up and leave, we won’t hold it against you,” Troy gave him a cheeky grin.

“Yeah, you wish! Man wins one game and gets cocky!”

“Guess you’re rubbing off on me.”

“Who do you think is gonna be the next to leave?” Kelly asked as she looked around, causing a sudden silence all around the room.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one dared to be the first to speak.

“Oh, come on, like you weren’t all thinking about it,” the singer rolled her eyes. She looked in a particularly foul mood that morning, which didn’t go unnoticed by the others.

“Why don’t you go first then? Who do you think will leave next?” Marcus passed the ball back to Kelly.

“It could be anyone,” she shrugged dismissively.

“That is such a cop out!” it was Eric’s turn to roll his eyes. “So you ask the question and then you don’t even wanna answer?”

“Well, if nobody else wants to say it, why should I?”

“To be honest, I really think it could be any of us,” Samson reluctantly agreed with Kelly. “For one, we’ve all been pretty even so far. And also, we don’t even know what the games are gonna be today.”

“Looks like I came in just in time then!”

Nobody even noticed when Nicholas walked into the room, standing by the door.

“Nicky! Come to join us for breakfast?” Troy greeted the host, gesturing him over. “Come, we’ve got room.”

“I’m afraid not. But I did come to tell you what you’ll be doing today,” Nicholas replied. “Today, we’re throwing a special dinner party for you. I recommend dressing up. The dinner will be served at seven, here in this room, and that’s when the games will begin,” he finished his explanation mysteriously, leaving the contestants with even more questions than before.

“You’re not gonna tell us what we’ll be doing, are you?” Samson asked, already knowing the answer.

“No,” the host simply shook his head, but did not look even a little bit apologetic. “At least not yet. You’ll be informed in due time.”

“Oh, come on, Nicholas!” the singer pouted like a kid begging their parents to stay up ten more minutes past their bedtime. “You know, you can whisper it to me and I won’t tell anyone.”

The host approached the singer and leaned over, as if he was about to whisper into his ear. “Good luck!” he instead spoke out loud for everyone to hear.

“Ugh, just as I thought,” Samson grumbled, though he was clearly not really annoyed. “But I’m telling you now, there better not be a food fight if you’re asking us to dress up!”

With a small shrug, Nicholas turned around and started walking out of the room.

“Wait, is there going to be a food fight?!” Tiffany asked, her high-pitched voice reaching new levels.

“I can’t see the future, Tiffany. If you guys decide to start a food fight, that’s out of my hands,” the man replied before walking out, leaving the group alone.

“I bet it’s gonna be one of those murder mystery parties,” Marcus mused as he gazed into the distance, a hand on his chin.

“I’ll be the detective,” Kelly decided. “Or the murderer.”

“I’ll be the hot stableboy,” Eric said, looking around with a smirk.

“I’ll be the victim’s bereaved, yet suspicious husband,” Troy joined their fantasy, taking a napkin from the table and pretending to wipe his cheeks as he hid a sly smile.

“And I’ll be an exotic dancer who came to provide entertainment, but then discovered she’s actually the victim’s long-lost sister who had an affair with her own uncle,” Tiffany said, all excited.

“Umm, ok then,” Samson decided not to play their game as he pushed himself away from the table and stood up, having finished his meal.

The rest of the group followed soon after, as they went to get changed and enjoy the rest of the day before dinner.

It wasn’t long before the time for relaxation was over and the time to prepare for the dinner party had arrived. At half past six, Samson was in his bedroom, going through his wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear. Even though he knew he was going to be staying for a maximum of seven days, his inner fashionista did not allow him to leave his house without several outfits for every occasion. Now that he actually had a good excuse to go all out, he silently thanked himself for having enough foresight to bring so many clothes.

Deciding on a royal blue suit, a vest and a white shirt, he carefully put them on and looked himself over in the mirror. He smiled, satisfied with the look.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in!”

