"You are talented and so fucking amazing." Alexander sounded drugged, intoxicated from the alcohol. Cathryn smirked knowingly. The bastard had probably thought he could lure her into his bed if she got her drunk and vulnerable?
Did he think she wouldn't notice about the game he was playing?
Alexander had to howl in tears as the shot glass almost spilled from his shirt. "I will never forget that Red had slapped me last summer in front of people. I want revenge."
"Bro, calm down. The lady in question is here. " Blake can't help but laugh at Alexander as he playfully gave him a high-five but instead of responding, he had fist bump Blake's palm.
Cathryn stifled her giggle as she shoved her hair over her shoulder. It was incredibly satisfying to see him act stupid. She was proud that she had beaten him at his own game.
+++
Blake had gotten an extra blanket and pillows folded from the shelf and laid it on the patterned carpets. They squat on the floor to discuss the rules of the game. The two of them had decided to play a truth-or-dare but Cathryn didn't agree with it.
"How will you know if someone was telling the truth if we don't even have a lie detector at our disposal? What if it was, in fact, a lie but someone solely believed that it was true for a long time?" Cathryn said as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the both of them.
Something didn't seem right if Alexander was involved.
"Did you think we could play an exciting game of dare by just staying in the hotel room? Potential activities could be boring since we can't go out because the paparazzi will chase after the both of you."
They must be planning something.
"You asked too many questions," Alexander said, his voice punctuating the sudden silence. It must have sunken in their head that her arguments were valid.
"I know the two of you would gang up on me anyway since you're friends. " She continued as she watched their expressions carefully. "It's two against one so of course, you would want to get me drunk or watch how I would act like one. No, I'm not interested. " Anxiety prickled along her nerve endings, and her stomach twisted into a thousand tiny knots. "Truth or dare isn't a real game. It's based on perception. Let's play a real game."
"Real game, huh?" The corners of Blake's mouth twitched. "You want to gamble?"
"Great idea. Why not?" Cathryn nodded as she thought about it. Her features were suddenly tense and determined. "As long as it's a fair game I don't care how many bottles of Bacardi I will drink. I won't lose."
"Are you sure about that, honey?" Blake grinned like he was a cat who had caught a canary.
She pushed out a shaky breath, praying to God she would win all the card games. "Do you have a deck of cards?"
"I think the hotel room has it somewhere," Alexander replied as he looked around the room. Well, he wouldn't find the cards by doing just that. He asked, "What do you want to gamble?"
Blake said as he gave her a good-humored chuckle. "It should be important to you."
"I want you to bet your virginity." Alexander teased with a wink.
"Me too, I want it," Blake announced and Alexander couldn't turn his head fast enough, shocked at what Blake had said.
He glowered at him and Blake just shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.
"What the fuck? NO!" Cathryn shook her head vigorously, disgusted by the idea. Damn. These guys are not right in the head. "Anything but that."
"Afraid?" With barely a breath, Alexander added as he pokes her cheek before she could slap those hands away. "Do you want to back out? I thought you are confident."
There was a long pause.
"I am confident," Cathryn said, pretending she didn't have her doubts. "But I thought we were only drinking."
Alexander snorted, his mouth quirking up at one corner. "I thought you wanted to gamble, baby."
Shit.
Things are getting out of hand.
"Drink shots to the losers plus losing their bets as a reward to the winner," Blake said.
Cathryn shook her head and said. "I don't want to bet."
"You brag too much for a coward person." Alexander shot her a teasing grin. "Walk your talk, baby girl."
Alexander was determined to irk her. Argh.
"Okay, call. My virginity in exchange for…"
What did Cathryn want? Virginity isn't that important if one needed to think about it. She needed to lose it anyway so it's better to lose it to someone she liked or someone hot.
If Alexander and Cathryn parted ways and their band, Mild Savagery, got more popularity through the years, maybe she could brag about it to her friends that she slept with one of them when she was a teenager.
Are the bragging rights worth more than her virginity, though?
"For every game, you lose, I want you to drink." Cathryn returned her attention to Alexander, who was scrubbing a hand over his jaw stubble.
"What would you like us to bet?"
Tendrils of hair momentarily shield her vision and she hooked them behind her ear.
"I want you to bet ten thousand dollars each."
"Ok, call." He agreed quickly as if he was pretty sure he knew my answer. Without further ado, Alexander went straight to the kitchen to collect shot glasses and an ice bucket from the fridge.
"I'll get the drinks," Blake said as he stood up and made a beeline towards the telephone, fluttering the pages of the phonebook to look for the service sheet and checking out some of the Chinese restaurant's pamphlets to order some food for take-out.