The Men of The Cougar

We're now down to nine guys in the house. As Vivica explains, there will be two dates: a group date and an individual date. At this point the stress levels are rising as the guys attempt to do what it takes to spend some time with Stacey on one of these dates.

There are a lot of things that need to go into a relationship in order to make it work, and I believe that trust and honesty are two of the most important pieces. In today's first challenge, we were given a few minutes to think of a deep, dark secret that we would reveal to Stacey. Some of the guys seemed a little nervous about it - myself included! 

Winning this "Deep Dark Secret" challenge today is more important to some than others. For instance, Jimmy is definitely getting frustrated with the challenges, and has yet to leave the house. Travis seems to have fallen off the path a bit and needs to step it up here. Joe's date last week went really well for him. Ryan is a good guy -- some alone time with Stacey may help deliver that to her. The intent of revealing my secret was to show Stacey that I am an honest person who does make mistakes. I was 17 at the time, and really hadn't had a serious relationship. I can only hope that she will be receptive to that.

Stacey ultimately picked Ryan and me to join her on an awesome date to Paris Valley Skydiving for some indoor adventure. She chose Ryan first for some one-on-one time to talk about his secret, and where he was in his life when he went to rehab. I think Ryan explained himself, but Stacey may have been looking for something different.

When Stacey and I had our chance to talk, it gave me an open opportunity to let her know that my secret was a secret for a reason. It's not something I tell everyone, but I felt that I didn't want to hide anything from my past. We talked for a while about it, and I told her I was NOT proud of it at all. It gave us a chance to talk about how we handle relationships, which was a little relieving. But I was not so relieved when Stacey announced, "On any date I can let somebody go..." When she called Ryan over to begin the kiss-off, I thought, "This is it, I'm definitely going home!" I was really shocked to see that Stacey sent Ryan home. I knew my secret was much more damaging than his, which made me pretty nervous at this point. Sorry to see you go, man - the house won't be the same!

It was my turn for what I thought for sure was the same door Ryan had just walked through. Stacey began to explain her opinions of my secret and what we had talked about on our alone time. Nervous as hell to be sent home, I gave it a last-ditch effort to say something that might just change her mind right there and then! Well, it turns out, by some twist of I don't know what - she kissed me and at least for the rest of the day I was safe... but there is of course the elimination kiss-off, which no one is immune to.

Thankful as hell that the kiss-off was over, we could finally relax and enjoy the indoor skydiving. The feeling of being weightless was an unreal experience! It was just like jumping out of the plane - with the best part being the free fall. Unfortunately, it had to end, and we were back at the house.

Colt - I appreciate the opinion, man - but to be honest, I wasn't there to meet a dude.

Stacey is really narrowing down the guys now, and may be flipping roles a bit.  Originally, she seemed to let the guys ask the questions and see how that went.  But, at this point in the game, she is trying to pull some deep conversation out of everyone....  mainly to find out why each guy is here.

Joe: The first guy invited up to the "Cougar Den." Good work, man! 

The next challenge is to reveal our feelings to Stacey... in song. We have 30 minutes to come up with a song? Don't professionals do this stuff over the course of weeks and months? Joe seemed to have some writer's block, and Austin did more of a haiku. Adam throws out his "country side," and Jimmy hopes to win one this round! But in the end, who could compete with Colt (Mr. Ascot) and his traveling band? 

While Colt was away on his date, the rest of us at the house were trying to relax and think about the upcoming elimination. Who will stay, who will leave?  "Should I wear a tie tonight?" "Hey, who's got the iron?"  "There's no hot water!" 

This experience has been surreal, between the challenges we were given and the abundance of alcohol. Let's just say it's made for some interesting stories.

Keep watching - there is much more on the horizon.