The door opened to reveal Troy, dressed in a tight, light grey suit, white shirt and a black leather belt. Samson eyed him up and down, clearly undressing him with his eyes. He had suddenly forgotten how to speak.

“I take it you approve,” the actor said.

“Oh!” the singer looked up, making eye contact. “I definitely do! Come on in,” he motioned the other man over, closing the door behind him.

“Just thought I’d drop by before the party. No one said we couldn’t go together, right?”

“You won’t hear me complain,” Samson said as he sidled over to the other man, giving him a teasing look. “So, we have a few minutes left. Whatever shall we do to pass the time?”

“I’ve got a few ideas,” Troy replied as he put his hands on the singer’s butt, pulling him in closer until their lips met in a heated kiss. It was quick and hungry this time, as they knew they didn’t have much time. Pushing Troy against the wall, Samson couldn’t resist pressing into him, feeling the actor’s hardness pressing against his own through the fabric of their pants. As much as they both wanted to tear each other’s clothes off and take it to the bed, there was no time for that.

“We better go,” Samson spoke sadly as he reluctantly leaned back, breaking the kiss.

“Ugh, I didn’t think you’d be the responsible one,” Troy replied, taking the opportunity to squeeze Samson’s butt once more as the singer opened the door and headed out of the room.

“Come on, let’s get this over with,” Samson grinned at the actor as they went down to the dining room.

The place was revamped for the occasion, with new drapes, ambient lighting and a smaller round table instead of the old rectangular one, lavishly set for six.

Marcus was already sitting at the table, wearing a burgundy tailored suit and a black shirt underneath. Eric stood near the window, his usual football jersey replaced with black dress pants and a grey button-down that seemed so tight it might as well have been painted onto his body. Tiffany was the last to appear, dazzling everyone in her sparkling emerald green dress.

“Ooh, everyone looks so nice,” the girl swooned as she eyed the other contestants. “We should do this more often!”

“We can dress up again in a few days when we celebrate my victory,” Eric said, his lips spreading into a grin when he heard Kelly scoff. He’d manage to push her buttons.

“You wish, darling,” she quickly shot back as she stood by the sofa, wearing a short black dress and matching heels. “Best I can offer you is the second place.”

Any further arguments were momentarily halted by the arrival of Nicholas Stone. Everyone turned to him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“Well, it looks like we’re all here, so we might as well begin,” he said as he held his papers in his hands, even though he barely ever looked at them. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your very own dinner party. You’re all looking charming, but of course, looks won’t be the only thing you need tonight. After all, this is The Playground, which means we’re here to play. Tonight, each of you will get your own secret mission to complete. You cannot reveal your mission to anyone else, or you’ll be disqualified. You will have until the end of the dinner to complete them. Whoever fails or is the last to succeed will be eliminated. If several people fail to do their missions, it’ll go down to the audience vote. Any questions?”

Since no one seemed to have anything to ask, the host turned to the dancer sitting at the table.

“Alright, then. Marcus, please go through that door to receive your mission.”

Curious, but cautious, the dancer stood up and went to the adjacent room where the crew had set up cameras around an armchair and a small coffee table. There were two black boxes on it, each with several pieces of paper. He sat down and eyed the boxes – it was clear what he was supposed to do.

“Which one am I supposed to draw from? Both?”

“Yes,” one of the crew members nodded.

Marcus first drew a paper from the left box, opening it to see a name written in bold, black letters: KELLY.

“Ugh, don’t tell me I have to kiss her or something,” he scrunched up his face at the thought. “There are some things even I won’t do.”

“No,” the woman behind the camera chuckled. “You’ll draw your mission from the other box.”

Having picked a paper from the second container, Marcus opened it up and read quietly: “Get your target to say the name of everyone at the table.”

“Ok,” he nodded. “Does that include her own name too?”

“No,” the woman shook her head. “Just the other five.”

“Alright. I assume everyone’s missions will be different?”

This time, the woman just shrugged, looking at him with a neutral expression.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes,” the dancer got up to leave. He would not be fooled so easily. “Is that it? Can I go back?”

