The Warmest Winter, Day 09

"Every character has moves like these," he explained as he demonstrated on the screen, "Up is usually some kind of bicycle kick, good for keeping opponents in the air. Left and right are powerful lateral attacks. Down is typically a good defensive move. But none of them are instant, so timing is important."

"Thanks," she said, breathing somewhat heavier. Her friends noticed the change.

That moment stirred in Cassie's head for a while, so that some time later, she said:

"Hey, Mike, can we partner up again? It's been a while." She realized only afterwards the double meaning her question had, and smiled at the happy accident.

"Sure." He came over and sat next to her on the couch. At this point, they'd switched to Mario Kart Double Dash, a racing game with two players in each car.

"Where do you want to sit?" Mike asked.

"I want you behind me," Cassie said, "On top."

Unseen by the others, Jenny's eyebrow briefly raised, but she said nothing. The whole afternoon passed by. They'd play rounds with just two or three of them, when others went to get snacks or use the bathroom. During one such break, Jenny and Mike were alone in the basement when Cassie and Veronica both wanted to get Kool-Aid from the kitchen.

"You seem quite at ease today," Jenny ventured.

"Yup," Mike answered simply, giving away nothing.

"So, nothing's bothering you?"

"Nope. Should there be?"

"Maybe. We're all planning some pretty big life changes together. For us, it's getting a direction, a good thing. For you, it's a complete change of direction, which good or bad, can be tough to handle."

Mike saw his opportunity, and came over to where Jenny was sitting. Kneeling in front of her, he took her hands in his, controller notwithstanding, and look into her eyes.

"I appreciate that you care about me, and that's not just a line, I really do." Mike placed one hand gently against her face. Jenny's eyes half-closed. "I'm going to be okay. And it's because I have friends like you." He got up and kissed her forehead before going back to his seat. They went back to racing until Cassie and Veronica returned.

"What did we miss?" asked Cassie.

"Jenny still sucks at Rainbow Road," Mike answered.

"You distracted me!" she retorted.

"Singing 'I've got a lovely bunch of koopa shells' is not a distraction," Mike insisted, "If anything, it's fair warning."

"Well, I've got a blue shell! Take that!"

"Nooo!"

*****

"I didn't know I'd even bought the ingredients for a meal like that," Mike commented, turning on the water to start washing the dinner dishes. "Especially after all the other meals we've had."

"Necessity is the mother of invention," Cassie said cheerfully. She was laying on her stomach on the living room floor, reading one of Mike's coffee table books. She had her feet in the air and her arms pressed her breasts together, showing her cleavage. Her skirt hiked up a little when she lay down, showing off just a bit more of her ass. Mike ran his hands directly under some hot water to kill his sudden urge to take her right there, in front of her friends.

Not. Yet, he thought to himself.

Afterwards, the women stayed in the living room, chatting, and Mike suddenly became a mysterious busybee. When they asked, he just said it was a surprise, but the box he was carrying around looked heavier every time they saw it. They heard clinking, but couldn't see what dishes he was putting into the box from the kitchen, or what we pulled out of the refrigerator. And then... was that his office door? The basement door? What was going on?

And then they heard him making a racket downstairs, then nothing they could hear. Finally, he popped his head around the corner and said, "The surprise is ready. Please join me in the basement?"

Their curiosity won out, so they didn't even ask. They all just followed.

*****

"I call it Ultimate Truth Or Dare," Mike explained. They were seated now around a square card table Mike has set up in the basement, having folded up the Ping-Pong table to make room. The box Mike had filled was next to his chair, still closed.

"While I explain," Mike went on, "I need a volunteer to pour drinks."

Veronica's hand shot up. Mike reached into the box, and retrieved the first item, the one he had retrieved from the fridge.

"This is a two hundred milliliter bottle of fifty-something-year-old Eiswein. It's German for ice wine, and among the finest dessert wines you can buy. The grapes are picked while ripe and frozen, hard to make. Anyway, Veronica, you need to pour into these shot glasses up to the half-ounce mark. There should be thirteen half-shots, with a little extra. Pour that into the thirteenth glass." He handed her the glasses, and she opened the bottle to start pouring.

"When did you start drinking?" Jenny asked.

"Hang out with my lawyer long enough, you get a taste for it in self-defense. Anyway, speaking of business connections... what we need between us, as friends and as business partners, is trust, and the honesty to deserve it. To that end, I think Truth Or Dare is in order. No one has to play, though."

