Ava chimes. “Hello. I’m your virtual guide,” she says.
“Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., what’s good?” Vincent calls out, and everyone laughs. Amber laughs a little too hard. Blake gets the reference and snorts.
“Actually, my name is Ava. Welcome. However, you are not here for the reasons you may think. Over the last twelve hours, I have been observing you and learning about your behavior. It has been most insightful.”
“Alright, that’s kind of fucked up,” Matt comments, wrinkling his nose and showing the most personality Blake’s seen from him yet. He nods his own agreement.
“You have been specially selected because all of you are having meaningless flings over genuine relationships.”
“Oh my God,” Leah says.
“The purpose of this retreat is to help you gain deeper, more meaningful connections in your personal relationships.”
“You mean like… platonic relationships? With women?” Vincent scoffs.
“And men,” Paxton adds airily, seemingly unfazed.
“Touché,” Vincent agrees, pointing a finger in Pax’s direction. Blake squashes his jealousy — after all, Pax’s hand is still in his.
At this point, Rachel the producer calls out from where she’s crouching next to one of the cameramen. “Look surprised and excited about what she says next or we’ll have to do it over!”
Great,Blake thinks, as “Ava” reveals the prize pot of one hundred thousand dollars, something they all already knew about going in. The rest of the cast screams and squeals, cheers and high-fives anyway, and Blake does his best to at least plaster a look of shock on his mug.
“Okay, but what do we actually have to do to win the money?” That question comes from Dani, and Blake sits up a little straighter, paying attention. No one’s touched on that in their pre-filming interviews, as far as he knows.
“There are conditions to your stay here,” Ava continues, as dramatically as an AI can get. “You must abstain from any sexual practices for the entirety of your stay.”
Whomp, there it is.Blake can practically feel the mounting excitement and energy drain immediately from the air around them. He should have fucking known —of coursethis was too good to be true. Next to him, Paxton takes his hand back and sits forward, elbows on his knees and hands on his face. Ariana hollers in frustration.
“That means no kissing, no heavy petting, nor sex of any kind. This will also apply to self-gratification,” Ava says.
“Fuck,” Blake murmurs quietly. “Should have rubbed one out yesterday.”
But Ava isn’t done. “Money will be deducted from the prize for any sexual activity that occurs.” That gets an even more bummed reaction from the group, with assorted groaning and facepalming all around.
“Welcome to the Retreat,” Ava says calmly, and then her purple glow flares and disappears.
“Jesus, fuck,” Blake declares before sinking back into the couch cushions with an arm over his face. “Well, there’s the twist.”
_____________________
Before they’re allowed to go to bed, the producers force each cast member to film their individual reactions to Ava’s news one-on-one. Blake proudly announces to the camera lens that he’s a rule-breaker and has zero intention of behaving. He also declares that he’s lived his whole life without money and that he’s not going to start chasing it over his own wants and needs now. “Besides,” he says. “Pax is once-in-a-lifetime sexy. Can’t buy that kind of experience, not even with a hundred k. I’d be an absolute idiot to pass that up.”
On his way out of the fabric-draped booth that production has created as a sort of confessional, Blake runs into the manhimself. The way Pax acts when he lays eyes on him only affirms Blake’s words to their invisible audience. Pax touches his cheek, winks, and lets his torso rub against Blake’s as he slips inside.
Oh, yeah. Rules, what rules?
There’s some confusion in the shared bedroom when Blake enters, with cast members yelling across the divide between beds about what exactly the rules are and where the boundaries lie. Vincent is standing on the corner of his bed, scowling and berating anyone who even passively suggests itmightbe worth it to break some.
“I’m here to win,” he declares, punching a fist into his opposite palm. “Anyone who messes with my money ain’t gonna like what happens to them.” Below him, Amber rolls her eyes before flopping down on her bed. “You hear me, Lawrence? I see the way you’re lookin’ like you wanna unhinge your jaw and swallow Pax whole. I’m watchin’ you, boy.”
Blake makes a face. “You don’t know me, man. I can keep my legs closed for a hundred k, easy. I’m slutty, not stupid. Anyway, those two look like the real risk, if you ask me,” he says, tipping his chin towards where Ariana and Dani are laying together on Ariana’s bed. The redhead grins back like the cat who stole the cream and Blake suppresses a smile while Vincent narrows his eyes, glaring suspiciously at all of them.
After the cameras have presumably recorded their fill of the reactionary chaos, Rachel comes in, climbs up on a chair, and gives them a much drier run-down of the rules andlimits. “Thisisthe twist,” she confirms, as if anyone was still wondering.
“No kissing, heavy petting, intimate touching, no masturbating or sex of any kind — assume that if there are genitals involved in any way, it’s off limits. However,” she says, with a very dramatic pause. “Intimacyis not banned. Hand-holding, cuddling, snuggling, hugging — consider all of those things in the good-touch club. You may sleep in the same bed, you can even shower together — at your own risk, of course. If you cross a line, even accidentally, there are no second chances. Various rule breaches come with different monetary deductions, which you will only discover the value of should they occur. Any questions?”
There aresomany questions, but not from Blake. Exhausted, he kicks off his shoes, strips down to his boxers and leaves his clothes on the ground before crawling into bed. Once his head hits the pillow, though, his brain refuses to turn off and the contents — well, let’s just say Blake wasn’t entirely honest in the confessional earlier.
