Chapter 10

Friday night came without a repeat performance with Brandi. She did tell him she’d officially dumped her boyfriend and would let Xander know when she was in shape for another session. He was a happy boy after hearing that.

His mom dropped him off at John’s house. John’s parents were older and didn’t say much before Xander and John headed down to the basement. Xander had received a message telling him Kelly and Pam were running late.

Xander didn’t know what to think of John. They’d never run in the same circles his first time through. John had been friends with Mike and Steve, who were part of the rich kids group. Everyone considered John their class’s big man on campus, the team’s wideout whose popularity had made him homecoming king their senior year.

But Xander had never thought much of John because, despite being a star on offense, he wasn’t a leader. Thankfully, leadership wasn’t something needed to play his position well.

The leader of their class had to be Mike, who played quarterback. Mike had started on their freshman and JV squads, but come junior year, he didn’t go out for football because he knew he wouldn’t start. Only four juniors were good enough to play on the varsity team that year, Xander being one of them. He’d played defensive tackle.

The seniors had the best year in their school’s history, getting the team deep into the state playoffs. Xander was convinced that if Mike had joined the team, he would’ve earned playing time. It might not have been at quarterback, but he was a good enough athlete to have gotten onto the field in some capacity.

Come senior year, Mike’s teammates begged him to come back and play. Xander hadn’t been one of them because he felt Mike had abandoned the team the year before. It turned out he wasn’t the only one. In the end, the team never came together, and they lost more games than they’d lost in the previous three years combined.

He knew that if Mike was only going to think of what was best for him, they needed to find someone else to take his place on the football team. However, Xander didn’t know if that would be best because Mike had a lot of talent.

John, on the other hand, sat back and made rude comments from the sideline for laughs. John was cut from the rich-kid cloth, the type who had everything handed to him. With that knowledge, Xander wasn’t sure how he and John would get along. Maybe if Xander could befriend John, he could help steer the boy to better decisions. Xander hoped that this might be the first step toward that goal.

“What’s the plan for tonight?” Xander asked.

John puffed and said, “My cousin gave me some ideas. Just follow my lead.”

Xander imagined John’s cousin as a dumbass teen who’d filled John’s head with bullshit. They heard the girls coming down the stairs before he could quiz John on said advice.

Xander was quickly clued in to the difference between the girls’ plans and the guys’ plans by looking at their outfits. He and John wore t-shirts and jeans, looking like they were doing something casual. Meanwhile, Pam and Kelly wore dark skirts, heels, and white button-up blouses. They’d even done their makeup.

The girls sauntered up and kissed both boys on the cheeks.

“What are we doing?” Kelly asked.

“John said I was to follow his lead,” Xander said, enjoying John’s vacant expression.

Xander had to admit the girls looked like fire.

“John?” Pam finally asked as he stood there mutely, looking confused.

“Uhm ... whatever you guys want is good with me.”

For some reason, they all looked at Xander.

’Fuck me!’

“We could play a game,” Xander ventured.

“Like strip poker!” John blurted. Then he noticed the girl’s reaction. “Or not.”

“Oof,” Xander said sympathetically. “But John has a point. We should play something a bit more out there, not something a bunch of noobs would get up to, like a board game.”

“My cousin told me he and his friends play spin the bottle,” John said.

Xander inwardly groaned, but the girls felt it was preferable to strip poker. At that point, Xander could really use a stiff drink. Maybe John’s parents had a bottle of scotch they could play with.

John stepped into another room and returned with a wine bottle. Xander was positive John’s parents wouldn’t want a good bottle of wine spun around like a top, but he would let John explain himself later.

“How this works is someone spins, and whoever it lands on has to either tell the truth or take a dare. If you refuse, then you’re out,” John explained.

“What does the winner get?” Kelly asked.

Again, they all looked at Xander. He had an evil thought. He reached into his pocket and tossed it onto the table.

“What’s that?” Kelly asked.

“A condom,” John hissed.

“Oh! My! God! That’s perfect,” Pam said. “The winner gets to take that and whoever they want into another room for seven minutes in heaven.”

Kelly and John looked a little sick but nodded their agreement. Xander thought seven minutes might be too long for John to handle. But Xander wasn’t worried because no one would end up using a condom tonight. Still, the stories at lunch on Monday would be legendary.

They all sat on the floor Indian-style. Xander was disappointed when the girls pushed their skirts down to hide their panties.

Kelly took the first turn, and the bottle spun around until it pointed at Xander. She gave him an evil look.

“Truth or Dare?” Kelly asked.

“Dare,” Xander said and narrowed his eyes at Kelly. “Just remember, Miss Flint, that at some point, I’ll spin, and it’ll land on you.”

“No fair,” Kelly complained.

“Don’t be a wimp. Make it good,” Pam said, encouraging her best friend.