If nothing else, Seth could say this show was giving him new experiences. He was sandwiched in a seat on a Ferris wheel between Kai and Emily with a camera attached to the front and cameramen riding the contraption above and below them to get all possible angles. Their team had won the game show, mostly thanks to Alice and Jules. Kai was actually the only one on her team who hadn't even attempted to answer a question. He'd secretly been rooting for their team. There were a few girls that he was hoping to get a little more time with. Kai was one of them.

"This is a gorgeous day," Emily smiled, resting her head on Seth's shoulder. "Isn't this fun?"

Seth actually thought it was way too hot outside but it wasn't necessary to argue so he just nodded. He wasn't having a bad time.

"If you think this is nice, I can't wait to get you to my hometown," Kai said, flipping her dark curls over her shoulder. "It's amazing."

Seth smiled, "We actually had a couple of shows in Ha-"

"I've been to Hawaii," Emily interrupted him. "I found it kind of…boring."

Kai arched a brow at the other woman's statement, "The tourist traps can be boring. It's a different experience being there with a local. I'm sure Seth will have a great time."

Seth was also sure he could have a good time although they may have been thinking about different types of activity.

Emily was tense, he could feel her muscles against his but she didn't say anything at first.

"Don't be insecure about it," Kai advised. "I'm sure Connecticut is nice too."

That was an unexpectedly catty comment. Kai struck him as a very level headed, easygoing woman. He was surprised that she was taking a dig at Emily. But Emily did start it. He wondered how many times over the course of this that he would be literally stuck in the middle of something like this.

The two women spent the rest of their descent sniping at each other and Seth couldn't have been happier when they reached the ground. Daisy was waiting patiently. She helped Kai off of the ride while Jim helped Emily.

"We need to get some footage of you with Elle," she explained and Seth perked up again. He was wondering where she was. He could remember the defeated look on her face when he and Corey detailed the rules of the game earlier. He wasn't surprised to find out that she didn't know a ton about him. She wasn't the only one. She'd actually gotten an answer though. There was a question about his favorite football team and she was the first to buzz in. She looked surprised at herself but she was adorably excited when Enzo confirmed her answer.

It was easy to spot her. She was standing near a basketball game looking around like she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing. She looked incredible in a red and white off the shoulder top and dark denim shirts. Her thick dark hair was held away from her face in a loose side braid.

All of the girls were beautiful but he seemed to always find himself drawn to her. He couldn't explain it. In a room with all of them, he felt like he could always spot her, like lighthouse in the water.

She looked up, smiling when she saw him coming.

"How's it going?" he smiled back at her.

"Awesome," she smiled. "I had cotton candy for the first time in years and now my heart is racing. I think I may have had a little too much."

"You do look flushed," he laughed. "You having fun?"

He was distracted when he felt the microphone pack strapped around him slide quickly down his back.

"Damn it," Daisy spat. She yelled for a tech to come fix it. "Don't talk to each other. We won't be able to use any of it."

Elle raised an eyebrow at him and he stuck his tongue out at her. She turned both of her eyes in toward her nose drawing a chuckle out of him.

She held a finger up to her lips, loudly shushing him.

He put his thumbs by his ears, holding up his hands and puffing out his cheeks. He stopped when the tech arrived, pulling up his shirt to fix the microphone.

"This is so romantic," he joked.

"It's working for me," she shrugged. "There's something Victorian about having 3 people standing between us on a group date."

She was trying to be witty but he all he could see was her eyes drifting down as his shirt crept up to reveal his abs. He certainly didn't mind the gaze. He worked hard to look the way he did.

Once the microphone issue was finished, Daisy directed them to walk around and play a few games, then they were going to film in the limo on the way back to the house. The producer hung back as they walked ahead, cameramen in tow.

Seth shot Elle a sly look, feeling particularly smug after catching her staring.

She seemed to know what he was smiling about and she shook her head, taking his wrist in her hand, "Come on Romeo. Let's go play this one. Maybe I'll win you something."

It was the watergun race where you shoot at a target and race little boats.

"Okay, I will play this with you but I have to warn you, I do not believe in letting the lady win," he cautioned.

He obviously caught her off guard and he liked the shocked smile that lit her face when she looked up at him.

"Okay," she laughed. "That'll make it even more fun when I beat you."

Elle tucked Mortimer, a neon green stuffed elephant, under her arm as she and Seth walked through the carnival. He won the adorable animal at the water gun race when he mercilessly beat her. She made him go another round and she came close but he still edged out the win. Handsome bastard.

