Reality Love Bites.

Chapter 3


Lauren lay in the darkness as she went over the events after she had joined the other contestants in the large banquet room. She was thankful that Evony had told Crystal to shut her mouth otherwise the perky blonde would have probably still been chattering away.

Lauren wanted to reflect in silence and she was finally able to do that as Crystal's soft snoring and Evony's even breathing were the only sounds in the room.

Being the last contestant to meet Tamsin she had been shown where her room was located and then ushered towards the room filled with fifteen other lesbian's all vying for Tamsin's affections. She had managed a quick glance in a large mirror that adorned the hallway wall as she passed by. She wasn't as ruffled as she thought and she relaxed slightly as she stepped into the room filled with excited voices.

The first thing she had noticed was the fight, but before she could even think about what that was all about her eyes met the intense gaze of a stunning brunette who made her stomach tighten and heat spread throughout her entire body. She was shocked by her body's reaction as the woman had looked her up and down with obvious appreciation. She had managed a small smile before heading towards someone less intimidating standing in the corner. She had felt the brunette's continued attention as she shook hands with Nadia and smiled politely as the woman told her a little about herself. Lauren nodded as she fought to gain some control over the effects the mystery brunette was evoking within her.

She was just getting her cool and calm demeanour firmly back in place when she felt the presence behind her. The soft fingers touching her bare back for a fraction of a second before the brunette materialised in front of her beside Nadia and had her reeling once more. Her heart thudded in her chest and heat once again spread throughout her being as Nadia introduced Lauren to the brunette and her friend. She mutely reached out and took the offered hand as the gorgeous woman with an adorable, dimple filled smile introduced herself as Bo. Electricity seemed to spark between Bo and her when their hands touched and Lauren found herself not wanting to let go. She released Bo's hand reluctantly as Nadia excused herself after watching on for several moments. Lauren knew that the woman had sensed the sexual tension between them because it was practically suffocating her.

Lauren was buzzing and she wasn't even sure what Bo was saying as she got lost in those dark eyes sparkling at her. The woman exuded a confidence that wasn't overpowering or arrogant, it was just intoxicating. She had looked down from those dark brown orbs to look at Bo lips as she talked to her. She saw the mouth stop moving as Bo noticed where Lauren's attention was and fresh heat pooled between her thighs as those lips first turned up in a sexy half smile, before teeth bit at the bottom lip as if the brunette was fighting off her own explicit thoughts. Lauren was sure that she had been closing the gap between them as her eyes moved back to Bo's eyes and to the mutual attraction that reflected back at her.

As she thought about it now she was convinced that if Bo's little friend Kenzi hadn't cleared her throat, breaking the spell between them. She would have kissed those lips because at that moment she wanted nothing more than to take that bottom lip between her own teeth before pressing her mouth against those luscious, enticing lips. She had wanted to slip her tongue into Bo's mouth and taste her.

Lauren suppressed a moan as she remembered every feeling and sensation of that moment and she wished that she didn't have roommates. The heat and moisture forming between her legs was phenomenal and she felt the need to touch herself as she thought about the brunette who had captured her attention from the very first glance. Get yourself under control Lauren! You are acting like a horny teenager, get a grip!

Lauren remembered the knowing look that Kenzi had given her as Vex had explained the rules of the house. She had found herself blushing as Bo had smiled and looked her way briefly. She had seen the desire in the brunette's eyes and she was sure that she had reflected the same need in her own. It has been a while, maybe that is why I reacted so viscerally to Bo's attention, Lauren thought to herself. Whatever the reason, I need to reel it in because regardless of whether Bo is feeling the same there was no way that they could act upon those feelings.

Vex had then shocked the entire house by telling Candy and Jade that they had to pack their bags and leave the house immediately. They had both looked at him momentarily stunned before asking 'why', in raised, disbelieving voices.

He had informed them that there was to be no physical violence of any kind between the contestants and if they had read the guidelines of the contract they had signed they would have known that. He motioned for the large man called Bruce in the corner to please escort the ladies out of the house. Candy and Jade had once again turned on one another with curses and accusations flying on whose fault it was. Lauren had seen the delight in Vex's eyes as Candy leapt forward as if to scratch out Jade's eyes, but was lifted by Bruce from behind and carried towards the door, kicking and screaming for him to let go. Jade had quietly left the room tears falling down her face, following the raging Candy who Bruce had finally put down and was stomping up the marble staircase towards her room. All their antics were being captured by the camera's and Lauren realised that they were giving the host and producers exactly what they wanted.

