Day 6: Into The Woods

On today's episode, our bachelor takes the ladies out on a very special date far away from Midas Manor.

"Welcome..."

"...ladies..."

"...to Granite Falls!"

"I used to go to summer camp here when I was a kid. The camp's actually just a few miles from here. It helps that Granite Falls is close to where I grew up, so I didn't have to go that far from home."

"But of course, we're not going to spend our time in a children's camp. We rented out this lodge for us to stay in. It's a bit cozy, which is a perfect place for us to get a little up close and personal."

Author's note: I found it funny that Bootsie, Rosetta, and Kate, the girls who love the outdoors, were the ones who didn't make it to the woodland date.

"Close and personal, you say?" Ariella starts.

"Would it be okay for us to be close together in a more personal setting?"

"Oh, sure. Let's head out to the back," Landon responds.

"Back when I was 11, my camp buddy, Nick, and I would go around the forest looking for frogs," Landon recounts.

"What for?"

"Fun stuff. We'd look at their markings. We'd pit them against each other. Frogs make terrible fighters, by the way."

Ariella chuckles slightly.

"And we'd make them swim in the lake and hold races. Nick and I would also swim ourselves and race each other. He always was the better swimmer. I learned later on that he made the swim team in college."

"So I guess you really love swimming in the lake, huh?"

"I guess. I haven't really done so in a long time, though," Landon responds.

"How come?"

"Oh, just a bad memory from one time. I'd rather not talk about it."

Landon stares into the distance for a few seconds, only to be interrupted by the sound of swatting.

"Ugh, there sure are a lot of mosquitoes here," Ariella complains.

"I think we should get some bug spray for that," Landon suggests.

"For real. Mosquitoes are one of my least favorite animals. One of my friends actually caught dengue once."

"That's horrible. Did she end up okay?"

"He," Ariella corrects Landon. "And yeah, he got better. Back then I'd visit him all the time in the hospital and try to lift his spirits. He did seem upset that he had to stay in bed for a few weeks. Sometimes I would bring my Gameboy so we could play Pokémon together and trade. After he was discharged, his parents started to become more careful. They didn't let him go outside as much as before. We started playing indoors more often with bug zappers all around."

"I bet his parents wouldn't let him go to a place as awesome as this."

"I doubt it. Good thing I can, though. And I'm glad I got to be here to spend some time with you."

 "I'm glad too."

"Hey, Pri, Whatcha doing, sitting here all by yourself?" Landon asks.

"Oh, I was justh admiring this room. I know thisth is for kidsth, but I like the room'sth layout, and this bed is sthurpristhingly comfy."

"Well, nothing's stopping you from claiming this bed for yourself."

"Oh, definitely. I'll asthk Crysthal if she wantsh to be my roommate tonight."

"Sounds good."

"So you mentioned last time that your parents got divorced when you were young. I was kind of wondering about that. How was it like, growing up?" Landon inquires.

"Oh, well asthide from moving around every week due to joint custhody, people got confusthed when I would show them a different set of parentsth for different sthchool eventsth."

"Oh, that must've been hard to explain."

"Yeah. And it all stharted becausthe my dad learned very late that he was gay. He and mom didn't get along too well even before then, so when he decthided to hook up with a man, it all came crashing down."

"Were you mad at your dad and his boyfriend?"

"I wasth, but in time I learned to accthept the whole thing. I got teasthed a bit for it too, but my parentsth were always there to comfort me. My dad'sth boyfriend wasth really nice to me too. He'd alwaysth give me candy and clean my teeth. He'sth a dentistht."

"It wasn't really fair that kids teased you for that, especially since you were going through a tough time. But kids can be mean sometimes. As for me, well, my parents are still alive and together. I didn't see them too often as a kid, though. Our house was in the woodlands, but their work was in the city. They bought our home because they wanted to be close to nature, but they didn't want to give up their jobs. To be fair, those jobs did pay for a lot of the nice things we got."

"That'sth kind of sad, not stheeing your parentsth a lot."

"Nah, it's fine. They showed up during birthdays and Christmases. And they probably made it to like, two or three baseball matches I had in Little League."

"Hey, Linda. What are you doing there, sitting all alone?"

"Oh, I was just enjoying the warmth of the fire. This cabin is really nice. It must've cost a lot to rent this place."

"You wouldn't mind a warm body getting between you and the fireplace, right?" Landon asks.

"Definitely not. Err, I meant I wouldn't mind. Not that you can't sit beside me."

Landon chuckles at Linda's awkwardness.

"You told me you liked metal, right? What do the other teachers think about that?"

"Oh, they actually don't mind. I don't really talk about it to my kids as a matter of fact. They're probably too young to enjoy that kind of music anyway. There's another guy in the faculty who likes it too, believe it or not. We talk about our favorite bands over lunch."

"So, this coworker of yours, is he someone that you, uh, like that way?"

"Oh, Henry? No. We're just friends. Besides, he's married. It's too bad, though. The guys that I did like enough to date didn't appreciate metal. As a matter of fact, they were turned off by me liking it."

"Just because you like a certain genre of music? That's crazy."

"Well, what can I say? Boys just can't handle a woman with refined tastes," Linda jokes.

"I'm more of a rock person myself. I really liked Fall Out Boy when I was in high school," Landon says.

"Oh, me too! They were really popular in my school back in 2007."

"Also, get this: remember how you had all these scene kids that time? Derrick was one of them." Landon laughs hard at this. "He had it all: the fringe, the eyeliner, and the Hot Topic clothes. I'm pretty sure I still have a picture of him in my phone from that period just to annoy him."

