'Please Daryl, 24 hours and a shower, is all you need to do,' Glenn Rhee the host of 'The Bachelor' told him, this time they were running 'The Bachelorette' and someone had pulled out last minute because of a family dead. 'Please, I'll even pay you, buy your clothes to go on,'
'Go on national tv and line up with a bunch of guys for a flower, not likely.' Daryl kept punching numbers in the computor, 'I don't need a shower, I had one this morning, this is just dirt from today,'
'Please come on I'm desperate,' Glenn asked again.
Glenn and Daryl had been friends from middle school, Daryl didn't like to date much and what Glenn was asking him was way out of his comfort zone for dating. He didn't need anyone he liked being alone running his company. He was living the dream and didn't need anyone especially a women coming in and telling him how he should be doing things.
He looked around his office and to look at him you wouldn't know where he had come from. He had money, he had his bikes and he owned one of the biggest chains in the states motor bike repair shops that also specialized in Harley Davidson bike repairs and paint jobs. He was living the life he always wanted uncomplicated, and if he had a itch to scratch he could get it scratched by finding someone for a short term fling to scratch him.
'No Glenn,' Daryl told him.
'God, please Daryl you owe me,' Glenn pulled out that card that Daryl owed him a favour from years ago and never took him up on it and now he was pulling out that card. He'd promised the producers he could come up with the perfect fill in guy who didn't have any records and was a wealthy businessman who just happened to be in town right now. He could make up the 25th man that they needed for the show.
'You suck!' Daryl growled at him. 'What the fuck do I have to do, she better not pick me tonight,'
'No I'll tell her your just there to make up the numbers ok,' Glenn crossed his fingers behind his back.
'I'm just there for one night right?' Daryl asked.
'One night,'
'Fine, what do I have to do?' Daryl asked, he knew he had to return the favour and he was going to do it for Glenn, one night only what did he have to lose nothing else he would make sure she didn't give him a rose, he caught every eps of 'The Batchelor' only because his friend was the host not because he like it or anything he would never admit he enjoyed the show to his friend but he would make sure she didn't give him a rose, he'd show up on a Harley and do donuts or something.
'Well, can we start with a wee hair cut, a trim, ummmmmm socks, clothes that are not looking like they are hanging on by a thread. Something that fits across your shoulders that your not actually bulging out of,' Glenn took in his best friend his shoulders seemed huge bigger than he'd ever seen them, Daryl rolled his neck, and stretched his arms a little looking at his friend.
'My clothes are fine, they fit,' Daryl told him.
'You look like the incrediable hulk, you been working out a lot?' he asked Daryl.
'A little, I get bored at night, do press ups, sit ups and stuff, I run,'
'Ok muscle man, we need to take you shopping, go shower and put on clean clothes so we can get a little bit of a filming blurb about you before tonight,' Glenn told him.
'Your not going to let me just not do this?' Daryl asked him.
Before he knew it, he'd showered and changed, had a haircut and was shopping at an expensive man's clothing store. They decked him out in suits and casual nice clothes that fitted his shoulders and chest. Shoes and socks. Face products that he was suposed to rub on his face, shower gel's and shampoo, tooth whitening stuff Glenn insisted would be great. With the amount of stuff he was taking he couldn't help wonder if Daryl thought he was going to last longer than the one night.
'One night was all I agreed too,' Daryl told him.
'Well you need new clothes anyway just in case, humour me,' Glenn hummed around the store picking out suitcases for him.
'I've got a bag,' Daryl thought about his old trusty duffle bag he threw all his clothes in, he sometimes took them to the laundry mat to clean them, once a week depending on where he was. He never stayed in one place too long before moving on to check another shop in his chain.
4 hours after he agreed Daryl found himself in a suit and tie talking to a camera describing himself and why he was looking for love. He said he was looking for 'The one like everyone else and going on the Bachelorette seemed like a great place to start.'
2 hours after that he found himself shoved in a limo with 4 other guys heading off to meet the women who someone was supposed to fall in love with on national tv. What a load of crap. This was all bull shit, dream dates and smiling for the camera while feeding each others ego telling the other how perfect they were when really there was no such thing as true love or butterflies in the stomach and all the other bullshit people told him.
He wanted to ride his motor bike up to the door but the producers wouldn't let him so he was sitting there going over his lines that Glenn had made him learn.
'Hi, I'm Daryl, nice to meet you, I'm looking forward to learning more about you,' Daryl was going over and over it in his brain until it was his turn to get out and walk the path to the women waiting and then his mouth went dry.
'Hi,' then he blushed really badly, she reached out and took his hands.
'You nervous?'
'I wasn't till I saw you,' he said quietly he knew the whole world would hear it, his heart skipping a beat.
'Don't be nervous, I won't bite... much, Thankyou for coming,'
'Uhhhh... thanks,' They both stood staring at each other he could see them making the wind it up sign off camera.
'Well... I'm Carol,' She flashed him a smile.
'Hi Carol,' He said.
'Your name?'
'Daryl, hi,' he blushed again, they were getting throat slicing gestures off screen, 'Ummmm I'll see you inside?'
'You can count on it,' She pulled him in for a hug and his face went to her neck, his lips skimmed it, and he pulled back and nodded. He headed inside and glanced back watching her watch him. He needed that little button hole rose, he needed to find Glenn and tell him not to send him home.