The hammock containing Austin and Jessica was swaying gently above us, and I could hear them whispering softly to each other, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Jessica was the one that had shocked me when she left the group, even with Austin chasing after her. Jessica, when she had a fire in her, didn’t stop something that she really enjoyed, and she really enjoyed Jason and me. When she met Austin, though, he started a whole new fire in her, and she ran off as fast as she could to be in his arms. Of course, that didn’t upset me, either, seeing that she had truly found what moved her.
Jason looked at me and smiled, swirling his drink around in his glass. I smiled back and sat up, rolling my neck and my shoulders. I was starting to lose my momentum, falling into the comfort of relaxation, when I much more preferred the comfort of Jessica and Amber. I had planned this out for so long. There was no way I could let the opportunity pass by without doing everything I could to get them on the bandwagon with us, even if it was just for today, just there in that swinger’s cabin in the woods.
I stood up, walked over to the window, and stared out at the white blanket that made it impossible to even see the trees. The storm was still raging just as hard, but it would likely let up before too long, and everyone would want to go back to the resort. The resort was where we would all split up into our own rooms and the likelihood of getting us all back in one place would be lost. I knew the reality of going back into life would knock any thoughts of swinging right out of the others’ minds. The clock was starting to tick down, and I knew that this would be the best opportunity that I had to make my fantasy become a reality. It was definitely time to kick things into high gear.
I smiled at my instant determination and headed into the kitchen to dig around in the liquor cabinet for our next round of liquid fun. Apparently, the people that frequented the cabinet didn’t really like mixed drinks and had a serious obsession with expensive whiskey and Scotch. I pulled all the bottles down and surveyed what I was working with. There must have been five grand worth of liquor there, but not the usual stuff I was used to. Scotch was all well and good if you were sitting around, sipping your alcohol and reminiscing about the tax break you got on your million-dollar estate, but we were in need of something a little less pretentious. If I wanted to get the fam into party mode and loosen up those inhibitions, I was going to need something with a little more sweetness and more of a hidden kick to it. I wanted them to throw them back until I could wiggle some more of those hidden passions out of all of them.
I picked up the rum and walked over to the fridge, throwing it open and grabbing the cherries and the soda out of the fridge. It wasn’t a fancy drink, but it would definitely go down easily and give them a bit of sugar rush to keep going. I pulled down six glasses and then dug through the different drawers, looking for things to add to the drinks. When I opened the last drawer, I pulled out a deck of cards, smiling at the luck of it all. Some sweet, rum-based drinks and a deck of cards were definitely some good tools to get everyone’s interest.
I mixed up the drinks and tried them out, pretty proud of myself for my amateur bartending skills. I grabbed a tray out of the cabinet and piled them on, carefully balancing myself as I returned to the main room and sat them down on the table. No one had seemed to notice that I had gone anywhere, except Jason who was watching me closely, knowing I had revamped my plan. He smiled and shook his head, drinking the rest of the Scotch in his glass and stretching. I loved that he liked to watch me work. It was incredibly arousing.
“Okay, family,” I said, clapping my hands and turning around to the room. “Nap time is over. It is now time for Amber’s favorite game, poker!”
Everyone started to sit up, and Jessica poked her head over the edge of the hammock, rocking it back and forth. The excitement on her face was almost comical, and it made me feel like maybe this wasn’t a dead end after all. I should have known these girls would be all about livening up the party and making the most of being snowed-in. Amber stood up and straightened her top, shaking her head and laughing.
“I am terrible at poker,” she said. “Besides, we don’t have any chips to bet with. I left my purse at the resort, so penny poker is out of the question, and I am not giving you my debit information.”
“Yeah,” Jessica groaned, climbing out of the hammock and down the ladder on the wall. “What fun is poker if we aren’t in a serious match of trying to kick each o
ther’s ass? You know how competitive we can get at these things. I distinctly remember a game of monopoly that ended in a fire.”
“Oh God.” I laughed. “Let’s not go there. That was totally a fluke. Someone gave me tequila, and there was already a bonfire going. You make it sound like I set fire to the board in the middle of the living room or something.”
“I wouldn’t have put it past you.” Jason chuckled, taking a drink.
“Okay, all of that is beside the point,” I said, putting up my hands up. “As far as chips, I clearly remember that you, Miss Amber, had no problem betting your clothes once upon a time.”
“I want to play,” Jessica said, jumping onto the floor, dusting off her hands. “I have always been really good at poker. I will whip y’alls ass at it. Austin is really good, too.”
“I’m down,” he said, poking his head over the edge of the hammock.
“So, get your ass down here.” I laughed, sitting down at the large round table. “Let’s get this shit going, Las Vegas style.”
“Yes,” Jessica said excitedly. “Come on, Amber, it’ll be fun. Stop being a spoil sport.”
“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” she said, walking over and sitting down next to Jessica.
The guys slowly meandered over and sat down at the table, taking one of the rum drinks and gulping it just like I wanted. I looked around the room and smiled as I dealt the first round of poker, giggling as Jessica held her cards up to her face and peered over them, acting like she was on a super-secret mission. Austin seemed to be a bit more relaxed, and I could see him rubbing Jessica’s lower back while passing glances over at my tits. Maybe he wasn’t going to be so hard to get to, after all.
We played several hands, and Amber lost every single one. I waited for her to start taking her clothes off, but she gave an excuse just like I expected. She rambled something off about it being too cold to take off her clothes while glancing nervously over at Matt. I was going to have to come up with some other idea to get our clothes off.
“I know, let’s gamble with drinks instead of clothes,” Jason said, smiling at me. “Losers have to drink, and the winner doesn’t.”
We played a few more hands, and I laughed as Amber struggled through it, losing every single hand. After the last one, we all chanted loudly as she gulped down another rum drink, slamming the glass down on the table and shaking her head. I knew she was about to tap out.
“Okay, I can’t play this game anymore,” she said, putting her hands up in the air. “It is not fair. I never get a good hand.”
“Or you don’t know what a good hand is when you have one.” Matt laughed.
“Okay, why don’t we play something else then?” Jessica asked. “Something that isn’t skill or luck based to make the playing field a bit fairer.”
“I know,” I said, jumping up. “Let’s play ‘Never Have I Ever.’ It’s not luck based, it’s not skill based, and it is really easy to answer the questions. If you are brave enough, that is.”
“I don’t know,” Jason said. “Jessica never liked that game because she didn’t like everyone to know she had a small obsession with her vibrator when she was in college. Wait, what did you name it?”
“Conrad,” Austin said with a smirk.
“Yes, that’s it,” Jason said, pointing at him.