Vex had sent several camera men scurrying after the two women telling them to capture everything and to ensure that they both gave a short interview before leaving. He had clapped his hands as he faced the remaining thirteen shell shocked contestants. Lauren sighed and shook her head at their hosts undisguised glee. Of course he was happy with all the drama because drama made good television and she knew that this was a test show for the new LGBT cable network and had no doubt that he would try to make a huge splash at their expense.

Lauren had looked around the room, registering and taking note of how the other women were responding to Vex and the scene that he had just caused. Her eyes met Bo's and Kenzi's faces last. She found Kenzi doing exactly what she had been doing and was watching everyone intently. Bo had been looking right at her and she felt the brunette's fingers brush against her hand where their sides met as they stood side by side. She had shuddered at the light contact and had let out a tiny whimper, which attracted Kenzi's sharp gaze and then the contact was gone and she missed it instantly.

Lauren sighed in the darkness as she found herself lingering on Bo once more. She was going to be in big trouble if she couldn't go five minutes without thinking about the sexy brunette. Lauren had consciously made an effort to keep some distance between her and Bo as the night progressed. They had had to wait another forty minutes before Tamsin had arrived and she had spent that time talking to all of the other contestants while fighting the urge to seek out Bo. The laid back atmosphere changed upon Tamsin's arrival as each of the contestants tried to get the bachelorette's attention. She had noticed in the times that she had failed and let herself look over at Bo that the brunette met her steady gaze with an intent look of her very own. Tamsin had been sent into a private area to have a little one on one time with each contestant before she was forced to evict another three ladies from the house afterwards. There had been a bit of protest when Vex had informed them of this, seeing as two of the girls had already been kicked out. The host had just shrugged and told them that they had better make an impression if they didn't want to be going home tonight as well.

She had been talking to Nadia again when a member of the crew told her to go interrupt the one on one conversation and that once again she was the last one to get time with Tamsin. She had almost fled the house when she had opened up the curtain separating the small intimate space where Tamsin had entered about an hour prior and saw that Bo was sitting across from her. She was sure that the look on her face would have looked comical as she stared at them, her mouth agape as they both turned towards her. It felt like forever until she had found the ability to talk and tell them that she was sorry for interrupting, but it was her turn to talk with Tamsin. It didn't help that Bo was beaming at her and was once again sweeping her eyes over her as if she wasn't wearing anything. She felt so exposed under the brunette's gaze and she had wanted to ask Tamsin to leave at that moment so that she could have one on one time with Bo instead.

Lauren sighed again and sat up in bed, she looked at the clock on the dresser and couldn't believe what the illuminated numbers read. She was thankful that they weren't scheduled to do anything until after lunch because it was only a couple of hours until dawn and she hadn't been able to get any sleep. She fluffed up her pillow and lay down again. Closing her eyes, Lauren willed her brain to shut up and allow her to sleep. Instead, it continued to replay the rest of the night starting right where she left off.

Bo had turned to Tamsin once Lauren had managed to form a coherent sentence and thanked the bachelorette for her time. The brunette then gracefully stood from her chair and had walked confidently towards Lauren her eyes smouldering with confident attraction. She had brushed past Lauren ensuring that they touched, leaving her body sparking all over again as she turned and watched Bo leave, willing her to look back. She was halfway to Kenzi, when she looked back and gave her a knowing smile and a wink. She had felt herself blush at being caught still staring at Bo when she was supposed to be talking to Tamsin who was calling her name softly.

She had turned to find Tamsin with a wry smirk on her face and an eyebrow raised high. "I can see that she doesn't just have that effect on me then? She has confidence in spades that one doesn't she?"

Lauren had blushed even more at being caught ogling Bo by Tamisn. She was mortified and stood uncertainly by the door trying to decide whether to stay or go.

Tamsin motioned to the seat opposite her, "Would you like to join me or would you like to follow Bo?"

"I... Uh... I'm sorry?"

Tamsin laughed as Lauren went another shade of red. "I'm only playing, Lauren. Please sit down so we can have a small chat before they take me away again to prepare for the elimination." The talk was easier after that and Lauren had started to relax once more. She guessed that Tamsin had thought it had gone well as well or she would have sent her home. Lauren finally fell asleep just as the sun was starting to come up. She would end up getting four hours sleep before getting shaken awake by a bright eyed Crystal...