After a nod from the crew member, he turned around and rejoined the others.

One by one, the rest of the contestants followed, drawing slips of paper until they were all assigned a mission to complete. Each of them then returned to the dining room with a mysterious smile on their face, eyes darting from one person to the next, as if that would help them figure out their rivals’ tasks. They took their seats at the table just as a pair of waiters entered the room, carrying the first course.

“What’s this?” Samson asked as he waited for the staff to uncover the trays and reveal the dishes. “Ooh, appetizers!”

The trays contained a variety of finger food in different shapes and colors.

“I hope there’s something vegan,” Tiffany said as she eyed the colorful pastries on the tray nearest to her.

Soon enough, everyone had found their food of choice, sampling whatever caught their fancy. However, the usual lively conversation that accompanied their every meal was nowhere to be found this time. Everyone seemed to be too preoccupied with staring down at their plates or glancing around to see what the others were doing.

Troy was the first to notice it, looking up and glaring at everyone. “I hope you’re not gonna be like this the whole evening. What, are you all scared to talk just because we have missions to do?”

“Yeah, Troy’s right,” Tiffany agreed. “We can’t stay quiet the whole time. Then we’re all gonna lose. We might as well have fun!”

The rest of the group nodded in agreement, some more reluctantly than others.

“I guess so much for our murder mystery, huh?” Eric spoke before stuffing a cheese ball in his mouth.

“Yeah. I kinda wanted to see Tiff play her slutty dancer role,” Samson replied.

“Hey, it’s exotic dancer!” the TV starlet corrected him. “You guys never said what you’d be,” she pointed at Samson and Marcus.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’d be the famous younger sibling who is annoyed he had to cancel a tour date to come to the family gathering,” the singer said.

“I think I’d be a great detective,” Marcus replied.

“I just don’t see you as a clever sleuth, no offense, Marcus,” Kelly shrugged at him.

“To be honest, I could be a detective too. I basically already have some experience in that role, I played one in a school play,” Samson said.

“Really? Who did you play? I can’t really picture you as Poirot,” Troy asked, teasing.

“No. It was…” the singer mumbled something barely audible.

“What?”

Eric, who sat on the other side of the singer, seemed to have heard him just fine. “Samson, Dora the Explorer does not count as a detective.”

“Fine,” Samson grumbled, ignoring the snickers around the table.

“Yeah, no,” Kelly dismissed the idea right away. “I already called dibs on the detective role.”

“Alright then, since you know best, what would you cast everyone as?” Marcus asked, setting up the bait.

“Hmm, let’s see. Troy would be the family doctor,” Kelly replied without hesitation. “Eric would be the wealthy distant relative. Samson would be the help. The maid or someone irrelevant. And Tiffany would be the comic relief character.”

“Wow, rude!” Tiffany glared daggers at her. “At least I have a sense of humor.”

Marcus beamed from his seat, knowing the singer would be easy to trick as soon as she got annoyed. Although he had no clue what exactly she was so pissed about, he did not care. All he needed was one more name - his own.

“And what about me? What role would you give me?”

“You? Umm, you’d be the lawyer. Every whodunit needs a lawyer, right?”

“Ok, I can live with that,” the dancer shrugged as he bit his lip in concentration. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as easy as he thought. But he still had time. He’d just have to be even more cunning.

When he noticed waiters coming in to bring the next course, Simon looked around, silently panicking. He was about to miss his perfect opportunity.

“But I wasn’t done with the appetizers!” he quickly protested, taking one of the trays closest to him as the staff came over to place bowls of soup on the table.

“Seriously, how many appetizers do you need?” Marcus asked, giving him a strange look. To him, Samson never looked like someone who ate a lot. But then again, he knew how much you need to eat to regain all the energy you spend on performing.

“Just a few more,” the singer said as he hastily picked the first few pieces of finger food he could get his hands on.

“I thought you hated spinach?” Tiffany asked as she saw him grab the little green pastries and put them on his plate.

