A Game for Learning about Yourself Ch. 10

Naomi had some brunch with them. She was quiet for the first time Stephanie had seen her. She did not seem sad, just somehow less outgoing, more thoughtful and meek. Stephanie wondered how long that would last. Maybe she's mentally preparing for motherhood, Stephanie thought. More likely she's just tired after hours of non-stop sex.

The rest of the day was pleasant enough. Ami, Precious and Maria Calzoni arrived. (Precious had only been willing to get on the plane after receiving a picture phone call from Shameless). With Maria Andreas, they replaced Hollie, Naomi, Lenka, and Sarah. Stephanie, Priya, Brigitta, Alsha, Katie and Sabrina were playing again.

Stephanie, Viktoria and Maria Andeas saw much of the town including the Museo Costumbriesta de Sonora and the Casa Museo Maria Felix. Stephanie was very interested to learn of the actress Maria Felix who was a movie star in Mexico and Europe in the 1940s and 1950s but never made a movie in Hollywood. Stephanie was particularly surprised to learn that Felix had starred in a movie made in Rome about the supposed nymphomaniac Roman Empress Messalina. I wonder if Charlotte has been to this museum, Stephanie thought.

Finally, the three women walked up to the top of Mount Alamos. Stephanie thought that she could be hiking with Roberta up a mountain in the Sierra Nevada instead of nervously killing time before participating in a game that could result in her becoming a sex slave for life.

All the women in the game Saturday plus Shameless and Theresia got together for a lovely dinner at the hacienda. Stephanie asked Shameless how Naomi had done her first night as a slave to the Club. "She got fucked in every way a woman can get fucked many times and made about every sound a woman has ever made during sex. It was fun although there were times that I'd have liked some good noise cancelling headphones. The Club never gags anyone.

"Otherwise, Naomi is a real live wire and has a great imagination. Only problem was that Naomi was so hungry for cocks that I only got to take a couple of them myself," Shameless answered.

Stephanie spoke to the women who just arrived and learned that a couple of them, in addition to Maria Andreas, seemed to really not want to become sex slaves, at least not yet. Stephanie expressed surprise that Ami was back in the game. "I thought you had quit after you became a center in Level Two."

"No, I just did not play at Level Three when you did. Actually, I played in a special game in Las Vegas that they decided could count as having played in Level Three although it was totally different and only I was involved. My boyfriend put me into the pot in a bet," Ami said.

"And you agreed to that?"

"He did not exactly ask but I was at the table and said nothing. He was putting me through school. I thought it was the least I could do. I don't see that you should criticize."

"I'm not criticizing, just asking. He lost the bet and now you are playing at Level Four?"

"No, bet was that if he lost, I'd be center of gang bang for a month like at Level Three, only in a hotel in Las Vega, but he won the bet, so I was not center. He got the money back he'd lost earlier. That was very good because if he'd lost the bet, I don't know how I could have paid for last semester.

"The Club decided that my brush with disaster in Las Vegas could count as playing at Level Three and let me play Level Four. Spielmann who was not at the card game in Las Vegas said he was not happy about either the card game or letting it count as playing in Level Three but the Club decided they need to bend the rules a little to get so many women to play at Level Four this weekend," Ami explained.

"But why are you here. Did your boyfriend make another bet and you just go along?"

"No, I dumped the boyfriend because he said that he was tired of me having sex with other men and in the future, I'd have to be monogamous."

"That's a strange demand given what he'd done in the Las Vegas game."

"That's what I told him. It was particularly weird given that I'd only played at Level One and Level Two because he asked me too. Of course, I deliberately lost at Level Two. God, it was so hot taking all those men. I could hardly walk for days afterward but it was wonderful. I realized, though, that it could get addictive and did not want to play at Level Three and I wouldn't have done so but for the card game in Las Vegas."

"But then why are you here?" Stephanie asked.

"Without the boyfriend there was no way to pay for my last semester. $40,000 is exactly what I need. Actually, I'm signed up for both tonight and Sunday. An extra $40,000 should enable me to get settled after school."

"But you could lose," Stephanie said, "and that would totally screw up your career as you'd be here for a long time under the Level Four rules. There are also other, shall we say, complications."

"Yes, Steffi, what I'm doing might not be very bright but again, who are you to talk?"

Stephanie was annoyed with Ami repeating that question but thought that human desires, particularly relating to romance and sex rarely make a lot of sense. We're all fucking idiots, Stephanie thought.

The story with Maria Calzone was even stranger. After Stephanie asked her what had brought her to play at Level Four, she got a whole story.

"My boyfriend Tony is from and old Verona family," Maria said, "but I used to be going with Bernardo from another old Verona family and the families and Tony and Bernardo hate each other's guts."

"Wait a minute," Stephanie said, "I met you in Germany and I thought you were Italian. You don't sound Italian and what Verona are you talking about?"

"I'm from Upper Manhattan by the Hudson, but my mother is from Italy and I went back to live with my aunt and uncle in Verona five years ago after my parents started fighting and I just couldn't stand the screaming anymore. I can't believe you haven't heard of Verona, it's a really beautiful town near Venice."

"Ok, I have heard of it. I won't interrupt any more. So why does the fact your old boyfriend and your new boyfriend don't like each other mean you're here?"

"Bernando and his family, the Capujets, said that Tony had no business stealing his girl and challenged Tony, his friend, Raphael, we call him Raffi, and Raffi's whole family, the Montesharks, to a rumble in the Verona arena."

"I thought the arena is in Rome," Stephanie said.

"No, there's an arena in Verona too, well anyway, about 15 guys from both clans arrived at the arena with all sorts of knives and other sharp objects and were about to kill each other supposedly because of me. But a guy named Mercury or something like that arrived and said that it was stupid. Turned out Mercury had seen me in Baden Baden when I played the game between when I dumped Bernando and when I took up with Tony. How I got there is another story.

"Mercury said that there was no way anybody should get killed over a total slut like me no matter how hot I looked. I told him I resented that remark. He said he'd prove his point and give everybody a way out of this honor thing. I told Mercury to buzz off, but Tony was not all that eager for a fight and said that they should hear Mercury out. Mercury explained the game I'd played in Baden Baden and that they should settle the fight with him, Bernando, Tony and Raffi bringing me to Mexico for this game with the idea that if I was the first to strike out, they'd all get to fuck me and if I came in second, third or fourth, I'd go back to Bernando and be owned by him and all the Capujets, and if I came in fourth or lower, I could stay with Tony or do whatever I wanted."

"And you went along with that?" Stephanie asked incredulously.

"Well, I couldn't let them all just kill each other could I?"

Stephanie asked, "Do you know what you are doing? Do you want to be the first to 21 strikes? You know what that means."

"Sure as Hell do, and no I don't want to be a fucking sex slave. Shit, I got plans to go back uptown, with or without Tony. But, like I said, I couldn't just let all those macho guys kill each other. I got moral principles you know."

Stephanie thought this all sounded vaguely familiar and that Maria could have just let the guys fight. She decided to eat her dessert before facing her second game at Level Four. As I've been told any number of times, I have no business questioning what anyone else is doing, she thought. In fact, I am going to repeat doing the stupidest thing I've done in my life.