No one volunteered to leave.

"Okay, then. What I've done is add some other stuff to the game. Every round, we'll add a new rule, which I will describe. I'll also go first each round, to demonstrate, in case it's unclear."

With that, he reached into the box, and started pulling out paper, a pen, funny-looking dice, a digital timer, and a set of index cards, which he unclipped.

"I'm starting to get nervous about what these new rules are," Cassie said.

"You can leave the game at any time and no one can dare you to stay," said Mike.

"Besides," said Jenny, "It's three against one. If one person goes too far, the others can gang up and make them regret it."

"Hopefully, we won't have to do that," said Mike. "Thank you." This last part was to Veronica, who had handed him the bottle back. He put it back into the box.

"Everyone take three shots," he instructed, "And by 'take' I mean 'put in front of you.' We're not drinking them yet."

"How much alcohol is in these?" asked Veronica, who had forgotten to check the label.

"About halfway between dinner wine and tequila. A little more. Call it forty percent."

"Forty percent!" exclaimed Jenny, "My liver just cringed."

"That's why it's only three half-shots apiece. Plus, we just ate. Full stomachs. Shall we get started? Okay. The first round is straight-up Truth Or Dare. I'm first, so: Jenny. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"How many men have seen you naked, ever?"

Jenny sat back, and thought for a while. "To the best of my knowledge, it's at least a dozen. Maybe more." Cassie and Veronica were bug-eyed. The number was a lot higher than they expected. Jenny laughed at their reaction. "He said, 'ever,' right? I'm including my infancy. There were at least five men in the room when I was born, right there."

Mike chuckled. "Well played, Jenny, well played."

Cassie asked Mike, "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Who are you physically attracted to the most in this room?"

"Going off of Jenny's technicality precedent, I'd have to say myself." All three women groaned as Mike smiled. "Without gravity's physical attraction, I'd disintegrate. You meant 'sexual attraction,' I think."

Cassie responded by sticking her tongue out at Mike.

It was Jenny's turn. "Mike, Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Who of the female gender are you most sexually attracted to, of the people in this room?" she asked, then added, "Smart ass."

"That's like asking me to decide between my favorite time of day, my favorite movie, and my favorite ice cream flavor." Jenny just folded her arms. "Okay, fine. Cassie, but only because she's dressed to advertise today. Your question only concerned the present tense. Usually, it's an even split."

"Diplomatically said," complimented Veronica, "Well done. Cassie: Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"How did it make you feel when Mike picked you?"

Cassie blushed and looked down, suddenly very self-conscious.

"I felt suddenly very, very turned on," she said softly, "And sexy."

"And you should," Veronica let slip, "Mike, your turn."

"New round," he said. "See? A whole round of Truth. Interesting, but not as much fun as we could be having. This round, we add Spin the Bottle."

Mike placed the Eiswein bottle on its side in the center of the table, then read the top index card of the stack:

"From this point forward, spin the bottle to see who you are going to ask Truth or Dare. You also spin for the objects of Dares, as appropriate. If the spin result is impossible, respin."

"I didn't get all of that," said Jenny.

"Let's say I want to Dare someone to, let's see, kiss someone else on the back of the neck. I spin to see who gets kissed. If it's the same person, they can't well kiss the back of their own neck, so we respin."

"Got it."

Mike spun, and it came up to Cassie. She picked Truth again.

"Have you at any time in your life fantasized about each other person in the room?"

Cassie's eyes widened at Mike's boldness, but her determination began to come back. "Yes."

Now it was her turn to spin. It came up to Jenny, who surprised everyone with the first Dare of the game.

"I dare you to show Mike your tattoo."

Mike objected. "Wait! You have to spin to see who gets shown the tattoo."

"That's no fair," Cassie said, "You're the only one who hasn't seen it."

"Rules of the game."

"Hmph." But she spun anyway. The bottle rested on Veronica. Jenny got up and motioned for Veronica to scoot back, then lifted up the back of her shirt until it revealed the ink. Jenny sat back down, and now it was her turn.

"Cassie," she said after the spin, "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"When was the last time you fantasized about each of us?"

Cassie blushed furiously. "You, a couple of years ago. Veronica, a few months ago. Mike, this afternoon."

"Yeah, girl!" Veronica whooped, offering her a high-five. "Everybody gets curious, don't be shy. My turn." She spun and it came up on Mike, who chose Truth.