“No, I don’t,” Samson shot a quick glare at the girl.

“But you told me the other da- ouch, why did you kick me?!”

“I bet his mission is to eat a bunch of those,” Eric pointed a finger as he had his a-ha moment.

“And is your mission to be annoying the whole evening?” the singer shot back. Now that all the attention was on him, he’d never be able to do his task. He bit his lip nervously, angry at having wasted such a good opportunity.

“No, that’s just how he usually is,” Kelly chimed in.

As the contestants were served hot cream soup, it didn’t take long for the focus to shift away from Samson. After all, he wasn’t the only suspect at the table – everyone was. And while Kelly and Marcus cautiously observed their rivals, Tiffany was desperately trying to keep the conversation going. She found her mission to be very difficult and needed to somehow start a very specific topic going if she had any hope of succeeding.

“I love how everyone is all dressed up. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to have a chance to wear this dress, but I packed it anyway,” she rambled on while she slowly ate her soup. “I see now you all had the same idea!”

“Of course, honey. There’s always an opportunity to dress us, you just have to find it,” Samson replied happily.

“Hmm,” Eric frowned at the TV star sitting to his right. “I bet her mission is to get us to talk about fashion brands.” There was a collective groan at the table.

“Eric,” Marcus cast an annoyed glare at the quarterback, “my mission is not to punch you in the face, but I’m gonna do it anyway.”

“Heh, I’d like to see you try,” the much bigger man replied, his chest shaking slightly as he chuckled. “Fine, talk about whatever you want. Guess I’m just not crazy about fashion like some of you.”

“Same,” Troy quickly agreed. “Give me my old pair of jeans and a tee, and I’m good.”

“Weren’t you the face of Armani last year,” Samson asked. He distinctly remembered the ads with the actor wearing their latest collection of suits, especially the sexy shots in which he revealed some skin.

“Oops,” the actor just shrugged and grinned. “Good thing I’m not anymore.”

The conversation then took a turn from clothing to jewelry, which is when Tiffany perked up. She watched as Kelly showed off her platinum necklace and earrings, waiting for the right time to strike. Samson was next, more than happy to lift his arm and show his new bracelet dangling on his wrist.

“I love it,” Tiffany cooed, trying her best to sound nonchalant. “Is it unisex?”

“I think so,” the singer shrugged. “I just found it pretty, so I bought it.”

“Good on you, babe! Can I try it on?”

“Sure, honey,” he carefully removed the piece of jewelry from his hand and passed it over to Tiffany, who beamed as she accepted it. Her mission was complete.

“It’s so pretty, you definitely have great taste,” the girl complimented him before returning the bracelet.

Even as the two people around him passed the jewelry back and forth, Eric couldn’t help but notice Kelly acting suspicious. She seemed too quiet and focused even for her usual standards. Just as he grabbed a glass of wine and brought it to his lips, he noticed that the girl was trying to hide a phone behind a bottle.

“What are you doing with that phone, Kelly? Training to become a paparazzo?”

“Oh boy, here we go again,” Samson rolled his eyes.

“No, it’s true this time,” Marcus jumped in. As he sat right next to Kelly, he could see her suddenly fumbling with the phone, almost dropping it. “She was taking pics of someone.”

“Guys, relax, I was just checking the weather,” the singer replied with a nervous laugh that didn’t convince anyone. “Look at the gallery if you want, there’s no photos.”

“Just because you hadn’t taken any yet, doesn’t mean you weren’t planning to,” Eric said, pointing two fingers at his eyes and then at Kelly’s. “I’m keeping an eye on you.”

“Ooh, I’m shaking!”

While the two were busy arguing, Troy leaned over to Samson, his breath tickling the singer’s ear as he whispered: “Hey, can I ask for your help?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Do you know if Marcus is scared of anything? Like spiders or something.”

Samson thought for a moment, trying to dig up any memory he might have had of Marcus from the few times they had met in the past, but nothing useful came up.