"Ooh, ooh, I wanna see!" Linda enthusiastically blurts out.

Landon whips out his phone and shows Linda his brother's old high school photos. Both of them get a laugh out of it.

"Enjoying the fire, Crystal?"

"Yep."

"Would you enjoy the company of an additional person?"

"If that person is you, then sure."

"Great. What do you want to talk about?" Landon asks.

Crystal thinks about it for a while, putting her hand up to her chin.

"What were you like as a kid?"

"Heh. Derrick didn't tell you about any of that stuff?"

"He did tell me you slept with a teddy bear named Snooffles until you were 10."

"DAMN IT, DERRICK. Well, I guess I deserve that. In my defense, Snooffles and I had a very special relationship that Derrick's puny mind couldn't understand."

"Ugh, these bugs are seriously getting on my nerves," Crystal complains.

"Ariella should have some bug spray from the store. You can ask her," says Landon.

"Anyway, where were we? So you had a teddy bear until you were 10. I actually think that's kind of cute."

"Yeah, I just felt safe with him around. Wouldn't want the monsters getting me when my parents couldn't tuck me in because of long shifts at work."

"Your parents were pretty busy, huh? I can relate. Mine had to work hard just for us to get what we had at the time. My father eventually became the headmaster of our school, and my mom became part of the senior faculty. All throughout that time, Daniel and I were mostly on our own."

"At least they got you to where you are now, right?"

"Yeah. My dad even called in a few favors and got me a scholarship to Sim University. So I really have to work hard on my pre-medicine degree in order to keep my scholarship," Crystal recounts.

"That's amazing. What do you do to unwind if you work so hard in school?"

"I treat myself to a spa day sometimes. I really love getting hand and foot massages. Oh, and get this: there was this one time I walked into two people doing it in the sauna room. I'd never felt more awkward in my life, and I had to make a quick getaway."

"Oh God," Landon says. "People do that?"

"Apparently."

"Hey, mind if we join you?" Pricilla asks.

"Go ahead," Landon responds.

"Well, that's the second time I was interrupted while having a conversation with Landon. Can't really complain though, because I had a lot of fun with what came after..."

Landon ends up getting some rashes on his body after staying so long outside, but he doesn't seem to mind as much. After all, what's a few rashes when you're in the company of four beautiful women?

"It's getting kind of cold now," Ariella points out.

"Yeah, my hands are freezing," Linda replies.

"I know what will take your minds off the cold. A good ole campfire story should do it," Landon suggests.

The ladies seem interested as they gathered around Landon and listened intently to his tale.

"...But when Captain Dregg opened the chest, instead of finding gold, he saw a pile of snakes with flashing ruby red eyes! The snakes all turned to him, one by one, their eyes piercing into his very soul, as a deep and eerie voice bellows the foulest curses a man could ever hear."

"Oh no, what happens after that?" Crystal asks.

"Ooh, I think we're getting to the really good part," Linda gushes.

"Shush, Landon's about to tell us how Captain Dregg is going to escape the Cursed Cove," Ariella reprimands the others.

"Can I go next after Landon'sth sthory?" Pri requests.

All that storytelling really worked up an appetite in our raconteur, so he decides to cook some dinner for everyone.

"Is this frank and beans?" Ariella asks.

"Yep," Landon answers.

"Well, I like how it tasthes, Landon," Pri says.

"Thanks. It's a recipe my father taught me."

"I can definitely taste the paprika in the mix," Ariella claims.

"Have you ever been to Granite falls before, Ariella?" Linda asks.

"No, this is pretty much my first time here. But I have camped out in the woods with some friends before. We never got to rent a cabin though, because those are freaking expensive."

"Well, not to worry girls," Landon reassures them. "Everything here is all expenses paid, so you can enjoy it to your heart's content before we have to leave tomorrow morning."

After dinner, Landon decides to dance to a little music.

♫ Dance, dance, we're falling apart to half time ♫

Although the girls seem to be more interested in doing their own thing. What are they up to?

Ariella has taken a liking to horseshoe throwing, it seems.

"YES! I got it in!"

Landon got tried after all of those activities. I'd say he's earned a little RnR for himself.

"Hey, Ariella. Can I join?" asks Linda.

"Oh, sure."

Linda grabs a horseshoe for herself and begins throwing.

"So, Linda, tell me: what do you think of Landon?"

"He's great, isn't he? Those eyes of his! And his cheekbones. He's really adorable."

"I know, right?" Ariella says in agreement. "I feel like he has a kind heart, and it helps that he's got a handsome face and a rocking body."

"Do you think we really have a chance with him?"

"After today, I really hope so."

"I just feel like this could be my once-in-a-lifetime chance. How often can you get into a show like this with a stud like Landon? Makes me wonder why he's still single right now."

And what do we have here? Pricilla playing with the toys in the toy box? I think I know now why she chose to sleep in this room.

"I don't really get why Pri insisted that we sleep in this room," Crystal mutters to herself. "The other girls seem to have more comfortable beds, and there's also an unused bedroom downstairs. Oh well. I did promise her we'd be roomies tonight."

And true enough, the other two are fast asleep in their room. It looks like it's the end of a long day for everyone involved.

Early before sunrise, everyone started packing to travel back to the mansion. After yesterday's fun, it's now time to face the reality of the situation: one of them will be sent home again today.

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How will things go on the second elimination? Who gets to go home and forfeit her chance to win her prize? Find out next time on For Love or Money.