"I'm Jess Miller, and blondes definitely don't have more fun than me! I'm 26, from London and work in IT. All of that stuff is really boring though, so here's all you need to know about me," she smiled as she looked directly into the camera, "I'm here to have fun. Screw. Love."
Ugh, I really couldn't come up with anything better than that? She was two minutes into this nightmare and already she hated herself.
Jess looked around the camera and the producer gave her a thumbs up. Thank fuck. One of the crew came over to tell her she had a few minutes before she was going to make her entrance and meet all the girls.
Yaaaayyyy... not.
Jess always got on better with boys. It wasn't that she didn't like hanging out with girls, just that boys had sooo much less fucking drama. And let's be honest, they had dicks too, and Jess loved a good ol' fuck buddy. It was the reason she was even here on this stupid game show dedicated to "looking for love". She scoffed at the thought that you could find love here. She'd calculated the success rate of the past seasons. Fucking low.
But her sister (and best friend) Sophie, had just got engaged and cooed at her one day that she should stop messing around and settle down too. She'd told Jess that she just wanted her to be happy. "I am happy," she'd always say, and she meant it too. It was a conversation they'd had many times before.
Jess had only had one serious relationship, and that ended four years ago. Badly. Since then she hasn't met anyone she felt strongly about and preferred friends-with-benefits type situations - getting rid of them when they started talking about the feels. Look, she believed in love, but she also believed in all the walls she'd put up to protect her own heart. Once was enough, thanks.
On this occasion, Sophie just happened to be having this conversation at the local pub, while they hung out with a few of their mutual friends. One of them had suggested that Jess go on Love Island, and she'd laughed so loud they caught the attention of the table next to them. Long story short, they agreed to a bet. Jess was very competitive and loved to win, especially when the stakes were high. If she lost, she'd agree to the stupid show, if she won, her sister would not have this conversation with her again. She was in. Figuring that even if she lost, they'd never accept her application.
Yeah, she lost. And then she got a call back.
She made a pact with herself before she came on. Never get serious with anyone. She knew they were all probably looking for love. She wasn't. It would end up in heartbreak with the added bonus of the entire country hating her. Probably why the producers loved her, she had rambled on in her interview about not wanting to find love and they ate it up. Heartbreak was good for ratings, but she was determined not to give it to them. Easier to just stay away. And specifically, she had to stay away from anyone who might get under her skin.
She looked in the mirror, checking everything was in the right place. Her long brown, naturally wavy hair hung just past her shoulders, looking great, as always. Her piercing blue eyes were accented with mascara and a touch of eyeliner, and she'd put some tinted moisturiser on too for good measure. She may have to wear nice clothes, thanks to the new outfits Sophie had picked out for her, but she didn't have to put on tons of make-up and she certainly wasn't going to start today. What, just because there were a million people watching on the telly? Pfft.
She wore a bright green bikini, whose top left little to the imagination of her C cup breasts and bottoms that were way too tiny to be legal - the thin straps were pulled high up on her waist and wrapped in the front, low on her stomach. Sophie had made sure to choose the right outfit to show off allll of Jess's hourglass figure.
Jess sighed as she looked at herself. In hindsight, she should have known she was pretty enough to be selected for this show; she had amazing genes. It was easy to forget when you walked around in jeans and a crop sweatshirt every day. Working in IT meant that she had to fight to not be overlooked as just the 'pretty face', so she never really tired too hard. Especially because whenever she did, people automatically assumed she was out of their league, too much of a princess, or worse, arm candy. Gross.
One of the producers signalled it was time to get ready so she channelled fun Jess, the part of her that was comfortable in her own skin and just wanted to have a laugh.
Let's get this over with.
She walked into a large communal bedroom, lined with beds and saw four girls already sitting down on some of the beds, talking. They all looked up as she walked in, stopping their conversation and looking her up and down. Ugh.
Jess gave them a friendly smile as she walked over and plopped down on a bed next to a gorgeous Amazonian looking woman, "Hi Ladies, I'm Jess!"
"Well, would you look at you! You look like tough competition," she threw her head back and laughed, "I'm Hope, 25, Sales & Marketing for a toy company."
She had on a gorgeous bikini that perfectly showed off her dark skin. Her hair was braided and went down to her ass from it's high pony. Her makeup was perfect shades of greens and yellows and Jess automatically loved how confident she looked.
Across the room, a girl covered in tattoos, with dark eyes and lipstick to match, spoke in a semi-friendly, semi-pissed off tone, "I'm Lottie, 27, makeup artist."
She spoke with an accent that Jess recognised.
"Australian?"
"Mhm," Lottie responded curtly. She had a wicked resting bitch face and was clearly stand-offish. Jess liked her already. What could she say? She was a sucker for a bitchy attitude. Lottie's dark bikini, with lines and straps everywhere, looked amazing and her hair was blonde with pink tips. She was giving off mad witch vibes and Jess prayed she had a dark sense of humour to match.
"Jess, right? I'm Hannah, 23, social media assistant," Hannah spoke in a very soft and sweet voice, she looked adorable. Her red hair tied in a long plait, with a bikini on that matched the colour of her eyes; baby blue. She seemed really sweet, if a bit shy, probably naïve too.
Last up was a beautiful blonde-haired woman, who Jess noticed watched all the interactions with scrutinising eyes, like she was trying to analyse them all.
"I'm Marisol, 26, studying to be a lawyer." Marisol wore glasses, and a black wrap two piece that highlighted her curvy figure. Damn she was hot.
Unable to stop herself Jess murmured "Mmmm... you have the sexy lawyer look down..."
Marisol blushed in response.
Hope laughed, "Might want to wait till the boys get here before you start flirting Jess."
"Can never start too early," Jess quipped, giving Marisol a wink that made her blush even more.
"Just don't flirt with my man," Lottie snarled.
Jesus.
Jess put her hands up in defence, "Woah, I'm not planning on stealing anyone's man, take it down a beat yeah?"
Lottie seemed satisfied by that and nodded.
Hannah sighed sadly, "But we might not be able to promise that. I just want to find my prince charming..."