“Sorry, I don’t really know him that well,” the singer shrugged, looking apologetic.

“That’s ok, thanks anyway,” Troy smiled at him before returning to sit straight up as if nothing had happened. When he looked around, he realized Marcus, Eric and Tiffany were now talking about yesterday’s games.

“That was the weirdest day ever. Well, until today,” Tiffany admitted. “All these secrets and surprises are exhausting,” she sighed, grabbing her champagne flute and taking a big sip.

“I think yesterday was fun,” Troy joined the conversation.

“Of course you would. You won,” Marcus noticed. “All the games were just based on luck.”

“Luck? It’s called quick thinking,” Troy corrected him. “How did you rank again?”

“Whatever it is, at least we got to hear Kelly sing Celine Dion,” Eric chuckled before breaking into an off-key rendition of My Heart Will Go On. “Near, far, whereeeever you aaaareee…” he wailed as he started swaying left and right before putting an arm around Tiffany’s shoulders.

The girl giggled and swayed along, turning the athlete’s solo into a duet.

“I believe that the heart does go oooooon…”

With their impromptu performance finished, Eric took another sip of wine, silently congratulating himself on a mission successfully completed. Just as he thought, it was easier than taking candy from a baby.

Once again, servers came in to remove the soup and bring in the next course. Using their presence as a distraction, Troy leaned over to his other side, covering his mouth with his hand as he whispered into Kelly’s ear: “Hey, do you know if Marcus is scared of anything?”

Pursing her lips for a moment, the singer took a quick look at the dancer next to her before turning to Troy.

“Yeah, wasps. We were outside the other day, and he freaked out when a wasp landed on the fruit bowl.”

“Great, thanks,” the actor gave her a grateful grin.

While everyone was busy stuffing their plates with various types of meat and side dishes on display, Marcus took the bottle of sparkling water that was in front of Kelly, poured some in his glass, and then put it down in front of Eric, as far away from Kelly as possible.

Patiently waiting, the dancer ate his food until Kelly finally emptied her glass and noticed the bottle wasn’t where she had left it.

“Marcus, can you pass me the sparkling water?” the girl asked.

The dancer smirked triumphantly as he heard his name coming out of Kelly’s mouth. His mission was done.

“Of course,” he nodded, passing her the bottle. “Thank you.”

“What? Shouldn’t I be thanking you?” the singer asked as she looked at him in confusion.

“Oh, right, my bad,” Marcus shook his head, chuckling. “You’re welcome.” Suddenly, hearing his name again shook him out of his thoughts.

“Marcus!”

This time, it was Troy calling for his attention.

“Don’t move, but there’s a wasp on your shoulder,” the actor said, pointing at the dancer. To his dismay, the dancer simply looked over, cool as a cucumber.

“Can someone get it off?” he asked as he tried to spot the insect.

“I don’t see anything,” Tiffany was genuinely confused as she looked all over Marcus’ back and shoulders and found nothing.

“Oh, I guess it flew away,” Troy deflated, before giving Kelly the stink eye.

Without an ounce of regret, the girl casually shrugged. “I must’ve confused him with someone else.”

“Sure, it flew away,” Marcus repeated the actor’s words, looking at him suspiciously. “No other explanation, right?”

Once again, servers had come into the dining room, this time to remove the nearly-empty dishes containing the remains of the main course, and to bring the dessert. Samson lit up as he saw two tiered trays stacked with various types of petit fours. They all looked delicious and fit for a window display, but he could not care less about that. Since his chance with the appetizers was wasted, he had to make this one count. This time, he wasted no time to put his plan into action.

“Those cherry ones look yummy,” he whispered as he leaned over to Troy. “Can you pass me one?”

The actor quickly obliged and picked one of the tiny cakes from the tray, bringing it over to Samson. However, the singer made no move to take it. Instead, he looked Troy in the eyes and leaned over, slightly opening his mouth. The blond man immediately picked up on the hint – Samson wanted for Troy to feed him.