"I was watching you when Cassie dared Jenny just now. Did you or did you not already know what Jenny's tattoo looked like?"

Mike sighed. "Playboy Bunny, back of her left shoulder." Veronica put her fist up in triumph. Cassie's mouth dropped open. Jenny smiled a tad sheepishly at Mike, who looked back at her with a shrug.

"New rule," he announced again. "This is what we call a 'd-twenty,' D for die, twenty for the number of sides. Every time you're asked Truth or Dare, you roll this die. If the result is a one, you must pick a Dare. Oh, and the die goes one size smaller every round until we reach the smallest size."

Mike spun the bottle, and it pointed at Jenny. She stared at her Dare Die result.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, picking it up and looking at the other nineteen sides. "I got a one!"

"It happens. Okay, Jenny, I dare you to switch t-shirts with..." He spun the bottle. "Ha! Me!"

Jenny took off her shirt, revealing her white bra against her skin tone. "What are you waiting for?" she asked Mike, who hadn't moved.

"The dare is for you to do the switching. I'll lift my arms to help, but the rest is all you."

Jenny came over and peeled off Mike's polo shirt, and then slid hers down his arms. Along the way, Mike could feel her breasts on his back for a second, long enough to tell how hard her nipples were. She sat back down, not bothering to button up the collar of Mike's shirt. He could catch her scent from the fabric, and judging by the look on her face, she was in a similar spot.

Cassie spun. "Myself. Do I dare myself, or what?"

"Just respin," said Mike, "For now." That got everyone's attention, but Cassie respun.

"Veronica, Truth or Dare?"

Veronica rolled, and said, "Truth."

"When was the last time you fantasized about each of us?"

"What makes you think I have?"

"You said, 'Everybody gets curious.' And if you haven't, you could say 'never.' Well?"

"This morning."

"For who?"

"Everybody."

Cassie, Jenny, and Mike all burst out laughing. Veronica had said it so despondently, it was hilarious. Eventually, Veronica cracked a smile and joined in.

Jenny spun, and then had to respin to ask Cassie. She rolled, then picked Dare.

"I dare you," she said, "to kiss Veronica for a full minute, lips to lips. Oh, damn, I have to spin for that kiss, don't I?" She spun, and it stopped at first Cassie, but then respun to...

"ME?" Jenny said.

"Hazard of the spin," Mike said, "Certainly makes the game more interesting."

Cassie leaned over and met Jenny halfway.

"And... go." Mike had set the timer, and they kissed when they heard the beep.

At first, it was just a smooch, like Europeans may do to one another's cheeks. But before long, Cassie started gently caressing Jenny's lips with her own, which Jenny ultimately responded to. Cassie's tongue flicked gently out, causing them both to softly gasp. Mike wanted to see how Veronica was reacting, but would rather have burned the forest to the ground than looked away. He was rigid under the table. Jenny slipped her tongue out, and had just begun to explore Cassie's lips when the timer beeped.

Everyone jumped, and snapped out of it, breathing heavily. Veronica let go of the table and stretched her fingers.

"Your turn, Veronica," Mike managed. After the spin and the roll, Cassie selected Truth.

"How was it?" Veronica asked simply.

"Good," Cassie replied, "I mean, I'm not turned lesbian by it, but it was still... very good. I guess being with a girl isn't a turn-on or turn-off, for me. But the kiss itself was nice." She stopped talking when she realized she was babbling.

"Thanks," Jenny said softly.

"New rule," Mike announced once again. "This one's simple. Before your turn, you drink a halfshot. That's three shots each over three rounds. The thirteenth one is a third more in the glass. That's the Big Shot, and whoever is the last person clothed has to drink it." He drank, spun the bottle, and Cassie rolled a six on the d12, since the d20 round was done. She picked Truth.

"Who were you hoping you would kiss for that minute?" Mike asked, "No offense to Jenny if it's not her, of course."

"Veronica. Apparently, we've both fantasized about each other so... I'm curious."

"And you ruined it!" Jenny said.

"No, your spin did. The rules are the rules," Mike replied.

"We can break the rules. They're our rules," Jenny countered.

Mike's eyes sparked as he said, "I was hoping you'd come to that conclusion."

Silence fell over the table.

"Oh, you sneaky bastard," Jenny said.

"High praise, coming from you."

"I'll get you for this."

"Only if the spins go your way. Cassie, your turn."

Cassie drank slowly, apparently liking the sweetness of the icewine. She smacked her lips as the bottle came to rest on Veronica, who picked Dare without rolling.

