The day finally arrived for me to begin my Most Eligible Bachelor Journey. I flew to Eureka, California, early in the morning. A limo took me to a nearby hotel. There, I was treated to a full body wax, mani-pedi and styled by professional hair and makeup stylists. Like I needed even more primping after being subjected to torture at Allegra's hands for the past few months. I honestly felt like Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games. 

By the time I was beautified to their satisfaction, it was late afternoon and I was starving. They must have read my mind because they plopped me into a room and told me to order room service and eat before putting on my gown for the night. Or pant suit, in my case. I ordered a steak, salad, and a nice glass of wine. At that point, I might have needed a whole bottle to calm my nerves. It was finally sinking in that, not only was I participating in this circus, it was all going to be recorded and played back for the entire world. No pressure, right?

After I'd finished my dinner – and it was a damn good steak – I brushed my teeth and put on my fancy pants. I chuckled to myself at my play on words. Too bad Allegra wasn't there to appreciate it.

When I was finally ready, I was brought to a limo with five other women. It would only take about an hour to arrive at the mansion where I would be spending a day, possibly. Maybe a week? Or if Mr. Wonderful really liked me, maybe he would whisk me off into the sunset on his white stallion!

I reminded myself to tame the sarcasm. With all the pampering and spoiling so far, I was finding this more enjoyable than I had expected. So far. I normally wasn't a fan of all the beauty hype, but maybe that was just because it was so expensive. This was all free, so I just considered it a bonus part of my vacation.

Just before I was about to get into the limo, one of the producers shoved a glass of champagne into my hand. So I climbed in awkwardly, trying not to spill the over-sized glass. You would have thought I was a piece of trash with the way one of the women - a blonde wearing very expensive diamond earrings, as far as I could tell - studied me; she looked me up, down, and sideways, seeming to analyze every square inch of my body, my clothing, my hair. Luckily I had expected this from some of the others, so I was prepared. In my line of work, it helped to be except some criticism or rejection and to know how to deal with it.

Once inside, I simply extended my hand to the smiling blonde woman next to me. "Hi, I'm Harper," I said, smiling my most dazzling smile.

She shook my hand willingly, and I relaxed. "I'm Brittany." I was happy that not everyone was a snob.

"Where are you from, Brittany?"

"I'm from Louisiana," she drawled. "I'm a reporter." Her long, low, drawn-out syllables made me envision her in 19th century finery, like a proper Southern belle.

"TV or newspaper? I asked.

"WFRY, your station to get the news while it's still hot," she said with a very cheesy, very reporter-like smile and a much clearer accent. "One of the TV stations in Baton Rouge."

"I like that," I told her. "I love word plays. I'm in advertising, so I'm always thinking of creative ways to use words as well."

I turned to the woman who had scrutinized me as I entered the limo. "Hi, I'm Harper."

She glanced at me but didn't move a muscle. "I heard you the first time," she said.

"And you are....?"

"Dove, if you must know."

I wasn't sure how I got on her bad side so quickly.

I said, "We might be spending some time together over the next few weeks, so I thought it would be nice to get to know each other."

Dove looked at me with disdain. "Listen, I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to get a man. Hopefully, a successful and handsome man. I'm not interested in getting to know anyone else."

In that moment of clarity, I understood how I'd gotten on her bad side. Apparently it was the only side she had. She went back to staring out the window and I mouthed, Okay.

Brittany tried to stifle a giggle and the girl sitting next to her looked over and said, "Hey, I'm Jamie. Are you nervous?"

"No, I'm not actually. I'm not really sure what to expect. My best friend talked me into this, so I'm just here to make her happy. I've never even seen the show, to be honest."

"You're kidding!" Brittany and Jamie said in unison, and the other two caught some interest in our conversation as well.

"No, does that sound terrible?" I asked. "I think this will be a fun adventure, but I'm seriously not planning on falling head over heels for Mr. Right. I think it takes a lot more than a romantic setting and beauty products to make a relationship work. It should be fun, but I'm not expecting anything else, actually."

"Wow, I wish I could be that relaxed about it," Brittany complained. "I'm so ready to get married. I've been in one bad relationship after another, and I'm sick of it. If this doesn't work out, I'm seriously thinking of joining the convent."

"Are you even Catholic?" Dove sneered.

"It's just an expression," Brittany snapped and now it was my turn to pretend I wasn't laughing.

I could tell that Dove was going to be handful. I hoped she was eliminated immediately. Or maybe I could eliminate her right now by opening the limo door and-

"I heard that this bachelor is actually a celebrity!" One of the other girls said. "Oh, I'm Victoria, by the way. And this is Shailene." She motioned to the woman sitting across from her. Then she whispered, "We met earlier when we both sneaked out of our rooms." 

"I know, wasn't that crazy?" I asked. "I felt like a criminal, being cooped up like that." Dove rolled her eyes. I ignored her.