“Open up,” the actor whispered as he brought the dessert over to Samson’s mouth.

“Mmm,” Samson moaned, feeling Troy’s fingers brush lightly against his lips. It was certainly a pleasant bonus that made completing his mission even better. “It’s delicious.”

“Get a room, you two,” Marcus teased from across the table.

“Yeah, no one wants to see that,” Kelly was quick to add as she took a bite of a bite-sized pink cake. “Ew, this is watermelon!” she made a disgusted face before quickly spitting it out. “I hate watermelon.”

Samson realized all eyes were on him and Troy, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. If anyone asked, he could just tell them he was doing his mission, which was the truth anyway. The fact that the mission just happened to coincide with his personal pleasure was something they didn’t have to know.

All too soon, the dinner party was brought to a close as everyone found themselves full and unable to take another bite. Nicholas rejoined them in the dining room, announcing that their time was over.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you’ve enjoyed your dinner because I’m sure the next part will be far less enjoyable for one of you.”

“Come on, Nicholas, do you have to be all doom and gloom,” Tiffany groaned, annoyed that their little fancy dinner party was being interrupted.

“I’m afraid I do, it’s in one of my contract clauses,” the host replied. “As you know, each of you has had their own mission to complete, and the time has come to see how each of you fared. Marcus, as the first person to receive his task, why don’t you tell us what it was?”

“Gladly,” the dancer perked up, sitting up straight. “I had to get Kelly to say the names of everyone at this table. Which, of course, I did.”

Kelly frowned, annoyed that she was tricked without even realizing it. One by one, the rest of the group followed, explaining what their secret missions were.

“I had to get Tiffany to sing,” Eric said, grinning proudly. “Thanks for being such a good sport, Tiff,” he patted the girl on the back.

“Oh, whatever! It was fun,” the girl admitted. “I had to get Samson to remove a piece of clothing or jewelry. That’s why I asked him for the bracelet. But I really did like it!” she quickly added, worried that she would offend Samson.

“Thanks, hun, I’m glad you did. And I’m glad I was able to help,” he gave her a warm smile in return. “My task was to get Troy to feed me something. I screwed up with the appetizers because everyone got suspicious of me, so I had to wait. Thank God for whoever put the petit fours on the menu!”

“Well, I had to scare Marcus,” Troy said with a resigned look on his face. “Clearly, that didn’t go as planned.”

“Oh, that’s what the whole wasp thing was about,” Marcus finally realized it. “Sorry, man, I’m not scared of them. I just don’t get scared easily.”

“There’s gotta be something,” Troy asked with curiosity.

“I guess I’m scared of… not being able to dance anymore.”

“Damn, I should’ve broken your leg!”

“Fine by me, but please wait until you both leave the Mansion. We don’t want any lawsuits,” Nicholas cut in. “And Kelly…”

“My mission was to take a picture of Eric drinking. And… naturally, I did it,” she held up her phone for everyone to see, showing a photo of the quarterback with a glass in his hand, taking a sip.

“Damn! When did you manage to get that?” Eric asked, equally impressed and angry. He thought he had been watching her like a hawk, but clearly even a hawk has a blind spot.

“Just after you and Tiffany finished your little Celine tribute act. Guess you didn’t keep your eyes on me well enough,” she taunted him, mimicking his finger gesture.

“Well, you all know what’s coming next,” Nicholas started another one of his elimination announcements.

Everyone looked at each other across the table, looking apprehensive, but Samson was visibly disappointed. He turned to look at Troy, taking his hand under the table. Even though the actor sent him a dazzling grin as he squeezed his hand, Samson knew he was just putting on a brave face. Even after knowing him for only five days, he would be sad to see him go.

“Congratulations to everyone who completed their missions. Sadly, not all of you did. Troy, you are the only contestant who failed his task, and that means you’ve been eliminated,” the host announced.

“Aw, how sad,” Kelly cut in, earning herself an angry glare from Samson.

