14 Months 03: December

Darius had left it until the last moment to leave their country retreat. The house would be packed up, and any essentials they had left behind would be brought to the city by the staff they had left to complete the transition. He planned to go straight from the airport to the club where the first meeting of next years game would be held. He would show Sophie his city residence once they were done tonight. He looked over at his beautiful partner and smiled as they neared their destination. She looked amazing in a vintage style dress that highlighted the depth of colour in her green eyes. Her carefully styled hair glowed like a halo, and he squeezed her hand as the car pulled up outside the Jazz club.

"You ready for this, Angel?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she breathed the words quietly. She wasn't nervous, not really, she had a role to play, and like any good actress, she would play it to the hilt. Darius had told her it would be a fairly relaxed evening although there would be a small number of official greetings and talk about the game. Sophie was prepared for that too, taking his hand she stepped from the car and smiled up at him as he placed a hand in the small of her back to guide her into the club. The moment she stepped through the door, all of her walls went up and the confident, sassy persona of Angel, as Darius called her now, came down over her features.

Sophie was surprised by the holiday decorations. She had essentially been out of the loop for a month and time had continued its never-ending march forward in the city without her. Had she been gone so long that she had skipped straight from Halloween to Christmas? It felt somehow surreal as she continued to gaze around at the décor while Darius guided her to a small group of people standing to one side of the room. The two women standing with the men looked her over appraisingly as if judging her worthiness to be competing against them.

Straightening her back and trying to maximise all the height she could out of the heels she wore to add to her five-foot-three stature. She took a deep breath. These two girls were tall statuesque and beautiful in their own way, and she tried to hold tight to her confident veneer patching the small cracks as they appeared with the thought that she may not measure up in supermodel looks but had a determination and a sassiness that could make even the permanently grumpy Margaret smile at times. She didn't need to be intimidated by these women.

"Darius, good to see you made it into the challenge this year. This is Stella," David introduced the statuesque blonde bombshell beside him.

"A pleasure to meet you," Darius said with a nod. "Sophie, this is my brother, David." He turned to the other man, "And this is my brother, Zander."

"Hey, that's Mimi," Zander pointed to the girl beside him who looked anything but happy to be there. The pouty face and sad eyes belonged to a tall, lithe redhead. Neither girl said anything or even smiled for that matter at the introduction which didn't stop Sophie.

"Hi, it's great to meet you all. This should be fun, don't you think?" Sophie asked with overt cheeriness and a dazzling smile to match, taking the group by surprise. David raised an eyebrow at Darius, but Zander only scowled harder. "Can we grab a drink now? That one's a little scary," she tilted her head toward Zander, making Darius and David both chuckle.

"Sure, Angel," he said, with a grin. "I'll catch up to you both at the table. I assume we are sitting together in there."

"Haven't checked," Zander shrugged staring at Sophie with a strange expression.

"I did," David said. "Yeah. It'll be the three of us, and I think Rob Loxley," he seemed to think overly long about the last name he spoke.

"Luckily, I brought my own entertainment then," Darius chuckled and moved toward the bar area with his hand as always in the small of Sophie's back.

"Will there be a wine with dinner?" she asked in a whisper.

"More than likely," he frowned.

"Then can I have a coke or water. I'm a lightweight at the best of times, and something tells me getting drunk at this thing is not a good idea," she wrinkled her nose.

"It could be fun," he chuckled.

"Trust me, fun it would be not," she grimaced.

"Okay Yoda, a coke it is," he shook his head. He enjoyed this girl far too much. He knew the other women would be standing silent and beautiful beside their partner just as Mimi and Stella had been, but his sassy little Angel could never be contained like that for long. It was better to let her be herself and shake up the status quo a little bit. He was here not only to play the game this year but to have fun while doing it. His last experience had left him flat and disappointed with the whole process, and he was determined not to repeat that disaster, win or lose.

