Supply and Demand Pt. 01

"Good," Gabriela snarled back. "Finally."

After some awkward slurping of drinks, and staggered conversation, we continued the game, with Heidi demanding that Gabriela and Hunter head to the restroom and switch their clothes. While they were doing so, I chugged another glass of wine and tried to put that whole confrontation out of my head. Heidi and Ruth were incredibly reassuring, understanding that the whole situation with Hunter was difficult for me. Seeing he'd moved on so quickly with a girl like Gabriela was like a knife through my heart, and the way she was able to outshine me with ease in every single way only made me feel greater vulnerability. Thankfully, my friends knew that my behaviour wasn't normal for me and I wasn't actually a weirdo. I had just got a bit overexcited when trying to compare myself to her.

When the couple returned, the two had been good sports, and it was honestly funny with Hunter wearing her tight jeans and fitted top. However, though the image was hilarious, I noticed that Gabriela was still wearing her boots with Hunter's baggy shirt and jeans. That meant, after they'd switched clothes, she'd put her boots back on instead of being bare feet like Hunter was. Surely, switching clothes meant that Hunter was supposed to be wearing her boots, didn't it? Even if his feet were too big, he should have at least tried.

"Perfect," Heidi said approvingly with a thumbs up. "Good job, guys."

"I gotta get a picture of this," Roger added, and the two of them posed for a snap, Gabriela draped across Hunter's lap while I looked on with a pout. After a couple of pictures, everyone seemed ready to move onto the next spin.

However, I was annoyed because they hadn't completely fulfilled the dare and they were being let off easy. Heidi had insisted that they completely switch their outfits, but Gabriela was still wearing her boots. How could no one else see this and allow her to act like she'd fulfilled the dare? She was getting away with it and it wasn't fair. It wasn't even about her feet at this point, it was just that she should have had to face another dare because she'd failed on this one. "But she's not..." I said while pointing to her boots, before I realised what I was about to do, and thought it better to shut the hell up. The last thing I wanted to do was put myself back in Gabriela's crosshairs and bring attention back to her feet.

Gabriela's sneer immediately jolted back to me, and I realised I'd made a grave mistake. Even with her swamped in Hunter's shirt and jeans, her beauty and confidence was evident. "What is it now?" she asked with impatience. "You literally complain about everything, don't you?" She looked to Hunter aghast. "Did she nag you like this all the time? No wonder you had enough."

"Well, no," Hunter said. "I honestly don't know what's going on."

"Sure, you do," Ruth said with daggers in her eyes. "What did you think was going to happen tonight?"

"Okay," Roger interrupted. "Can we just carry on with the game, yeah?"

"Yes," I said, desperate to clamber from another hole I'd dug. I reached for the bottle. "It's my turn, right?"

"Actually, it's mine," Gabriela said, slipped from Hunter's lap, dropping to her knees and snatching the bottle away from me.

"I'm pretty sure it's mine," I said back, although without an ounce of conviction in my voice. When Gabriela clutched the bottle and glared in my direction, I wilted beneath the intensity and capitulated, despite knowing I was correct. I was already terrified of being humiliated again in front of all of my friends, convinced that she'd find some way to twist it against me. "Fine, it's your turn," I said.

Heidi cocked her head, and Ruth seemed like she was about to say something in my defence, however, such was Gabriela's presence, that both of their lips remained sealed. It seemed like placating the situation took priority, and since I'd already relented and given in, neither seemed particularly committed to defying Gabriela's will, even though she was the youngest in the room.

"That's right," the Brazilian girl said, her tanned skin shimmering beneath the twinkling candles dotted around. She looked between each of us while placing the bottle down. "Which one of you do I want this to land on," she said mischievously, before her eyes came to rest on Roger. "You?"

He raised his hands jokingly. "Only if you go easy on me."

Her eyes shifted in my direction. "How about you, Ella? Are you worried?"

"No," I lied. I looked at Ruth and rolled my eyes as if I wasn't bothered, but truthfully, I was terrified that I was going to be on the end of Gabriela's turn.

Her eyes remained fixated on me, while she spun the bottle at the centre. I watched with nervous anticipation as it spun in circles, slowing to select its choice. There was sweat trickling down my back and my heartbeat skipped as the top of the bottle came to rest in my direction. Gabriela cheered and clapped her hands victoriously, a bit too eager for my liking.

"Calm down," I said, trying to make her look as foolish as she'd made me. "It's only a game."

"Truth or dare," she said while eyeing me. "Come on, Ella, what's it going to be?"

I looked around for some assistance, but everyone else was muted and waiting for my response. I didn't have a clue what to answer, as both options seemed completely detrimental to me. Clearly, Gabriela was about to humiliate me in some way, and whichever direction I opted for, the outcome was going to be awful: she was going to demean me even further while in Hunter's company. Either I'd have to reveal some embarrassing truth or be made to do something ridiculous. The way Gabriela was eagerly awaiting my response, while her hands were giddily twitching, made me feel like she was hoping for me to say dare. After all, that would provide her with an endless opportunity to make me do something, whereas, the truth was limited to just that: my own experiences and inner honesty.

"Truth," I said, knowing that if I said dare, Gabriela would likely seize the opportunity to make me do something utterly humiliating beyond my wildest nightmares, likely involving her feet since the conversation had been about them so much. I mean, why wouldn't she? If given the opportunity to embarrass the ex of your partner, everyone would jump at the chance, wouldn't they?

I almost jumped for joy when Gabriela's delighted expression soured. I had been correct in my estimation, and with my answer, I'd halted whatever scheme she had brewed up.