“You’ve been a wonderful guest, and we’re so sorry to have to say goodbye to you. I’d offer to hide you in my bathroom, but Clementine and Rico have already set up camp there.”

With a sad chuckle, Troy stood up from the table and walked over, pulling the host into a side-hug. “Thanks, Nicky, but I’ll pass. I hope you remember to crack a window open for them.”

The actor then felt himself get surrounded from all sides, as the other contestants crowded around him to wrap him in a big group hug. He closed his eyes and just let himself be embraced, laughing as everyone seemed to fight to get a piece of him.

Even though he had been through four eliminations so far, he was always on the other side, trying to console whoever was leaving. It was always a little bittersweet having to say goodbye to someone, even if they were almost a complete stranger. This was especially true now that he was the one leaving.

He decided to take it in stride and remain cheerful until the very end. With his signature cheeky grin, the young actor, hugged his co-stars one by one, even sparing a quick - although cold - side-hug for Kelly.

Before long, he was upstairs in his bedroom, packing his stuff. Just as he had expected it, there was a knock on the door, and he didn’t need to guess twice as to who it was.

“Did you think you could get away without a proper goodbye?” Samson stood there, leaning against the doorframe.

“I’d never let that happen. Come on in,” Troy pulled him in without hesitation, letting the door slam shut. He quickly pushed the singer back against the wall, planting a kiss on him as his hands grabbed Samson’s slim waist, pulling him closer.

Even more so than last time, their kisses were clumsy and hasty, but neither man cared. They only had a few moments left together and had to make the most of them.

Moaning as he pressed his hardness against the singer’s equally aroused crotch, the actor could feel Samson’s hands running across his back. He mimicked the moves, caressing the younger man, letting his hands roam freely.

The frantic, passionate kisses continued until the pair had to catch their breath, leaning back and looking into each other’s eyes. Troy knew they were both equally hungry for more. They always knew they would only have a few days together, but perhaps that was what made it special. Maybe that brevity is what made all of it so exciting in the first place.

“Who knew this would end up being the best part of the show,” the actor said, feeling the need to end things on a lighter note. He did not want sappy, overly emotional goodbyes.

“I sure didn’t, but I’m glad it happened that way,” Samson replied, unable to resist the smile tugging on his lips. “We’ve had some fun, haven’t we? If someone told me I’d be on this show, hooking up with the Troy Wolfe behind the scenes, I never would’ve believed it.”

“Me neither. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun,” Troy said, surprised at his own admission.

He didn’t lead a boring life by any means, but this short experience turned out to be more exciting than he ever imagined it would. He looked down and took Samson’s hands in his own, before looking up and making eye contact with the singer again.

“Hey, promise you won’t be a stranger when we’re both out of here?”

“You can count on it,” Samson winked, then pulled him into another kiss.

***

The fifth day in the Playground Mansion was slowly coming to its end. The hot summer day had given way to a refreshingly cool evening, but Samson was still up, sitting at the edge of the pool. He closed his eyes, enjoying the cool summer breeze on his face, his feet disturbing the water surface as he dipped them in the pool.

He had originally gone outside for some alone time, but when he heard footsteps approaching and voices behind him, he was grateful for the company. As he turned around, he saw Eric, Marcus and Tiffany walking down the path toward the pool, carrying four bottles and a bag of popcorn. The three of them casually made their way over to Samson, planting themselves next to him.

“Is there room for three more?” the quarterback asked, handing Samson one of the beer bottles he was holding.

“Of course, especially since you’ve brought me bribe.”

“We couldn’t leave you out here all alone,” Eric said as he settled down next to the singer, sounding surprisingly melancholic. “Our little group is getting smaller by the day. Feels weird, huh?”

“Day five, guys,” Tiffany sounded sad as she sat next to them, slowly dragging a foot across the surface of the water and watching as it created small waves.

“I can’t believe it’s almost over,” Marcus spoke quietly, as if afraid that saying it out loud would bring the end of the adventure even closer.