"You missed out on a kiss," Cassie said, "Spin to see who you kiss on the lips for one minute."

"Not myself, I assume," Veronica said, and respun. "Cassie!"

The two stood up and leaned over the table. Mike started the timer again, and watched. Veronica wasted none of it, and before long the two were Frenching across the card table. Mike was hard again, and knew this one minute would keep him warm for months. Jenny, however, was watching him, not the kiss. By the time the minute was up, Cassie and Veronica were moaning softly around one another's tongues.

"That is pretty good wine," Veronica said. Cassie licked her lips.

Jenny drank, spun, and got Mike, who rolled a five and picked Truth.

"When was the last fantasy you had about all three of us at once?" she asked.

"I can't think of the word for time increments that small," Mike said, "That answer your question?"

Veronica drank, then ended up asking Cassie, "Who kisses best?"

"Mike," she replied.

"I meant Jenny or me, but okay."

"You were both good, but neither of you knows how to kiss a girl. He does. He really does."

"Thanks. New round, new rule," Mike said. "From now on, all clothing that is removed must remain off until the end of the game. Obvious exceptions are glasses and piercings and such."

"Holy crap, I just realized we're all still dressed," said Veronica, "I never had this much fun with my clothing on before." The group laughed.

Mike drank, and spun back to himself, and then to Jenny, who picked Dare without rolling.

"I dare you," said Mike, "to remove one article of clothing of their choice from..." He spun the bottle. "Veronica!"

Veronica held out her arm. "The watch." Cassie and Mike booed comically while Jenny removed it and tossed to a corner of the room.

Cassie drank her second halfshot, spun back to herself, and then got Jenny again, who rolled a 4 on the d10 and chose Truth.

"How many times have you had sex with Mike?"

"WHAT?" Jenny exclaimed.

"That's my question."

Jenny glared at Cassie, but appeared to forgive her before saying, "Once... You'll pay for that."

"Don't worry," said Mike, "It doesn't take up a whole lot of your time."

"We'll see," said Jenny, drinking her next glass and spinning. It landed on Veronica, who picked Dare.

"Remove the pants of..." Spin. "Mike! Haha!"

Mike stood up from his chair. Veronica came over and eagerly unbuttoned and unzipped his fly. Keeping her face inches from his crotch, she slowly teased the denim down around his half-erection, which was becoming a larger fraction by the second. Once the pants were around his ankles, he stepped out of them, and picked them up. Mike started removing his belt.

"What are you doing?" asked Jenny.

"You said pants, not anything else."

"Ah, but the rules only state that all clothing removed stays off. We had to remove the belt to get to the jeans, but the rule applies."

"True." He threw his jeans and belt over with Veronica's watch.

Veronica drank, and spun the bottle. Mike asked for Truth after his roll.

"How many times have you had sex with Cassie?"

"Hey!" Cassie objected.

"Fair's fair, hon," Veronica said. "So how about it, Mike?"

"Once. Guess what? New round, new rule. From now on, the next Dare with a time limit is set at one minute, and it goes up by one minute for every timed Dare afterwards. I'll keep track with pen and paper." He drank his last shot, spun, got himself, then respun and got Cassie. Cassie rolled a seven on her d8 and picked Dare.

"I dare you to do a striptease for us, for one minute. And it doesn't count as a striptease unless you remove at least one article of clothing."

Cassie went over to an open part of the room while Mike set the timer. Jenny went over to the stereo system and put on a record. After a couple of tries, she found the spot she was looking for, and gave Mike the thumbs up to start the timer.

Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig In The Sky" wailed in the basement again, and the four of them started laughing. Cassie still managed some pretty impressive dance moves, though, and with deft foot moves, slid out of both of her socks. When the minute was up, she held them up for all to see and tossed them into the clothing pile. It was now her turn.

After the drink, the spin, the respin, the roll, and the question, Cassie got to dare Jenny.

"I dare you," she said, "to masturbate in front of us, for what is now two minutes."

Jenny sighed in resignation. In for a penny, in for a pound. She slid a hand into her pants and grazed her wet clit. She stiffened at the touch, which is when Mike started the timer. She worked her finger around slowly, not wanting to do too much too soon. She was wet enough and turned on enough she might be in danger of climaxing.

Mike drank in the sight. Jenny sat across from him, eyes shut in pleasure. He was rock-hard again; he lost count of how many times tonight this made.