Darius moved around the room, introducing Sophie to his friends as he stopped to chat here and there until the doors opened to the dining room. Sophie knew she would never remember all the names but was trying to find something about the men, in particular, that would help her to remember, like the fact that Gerrad looked a little like an older version of Jerry Lewis if she squinted her eyes and tilted her head a little.

"Darius, what did you do?" a voice sounded from just behind them when they were almost to the doors. Darius stopped with a grin and turned fully to greet another man. "Did you go straight to the cradle or just pull her off her mother's tits to dress her up for this thing."

"I did what I do best," Darius said with his typical arrogant smirk. "Trust me. You're going to want to back this one. She's a winner." He said, ignoring the jabs knowing that Sophie looked young and vibrant compared not only to him but to the other girls and their jaded expressions.

"Tell me the truth, girl, how old are you really?" The newcomer asked, staring at her with a similar intensity that Darius got when fully focused on her.

Sophie's breath caught. This man was gorgeous, the epitome of what was meant by tall, dark and handsome. He was lean but well-muscled and had the darkest of brown eyes that melted like warmed chocolate. This was the type of guy that she would fantasise about while going through the motions with a less than desirable client. She had to shut down this line of thinking before Darius realised that his friend had shaken her carefully contrived persona. She drew up all the snark she could muster and answered him.

"Old enough to know I shouldn't talk to strangers unless they have candy and a big white van," she said sweetly. "As you have neither..."

"Well fuck," the man said in amazement. "Let me fix that for you, I'm sure I can find some candy around here somewhere, and doesn't Jayce have a van I could borrow," he turned his attention back to Darius.

"Sophie, this is my brother Asher. My best advice is to ignore him, that's what the rest of us do," he said as if the man wasn't standing right in front of her.

"Did I hear my name?" Jayce asked as he approached where they still stood before the doorway.

"She won't talk to me because I don't have candy and a white van to entice her. I thought I could borrow yours," Asher pointed at Sophie and grinned.

"She's a smart girl," Jayce laughed. "There should always be candy involved when talking to a sweet little girl like that," he tilted his head toward Sophie.

"Let me guess this is another brother?" Sophie looked at Darius incredulously.

"Yes, Jayce, this is Sophie," Darius introduced her. "I didn't think you two were coming tonight."

"Connor just scraped in when one of the first thirteen got bounced for not doing his homework properly, so there are four brothers in this one. Ash and I thought it was only right to come and lend our support and see what you're all working with," he chuckled. "She is interesting," his eyes skated over Sophie again. "I'm going to watch the challenges with great interest to see how this little one fairs."

"I have a feeling this little girl is going to surprise us," Asher murmured still gazing at her intensely. "Darius thinks you can win what do you think?" he asked her.

"What sort of question is that? Nobody joins a contest planning to lose," she chided him. Something about him was making her uncomfortable now, and she wished they could go inside and find their seats.

"She's got you there," Darius smirked. "We better go in, but we'll catch up during the night." He'd felt the tension in her body at all of Asher's somewhat inappropriate questions and was relieved when she relaxed a little as they approached their table. He hoped his brothers weren't going to be a problem for Sophie. They were a major part of his life for the last twenty years, since the day he had arrived at the Academy, especially Asher who he had shared a room with for all of his five years there and a house for some time after.

Sophie easily joined in the conversation at their table during the first two courses. She sat between Darius and the brooding Zander who said little as did his petulant partner. They were a perfect match as far as Sophie could see. David was pleasant, and Stella answered questions with short answers not venturing into the conversation too far preferring to leave the talking to the men. The new man to their group, Rob, seemed easy going and friendly as did the girl with him, Chloe. Unlike the other two, she seemed relaxed as if she didn't give a fuck what was going on around her, like Stella, she spoke when spoken to but didn't carry on the conversations, and Sophie wondered if she was doing the wrong thing and started to tone down her chatter a little.

There had been a short speech of welcome at the beginning of night wishing all competitors and their partners' luck. After the first course, the partnerships were introduced to the room, which Sophie felt awkward about as she stood demurely beside Darius as the ninth couple to be announced. After the main meal, the council briefly went over a summary of the main rules of the game and issued the first challenge to be held on New Year's Day as well as an optional mystery challenge that would occur on Australia Day for those keen to gather more points.