“And I can’t believe I’ve made it this far,” the girl replied. “We’re almost at the finale, that’s so crazy! I thought my sisters would be right and I’d be one of the first people to leave. I just have no idea how I made it through week after week.”

“Gurl, you shouldn’t doubt yourself. You were great at the games,” Samson encouraged her. “You were in the bottom two, what, only once? That’s great.”

“Yeah, you’re a real underdog and people love that,” Eric agreed.

“Thanks, guys, you were great too. You deserve to be here,” Tiffany was touched by their support. “I wish we could all win.”

“Where would be the fun in that?” Eric asked. “It’s not like this is some high-stakes competition, we’re just having fun, right? Besides, whoever wins, the money’s going to a good cause.”

“You never told us, what’s your charity of choice?” Tiffany asked.

“It’s this awesome sports camp for underprivileged kids near Boston. You wouldn’t believe how talented some of those kids are. And they get so excited when they get a chance to play something, whether it’s football, tennis, whatever. They deserve a chance.”

“Aw, I love that! I’m sure they’d appreciate it so much if you won,” the girl replied, feeling moved. “What about you, Marcus? Who are you donating the money to if you win?”

“A children’s hospital in my hometown,” Marcus replied without hesitation. “My brother and I were both treated there as kids, and the conditions were not so good. They need a lot of help, and I wanna do this for them.”

“That’s so sweet,” the girl said, nodding in support.

Between munching on popcorn and sipping on their chilled beer, everyone shared their plans for the potential victory money. Suddenly, Samson thought to ask about their missing co-star. Even though he did not particularly miss her, he found it strange she would miss out on a group hangout.

“Where’s Kelly? Is she not coming?”

“Nah, we asked her and she didn’t wanna come. Said she wanted to turn in early,” Eric replied. “Not that I’m surprised – she’s had a stick up her butt for days.”

“I think she just needs to get laid,” Marcus put it bluntly.

“Did you know she messed up Troy’s chances of winning today?” Eric said all of a sudden. His statement drew the attention of everyone, especially Samson.

“What do you mean?”

“She was the one who told him Marcus was scared of wasps. She wanted to make sure he failed.”

“Oh, so that’s where he got the wasp idea,” Marcus suddenly put two and two together. “I figured it had something to do with his mission, but I thought he just took a wild guess or something.”

“How do you even know this?” Samson asked.

“Kelly herself told me after Troy left. She had to brag to someone, I guess,” Eric replied.

“What a bitch,” the singer spat out. He already had a dislike for Kelly, but now he found her even more obnoxious. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how annoying she had been over the last few days.

“I mean, in some way I can understand her,” Marcus shrugged, which earned him a harsh glare from Samson. “Let’s be real, would any of you actively help your competition? At the end of the day, we’re all playing to win, but only one of us can win. You wouldn’t risk your chances by helping someone else, would you?”

The group fell silent as they considered Marcus’ words.

Even though she agreed with Marcus in principle, Tiffany still believed that what Kelly did was just plain rude.

“Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t help the competition, but I also wouldn’t sabotage them,” she finally said. “It just seems nasty.”

“You won’t get far with that attitude,” Eric told her. “What? It’s like Marcus said earlier – I’m having fun, but I’m also here to win. Doesn’t mean we have to be enemies, but we can’t really work together when the games have us working against each other. I’m friends with a lot of players from other teams - I’ve known some of those guys for years. Hell, I even went to college with some of them! They’re good guys, but when we’re out on the field, playing against each other, we’re just rivals. Simple as that. You gotta keep your personal and professional lives separate.”

Samson was the only one who hadn’t spoken yet. He knew what Marcus and Eric said was right, but that didn’t mean he found Kelly’s actions any less acceptable. How dare that bitch try and trick Troy on purpose? All because she couldn’t have him.

“Yeah, you guys are right,” he finally spoke. “When the games start, it’s every man for himself. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still hang out. We only got two more days here, so we might as well make the most of them.”