The Game

~The Game~ [10]

They explain that the roulette wheel has names of people from the university. Once you've picked a card and you're an ace, the wheel spins and whatever name it lands on becomes your "pawn." Then you pick a one terms tile that determines how long you have to stay with your pawn.

I'm having trouble processing what they're telling me. Every word they adding makes this sounds less like a game and more like some kind of crazy experiment. Or maybe a way to justify cheating on your actual boyfriend or girlfriend.

"I don't know about this," I start to say, but Jade cuts me off.

"Don't overthink it," she says. "It's just for fun. Everyone here is single or in open relationships. No one's going to get hurt."

I'm not single. I have a boyfriend who would definitely not be okay with me pretending to date someone else. I voice this out.

"I have a boyfriend. He won't be cool with this at all."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Tyla says with a shrug. "Besides, it's just pretend, girl. It's not like you're actually going to fall in love with who you get matched with."

Everyone nods in agreement. But I'm picking up some implications. There's something about their expressions, that tells me this game has resulted in more than just pretend relationships in the past.

"So that's generally it." Jade is saying. I am really confused at this point.

"So the royalty, kings and queens, just relax while jokers do whatever they want," Spencer summarizes. "They can be players, pranksters, whatever. But the aces have to participate in the one-term game."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"You'll see," Keyshia says with a mysterious smile.

They don't give me a chance to think about it, object further or ask more questions. They just set me, Jett, Spencer, Alex, the guy who rubbed my back and Brad to pick from the selected cards. I find myself reaching for one almost without conscious thought. My fingers close around a card, and I flip it over.

Ace of spades.

Everyone's eyes widen when they see my card, and there's a moment of silence.

"Ooh... " Tyla says, grinning. "Looks like someone's gonna be a pawn."

"Interesting." Jade says.

"What's interesting about it?"

"Nothing." she says quickly. "It's just a good card. Very... versatile."

Brad, Spencer, Jett and I are aces. When Spencer's turn to spin the roulette wheel comes. It lands on a name I recognize.

"Sharpe?" Spencer reads, her voice rising in disbelief. "Who the hell added a professor's name to this thing?"

Everyone starts laughing, and Jade shrugs innocently.

"It's the game," she says. "Rules are rules. You have to play."

"I am not seducing a professor," Spencer says firmly. "That's where I draw the line."

She grabs her things and walks out Jade just turns to us and says. "She'll reconsider."

When it's my turn, Jade says I'll be favored since I'm only getting paired by someone in the room and not just a random. I reach for the wheel with unsteady hands. Everything is happening in slow motion, and I watch the wheel spin around and around. The names blur together into a colorful smear, and I find myself mesmerized by the motion. Finally, it slows down and stops. I lean forward to read the result.

"Keyshia." I read out loud. "One week term."

But then I notice there's another name right next to where the arrow stopped.

"Wait, there's two names here," I say, pointing at the wheel. "Keyshia for a week, and... Jasper for a month."

"Who's Jasper?" I ask, looking around the group. I don't remember being introduced to anyone by that name. I don't even remember a rule saying you have have two pawns.

Jade glances around quickly and smiles, but not before I catch a strange expression on her face. "No issue. You'll go with Keyshia. One week term is fine for a newbie."

Keyshia runs over and plops down next to me on the floor, throwing her arm around my shoulders. I forget I was about to ask a question.

"Looks like we're partners," she says, grinning. "This is going to be fun."

"What happens now?"

"Now the game begins," Jade says. "But first, you have to seal it with a kiss. That's how you know it's official."

I haven't even processed half of what she's said when Keyshia suddenly grabs my face and pulls me toward her. Her lips are warm but her kiss is not gentle at all. She deepens it almost immediately, and I feel that same electric spark I felt when I kissed Roxie. But this time, instead of panic and guilt, I feel giddy and slightly aroused.

"I can't," I pull away, scrambling to my feet, shocked by what I'm feeling. "I can't play this game. I'm not... I have a boyfriend. I'm not lesbian."

Everyone starts laughing. Someone actually boos in there.

"Don't be a party pooper, Ollie. " Matt says. I note that his voice has that same slurred tone like last time. "It's just a game. It's not like you haven't done it before."

He nudges Brad and his friend and they laugh. I can see that he's in almost the same headspace he was in that night when he kissed me. That's very ironic of him. Encouraging me to kiss someone else when he was so angry about me kissing Roxie, but I'm too confused and overwhelmed to point it out.

"I'm going to make some more cocktails." I announce and stand. I need to get away from the group and clear my head. I stagger my way to the kitchen which feels like a sanctuary.

I lean against the counter and try to collect my thoughts in bits. After a moment, I reach for a bottle on the top shelf, thinking that maybe another drink will help me figure out what I want to do, but I can't quite reach it.

I'm standing on my tiptoes, stretching as far as I can, when I feel someone step up behind me. A hand appears beside mine over my head, easily grabbing the bottle I was reaching for. The movement is so slow that I have time to turn my hear and look at the person helping me before they've even fully retrieved the bottle. It's one of the guys who came with Alex. He seemed to have disappeared the entire time, I'm only seeing him right now.

He's looking down at me with a smirk, and I can bet my life that he's deliberately pressing his body against mine. Without thinking, I murmur, "I can feel your thing pressed against me."

☆