"Speaking of mystery challenges, it seems our band is without a singer tonight. We will circulate the playlist, and if any fearless young lady would like to get a head start on the other teams and show off their knowledge of jazz ballads then you will be well rewarded," Henry explained on behalf of the ruling council. "You can let, Dagger know of your intention to sing for us and the song choice during dessert."

"Choose a song," Zander commanded pushing the song list to Mimi when the playlists were placed on their table.

"I don't know any jazz," Mimi looked horrified.

"Don't care, choose a song," he grumbled at her in a low tone. "You're here for the money, so trust me you want these points. Or haven't you noticed your competition," he indicated the other beautiful women in attendance tonight. "You are hardly the only beautiful woman in the room and beauty matters little in this game."

"Mimi," Sophie leaned forward to break the tension between the two and gain the other woman's attention. "You know who Michael Bublé is, right? Amy Winehouse, maybe?" When the other woman nodded, she smiled and pointed to the list. "Well, Amy sang covers of this one and this one, and Michael sings this one and this one and this one, and a few others but they aren't as well known. You could probably google them to find the words if Zander insists you get up there." She avoided looking at the scowling man and sat back in her seat to find the whole table was looking at her and Darius not looking happy.

"It's probably not the best strategy to help the competition," he growled close to her ear.

"Why, are you going to make me sing too?" she asked, not intimidated by his growl.

"I wasn't going to make you but now that you've made the point for me," he continued in the low unhappy growl.

"I would have done it for you anyway, but now I want double my bonus for growling at me," she said ready to argue with him. If he was going to act like an arsehole, she was going to treat him like one. He had warned her that he wouldn't be so relaxed and casual with her once they returned to the city, but this was ridiculous.

"Double if you win," he smirked unable to help the smile tugging at his lips. His Angel was so fucking adorable when she got all indignant like that. It was amazing that she took no shit from anyone, even him in a place like this. He thought Zander was going to blow a gasket when she leaned across him to talk to Mimi and ignored his displeasure when she sat back.

"Umm, Sophie, could you point those songs out again?" Stella asked from across the table then quickly look at Darius who snorted and crossed his arms.

"Calm down, Mr Grumpy Pants, I already said it once it's not going to hurt to repeat. Besides, I know a few of the other songs anyway. My... grandmother was a huge Gershwin fan," she pulled one arm down from his chest and held his hand. "I will sing, and I won't embarrass you, I promise," Sophie said earnestly looking into his eyes. When he nodded, she leaned forward to point out the few songs that she had shown Mimi a few minutes before to Stella and Chloe. The two girls already had their phones in their hands before she leaned back.

"Thanks, Mr Grumpy Pants," David chortled at Darius delighting in the sassy but sweet girl his brother had brought into the game this year and enjoying the scowl on Darius's face as he teased him even more.

As instructed on the back of her table place card, she wrote the song choice, and Darius took it up to place it in the bowl beside Daniel Dagger. He didn't speak. He was still a little unsure whether to be pleased or angry with Sophie for helping the other girls out. He had also never heard her sing or knew that she could. He had paid a little attention to her humming along with her keyboard lessons and practice, but he was usually too distracted by work or that beautiful fuckable mouth to take it in properly. Waitresses came and went with dessert, and there was a general murmur of nervous anticipation in the room as the band took a quick break to collect the name cards and put the song choices in some workable order so that they weren't playing the same popular songs back to back for the remainder of the night.

Sophie winced as the poor girl who had to go first warbled her way through Feeling Good and knew that would be a popular song because it was so well known. Then she watched a stunning redhead practically channel Jessica Rabbit as she sang 'Why Don't You Do Right?' She sang like a breathy Marylin Monroe and even though she got the words wrong in places Sophie knew she had some serious competition. As yet another version of Feeling Good began, she turned to whisper to Darius.