"Don't get too attached," he teased. "That little guy is coming home with me."

"He's half mine, Rollins," she insisted. "You let me name him."

She was having much more fun at the carnival than she expected. Her earlier cotton candy induced jitters were gone and Seth was great company.

"I could potentially be persuaded into a shared custody agreement," he offered, reaching over and draping his arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side. Elle's eyes went wide and she looked up at him but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were searching for another game for them to play. His skin was warm against hers and he smelled like soap and the perfect amount of cologne.

"I'm putting my foot down on one thing with little Morty," Seth announced, drawing Elle's thoughts away from how good he smelled. "His last name is Rollins."

"Fine, but his name is Mortimer," Elle declared. "I don't want anyone calling my sweet little baby Morty."

He was a painfully cute elephant not Bette Midler's ex in The First Wives Club.

"You know one of the other girls actually started talking to me about how much she wants kids," Seth admitted, lowering his volume. "She even started talking about how it would work with me on the road."

"What did you say?" she laughed, stunned at the idea of someone bringing that up under these circumstances.

"I didn't really say anything," he admitted. "I looked over her shoulder and pretended someone was calling me away."

"I bet it was Madison," Elle guessed. The Florida native had talked about kids in the house several times.

He pressed his lips together and shook his head.

"It totally was, wasn't it?" she happily laughed,

"I can't confirm or deny that," he chuckled and she felt herself being pulled just a little closer to him. "You know, I think you're actually the only one who hasn't at least tried to tell me their life story. All I really know about you is that you're gorgeous and you love the Cubs."

"Well thank you," she smiled sheepishly. "I just…I don't like to talk about myself a lot."

That was a lie. She loved talking about herself. But she had to be aloof. That was a part of the formula for getting kicked off of these shows.

"Well I want to know more," he said.

"Ooh, look!" she pointed, stopping in her tracks when she saw a dunk tank. She needed to do something to make this feel a little less like a date. She turned, smiling up at Seth, "I dare you to get up there."

"You're daring me?" he smirked.

"I believe I made myself very clear," she challenged him. She turned, walking toward the carnival operator. She smiled sweetly and asked the man if he would be willing to let Seth take the place of the clown in the tank. When he agreed, Elle turned triumphantly to her companion, "Now or never Rollins."

Seth shrugged, pulling up his shirt and taking off the mic pack.

"Guys," Daisy approached.

"Come on Daisy, let us have a little fun," Elle called to her friend.

"It'll only take a minute," Seth assured her. He turned and winked at Elle, "I won't even get my feet wet."

"Oh this is gonna be fun," Elle rubbed her hands together. She put Mortimer down, turning his face away, "I don't want him to see his father get embarrassed."

"I'm not worried," Seth said, climbing in to the tank and sitting on the small platform.

"You're seriously not even a little worried that I'll dunk you?" she asked, marginally insulted.

He let out that villainous laugh, "Do I look nervous?"

The operator gave her a ball and she stepped out of her red heels, narrowing her eyes at the target to make it look like she meant business.

"We don't have all day sweetheart," Seth taunted her. "The nice man's gonna want his balls back."

He broke her focus, making her laugh but she shook it off, getting in her best Jake Arrieta pitching stance. Then she took off, running to the target and pressing the button, dropping Seth into the water.

She saw his mouth drop into a shocked 'O' before he was dunked under the water and she doubled over with laughter. Once he recovered from the surprise, Seth stood, completely soaked, the water coming up to his waist. She walked up to the tank, still laughing as he fixed an angry glare on her.

She tapped on the tank and waved at him, "Shouldn't have doubted me, sweetheart."

He nodded, flipping his wet hair back. He turned to climb out of the tank and she was alarmed by how quickly and gracefully he moved. He was stalking toward her and she giggled at the trail of wet foot prints he left behind him. When he got close enough, she could see that he had evil intentions in mind but he was too close for her to get away.

"Mortimer, help!" she yelled, turning to run just before he wrapped his arms around her, soaking the back of her shirt and shorts. She squealed at the feeling of frigid cold and tried to get away but Seth held her tightly against his taut muscles.

"I'm gonna get you back for that," he chuckled, his mouth close to her ear.

"Is this not getting me back?" she laughed as he lifted her off of the ground with ease.

He laughed, "Not even close."

Seth was in his trailer, waiting for one of the producers to come and get him for deliberations. He'd taken a long shower to rid himself of dunk tank water after the carnival and he was deciding which suit to wear out of the ones wardrobe laid out for him. He wanted to just go with the black on black but he had Sasha's voice in his head calling him boring. He decided to go with the black suit and wear a white shirt instead. That would be different enough.

