<em>"No hitting the gas until you've started the engine"</em><br/><br/><em>What the what...</em>Darren thought as Babydoll fled him, and left him quite dumbfounded there, in the middle of the pool, as she moved out of it and joined the group gathering next to it. Had he really misread the signs, or did Babydoll have another side about her that wasn't the flirty one, the one that had made her practically hump him to full hardness. Or maybe it had really been what she had said - that Darren had come on too strongly. He shrugged, pushed himself off the pool bottom and went to float on the surface.<br/><br/>He inspected the crowd more closely, as it looked like they were all together now. There was Babydoll and Cray... that new guy, 'Angel', and the new girl, who Darren hadn't paid much attention to yet. She looked really young... even shorter than Babydoll, and with the looks of one of the book types Darren knew from college. Especially those glasses... but then, Darren wasn't really bothered by those. He was into smart girls - really was, not just always said so for the records - and... Kit? That was how she introduced herself... seemed to be just that type.<br/><br/>And then there was Ana, who gave off a strange vibe really - strange, but rousing Darren's interest. Every move of her seemed well calculated, and for a moment Darren thought she might be someone put into the group by the producers to keep track of them. Or she was just closely observing them to pick which of the guys might promote her standing in the viewer's rankings.<br/><br/>Darren thought for a moment, then slowly swum over to the edge of the pool and heaved himself out of the water. He didn't want to join the other group yet, but touched Babydoll's arm gently. "Sorry - didn't want to come on too strong. My apologies... and if you don't insist on my company, I'll try to find another place to sleep."<br/><br/>He offered his hand to Kit and Angel, greeting them quickly. "Hey there Kit... I'm Darren. Welcome to the house... Hi ya as well, Angel."<br/><br/>He proceeded to the bar, said another sentence about a bar supplier's special ice cubes, that'd keep you cool and wouldn't melt even in the hottest party, grabbed a beer from the opening refridge and seated himself in the shallow end of the pool, sipping from his bottle and going back to observing the action for the moment. This contest would last a few weeks, so there was nothing lost by slowing down for the moment. He knew he'd get his chances.