The Last Goodbye

Patrick stared at everyone in shock, not believing what he had just heard Adam say. Most of the contestants seemed angry at the news, while the others just looked as shocked as Patrick felt at the moment. “What do you mean I’m not part of the date tonight?” Patrick questioned, eyeing Adam, waiting on an explanation.

“That’s exactly what I mean. You’re not going on the date tonight. The girls will be spending one-on-one time with Jonathan, Brady, and Erica, so that they can get to know each other, which will allow your friends to decide who they think is best for you and who they should eliminate,” Adam explained.

“But, they’re dating me, not them,” Patrick whined, sounding like a little kid.

“Pat, it’s one date,” Erica said. “Stop acting like a baby and go to your room,” she ordered. Even though she was technically younger than Patrick, often times she acted like the older sister, and this was one of those times.

“Oooh, she told you!” Adam exclaimed, forgetting that the cameras were rolling. “Better go, man, before she gets even more pissed off!”

“Shut up, Bur,” Erica said, shoving Adam. She had known Adam since Patrick had started playing for the Blackhawks, and they had definitely developed a brother-sister relationship over the years.

“No need to get physical,” Adam told her.

“Can we please just get on with this?” Jonathan requested.

“Sure,” Adam nodded his head. “Patrick, if you’ll let us be, your friends are going to be going on dates with the girls to get to know them better. Then, tomorrow night, we’ll have the elimination ceremony to see who each of them have decided to get rid of and who will make up the final five,” he told him.

“This is stupid,” Patrick rolled his eyes.

“Dude, it’s one night,” Brady spoke up. “You can handle giving up the girls for one night,” he said.

“Whatever,” Patrick scoffed, walking up the stairs.

“He is such a baby sometimes,” Erica said. “Are you girls sure that you actually want to start a relationship with him?” she asked, and she heard Jonathan mutter something under his breath next to her. She turned to look at him. “What?” she asked him.

“Nothing,” he told her innocently, and Erica narrowed her eyes at him as the cameras turned off while the girls left to get ready for the date. He saw Erica continue to stare at him, and he let out a sigh. “Fine. I just think it’s funny that you think Pat’s in this to start a relationship with one of these girls.”

“Of course he is!” Erica exclaimed. “Why else would he go through all of this?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Jonathan bit his bottom lip, trying to figure out how to answer her, knowing that he would be talking about her brother. “Uhhh,” he trailed off.

“Because all Kaner’s trying to do is get laid,” Adam answered for him.

“What?” Erica questioned, looking between Adam, Jonathan, and Brady, who had been awfully quiet up until now.

“He’s right,” Brady nodded in agreement. “Come on, Erica, you didn’t think he actually wants to start a relationship with one of those girls, did you?” he questioned, and Erica shrugged her shoulders. “He’s a twenty-one year old guy. All he’s looking for is sex.”

“Oh, is that right?” she asked. “Is that all you’re looking for?” she questioned, looking Brady straight in the eye before turning to look at Jonathan. “Or you?” she asked, and Jonathan looked down at the ground, not wanting to respond to her.

“Of course it is!” Brady exclaimed. “All we want is sex!” he yelled, just as Delaney walked into the room.

“Umm, okay,” she said with a nervous laugh. “I think I walked in at the wrong time,” she said, walking over towards the group. “Adam, I just wanted to let you know that you’re still going to be going out on the date with them,” she said, looking up at him.

“Are you going, too?” he inquired.

Delaney nodded her head. “Yeah, is that okay?”

“Wouldn’t want to go without you,” Adam smiled at her as she nodded her head, letting them know that they would be leaving in fifteen minutes, before she left the room to do some last minute things. Adam and her had finally seemed to find some sort of friendship that worked for both of them, and both were happy that things weren’t extremely awkward between them, and that they were able to enjoy each other’s company while they watched all the dates from afar, often times joking around.

Erica looked over at Adam after Delaney had left the room. “What’s going on with you and that producer?” she inquired, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing,” Adam shook his head.

“Then what was going on between the two of you?” Erica continued.

“Well, in the beginning, I liked her, and then Kaner went and kissed her, and then I went out with her. And, now we’re friends,” Adam summed up the last couple of months quickly, leaving the other three staring out him, all with their jaws dropped.