Kenzi was ecstatic that Nadia had been selected to go into one of the rooms vacated by the five women that were already gone. She climbed out of her bed and approached Bo, who seemed to be having a very nice dream if the murmurs and moans were anything to go by. She sat on the bed and nudged her friend in an effort to wake her. Bo mumbled in protest and slapped at the hand that was now holding her nose. "Go away, Kenz! I'm trying to sleep."

"But I need to talk to you and this is practically the only time when there won't be camera's in our face, Bo Bo."

The brunette opened one eye and looked at her best friend in the semi dark room. "You interrupted an epic dream, you know," she muttered as she sat up and faced her friend.

"Oh, I bet it was with the way you were moaning in your sleep. I guess the question is which name would you be saying as the dream came to its orgasmic conclusion? Lauren or Tamsin?"

"I think you already know the answer to that, Kenz." Bo was thankful that her friend couldn't see the blush rising to colour her cheeks.

"I do. So what is your game plan to win over Dr. Hotpants? Sabotage her from getting Tamsins attention while you get to know her better and make her fall for you instead of the Nordic princess?"

"I haven't really thought of that. I mean, how am I going to pretend to be interested in Tamsin so that I don't get booted from the house too soon so that I can spend more time with Lauren? What if Lauren thinks I am actually interested in Tamsin and not her? Or what if Tamsin sets her sights on Lauren and she falls for her instead of me? I can't get her out of my mind, Kenz!"

Kenzi patted Bo on the arm in an effort to calm her down. "I'm your wing man remember. I will help you in any way that I can. Tamsin seems quite enamoured with that classy, European chick Evony. It's still early in the game, Bo Bo so you just need to keep it together and try not to be so damn obvious about how attracted to Lauren you are. At least make it less obvious to everyone else in the house while finding subtle ways to make sure that Lauren's know that you are interested. I mean, how hard can that be while having camera's and microphones in your face all the time," Kenzi said.

"Right, because being subtle is a speciality of mine," Bo responded sarcastically. "This is going to be a disaster. You saw the way I acted when Lauren came in for her turn to talk to Tamsin. I wanted to pounce on her! I didn't even care that Tamsin was right there!"

"It will be fine, Bo. I'll make sure of it. Who always has your back?"

"You do," she responded with a huge smile.

"Damn straight!" Kenzi gave Bo a hug before going back to her own bed. "Now get some sleep, Bobolicicious. Tomorrow it's game on!" ...


Tamsin awoke with a start, her pajama's sticking to her body as she became aware of her surroundings. She wiped a sleeve across her sweaty brow as her heart started beating at a regular pace instead of a hundred miles a minute as her nightmare faded. She didn't need to remember the dream that had woken her up because it was the same every single time. She got out of bed and changed into fresh sleepwear and then opened the glass sliding door to the balcony. She took several deep breaths of the fresh night air. Tamsin headed downstairs to the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker. She knew that she wouldn't get any more sleep tonight.

She looked at the clock and saw that it would be dawn soon anyway. After pouring herself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee, she went back upstairs and sat out on the balcony waiting for the sun to rise. Tamsin had hoped that the nightmares were behind her after they had started to plague her less and less frequently. But obviously with the constant thoughts of Jesse since coming here and talking to other women about what they wanted in life and in a relationship they had come back with a vengeance.

As much as Tamsin tried to let go of the guilt she felt about being responsible for Jesse's death, she just couldn't. She couldn't let go of the fact that Jesse would still be alive if it wasn't for her. They would still be together and happy if it wasn't for her actions on that fateful night. But then she had a thought, would we still be together? Things had been strained between us for a little while. The strain of our jobs and the constant changes between night shift and day shift had caused a lot of issues. That's what had you snapping at Jesse that night over something so small and inconsequential.

Tamsin had tripped that switch and she relived that night again as her guilt overwhelmed her.

She had just come off of a double shift working on a triple murder of a mother and her two children. Tamsin had been beyond exhausted and she had come home and gone straight for the coffee, when she opened the fridge and found no milk she had cursed and slammed the cup on the counter. Jesse had walked in and asked her what was wrong and she responded with, "All I want is a goddamn cup of coffee and there isn't even any fucking milk. I thought you said you were going to the store today!"

