Page 9 of The Game

Hmm.I grab the rabbit as she circles around a few times and then crouches down, tail wagging, before I throw it across the room.

In a flurry of scrabbling claws and bouncing fur, she dives over and fetches it and drops it again at my feet.Okay then.

I put my hand out and ruffle her head.

“You’re a cutie, aren’t you?” I stroke her chin, and she whines a bit. Grabbing my phone, I snap a couple of quick pictures, even though I’m not supposed to. I’d like some pictures of tonight. Perhaps I can chat to Anna about it.

So, we play a game of fetch for I don’t know how long until a voice says, “Ah, you’ve met Pepper.”

As I raise my head, my jaw drops. Anna is standing at the entrance to the corridor in a red dress that clings everywhere, her chocolate-colored hair piled in heaped curls on her head, and her makeup dark and sultry. She looks nothing like the woman who said hello to me earlier.

“Fuck. You lookamazing!”

She laughs. “I like you, Adam. You can come back.”

I grin at her. “Wow, what a dress!”

And what a person in it, I don’t say.

“Whenever you need a plus one, I’d be very happy to step in,” I add.

I wince. Am I coming across a bit strong? I’ve never been smooth, and my woman radar is a little broken.

She raises her eyebrows. “I might hold you to that.” Her eyes drift down my body. “That’s a very smart suit.”

I wish I’d thought to bring something for her. Some flowers, a gift, something that would make this …nicer, less transactional maybe.Next time. Ha. Like there’s going to be a next time for Mr. Awkward with a woman like this.

In times like this, I always think of channeling Fabian. But the problem is that, with his tattoos and long hair, he looks the part. So, he sits and broods and women fall all over him. I’m more like Pepper, sensible and loyal, and trying to appear cute so someone will play with me. The double meaning makes heat climb up my neck. It’s years since I’ve been with anybody, and there’s a good reason for that, I remind myself. I’m happy with my life the way it is, and I am never going back down that path.

4

ANNA

Igaze in the mirror, not registering my reflection, while Serge works on my hair.Adam Miller. What a cute guy! So laid back. He doesn’t have a problem with being here, getting primped for an event, or anything really.

Adam was a boring computer electronics guy, Janus said, so I was expecting a beard and sandals, not some good-looking tousled man in a sharp suit. Was that Serge and Julio’s doing?

Serge flicks a glance at me. “He’s nice, eh? I could ravish him myself if he swung both ways.”

I laugh. Serge and Julio are a blast. “Did he turn up with a beard and sandals?”

Serge frowns. “Not at all! He came in the suit, and I added a bit of va-va-voom to his hair. But that body is all his own work.” He winks at me in the mirror, then leans forward. “I think Julio decided to change his shirt color just so he could admire him shirtless.”

He’s wiry, certainly. But there’s something attractive about that. Not my usual type at all.

“Oh God! Please don’t tell me that. I need plausible deniability for anything even vaguely inappropriate.”

He bites his lip, then grins. “Me? Inappropriate?” He gestures down his torso. “He had lovely blond chest hair, and a very sexy trail.” He winks.

Christ, he needs to stop talking about Adam’s body. Adam’s a total stranger, doing me a favor.

“He’s like a small powerful animal,” I say. Am I making this any better?

“Like a dung beetle?”

I lean forward with a snort, bending my head toward my knees as I struggle to breathe, wheezing as I straighten up.

“What?” he says, grinning wildly at me in the mirror. “They are nature’s strongest animal! They can move balls of poop 1,141 times their own weight.”

---