Victoria continued, "Wouldn't it be amazing if it was a celebrity? Who would you want it to be, Harper?"

I laughed at the idea. I wasn't one of those girls who had many celebrity crushes. I liked to keep my head and my heart firmly planted in the realm of reality. It made no sense to go off pining away over some guy who would never, ever notice me. I liked to try to be realistic about everything in my life, especially relationships. Of course, that didn't mean I never noticed handsome men. I actually met many good-looking men in my line of work.

The  idea of dating a celebrity didn't appeal to me one bit. I know,most girls on the planet wouldn't understand what would possess me to think that way, but I just think it would be a lot of work, having your every move analyzed by the critics, the spotlight and the tabloids. Plus, I had my doubts that any celebrity could make a long-term commitment. I didn't think stars were evil or anything, but it was the nature of the job, as far as I could tell. Making movies or doing concerts all over the world and having fans throw themselves at your feet just didn't lend itself to a life of normalcy.

But when it came right down to it, I guess I had to admit that I just didn't think an actor or a music star or even a sports celebrity could be completely humble and down to earth. It would be impossible to think of yourself as an ordinary person if you had enough money and fame to buy the a small country.

"Um, I really don't know."

"Seriously? There's not one hot actor that you'd date if you had the chance?" This was from Shailene. She was what I would consider cute, maybe pixie like, with very short, brown, close-cropped hair and amazing eyes. And matching her southern-sounding name, her Texas accent confirmed her origins.

"Okay, maybe Patrick Dempsey."

"He's hot, but he's ancient!" Jamie laughed.

"I like older men," I defended myself with a smirk.

Brittany said, "Tom Welling. I used to love Smallville when I was little and oh, my gosh. He's the cutest!"

Jamie said, "He's pretty old, too. What about James Franco?"

"Ian Somerhalder!" Brittany said.

"He got married last year, remember?" Victoria added.

"Chris Evans," I volunteered.

"Ugh, no. He's got too much of a good boy image," said Jamie wrinkling her nose. "I like bad boys myself."

"Oh, my gosh, can you think of anyone under 40?" Shailene laughed.

"Liam Hemsworth!"

"Nick Jonas!"

"Zac Efron!"

I listened in amusement at the back and forth gossip. I was familiar with all the names, but I wasn't sure if I could pick them all out from a photo. I enjoyed the movies and I appreciated a handsome leading man, but I didn't take much time to investigate their personal lives.

"Oohh, what about Niall Horan?" Jamie asked, practically drooling.

"He's not a bad boy," Brittany said to her.

"So what?" She replied. "I bet he could be bad if he wanted to." 

"Who's that?" I asked innocently.

Brittany and Jamie looked at me like I had grown another eye in the middle of my forehead. "Are you serious? Niall Horan? The most single guy in One  Direction!?" Jamie asked.

"That boy band?" I asked, to clarify.

"No, no, no,"Brittany said rapidly. "They were boys five years ago. Now they're the hottest band in the world! Well right now they're on hiatus, but when they come back, they'll be better than ever. You've never heard any of their music?"

"I'm sure I have. I just don't know the band members names," I said, wracking my brain to come up with one song title that I might recognize as theirs. Brittany and Jamie helped me out by holding up their fists and singing into their fake microphones, "Baby, you light up my world like nobody else, the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed-"

"And now they're singing," Dove grumbled under her breath, but she obviously intended for us to hear. I was sitting slightly behind Dove since we were sitting at an angle, and she was looking out the window, so I silently flipped her off . The other women burst out laughing. I put my finger across my lips to shush them. Luckily Dove didn't flinch, but she probably knew we were laughing at her. I'd have to remember not to do that in front of the cameras.

"Anyway,you should hear Made in the AM," Jamie resumed talking about One Direction. "Or Midnight Memories. They have such a great variety of sounds. I admit the first two albums were very boy band-ish, so you probably wouldn't like them. But they were never a boy band. Period. They were young, but they didn't do that stupid choreographed stuff and wear matching outfits. And now, they're men," she said dreamily.

"So, Niall's the lead singer or something?" I asked.

Again, they laughed at my ignorance. "There's no lead singer," Jamie answered. "Well, except that Harry Styles acts like he is. He's got quite the attitude, but the other guys keep him in check. I mean, they're all hot and they're amazing singers."

"Harry Styles," I mused. "I've heard of him, mainly because he's on the cover of the tabloids all the time." 

"Yep, that's Harry. I guess he's technically single, too, but happily so. He has a reputation for his frequent hook ups and short-lived romances. I think he'll be a playboy his whole life," Jamie sighed.

"Don't say that," Brittany said. "He's been saying he wants to find the right girl and settle down."

"Like hell he does!" Jamie laughed. "You know, Louis is single, too, but he has a baby. Probably would be hard for him to do something like this." 

