Double Time (6 page)

“
Wow, he was good. You should go talk to him.”

“
She might not have to,” Keesh says. “He’s coming our way. Let me take care of this for you, girl.”

We watch as Keesh walks toward him, and nonchalantly bumps into Mr. Defense as she passes him. Well, nothing about her is nonchalant. She definitely wouldn’t win an Oscar for her performance, but it worked because he’s coming back with her.

“
Hey, girls, this is the stud we have to thank for a winning football season this year,” Keesh says, with an arm linked in his.

“
It’s about time our prayers were answered,” I tell him. “I don’t know if I could stomach another year of missed tackles and quarterbacks who throw bombs all over our D.”

“
Watch football much?” he asks.

“
She’s a Cowboys fan,” Keesh explains. “She can talk football more than any boy I know.”

“
That shouldn’t be hard. I saw the guys you showed up with. Baseball? Come on now. I bet the other guy plays soccer.”

Okay, is he seriously talking shit about Travis and Josh? I don’t care how many sacks he got tonight. He’s a jerk.

He must sense the anger radiating from me because he quickly backtracks. “Not that there’s anything wrong with other sports or anything.”

“
Yeah.” That’s what I thought.

Steph is still in a trance until he acknowledges her. “Do you like football?”

“
Me?” She wakes from her stupor. “Yeah. Sure.”

“
I’m Ethan,” he tells her, offering a hand. “And you are?”

She takes his hand. “Stephanie. You look great.” She shakes his hand. “I mean, you looked great tonight.”

“
Thanks. Would you like to go grab a drink with me, Stephanie?”

She nods as she walks away with him.

“
Oh shit,” Keesh squeals. “She’s a goner. Did you see her face?”

“
Yeah. So much for her being worried about coming up here. She’s come a long way from thinking guys were going to slip a roofie into our drinks.”

Keesh chuckles. “I know, right?”

“
Hey, are you guys playing?” Eric asks.

We quickly glance at each other and shrug. “Yeah.”

Eric hands us each a number and we wait, having no idea what the number is for or what it means.

Shit. Frankie’s here. That means Ben isn’t too far behind. I scour the crowd. There’s no sign of him and a feeling of relief comes over me. Eventually, Eric’s older brother stands on a table and shouts.”Okay, ya’ll. We have four different Twister boards going. Each player has a number. There should be two guys and two girls at each board. Once the game gets started, anyone who falls has to take something off. Then you get back into the game.” He goes on to explain it’s a tournament. Once two people lose at one game—meaning they’re naked or refuse to disrobe any further—then the other two people advance to the next round. There are three rounds total. Dang. By the time the championship round comes around, the winners—or losers, really—are going to be pretty chilly.

I look at my number. Three. “What do you have Keesh?”

“
Two.”

“
At least we’re not playing against each other.”

“
I guess, but I’d rather have your nakedness next to me than someone I don’t know.”

“
You have a point,” I say as we make our way to our official Twister stations.

I laugh when I see who’s at Keesh’s game. Josh, Travis, and Licha. Poor girl. No such thing as luck for her. I look at Steph and put my hands up. She makes a gesture like she’s slitting her throat and shakes her head. I guess she’s not playing.

I find board #3 and laugh even more when I see Thelma standing there. If that girl falls two times, she’s going to be naked. She’s only wearing jeans and a spaghetti strap tank. She’s, for sure, not wearing a bra by the looks of her brown eyes staring at me through her shirt. And she’s well known for not wearing any panties. The girl doesn’t even have any shoes on. I’m so going to win the first round.

I turn back to Keesh and the boys, signal over at Thelma, and make a face. Keesh’s hand shoots up to her mouth. Josh puts his hand on her shoulder, and Travis says, “Oh, fuck no.”

Really, it’s funny. But Thelma’s not so bad to warrant that type of reaction. I didn’t say
fuck no
when I saw Licha standing there with Travis. Although the thought of any part of her perfectly-shaped naked body touching him makes me want to vomit in my mouth.

The fury in his eyes is unmistakable.

I turn around to see what he’s sneering at. It’s Ben. But right behind him is … Alex.

Travis takes a step toward me, but then backs off.

“
It’s okay, Trav.”

Alex smiles and holds up a number. Three.

He waves and closes the gap between us. “Hey, babe” is all he says before wrapping his arms around me just like old times. I haven’t felt his arms around me in months. I’m surprised that I’m not melting in them right now. Well, not entirely.

“
Hi.” I unravel myself and move toward Ben. “What are you guys doing here?”

“
I was going to ask you the same thing. This was supposed to be our party and then all of you guys started showing up.”

“
Oh” is all I manage to say.

“
Look, are you sure you still want to play?” Ben asks me. I look around and it’s as if time is standing still. People are whispering, watching this little reunion play out before their eyes.

“
Yeah.” I sigh. “Let’s play.”

“
Wanna shot?” he asks, taking out a flask.

“
Yes.” I don’t hesitate. I rip the thing from his hand and take a big gulp of metallic tasting tequila. “Wow” The heat trails all the way down to my belly and I exhale a hot breath.

“
I think everyone has found their places and we have a spinner for each group. Let the games begin so your dicks and tits can sway in the wind.” Nice. Very poetic, Frankie.

Taking a final look at Travis before we start, I force a smile at him. And he does the same for me. This is totally awkward for everyone involved.