As he was putting on his shirt he heard his phone buzzing and picked up a Face Time call from Sasha.

"I've decided to forgive you," Sasha announced proudly.

"Were you still mad at me?" he laughed. "I had no idea."

"I just got a call from PR about filming an episode of your show," she beamed. "I am so excited."

"I figured you would be," Seth smiled. He had nothing to do with it but if his friend was happy, he was willing to take the credit.

"Hey Seth!" her husband Mikaze walked through the background, waving.

"He's happy about it too," Sasha said. "Now he doesn't have to hear about how mad I am at you. So tell me everything, how was the first challenge?"

"We did a trivia thing, testing how much they know about me," he explained.

"And how did they do?"

"They did great," Seth laughed. "It almost made me worry for my safety."

"Don't be stupid," Sasha said. "Everybody knows everything about you, including what you look like naked."

"Do you have to bring that up?" he winced.

"Every once in a while," she nodded. "Somebody has to keep you humble. So what are we thinking? Who's going home?"

"I have to pick 3," he explained. "Connecticut's gotta go. It seems like she's only here to fight with the other girls."

"And I'm sure you just hate being fought over," Sasha rolled her eyes.

"I didn't say all that," he laughed. "I just don't want to deal with her specific brand of drama."

"Okay, that's one," Sasha said. "Who else?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I know who I want to keep but I'm not sure if I should."

"Oh," Sasha looked intrigued. "What does that mean?"

Seth knew if there was anyone who could help him figure this out, it was Sasha. She was taking this whole thing more seriously than he was anyway.

"Well," he sighed. "Here's the thing…"

"What do you think is takin' so long?"

Elle looked over at Kentucky, shrugging. She was wondering the same thing. After the last cocktail party, it had only taken 20 minutes for eliminations to start. Daisy said the deliberation was easy as pie. Elle spent almost the entire cocktail party helping Jules who'd grown very ill after eating hot dogs at the carnival. Poor girl really had a rollercoaster of a day.

They'd been waiting for over an hour while Seth made his decisions and the natives were getting restless. A very pale Jules had to have her mic taken off twice to go to the bathroom. Mia was complaining about needing something to eat soon and several of the girls were actually sitting on the floor because their feet hurt too much.

It couldn't have been that hard. He had to cut 3 women, two really since he had to cut Elle. She looked around the room, wondering who was causing the holdup. It definitely wasn't Madison; she'd clearly freaked him out. He was obviously keeping Kai and he'd be an idiot not to keep Harper. It wouldn't be Mia; the producers obviously loved how awful she was. Hopefully he'd at least cut Emily. Even though she was never going to make it far, she hated the idea of either of them outlasting her.

"Oh, there's Daisy!" Harper perked up.

"Our national nightmare is finally over," Elle threw up her hands. She was ready to get this over with, head back upstairs to say goodbye to her fantastic mattress and head home to her tiny apartment.

Daisy approached them looking very apprehensive. She stopped a few feet away from them, pushing her headset down to hang around her neck, "Hey Elle, I need to talk to you for a sec."

"Daisy, when are we getting this show on the road?" Abigail questioned. "If I don't get 8 hours of sleep, I may kill one of these girls."

"Don't make jokes like that. If you actually kill someone, we're all culpable now," Daisy deadpanned. "Elle?"

Confused, Elle picked up her shoes and followed Daisy past the cameras and around the side of the house. Her friend was being oddly quiet, walking with her hands in her pockets. Elle knew Daisy well enough to know that she was nervous but she couldn't imagine why. When she was satisfied with how far they'd gone, Daisy turned around, "We're about to get the ceremony started."

"Good because I don't think Abigail is joking about killing one of them," Elle laughed. "Why'd you need to tell me this over here?"

"Turn your mic off," Daisy instructed, running a hand through her hair. She always played with her hair when she was anxious.

"Daisy, what's going on?" Elle twisted the knob on the top of her mic pack. "What was taking so long with the deliberation? You guys aren't trying to make him keep Florida are you? She freaks him out."

"He wants to keep you," Daisy blurted.

"What?" Elle stared. She heard what her friend said but she felt extremely stupid for a moment because she didn't get why Daisy was telling her this. "What do you mean he wants to keep me?"

"I mean he wants to keep you," Daisy repeated. "He wants you to stay."

"W-why?" Elle didn't know how else to respond. She'd tried being aloof, avoiding his personal questions. People in the house were still talking about her and her stupid cell phone and her having a boyfriend. She had drama with Mia. "He has multiple reasons to send me home."