Jesse had crossed her arms over her chest and her jaw had clenched as her wife bit her tongue and stayed silent. This just pissed Tamsin off more because she hated it when it was a one sided conversation. She knew that she was overreacting, but the exhaustion and the frustration of not finding enough evidence to solve her latest case had her itching for a fight to release the pressure of uselessness building within her.

"What could have come up that you didn't have time to go to the store? It was your day off today, right?"

"You have obviously had a bad day. I know that double shifts can be a killer, but there's no need to talk to me like that. I went to the store. I must have forgotten to grab the milk. I'm sorry. I'll pick some up tomorrow. Come to bed, baby. It's late and you look exhausted."

She should have just let it go and gone to bed like Jesse had asked, but she didn't let it go she pushed and made the biggest mistake of her life. "I guess I'll just have to go to the store and get my own damn milk!" She had finished the remark with a cold stare before grabbing the keys from the hook.

"No!" Jesse had said, snatching the keys from Tamsins hand. "If it's so important that you have to have the milk right now I'll go get it. It was me that forgot it after all, right?"

"If it's not too much trouble that would be fantastic," she had responded sarcastically making Jesse sigh in frustration. Tamsin saw the sadness and pain in her wife's eyes as if she was pleading for her to give her something besides the cold darkness that had been the norm over the past few months. But I gave her nothing and she walked out, slamming the door behind her and I never saw her again.

Tears had started to fall down Tamsin's face as she remembered being furious when she wasn't back after a half hour. Then when the hour passed and she didn't answer her phone, she started to worry that Jesse had decided to leave her. About two hours after Jesse had left to buy her precious milk, there was a knock at the front door. Tamsin had answered it, staring blankly at the two uniformed policemen standing there. Soon she had collapsed as the eldest of the two officers informed her that her wife had been shot during a robbery at their corner market and had died instantly.

The sun rose into the sky as tears streamed down Tamsins cheeks, her breath coming out in harsh, laboured sobs as the memories of that fatal night crushed her heart once more. She stayed outside on the patio long after the sun had come up, lost in her pain and guilt. Her alarm sounding from inside informed her that Vex would be by to walk her through todays events and what challenge the contestants would take part in to win the first date with her. She slammed a hand down on the clock to shut up its incessant beeping and fell back onto the bed.

She knew she had made a mistake agreeing to do the show. She wasn't ready to open herself up to anyone yet. Love was still pain to her because she was still haunted by her mistakes of the past, haunted by Jesse. She wished that Ciara was here. They had been friends since college and she had been her savior after Jesse's death. Get a hold of yourself, Tamsin. You are doing this for Vex and you don't have to actually marry someone. It's just a television show for fuck's sake!

Her mind drifted back to the night before, specifically to when Lauren had entered the private area and had interrupted her and Bo's one on one time. She had picked up on something between the two women. She had joked with Lauren about her, preferring to go after the sultry brunette but she knew that she wasn't imagining the longing in Lauren's eyes. She had enjoyed talking to both of them very much and they were in the top five of the contestants that had managed to at least spark any kind of interest.

The detective in her however was telling her to keep an eye on how Bo and Lauren interacted with one another during the challenges and perhaps she could get them as a joint date to test her theory that love was blooming but it just didn't involve her. The interesting thing was that the thought of two contestants finding love with each other instead of her didn't piss her off, but gave her hope. She would watch and wait. She would keep them for a while longer and she would also keep Bo's Dj friend around. If she wasn't certain that she could find love on this show of Vex's perhaps she could orchestrate some love matches of her own. Once she was more convinced of her suspicions she would approach Vex and talk to him about helping her to salvage what would be just a lost cause if he relied on her to find love.

Speak of the devil, she thought as Vex's voice carried up the stairs calling for her. "I'll be right down. Grab some coffee while I take a shower and change." This could be fun, she mused as she stripped down and stepped under the hot spray. This could be very fun indeed...


Author's Note: Okay so chapter 3 is done and I hope you are still enjoying it. I have been truly excited by the response I have gotten for this story. As I begin to write I don't really know where it is going to go I just go with it and then send it to my friend Rafi to read over. She tells me whether it sucks or not and then I ask her if I'm good to post. So fingers crossed that you like it to. Dusty Love will be next, hopefully by the end of the week.

I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts.

Take care,

Doccubus21

xoxo