The Men of The Cougar

And then there were six... I was shocked that I made it past the last elimination, but I realize that I now have to put my antics aside and start opening up to Stacey or I'll be going home at the next elimination. I was opposed to the kiss-off style elimination from the beginning -- and now we have a kissing contest? Wow, I feel like I'm back in middle school playing a game of truth or dare. As you can tell by my reaction, after being selected to go first for today's challenge I already felt like I had won. There's nothing worse than getting sloppy seconds or sloppy sixths (I felt bad for Colt). Thank god for antiseptics! Jon wins with his "feel my heart pound while I peck your lips" style kiss and Jimmy just got himself a "mouth to mouth resuscitation" style kiss.

I knew it would be interesting to see Jon and Jimmy on a date with Stacey because they are clearly polar opposites. Jon stepped out of the bus on the first night and laid out his intentions to Stacey without hesitation. The only downside to Mr. Mature is that he can't handle the heat when another man enters the picture. Jimmy, on the other hand, just came into the picture. He probably works out more than me -- OK, a lot more than me. He's confident, witty and looks like Ben Stiller in Zoolander. Sometimes I thought Jimmy forgot to pack a shirt before coming to the show. Both of these guys seemed to have kept her attention because they both returned to the house.

 

The next day Stacey invited Travis and I out to a night of dinner and drinks. She looked stunning, but I'm convinced Colt cut off her left sleeve and made it into an ascot to add to his ever-expanding collection. Immediately after we were seated, our waitress unexpectedly brought over a series of questions. Travis surprised me with his level of maturity. When I was 21 the only thing on my mind was spring break, sleeping in, updating my Facebook page and wondering if I was going to graduate college in under four years. It's evident that I was a little nervous about what kind of questions Stacey was going to ask -- and sure enough, she brought the heat.

There's nothing worse than a romantic dinner and great company, disrupted by a question regarding past sexual partners. I pondered the thought of responding with a four-digit number just to see her reaction, but I kept my cool and got past that one. My one-on-one time with Stacey let me know that I needed to stop enjoying the pool, hot tub and kegerator at the house and start focusing on Stacey. Note to self: Stop playing hard to get.

I finally took down my guard and did my best to let Stacey know that I wanted to continue on and looked forward to introducing her to my family. For me, that's a big step, and an even bigger step when the woman you're introducing your family to has a family of her own. Oh, and PS: She's 40!

Thanks for all of the support. I love you all.

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.