The Scheme

We were playing the card game High/Low, and I kept on losing.

“You suck major,” I said, laughing as I said it, a warm flush creeping up my cheeks.

There was no way he was as toasted as me. Still, he had a heavy smile on his face to match mine.

“Go.” I pushed the cards toward him. There was no way. I couldn’t lose four in a row.

He flipped the card, revealing the four of hearts.

I shook my head, my smile widening. “And here is where my losing streak ends.” I grabbed the card on the top of the pile. “The odds are forever in my favor.” I bowed and flipped the card over. “Booyah!”

And then I frowned at my two of clubs. Damn.

“I hate this game,” I pouted, childishly messing up the cards into one pile as I emptied the last of my fourth bottle. “I want to play another game.” I frowned like the sore loser I truly was. No denying it. But who wants to lose all freaking night?

“Can’t play a drinking game without a drink.” He gri

“If you’re trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage, know that you already did that thirty minutes ago,” I joked. “Don’t you love our mutual agreement?”

He spun around, holding our beers. His eyes turned unreadable, somehow shifting the mood in the air. He sat next to me on the couch this time, not smiling, just meeting my gaze. I could sense some sort of emotion behind his look, and it had my heart racing.

Shifting in my seat, I averted my eyes and focused on the cards on the table. I didn’t want to read something that wasn’t truly there, or maybe I was refusing to see it.

He handed me my beer, still silent, and I bumped my shoulder into his. “If we were in a relationship, I’d be griping that you were drinking too much. Bitching like a girlfriend does when her man has a little too much fun. We wouldn’t be this carefree, and we wouldn’t be playing these type of games on a Friday night.”

“Yeah.” He nodded slowly, his voice off yet gentle. “Want to play another game? I want to play ‘I never’.”

***

BRIAN

I’ve been there before with the controlling girlfriend who didn’t like it when I had too much fun. That had been in college, when I’d had more than enough fun for the both of us.

As I watched Kendy’s blue eyes gloss over, a smile still heavy on her face, it was hard to picture her as the type to go all crazy on her boyfriend.

I decided I wanted to know as much as I could about her, so I picked the game that would give me the inside scoop into that beautiful head of hers. The ‘I Never’ game was a popular drinking game, where one player would give a statement, and if the other players agreed with that statement, they took a drink.

“I’ll go first,” I told her. “I’ve never FTF-ed before you. Not with anyone that I wasn’t seriously dating.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You make me seem like a hooker.” She pretended to push her bottle away, like she wasn’t taking a drink, but then she slammed it back, which didn’t surprise me. “And for your information, I’ve only FTF-ed one other time before you, so there.” She tucked her feet under her ass. “Why so serious? Let’s lighten this up, shall we?” She extended her beer bottle, and I tapped mine against hers. “I’ve never had sweet and sour pork.”

I let out a carefree laugh and guzzled down my beer. “Really?” I asked, genuinely surprised. Out of all the ‘I nevers’ she’d picked that one. While this was a way for me to take a playful game to get to know the real her, she brought this game back to the light side.

She shrugged. “I love Chinese food, but there’s something about sweet and sour. It’s a food contradiction. You can’t be sweet and sour. It’s just not right.” She tried to suppress a giggle. “One more,” she said, raising her index finger. “I’ve never been to the Statue of Liberty. I’m afraid of heights.”

I brought the bottle to my lips again. “Heights?” I didn’t know why, but I found this surprising as well. Maybe because Kendy seemed so brave, and there was nothing she was afraid of.

She gave off this tough girl persona, which was sexy as hell, but when I got glimpses of her little insecurities or fears, it only drew me to her even more. As though her insecurities gave me an inside look into Kendy, only fueling my desire to want to know more about her.

She scrunched her nose again. “Yes. If I stood on this couch right now, I’d be terrified of falling.” She leaned into my face and pointed to her chin. “See this?”

I had to squint to see a tiny scar that was barely noticeable.

“In the fifth grade, I stood on top of the monkey bars, trying to show off to the boys.” She chuckled in spite of herself. “Epic fail, because I needed four stitches after that little stunt.”

“Come here,” I said, inching closer. I closed the gap between us and kissed her chin lightly. “There, boo-boo gone.”

A tiny blush touched her cheeks as though she wasn’t expecting that, and then she pointed in my direction for me to go.

“I’ve never . . .” But nothing came to mind.

There were a few random coasters scattered on the table, my beer sitting on top of one made of glass. But what caught my eye were the white letters against the black cork coaster, a Shakespearean quote.

“The course of true love never did run smooth,” it read.

The first thing that came to my mind flew out of my mouth. “I’ve never had someone write me a poem.” Dumb. I should’ve skipped my turn.

Her eyes danced with amusement. “Poems,” she cooed. “The boys loved writing me poems.” She pointed her beer bottle in my direction again. “You get one more, because I took two turns.”

I tried to think of something good, something light, but nothing came to mind. I had started this game to get to know more about her, and I was begi

“I’ve never been in love,” I finally said.

It was such a weird guy thing to say, but it was true. I’d only experienced puppy love, not the true, all-consuming love. I knew once I felt that all-consuming part, I’d make it a point to marry that girl.

Her eyebrows scrunched together. “Jeez, Brian. What’s up with the serious ‘I nevers’? And wait. So you, Brian Benson, have never been in love.”

“Nope. Never.” I shook my head. “Not where I couldn’t live without a girl, couldn’t function.” I’d thought I was in love many times, but now knew it hadn’t been the real thing.

I waited to see what she would do—would she drink, or would she not? She didn’t move or speak, so I prompted, “You’ve been in love?”

Immediately, her smile left her face, and I knew her relationship with this Cole guy hadn’t ended well. I gripped the bottle tighter, wanting to know about this bastard, particularly his address.

Her tone was disco

My instincts told me to drop it, but I couldn’t. Not now. Not today. Not this time. “So what happened? He let a girl like you go?” I used flattery to try to change her mood, but she didn’t give an ounce of a reaction. I knew this guy had hurt her, but I had to tread carefully because, knowing Kendy, she’d close up like a clam, like she’d done every time before.

“It was a long time ago.” Her stare turned vacant as her breathing slowed. “Cole was my first and last boyfriend in high school.” Her tone was acidic, hatred ringing in her eyes. “Fucker cheated on me and stole more from me than you can imagine. He walks the streets of Bowlesville like he owns the fucking joint, when he’s a piece of dog shit.” Her voice got louder as she spoke. “I hate him.” The way she said it, the way her eyes filled with pain, even though her voice reeked of hatred, had my insides on fire with a rage I’d never felt before.

I clenched my jaw from revealing any emotion.