Day 5: The Keeper

 On today's episode of For Love or Money, a special guest pays our girls a visit.



Rosetta seems to be an early riser. Look at her go at that ice cream maker. She must really like ice cream that much.


"Morning, ladies."

"Hey, Mac."

"We got something special lined up for you girls today."


"Are we going to play basthketball again?" Pricilla asks.


"Not quite. I have to inform you that you won't be seeing Landon today for our next challenge. Instead, we have a special guest in the house. You'll be spending time with that person throughout the day, and our guest will be the one to decide who gets to go on the next group date."

"Now, our guest is someone very special to Landon. Derrick, come on out!"




"What's up, ladies?"

"Hi, Derrick."
"Hello!"
"I'm good."


"Just to introduce myself, I'm Derrick Barnes, and I'm Landon's little brother. He's older than me by a year and a half. Since the age gap between us is very small, we're pretty tight."

"Now, first order of business is for you ladies to put on your bathing suits. We're going for a soak in the jacuzzi!"


"Now, isn't this nice?" Derrick proclaims with a satisfied sigh.


"Just to start things off, let's do a round of names, and tell me something about yourself. I'll start: I'm Derrick, and I just graduated with a degree in business management. Who wants to go next?"


"Kate. I'm from Willow Creek, and I own a design studio."


"I'm Linda. I teach grade school students."


"Bootsie. I'm a gemologist, and I also took a course in French cuisine once."


"Rosetta. I don't have a job right now and I'm currently rooming with my friend, but I'm trying to find something that I can pursue long-term."


"Pricthilla, although my friendsth just call me Pri. I justht got bracthes recthently, stho I'm still trying to adjusth to them. Oh, and I sthtudy nursthing."


"My name's Ariella. I'm studying to become a veterinarian, and I love volunteering in my spare time."


"It's Crystal. I love meeting new people, and I'm trying to get into med school."


After the round of introductions and a little chatter, Derrick decides to get dressed and have some lunch.

"So, Linda. I think it's time for me to give you the brother talk."

"Huh?"

"What are your intentions with my brother?" Derrick asks with an inquisitive gaze.

"Oh. I just feel like since I'm in my mid-20's now, it would be the right time for me to find a guy who really gets me, you know? Cliché as it sounds, I'm here to find my Mr. Right."


"What about you, Crystal?"

"I'd say the same thing, really. Landon seems like such a nice guy. I'd like to get to know him better, and maybe experience something real and magical."

"Damn straight that boy's a nice guy. He might be one of the nicest people I know."


"Rosetta! Nice of you to join us. What are your intentions with my Landon?"

"Your Landon?" Rosetta chuckles. "It kind of sounds like you're his dad there. Well, I'd say I didn't have a typical upbringing. But now that I'm finally getting things together, I just feel like it's my turn to experience the good stuff, like romance."


"Ariella, are you...drinking at 2 PM?"

"Hey, no judging!" Ariella playfully retorts. "While I'm on this show living in this mansion, it just feels like I'm on vacation."

"Eh, can't say I blame you. So anyway, I'm doing the brother talk thing right now. What are your intentions with Landon?"

"Do you believe in soulmates, Derrick?"

"Not really, no. I've been through a bunch of relationships, and it feels more like putting in some effort to make things work despite your differences."

"Well, I do. Even if you do have a point, I came here hoping that I could find my soulmate. Maybe it's too early to tell, but I just think maybe Landon could be it, you know?"


"Ladies! What are you talking about?"

"Oh God, he's gonna give you the talk," Linda says.

"Talk?" Bootsie asks confused.

"Bootsie, Pri, what are your intentions with my big bro?"

"I'm here to win big!" Bootsie exclaims. "That's just my thing. And in this case, I'm set on winning Landon over with my charm. Landon's just so great, I think he'd be a fantastic boyfriend."

"He is pretty great," Derrick plainly states.

"Asth for me, I'm looking to find sthomeone who can love me for who I am. I didn't have a lot of friendsth back in school, stho I've felt lonely at timesth. And Landon, well, he really makes me feel good about mysthelf. I think being with a guy like him would bring out the best in me."

"Well, that does sound like the type of guy Landon is," Derrick replies.


"Hey Kate! Nice of you to join us."

Linda and Bootsie start chuckling to themselves.

"What's going on?" Kate asks.

"What are your intentions with Landon? I'm doing the brother talk thing right now."

"Oh. Well, I didn't exactly grow up surrounded by comfort, but I always had my parents' love to get me through tough times. I've always admired how strong their marriage was, and now I want the same thing for myself. That's why I joined this show."

"Sounds good," Derrick says.


"Yo, Pri. You up for a game of foosball?"

"Sure!"

Derrick and Pri seem to be concentrating hard for a while, not uttering a single word as they manipulate the machine. The silence is broken once the ball enters a goal, and...