"Well apparently he doesn't agree," Daisy shrugged. "That's what was taking so long. I tried convincing him it was a bad idea but he's not budging…He likes you."

"That's nonsense. He doesn't like me," Elle insisted. "He doesn't even know me, And I don't like him. I mean, he seems like a nice person but you know what I mean."

Daisy scratched the top of her head, taking a deep breath. There had to be more to this. Daisy knew the plan was for her to leave so why was she even telling her about the deliberation?

"Daisy…" Elle eyed her friend, scrutinizing her body language. "What are you not saying?"

Daisy took a deep breath, clasping her hands together, "Okay, so here's the thing…I want you to do it."

"Excuse me?" Elle's eyes opened wide. "Daisy Jimenez, have you lost your mind?"

"I get a huge bonus if one of my girls makes it to the final 2," Daisy explained. "I figured that once you left, I would throw all my eggs in on Harper and Abigail but…Elle, after watching you two on that date today and seeing the way he pushed to keep you…you are my best chance."

Elle stared at her friend. She couldn't think of anything else to do. Maybe if she gave Daisy the look her mother always gave her when she was doing something stupid, her friend would snap back to reality.

"It's not just the bonus," Daisy tried to reason with her. "I could get a promotion. This could be great for me."

Elle reached out, placing steadying hands on her dear friend's shoulders, "Daisy…I love you. But I am not staying here for you. That is insane."

"Okay, you don't have to win but…just stay a little longer," Daisy said. "It does nothing but help me."

"It does a few other things D," Elle said, counting on her fingers. "It affects my job, my boyfriend who you seem to have forgotten. It also affects these other girls who actually seem to think that they're going to find true love here. And Seth. I can't actually tell how seriously he takes this thing but…I don't want to keep lying to him. It feels uncool. He's…not a jerk."

"You like him," Daisy pointed.

"No I don't," Elle scoffed. "Do not try and project some weirdness onto me to get me to stay here."

"I'm not projecting," Daisy said. "You are clearly attracted to him."

"I'm a human woman, of course I'm physically attracted to him," Elle whispered harshly. "Look, even if I wanted to do this, I can't. I have to get back to work."

"What if I could work something out with Poppy?" Daisy offered. "We could shoot a date at the restaurant, Poppy loves publicity."

Elle put her hands on her hips, trying out the look again.

"Just think about it," Daisy pressed her hands together. "I will understand if you say no but he's probably gonna call your name."

Someone was calling Daisy's name over her headphones and she put them back on her ears, turning her microphone back on, "I'll be right there. Tell everyone we're starting in 10."

"Just consider it," Daisy squeezed Elle's hand before rushing off.

Elle stared after her friend, her head spinning from what she'd just thrown at her. Maybe she could get Abigail to turn her hangry rage on Daisy.

"Ladies," Corey stood beside Seth as they finally begin the necklace ceremony. "Three of you will be leaving us tonight. If Seth calls your name, please come forward and accept your necklace. If your name is not called, I'm afraid you'll have to head inside and pack your belongings."

Seth's eyes scanned the group, 3 rows of beautiful women. This whole thing still felt very foreign to him. He felt bad having to send any of them home but this was what he signed up for.

He picked up the first necklace and took a deep breath, "Kai."

Kai beamed with excitement and hugged Madison before rushing forward. Seth slipped the necklace over her head and she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

He called Harper next. The redhead had answered the most questions correctly on her team. Unfortunately, she was the only one on her team during the game who seemed to know anything about him.

As he continued to call names and hand out necklaces, his eyes drifted to Elle. She was in the back row standing between Harper and Alice. He could see her hand tapping against her thigh and with every name he called, it seemed to move faster. When he called Jules, she reached back to squeeze Elle's hand and the brunette barely reacted before giving her friend a weak smile. She seemed anxious and he wondered if it was because she wanted to stay or because she wanted to leave. He couldn't read her the way he could the other girls. That was part of why he wanted her to stay. She kept his interest.

Seth continued calling names until he had 2 necklaces left. 2 necklaces and 5 women.

"Emily," he forced a smile. Keeping her was a concession. He wanted to send her home but the producers liked how doggedly determined and prickly she was. She shot a smug smile to the other women before coming up to retrieve her necklace.

"Remember what I said before," he advised. "Focus on yourself."

"I remember," she smiled before returning to the line.

He picked up the necklace, toying with the key charm as he looked at each of the remaining women.

"Elle," he smiled.