The spinner acts quickly as we all plant our hands and feet in various places on the mat when Frankie calls out directions. Alex falls first after being pinned under Thelma. He kicks off a shoe.

A few minutes later, Alex and I are almost face to face, and Ben is curled around my legs, with Thelma under him. Typical, she’s always under someone.

“
Having fun, babe?” Alex asks me.

My brows crumple. “Sure, but I’m not your babe.”

“
Don’t be like that, Meggie.”

Moving my right hand to a red circle next to my left hand leads me away from Alex’s stare. I don’t know what “that” means, but I’m not being it. It’s just… we’re not a couple anymore. I don’t see why he thinks it’s okay to call me babe. We’re done. Over. We can be friends, unless he ruins it, which seems to be the case right now.

This time Thelma falls. She stands up straight, unbuttons her jeans, slides down the zipper, and shimmies out of her pants like she’s a regular at a strip club. What a performance. At least she’s wearing a G-string. She must get a Brazilian because she’s definitely sportin’ a hairless cat. Hairless or not, if her crack comes anywhere near my face, I quit.

Ben’s next move places him right on top of me—his chest to my back and his cheek to mine. “Ready for another shot?”

“
Hell, yes,” I tell him.

“
Okay, on the count of three, we’ll both fall, take a shot, take off a shoe, and get back in the game.”

“
Deal.”

On three, we both fall on the mat laughing. I unlace one of my Chucks while Ben takes off his hoodie. He takes a drink and then passes it to me. I swig again, and we get back to it.

This isn’t so bad. At least Keesh is still fully dressed. I notice Josh is missing a shoe and a sock. I think Travis is shoeless and I can’t get a good look at Licha. Dang it.

When we’re face to face again, Ben passes the time between moves by asking about Travis. “Looks like you two are talking again.”

“
Yeah. Things are much better.”

“
Good,” he tells me before making his next move.

Just when I think this game could go on forever, Thelma gets trapped and can’t make another move without falling. Surprisingly, she’s unwilling to take off her G, and she exits the game.

“
Looks like it’s just little old me and you two boys,” I tell them.

“
Actually, it’s just us,” Alex says. “Only a guy and girl move on. So you’re in. But don’t worry, babe, I got this.” He winks at me. His arrogance is really starting to piss me off.

“
Let’s go, Ben. Kick ass,” I shout. He better not fall or I’m going to kick his ass myself.

When all is said and done, Alex is the winner. But he didn’t make it easy. I swear he practically sat on top of Ben until his ass hit the mat. What a big cheater.

Round two sucks ass. I’ve never had any luck in my life so far, so why should I get it now, right? Next up: me, Licha, Travis, and Alex.

“
This should be interesting,” Ben whispers, as we stand on one side of the mat with my opponents on the other.

“
You’re a shithead. You were supposed to win.”

“
Hey, I tried. You saw what he did.” He looks down, like he wants to say something.

“
What is it?”

“
You sure you want to know?” I nod, and he continues, “I think he wants you back, Meg.”

“
What makes you say that?”

“
He told me.”

“
Oh.” I take the flask from his hands and suck back another shot.

“
So what do you think?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.” I pause. “Actually, I’m really not that interested. He was right. He’s a lot older than me. I’m only sixteen. I can’t even drive yet and he’s in his second year of college. What’s wrong with him for wanting a girl in high school when there’s a bunch of girls his age probably willing and ready to take care of his every need?”

He doesn’t say anything at first, but then adds, “I don’t think it’s about anything being wrong with him or other girls, I think it’s what’s right about you.”

“
You’re too good to me, Ben.” I put my hand on his. “But I still don’t think I’m interested.”

He stands, yanks me to him, and hugs me. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“
Really?”

He releases me and we walk over to where round two is getting ready to begin. “Yeah. He’s my friend, but I think you’re better off with Travis or someone else your age. For now, anyway.”

“
Thanks, Ben.”

“
Anytime.” He ruffles my hair as I join my opponents.

“
You ready?” I ask Travis as he struts toward me.

“
Sure, why not? I’ve always dreamed about playing naked Twister with you and your ex-boyfriend.”

“
You know, I’ve had that same dream and Licha was in it too. All I could do was moo like a cow next to her flawless figure.”

“
Moo. Nah. I don’t see you with spots. I bet you were pink with a curly tail,” he says, with a sly grin.

“
You calling me a pig?” I ask.

“
No way. It’s not like I’ve witnessed you eat a bag of Kettle corn, and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, chased with a Coca-Cola Double Super Big Gulp Slurpee.”

We both laugh. “That was only one time. And you helped me.”

“
You only let me have a sip of your Slurpee before you ripped the straw from my mouth.”

“
You should know better than to mess with my Slurpee or my…”

“
Fries,” he finishes my sentence.

“
What do you say we win this thing?” I tell him, holding out my hand.

Instead of taking my hand, he rests his palm on that spot on the back of my neck, and whispers in my ear, “I don’t know. I think I’d rather get your shirt off again.”

“
Down, buddy,” I tell him. “Remember our rules.”

“
It’s been weeks. Don’t you think it’s time to live a little?”

“
Don’t tempt me.”

“
Are you two gonna play or what?” Alex says.

Seven

Frankie jumps on the table again. “Hey, the last round took too long. We’re only going to play one more round with six people. Let’s get this show on the road. I’ve got things to see and girls to do.” He laughs at his own pathetic joke and his friends give him a fist bump. Lame.