"Stho, 'Derrick'," Pri says in a skeptical tone. "How can we know that you're not justh Landon in disthguise?"

Derrick laughs heartily on hearing Pricilla's question.

"Landon's the redhead with the lantern jaw and chinstrap beard. I'm the brunette with the full sleeve tattoo. Look, it's real."

Derrick rolls up his sleeve and moves his left arm close to Pricilla's face.


"Well I had to asthk! Landon and Derrick look so much alike! I honesthly believed he could really be Landon, until I talked to him sthome more."


"Mind if I join?" Crystal asks.

"Not at all," Derrick replies. "You said you're getting ready for med school, Crystal. What exactly made you decide on that?"

"I was very interested in biology class back in high school," Crystal replies. "Human anatomy in particular. My brother Daniel was also very prone to scrapes and minor injuries when we were kids. He was such a ball of energy. I often nursed him while mom wasn't around. I knew around my junior year of high school that this is what I wanted to do for a living."

"I was pretty bad at science myself," Derrick replies. "But I was okay with numbers and stuff."


"Oh, hey ladies. I just went out to get some fresh air."

"Oh, same here. I just wanted to exercise a bit. Maybe play a little basketball," Linda says.

"Derrick! You better get back inside the game room. Some of us are playing Don't Wake The Llama right now," Crystal suggests.

"Okay, in a while."


Right now it looks like Derrick and Ariella are having a good time.

"Man, you almost had it! But then it all came crashing down!" Derrick exclaims.

"The sthame can be said for a lot of thingsth in my life," Pricilla jokes.


"Okay, let's see you get yourself out of this one, Crystal."

"Can I join?" Ariella asks.

"Sure," Derrick and Crystal utter at the same time.


"Got it!" Ariella exclaims.

"This will be tough to beat," Crystal says.


"It doesn't look stable right now," Derrick claims.

"Kind of like the economy these days," Linda dryly retorts.

Derrick chuckles a bit at this.

"Hey, Linda, what subjects do you teach anyway?"

"Oh, I teach a few music classes, but I mostly handle English for 4th graders."


"So Derrick," Ariella begins. "You know, your name did sound familiar."

"What can I say, ma'am? I am very memorable."

"Oh! I remember now! Landon told me about the Chip incident."

"Wha--LANDON!" Derrick shouted. "You swore not to tell and now all of national TV knows. I am going to skin you."

Ariella simply giggles as Derrick mutters to himself.


"You know, both Barnes brothers are really adorable. You can really tell they care for each other."


"Okay, it'sth hanging by a thread, and..."

Pricilla pulls a log, only for the whole thing to collapse.

"Good game, everyone," Linda says as she stands up to go outside.

The others rebuild the tower.


"I think I'll head out for a while," Derrick says.


"Sup?" Derrick asks.

"I made dinner!" Pricilla proudly exclaims.


"You seriously had to do that to a student?" Derrick asks in disbelief.

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice at that point. He was disrupting the entire class," Linda replies.


"So your roommate took you in after all that? That was a very nice thing to do," Derrick says.

"Yeah, I'm very grateful. It was my ticket out of that life. I feel kind of bad freeloading, but I swear that I'll make up for it someday," Rosetta replies.


"Wait, you WHAT?" Derrick asks incredulously.

"I couldn't help it! All those French cuisine classes really tempted me," Bootsie justifies.

"Have you told Landon this?"

"Not yet, I think."

"He'll probably want to hear it."

"You think?"


After a pretty exhausting day playing games and having conversations, Derrick decides to call it a night and retires to his room.


The girls look pretty tired too. Derrick sure knows how to show the ladies a good time.


Early the next day, the brothers are up early to discuss the results of yesterday's challenge.


"See, what did I tell you, bro?" Derrick says. "I knew this was a good idea. You're surrounded by all these hot girls, and they all seem to really dig you."

"You think so?"

"Trust me. I asked around. I had them gather at the jacuzzi, then I put them all on the spot. After that I had some one-on-one talks with each one of them."

"Wait, you asked all of them to put on their swimsuits and go to the hot tub with you? You will always be such a perv."


Derrick laughs out loud at this. "Hey, it was the perfect way for us to relax and get to know each other. Oh, and Ariella told me you blabbed about Chip, so now I'm going to have to kick your ass."

"But can you? You haven't even gone through puberty yet! Just wook at that widdle stubble on widdle Dewwick's face."


Derrick just rolls his eyes before continuing. "Well, you should get going with your little group date. I really think this will take your mind off...her."

Landon just stays quiet and stares at the ground for a few seconds.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you need this. And you need to not be so hard on yourself. It's been, what? 7 years?"


"I guess you're right. No use dwelling in the past. Knowing her, she would've wanted me to be happy anyway. I just hope that's still possible for me..."


---------------------------

Who did Derrick pick for Landon's second group date? Tune in next episode to see the results and how the date unfolds! I'm your host, Mac, and you are watching For Love or Money.

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