Chapter 3

Alright, this wasn’t my first kiss. My first kiss, only kiss, was four years ago. Elizabeth and I had walked home together from a shitty office party our moms had dragged us to. She kissed me as I dropped her off. A quick peck on the lips. That night I told Zoe, my sister, the truth and she had been uninterested. The next day I told my friends, by that time Elizabeth had stuck her tongue in my mouth. The next day I told Xiomara and I had gotten to second base. By the end of the week Elizabeth had given me a handjob. She never came within twenty feet of me ever again.

Kia was sweet. It was a warm and tight kiss. I was unsure of what to do with my hands and they hung limply at my sides. I pushed our kiss forward. I opened my mouth. She opened hers.

“Oh, fuck this!” Xiomara knocked her stool over when she stood up. Our kiss burst apart as Kia hurried back from me. I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me.

“X, cool off a moment,” Connie begged as Xiomara halted. The look on her face was anger, and it appeared she wasn’t even seeing me. She was all on Kia. Kia raised her shoulders up and flicked her hair. She cut a commanding figure with her height, her tightened lips, her long blonde hair and deep green eyes. She had dressed in a pink t-shirt and her breasts stood magnificently forward. Her legs were in black capris and she stood with her feet shoulder width apart. She stared down Xiomara.

“Xiomara,” I called out to the girl I knew best. She looked to me; her fist clenched and her nostrils flared. She had dressed uniquely, picking a royal blue summer dress. It looked incredible on her, especially showing off her darker complexion and the tightness of her legs. She was barefoot. Most of us were, there wasn’t shoes for us. Her squared shoulders screamed her disquiet. I stepped forward. I turned to Kia.

“Kia, thank you. That was very sweet,” I saw on their faces that my words punched Xiomara in the gut and my tone twisted Kia’s insides. A tear was forming in the crook of Kia’s eye. I started speaking quickly, tumbling each new word out of my lips almost before I finished inflecting the last. I had to say something. I had to be the bigger man. The only man. I was terrified, I hurt and I wanted someone to hold me so badly, “But we don’t know what’s going on and we shouldn’t rush into things we don’t have the privacy to do without talking to everybody.”

“You let Xiomara all over you,” She whispered and thumbed away tears. She only irritated her eyes and had to do it twice.

I turned to Xiomara. I wanted her to keep sitting on my lap. I wanted Connie and Pat to feel comfortable enough to approach me or let me hold them. I wanted Kia to kiss me again and again. What felt the best was Xiomara’s jealousy. I felt immensely stupid for not even trying to approach her back home. I opened my mouth but she spoke first, with a punchy tone, “Dean’s right. I’m glad he’s here with us.”

“He does seem like a good guy,” Suzi seconded.

“I would’ve picked Bradley,” Marin giggled aloofly.

“Jones?” I moaned thinking about the Lynx’s goal tender.

“What, ew?” Marin giggled louder, “Cooper, obviously.”

I smiled at that.

“But he’s a filthy raccoon!” Hannah interjected causing Connie to laugh.

“Just her type,” Pat grinned. I looked to Xiomara and she reached out her left hand for me. I looked to Kia and she smiled and pushed me to Xiomara by my elbow. We reasserted the stool and I settled Xiomara on my lap. Kia stood over Pat and the redhead squeezed Kia’s fingers over her left shoulder.

The games took up again. Xiomara was very good at Eliminate Others. I was more interested in the new game as I let Xiomara duel Hannah, Connie and Renee. Trade and Betray had a board. A hexagonal grid of hexagonal zones. Each zone produced bits (in the four colors of the room) and each player moved their marker (also in one of the four colors) on their turn and proceeded to sell the bits in their grid to others. The goal was to collect 10 bits in your own color. The tricks came from a deck of cards which allowed sellers or buyers to change the deals. It seemed you could cash in three off color bits to draw an extra card. It could have been quite good but the game was slo-oo-ow.

“Hey,” Xiomara called my attention up to her with a finger tap on the lip of my ear, “You’ve got to watch me win.”

“Ha!” Snarked Hannah but her brave face was worthless as she had been steamrolled out a few hands before.

“Give it your best shot,” Connie sneered a grin. Renee just looked ready to put her last two cards down and surrender.

“Alright,” Xiomara poked me again before she grabbed her card. Name a color and the player on your right had to have more of that color than you or pitch the difference from their other colors. It was a big card. There were only two in the deck, “Renee, black.”

“I’m the black one,” Connie explained professorially and we shared a snorting smirk.

“Uh,” Renee looked up, “Zero?”

“And I have two,” Xiomara flashed her two remaining cards. Renee slumped a little as she tossed her hand into the discard pile. Xiomara grabbed a third, “That just leaves me an you, Connie.”

Connie smirked over her pair of cards. Truth be told their game still had seven more turns left before Connie won. I turned my attention to Pat, who was furious. Trade and Betray had turned her frighteningly salty. I tried to exchange a laugh about it with Kia but she looked away from me. I sighed and turned back to Xiomara. She could not draw a good card to save her life and soon I watched Connie pluck away her final card.

“So, Connie,” I said as Xiomara conceded gracefully, “What do your losers owe you?”

“Oh the three of them are making everyone lunch when we’re ready,” She waved off while Hannah and Renee sputtered.

“Not what I would have picked,” Xiomara wiggled on my lap.

“Yeah,” Connie sighed, “How much longer do you guys think your game will last?”

“I doubt we’re half done,” Slumped Andrea.

“You can always concede to me if you want out,” Grinned Suzi.

“You’re going down, bitch,” Pat growled with varying levels of sincerity and playful aggression.

“Actually, you’re pretty much stomped,” Marin shrugged, “That’s why everyone’s let off of you.”

“Fuck it then,” Pat tossed her cards on the table and crossed her arms.

“You alright?” I asked her. Most of us we’re eying Pat now.

“Yeah, I just need to cool off a bit,” She huffed.

“Let’s go get something to drink then,” Kia suggested.

“Hey, bring us over something and whoever wins will let you out of the dare,” Andrea suggested.

“I didn’t agree to that,” Teased Suzi.

“Well, then you don’t get a drink,” Pat grumbled and pushed away from the table. She did calm down and for the next few hours we distracted ourselves. Trade and Betray trundled on and the other seven of us just puttered around. I tried jump rope and they once got all the way through their rhyme counting nearly to four before I stepped on the cord. I was better just swinging the rope it seemed. Conversations started, but weren’t really going anywhere. We were all focused in our distracted haze. It was a couple hours later, I guessed, and Suzi was finally claimed victory. I helped Xiomara making sandwiches while Renee and Hannah were setting the table. I didn’t have to help, I was told not to by Connie, but busy hands were better.

“Alright, Suzi,” Marin gleefully admitted defeat, “What now?”

“You two sit Dean down here and face him towards the bed,” She grimaced, “I really need to pee.”

“Yes!” Agreed Pat.

“OK, OK,” I was still feeling no pressure but them mentioning it did alert me to my bladder’s existence, “Maybe I should just make this my seat.”