Her eyes widened and her hand kept shaking but she didn't immediately move. Harper patted her on the back as she snapped out of whatever was holding her in place, moving toward him. She walked up to Seth with a nervous grin and he smiled, "Are you willing to stick around and keep me sane?"

She bit her bottom lip, looking down at the necklace and then back up at him. She took a slow, deep breath and then shrugged, "Sure. Let's do it."

Elle clenched her thumbnail between her teeth, looking around her darkened bedroom. She couldn't sleep. She'd tried to go to bed the moment she got out of her dress after elimination but she couldn't get her mind to stop racing. She should have been on her way home but instead she was sitting up in her bed with Harper snoring quietly in the bed beside hers. When Seth called her name, she had no plan. She just got so flustered standing there with him smiling at her. Then she thought of everything that Daisy said about how much this could help just blurted out the first thing that came to mind and, oddly enough, that was agreeing to stay. She didn't know how she was going to explain this to Ethan or to Poppy. She rubbed her face, knowing that sleep wasn't going to happen anytime soon. She crawled out of bed, tip toeing out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. The cameramen were gone until the morning and it was an immense relief to be able to move freely without anyone tracking her or stopping her to strap a microphone on her. She considered stopping in the kitchen but decided that fresh air would help more than late night eating. She slipped out the doors to the pool area, keeping them cracked so that she could get back in without any trouble.

She jumped, gasping when she saw a figure sitting on one of the lounge chairs. The man moved, looking over his shoulder.

"Elle?"

"Seth?" she questioned when he stood up and faced her. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry," he smiled apologetically.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, feeling uncharacteristically modest. She'd neglected to put on pants again. Fortunately, the shirt she wore stopped halfway down her thighs.

"I had to stay behind and film some stuff," he answered. "I figured you guys would all be asleep."

"Everyone else is," she admitted, crossing her arms. "I just couldn't sleep. Do I need to go back inside? Should we be talking?"

"You don't have to go anywhere," Seth laughed, putting his hands in his pockets. He'd taken off his suit jacket and the white shirt underneath fit him like a glove. "Are you okay? You seemed frazzled at the elimination ceremony."

"Do you find it as ridiculous as I do that they call it a ceremony?" she laughed.

"I do," he said, heading back to the lounge chair he'd vacated. She sat down on the next one, making sure to put her hands in her lap.

"All of this stuff is ridiculous," he divulged with a laugh. "I didn't even want to do this show. I make fun of my mom for watching The Bachelor."

"Why did you do it then?" she asked, curious. She didn't understand why he was revealing this information but he seemed to need to share.

"Honestly?"

"Obviously," she gestured for him to continue.

"I could have gotten into some trouble if I didn't do it," he explained. "And it wasn't worth the fight so I just agreed."

"Should you be telling me this?" she leaned forward.

"I probably shouldn't," he laughed as if the realization had just hit him.

"Don't worry. It can be our little secret," she offered, almost relieved to hear that he wasn't seriously invested.

He nodded, turning to her with a Cheshire grin, "Like your boyfriend?"

Elle gawked at him, "What?"

Alarm bells were going off in her head and she stared questioningly at him.

He chuckled at her response, "You are the only one of the girls who didn't go through their Instagram and scrub it clean of any other guys."

The idea never occurred to her. She wasn't supposed to be there long enough for it to matter anyway.

"The phone thing was also kind of a giveaway," he added.

She blinked at him, totally lost. He didn't seem the least bit upset about her lying to him. In fact, he seemed to be getting a kick out of it.

"Why did you pretend to believe me?" she asked.

"Because these filming days are long and annoying and of all the girls in the house, you are the one I like talking to the most," he answered. "Plus, it doesn't hurt that you are stunning."

She blushed, shaking her head, "I don't get it…Why keep me when you know I have a boyfriend?"

"It's pretty simple," he said, picking up his suit jacket and standing up. "I'm hoping I can change that."

Elle felt her jaw drop and her brain wasn't firing the signal to close her mouth.

"I should let you get to bed," Seth said, flashing her the most charming smile she may have ever seen. He looked supremely confident. "I'll see you in a few days."

Elle watched his back as he walked away. Her mind was blown. She'd agreed to stay without any plan for her real life and now Seth knew about her boyfriend. And even more, he didn't care.

She walked slowly back to her bedroom, trying to make heads or tails of what was happening. She crept back into the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Elle?" Harper stirred. Her accent was even heavier in her half-awake state.

"Yeah, it's just me. Go back to sleep."

"Are you okay?" Harper yawned.

Elle pulled back her covers, slipping under the sheets, "I'm…not entirely sure."