Will You Accept This Rose?

3. Game

Lucy woke up still giddy about the kiss she shared with Tim, and she had to go downstairs and eat breakfast with all of the other women that had no idea how she had broken the rules and gotten plenty of alone time with Tim. She had always been a rule follower, but if being disobedient could be so rewarding, her perspective was certainly about to change.

John walked into the mansion and said, "Good morning, ladies. Today is our first one on one date of the week where one of you will get to spend the entire day with Tim. He'll be here in two hours to pick up..." he paused for dramatic effect. "Ashley M."

Ashley McGrady blushed as the other women offered her fake applause at their pretend happiness that someone else was going on a date with Tim.

Lucy plastered on a smile, but she hated the idea of Tim going out with someone else. She wanted to be the only one, but that was not the nature of the show.

Two hours later, Ashley came down the stairs looking beautiful, and all the other contestants complimented her, but Lucy was only focusing on the door. Waiting. Tim walked in, and she held her breath wondering how they would interact with each other after what happened between them. Would he ignore her? Would he say something? Was he even allowed to address her?

First dates are always nerve wracking, but picking up a date at a house filled with other women waiting to go on a first date with him was an entirely different level of anxiety. Tim had no idea what he needed in order to calm down, and then he felt a pair of eyes on him like a lighthouse's beam of light shining on him and giving him hope he would reach the shore despite the choppy waves surrounding him. He saw LUCY.

She could not explain how she knew since his face was a perfect mask of neutrality, but she could tell he was anxious. Lucy blinked then blew out a breath to silently urge him to do the same.

He did. He exhaled, and then he slightly nodded in appreciation. How could Lucy calm him within the span of three seconds? Tim wanted to go to her and thank her, but he knew the rules that Noah gave him: he was not allowed to interact with any other contestant when he went to the Bachelor Mansion to pick up his date. He was aware he broke enough rules the day prior and decided to be obedient regardless of how tempted he was to talk to Lucy. Then, he remembered that they were going to see each other the following day. He could have her calming presence for hours and hopefully, her lips, too. Tim smiled at all the women then pointedly glanced at Lucy before ushering Ashley out of the mansion and over to his car. He selected a cherry red convertible for his date with Ashley, because the black car he drove in the day before still smelled like Lucy, and he did not want another woman to change that.

Once the excitement of Tim's arrival subsided, the women resumed their favorite activity of fighting with one another, so Lucy went into the second floor sunroom that had become her hideaway...but someone else was occupying one side of the couch. "Hi."

"Hey, if you're here to talk, go somewhere else. I'm reading," Laura Stensen said.

"Oh, no, I came to read, too. Mind if I stay in here with you?" Lucy asked.

"Sure, just don't tell my roommates where I am if you see them. They're driving me insane."

"Mine, too. Who are your roommates?"

"Simone and Katie," Laura answered unhappily.

"Which Katie?" Everyone in the mansion knew of Simone and her loud voice, but there were two contestants named Katie.

"Katie Barnes."

"She seems cool, and she's beautiful," Lucy said.

"Yeah, well, she talks to me just fine, but then she's super quiet around Simone and asks me to talk for her. This isn't a game of telephone. If Katie wants to talk to Simone, she should. It's all a little too immature for me, so I'm going to sit here and read instead."