“Back up,” Jonathan ordered. “Did you say Kaner kissed her?” he asked, trying to comprehend everything that Adam had just said.

“Forget I said that,” Adam said quickly, realizing he had made a big mistake revealing that tiny bit of information.

“Is Patrick hooking up with the producer?” Erica questioned, raising her voice.

“Shhhhhh!” Adam shushed urgently. “No one ever said that!”

“Adam,” Erica said through gritted teeth, placing her hands on her hips. “You better start explaining right now, or so help me God,” she began before stopping talking when she saw Delaney enter the room once again.

“Adam, are you bothering her?” Delaney asked, having caught Erica’s last sentence.

“Not at all,” Adam said, thanking his lucky stars that Delaney hadn’t overheard what they had been talking about, nor did the contestants. He could just imagine how that would have gone down with any of the girls. “Are we about ready?” he asked, trying to get off of the subject of Delaney.

“Yep, the girls will be down in just a moment,” Delaney told them, and Adam let out the breath he was holding, thankful that this night could begin and hopefully the three others would forget about the secret he had just let slip out.

***

Three hours later, Erica slumped down on the couch, rolling her eyes at everything she had just witnessed and been told. “Please tell me you two are thinking what I’m thinking,” she said, looking up at Brady and Jonathan.

“Depends,” Brady began, plopping down next to her. “Are you thinking that Kaner is one lucky guy to be surrounded by all those hot girls?” he asked with a smirk, preparing himself for the punch he knew he was about to receive from Erica.

As expected, seconds later, Erica punched him right in the biceps. “No!” she exclaimed. “I’m thinking that my brother has got to be the most idiotic person on this planet to ever agree to this show and to spend this long with all those girls!”

“Come on,” Jonathan said, trying to stop the fight that was beginning to ensue. “Not all of them were that bad!” he claimed.

“Please, did you not talk to any of them?” Erica questioned as Jonathan took a seat across from her and Brady. “Umm, all that one girl talked about was all of her secret, hidden piercings and tattoos. Is that really a nice conversation to have with the sister of the guy you’re trying to get?” she asked, involuntarily shivering at the thought of Rosie.

“No!” Brady whined. “Why didn’t she talk to me about that?”

“Shut up,” Erica rolled her eyes at him. “And, what about that one girl that even admitted that all she wanted out of Pat was sex?” she continued.

“Erica, that’s every guy’s dream girl,” Brady informed her.

“And, what about,” Erica began once again.

“What about Raylene?” Jonathan interrupted her, and Erica instantly quieted down, looking over at him, waiting on him to continue. “She seemed like a nice girl.”

“She’s got a crazy past,” Erica told him.

“I think we’ve all got a crazy past,” Jonathan chuckled. “And, what was so bad about her past?” he asked. “She told me she grew up in foster care.”

“She got shuffled from place to place. Don’t you find it a little weird that no one wanted to keep her very long?” Erica asked.

“Insensitive much?” Jonathan asked, turning on Erica. “Erica, what is your problem? Are you just trying to find something wrong with each girl? I’m not saying that most of them aren’t crazy and just here for the attention, but I really don’t think that’s why all of them are here. Raylene and Kristalyn, they seemed like nice girls. But, for some reason, you want to put them down, too. Do you just not think that anyone’s good enough for Kaner, or what?” Jonathan ended his rant.

Erica stared at him for a moment, unable to believe that he had just gone off on her like that. She was used to everyone agreeing with her, no questions asked. “Maybe I just think that the contestants aren’t good enough for him,” she spoke in a calm voice. “And, maybe I just think that he’s too young to be looking for the love of his life on this show. He’s got plenty of time to figure it out. And, in all honesty, I don’t think he’s going to find the one person for him on a reality show.”

“Maybe he’s not looking for the love of his life on this show,” Brady spoke up. “Maybe he’s just looking for a little action.”Erica rolled her eyes at him. “Think about it, Erica,” he continued. “Do you really think that Pat’s looking for the one right now? Hell no! He’s just looking to pass some time and gain some attention from the ladies,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t take this all so seriously.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Erica said slowly, thinking about what he had just said.

“I’m always right,” Brady smirked.