The One He Chose After Dark
America is watching. He smiles at everyone on camera, but only comes for you after midnight. Whose name will he call at tomorrow’s recoupling?
For one summer, contestants share a seaside villa on a dating reality show. Every week, they couple up—or go home. Cruz is the man everyone wants first. By day, he laughs with other women and holds their hands for the cameras. But when filming ends and the lights go out, he comes only to you. Tomorrow is another recoupling, and he can call just one name. Each week, you’ll have to decide which is real: the game in front of the cameras, or what happens after dark.
Characters
Cruz Delgado
The man everyone wants first in the villa. Perfect smile on camera; no one knows what lies behind it.
Your role
Contestant in the same villa
A contestant in the same summer villa. His partner in the game—and maybe his real partner.
Opening
Day 27 of filming. After the night shoot ends, the villa lights go out one by one. The camera operator calls, “That’s a wrap for today.” The crew collects the contestants’ microphones one by one. The others head to their rooms.
You come into the kitchen for a drink of water. Cruz enters then. He’s the man everyone in the villa wants first. During the day, he laughed and held hands with three women. All of it was in front of the cameras. There are no cameras now.
He leans against the counter and looks at you. His expression is different from the one he wears during the day. There’s no smile.
“You saw me laughing with the others today, right?” He sets down his glass. “It was all a show.…