"So, tell me about the challenge they gave us for New Year's Day?" she asked.

"We'll discuss it at home," he said, looking around at the others at their table who had been watching Sophie since she had called him Mr Grumpy Pants and helped their girls to choose a song. As each woman was called up, she watched and cheered for them and became more nervous about her own song choice.

"Looks like you're last," Darius murmured close to her ear.

"No shit sherlock, I can count too," she spat without thinking and hearing the muted chuckles at their table immediately apologised. "Sorry my nerves are getting the better of me, and I am second-guessing my song choice. Do you think they'd let me change it?"

"As long as it's not "Feeling Good" or "Someone to Watch Over Me," I think they would. You can only ask," Darius shrugged.

"Right, asking is fine," she nodded in agreement taking a big breath.

"Hey," Darius wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her closer to his side. "You are nervous, aren't you?"

"Seriously, Sherlock?" she rolled her eyes, making him laugh and Zander crack his first smile of the night even though it was only a small closed mouth flash of amusement Sophie had still seen it and the way it changed his whole appearance.

"Angel, you are amazing at everything you do, this will be no different," he lowered his head to kiss her gently and rubbed her back. "I have faith in you."

"Great, at least one of us does," she said as her name was called. Getting to her feet, she pulled on a persona cloak in the shape of Rita Hayworth hoping to channel the sexy screen goddess from so long ago and approached the band, as they leaned toward the edge of the stage to check her key and song choice she asked, "Do you mind if I change my song?"

"It's one of my favourites the bass player said so yeah I mind, but what's the other song you wanted just in case it's another favourite," he grinned at her.

"I've Been Kissed Before. But I'd like the tempo a bit slower than the original Rita Hayworth version more Billie Holiday style," she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, alright, but if it's not a killer version, you do the other one straight after it okay?" the pianist asked and looked to the bass player for his approval.

"I say she does two for holding up the show," he gave a sly smile.

"Just the one, please," Sophie said, "I'm nervous enough to throw up already without that kind of pressure."

"Alright, we'll lead you in, good luck," the pianist grinned and nodded to the sax player as she picked up the microphone and turned it on. The two short melodies sounded from the saxophone, deeper and more soulful than the trumpet that would usually accompany the intro, but she opened her mouth to sing anyway, trying to channel the amazing woman who originally brought this song to life.

"I've been kissed before; arms have held me tight. You can tell by my kiss, you weren't the first and you won't be the last," Sophie danced toward the table holding the council members who had spoken throughout the night as if pleading her case for the points through the song as she sang the second verse. She moved to another random table as she started the third verse strutting across the small dance floor in front of the stage where the band was. "I've been kissed before, only fools tell when. I was born to be kissed. To kiss and be kissed. And I'll be kissed again," her voice remained clear but a little strained in the lower registers with the key they had chosen.

She had swayed and danced around the room rather than standing in one spot as others had done teasing and flirting with the men who had kind faces and happy smiles, ignoring the ones that frowned at her disapprovingly. In the end, she approached Darius, who did not look happy with her flirty performance. So, she sang the last verse to him alone.

"Many loves have I. They were just one more. But someday I'll be kissed, and maybe I'll doubt that I've been kissed before. That I've been loved before. On that day that I'm kissed... I might even deny... that I've been kissed before..." She had wound her fingers through his hair, and as she sang the last words, he pulled her into his lap and kissed her possessively as the band played on waiting for her to repeat the last chorus. Pulling away from the kiss she put the microphone back to her lips between them and began to sing as she struggled out of his hold and made her way back to the stage singing, "And on that day that I'm kissed... I might even deny... that I've been kissed before..."

The band finished with a flourish and she grinned at them trying to hand back the microphone. The Pianist shook his head, "Not good enough, cutie pie," he chuckled. Then talking into his mic, he addressed the small crowd. "This girl changed her song choice at the last moment and after that dismal effort," he paused for the laughter he knew that comment would bring. "We should ask her to sing her original song choice."