SimLit Legacy Stories by Sharon

The next day proved to be quite interesting. I awoke earlier than usual, unable to go back to sleep, so I prepared myself for the onslaught of attention I’m always getting since this crazy experience began. As much as I’d have loved to catch a few more winks, the alternative was much more entertaining. Laban was standing outside my door when I emerged and asked how I’d like to try out the massage table. Being the smart fairy I am, I wasn’t about to turn that down. Not only did Laban have Fae magic at his fingertips, but he had magic fingers. That man had me all but purring by the time he was done with me.

All too soon, it was over. “How was it?” he asked.

“I’d have given you three more hours to stop,” I said, smiling in gratitude. “It was wonderful. Talk about a way to spark inspiration!”

We spent a few more minutes talking until I heard raucous laughter a little distance away.

Declan was over there messing with the beer keg, and I could tell he was rather tanked. “Isn’t it a little early for that?” I asked.

“Nah,” he said. “Hell, in some parts of the world, it’s after five PM anyway. You only live once, so might as well enjoy it while you can. Hey, help me do a keg stand, yeah?”

A burble of laughter escaped and soon, I was hooting with hilarity. Declan had such a fun, spontaneous side that was hard to resist. “Well, if you’re willing to make a fool of yourself on national TV, who am I to spoil your fun?” I said. So, I helped him with the keg stand.

I was laughing the whole time I was holding onto him. When he was done, he tried to land on his feet but was too soused to manage it. He went down, belched, then spilled beer all over himself. I was holding my sides as my laughter increased. “Oh my gosh! Declan, are you okay?” I barely managed to get the words out in between bursts of glee.

“Yep, expect I smell like a brewery now. Gonna go change,” he said. I fell to the ground rolling around in a helpless fit of laughter as he staggered off inside.

I had myself under control by the time he returned. Control was the last thing on my mind as my eyes went right to his bare chest. I know I’m shameless to take advantage of a drunk man, but I finally lost the battle. I gave him a hug, which gave me the perfect excuse to run my hands down that tanned, brawny chest of his.

One by one, the other guys came over, and thus began a new day of activity as the sun rose higher in the sky.

I noticed that the guys were starting to look at me in a different light. Up till now, everything was friendly enough but now, it was hard to miss the flirtatious looks that were coming more often. Conversations also started turning in new directions. More than once, I was asked about family, babies, and what I wanted in a relationship. All these guys were great and I cared about all of them in different ways.

Before I came on the show, I told myself to keep an open mind. I knew others, including Lenora, had found love on Soulmates, but others hadn’t been so lucky. Some of the relationships in previous seasons hadn’t lasted beyond a few months and yet, there were plenty that were gong strong and would last forever. I didn’t know what the cards held in store for me, and above all, I didn’t want to hurt anyone, including myself. If I made the wrong decision, I knew it could haunt me for the rest of my life.

My head was absolutely spinning as the morning wore on. I was uncertain about so many things, but one thing I was very sure of was that I needed to gain some perspective. I had to break away and have a meeting with Jen.

Before I made it inside, Eli stopped me. His smile turned into a slight frown when he got a look at me. “Hey, you okay?”

“I’m okay, just a bit dazed,” I said. “This is all still a lot for me to take in.”

“I’m sure it must seem like a full moon with you in the middle of a pack of hungry wolves,” he said.

I nodded, feeling unexpected tears sting my eyes. I blinked them back and tried to smile.

“Whatever happens, it’s written in the stars. You’ll sort it out,” he said. “The heart never lies.”

I was nearly undone by his words of comfort and how gentle they sounded. “I have to believe that.”

I sat in the date room for a while after talking with Jen. When I said that I’d like some one-on-one time with the guys, she agreed. Everything always just seemed so chaotic and random, and I didn’t want to base my final decision on that. I wanted to spend time with each guy uninterrupted.

It was decided that I would have one hour with each guy to just talk on a friendly basis. I fervently hoped this would help me make sense of things and try to figure out what direction my head and heart were going.

I started off with Ben. We had a very pleasant, easy conversation where we talked about our respective hometowns. He asked me if I liked flowers, being I was a fairy as he’d heard that fairies tended to have an extra green thumb.

Declan was next. This time, I was glad he wasn’t shirtless because, for once, I didn’t want that to distract me. He was fun and energetic, and I was glad he was sober. He talked about his favorite video games and then started to flirt with me. I guess flit and Declan in the same sentence will always be synonymous. Flirting seems to just be what Declan does.

Next was Eli. We talked about everything from hating yard work to our favorite books. He was very sweet and so easy to talk to. Even if it didn’t work out romantically between us, I wanted to keep him as a friend after all this was over.

Eric was next. Things were a little stilted, but we did manage to have a nice conversation. I reminded him that no matter what happened here, I still planned to fulfill my agreement to model for him. He smiled and challenged me to a video game tournament sometime.

Jared, then, was up. He was a very nice guy who brought out his flirty side. We talked about our families and then did some mild flirting. The time we spent together was free and easy, which I enjoyed.

Laban was just a total sweetheart. Aside from Gentian, he was definitely the most unique looking of the guys, but that never seemed to bother him. I wondered if he was a complete pushover when it came to his sisters or if he was a fierce protector who scared away all their dates.

Pierce was very lively and energetic. He was someone who liked to be in the thick of things, so he was ready for action at a moment’s notice. We had a nice time talking about music and art – two subjects near and dear to my heart.

I was ready to eat everything in sight by the time I’d finished. I grabbed a bite to eat and sat mulling things over.

It was decision time again, and I honestly felt really bad about this one.

Eric really is a great guy, and I wish him all the best. I hope he finds his true love, someone he can immortalize on film and in his heart for all time.