"There are other bands with cute guys, you know," Shailene said. "Five Seconds of Summer, Fall Out Boy, Maroon 5." 

"Well, I honestly don't think I'd care for a celebrity," I said. "I don't want to live my life in the spotlight, especially not in someone else's spotlight. Besides, how many celebrity marriages actually last?"

"Maybe this will be one of the few that does," Victoria pointed out.

"Or maybe he's not a celebrity at all," Dove muttered. 

We ignored her and the rest of the limo ride was spent in small talk, for which I was grateful. I was afraid of walking into a room full of Doves, so I was very grateful to have hit it off with these ladies. 

When we arrived, we were instructed to go inside and mingle, have drinks and snacks, whatever we wanted until the bachelor showed up. Apparently, this was different than other seasons when the bachelor was already there and greeted each girl as she exited the limo. We all gave Dove her space, allowing her to get out before us. Then the rest of us walked in together, laughing and talking.

As soon as our feet hit the pavement, there were cameras rolling. From then on, cameras would record our every move, every word from the time we woke up in the morning to the time we went to bed at night.

I was starting to feel a little nervous now, wondering who this guy actually was, knowing we would all meet him in a short time. I didn't like the unknown, but I just tried not to think about it when I stepped into the ballroom-style space in the mansion. A tuxedoed waiter came along with an enormous tray, carrying wine glasses, mixed drink tumblers, and pilsner glasses. "Drinks, ladies?" He asked with a wide grin. He was pretty good looking. How cool would it be if he was the bachelor, disguising himself as a waiter? That would be an interesting twist.

The other women eagerly took another glass of anything they could get their hands on. I refused at first, but cutie-pie urged, "Come on, are you sure? This one's a spritzer," he said, setting the tray down momentarily to point to the drink. "It's half wine, half club soda, not as much alcohol."

"Did I say I was worried about the alcohol?" I bantered.

"No, but you're one of the few who refused a drink. Most women at these events drink non-stop to calm their nerves."

"Can you blame them?" I asked. "After all, we are just waiting to be paraded in front of a man to see if he finds us worthy of his affections."

The waiter laughed. "You definitely don't sound like the others either. How did you end up here?"

"It's a long story," I said, shaking my head. I took the spritzer and walked away, saying, "Thanks for the tip."

Ours must have been the last limo to arrive because there were already many women there, dressed in silk, satin, beads, diamonds and mountain-high footwear. The shoes Allegra had chosen to go with this outfit were no exception, but I felt like I was on stilts. I was happy with three or four-inch heels, but these suckers were probably coming off before the bachelor even arrived.

I wandered towards the balcony doors at the end of the ballroom as my friends from the limo dispersed. The mansion was situated high in the mountains with a picturesque view of the Pacific Ocean in the distance. This was fantastic - I was already starting to relax with the luxury of this place. It was rather quiet on the balcony, but soon, I heard excited screams, so I figured I'd better head back inside to see if Mr. Wonderful had arrived. It was a false alarm, just some girls giggling about who knows what.

I met a few more women, and it was then that I realized there were indeed people here from around the world. I met a very tall, very gorgeous woman from Nigeria. Her name was Oluchi. I had to ask her to repeat it a few times to make sure I was saying it right. She had seemed shy at first, standing off to the side by herself, the same as a few other women were doing. Not everyone was cut out for this kind of socializing. I found out that Oluchi was a financial analyst in Lagos. After that, it was small talk about how we had each decided to be on the show.

I also met a woman named Hanan, from Egypt, as well as Lucy, who came from Australia, and Brenda, from Thailand. I had a feeling I would really like Lucy – she had an easy smile and a pretty relaxed personality. As I wandered through the crowd and observed the diversity of the women here, I suddenly felt an unusual flash of insecurity. Any of these women could be models or actresses. And then there was me. I didn't feel like I had anything special to offer, but then I reminded myself that most of the women probably felt like me, evaluating their competition and thinking that maybe they weren't so special in the presence of all these exceedingly beautiful women. Dove excluded, of course - it was obvious that she thought too highly of herself.

This poor bachelor guy was going to have one heck of a decision on his hands. He was supposed to send at least eight women home during the first candle ceremony, after his first impressions. No pressure, right?

During the time that I wasn't mingling, I was exploring the little bit of the mansion that I was allowed to - basically two enormous rooms, a hallway and a bathroom. It was quite the spectacular home with exquisite Italian tile floors and intricate detail painted into the stucco walls. There were framed photos of all the previous Most Eligible Bachelor seasons, probably from each of their opening nights. All the women were smiling and didn't look too intoxicated yet. I wondered how the same pictures would look at the end of the season with all those women who hadn't won the bachelor's heart reunited. It was the first time that I really thought about this whole process. I wanted to make friends with the other women, but at some point, all but one of us would be hurt, either by the bachelor, by each other, or both.

____

double update :D