"Booooring," Roger said. "You already had a truth earlier."

"It's my choice." I was whining by this point, and cursing him for getting involved.

"Afraid of how bad my dare will be, are you?" Gabriela teased. "What do you call it here? Ella is a chicken?"

"I'm not a chicken!"

Gabriela then began childishly batting her elbows back and forth as if they were wings, all the while making ridiculous clucking noises. "She's a chicken."

She was being ridiculously immature, clearly displaying her youth, however, none of my friends were speaking up, and I felt compelled to respond. "Fine, I'll choose dare."

However, Gabriela rolled her eyes. "It's fine, you can have your little truth, you chicken."

I was blushing while looking around at everyone, hoping that there would be an intervention. However, my friends were still silent. Hunter, meanwhile, was looking at Gabriela in awe, seemingly enraptured by her confidence and ability to toy with his ex-girlfriend. It was as if she was a matador, dancing around and spearing me, reluctant to yet deliver the killer strike. His earlier sympathy seemed to have vanished. Now, if anything, she was proving that he hade made the right decision by breaking up with me.

"What's it going to be?" Roger asked. "Make it something good."

Gabriela almost snapped back, "I'm thinking." She adjusted her position and returned her booted feet to the centre of the circle, almost near the bottle. I tried to fight it, but my own eyes seemed to betray me, dropping down to the soles of her boots, and upon noticing, her face lit up. "Okay, Ella. Time for you to tell the truth then." She looked around at everyone and seemed almost excited by what she was about to say. She lifted both hands, and pointed her index fingers at her boots. "Do you want me to remove these so you can see my feet?"

I gulped, and immediately felt my entire face burn in shame. That question was pretty much my worst fear brought to fruition. Of course, I was curious about what her feet looked like and why they were apparently worth way more than my own, but it wasn't some primal need of mine to see her take her shoes off or anything, especially in front of all of my friends!

However, the embarrassment on my face had apparently betrayed me, as Gabriela sprung forth before I could respond, "Look at her face," she teased while animatedly pointing at me. "She can't hide it. She wants to see my toes so badly."

Roger almost barrelled over in laughter. "Not this again," he said, before adding, "Shots fired!"

"Come on," Ruth added, her own face almost as red as mine. "I thought we had moved on from this stupid conversation. Ella doesn't want to see your feet, okay, Gabriela? Stop tormenting her." It was a relief that there was actually a mature adult amongst us.

"Yes, she does," Gabriela fired back while gesturing towards me. "Look at her. She can't even say anything because she knows it's the truth. If it's not true, she can just say so."

Ruth turned towards me, and she dipped her head while analysing my behaviour, seemingly puzzled by my inability to stand my ground and state that Gabriela was incorrect in her assumption. "Ell?"

Heidi's head darted forwards, her eyes too squinted in confusion. "Just say no and be done with it, Ella," she insisted. "We've all had enough of this stupid contest the two of you have going on." She then turned her attention towards Hunter and scowled at him. "You should be ashamed of yourself with this whole drama you've caused."

"Pfft," Gabriela snorted. "There's no contest at all. What do you say, baby?" She snuggled up close to Hunter. "Are you glad you're with me now?"

"For God's sake," Ruth said with a roll of her eyes. She looked over at me. "I'm sorry I asked you to come tonight. We should have just caught a movie."

I couldn't even answer, because I was buzzing, waiting for Hunter's answer.

He looked uneasy, but obviously not wanting to annoy his new girlfriend, he glumly nodded. "Of course, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Hearing him state that a mere month with Gabriela was better than five years with myself, was enough to completely shatter any thread of confidence I still had remaining. The room seemed to shrink around me, and I was shaking with nervous anxiety as they all waited for me to do something. To act, to defend myself in some way, to declare that Gabriela was being ridiculous and that I didn't care about her feet at all. However, my eyes were firmly locked on her booted sole, almost willing myself to peer through the leather and put my curiosity to bed. It was nothing more than a boot, but she'd used it to slowly dismantle me as a woman and as a partner in the eyes of the man I loved. Inside that boot was a foot, a foot that was apparently way prettier than my own and worth so much more. A foot that was worth five-hundred dollars and a foot that had blown apart my composure over the past hour.

"I, umm..." I whispered, while my eyes remained transfixed, my thoughts hazy and unable to muster any semblance of coherence. I settled into some kind of tunnel vision, my focus entirely on Gabriela's boot. "I, umm...your foot?"

"What did you say?" Gabriela sneered. "Did you just say my foot? You want to see it, is that what you're saying?" She seemed truly excited. "You actually admit it?"

"No." I swallowed and immediately looked around at everyone in a panic. All eyes were confused and waiting for me to reveal the joke and put an end to the intense discomfort that was seeping around the circle. "I don't know why I said that," I muttered towards Ruth in confusion, who seemed completely unconvinced by my explanation. As if to further compound my misery, when I tried to look her in the eyes, my best friend busied herself with her drink.

Gabriela rolled her eyes, then bent her legs and allowed one booted foot to sit flat against the carpet. She reached down and teasingly picked at one of the laces. "Come on, admit it. You're just sooooo curious, aren't you? You want to see my feet. Just say it and I'll take my boot off. You want to know why guys will pay so much more for my feet, don't you? You want to see how prettier they are than yours?"

"Ummm..." I looked towards Hunter and felt morbidly embarrassed. Even he seemed completely caught off-guard by how Gabriela was so comfortable pushing such a taboo subject. I didn't even know what the correct response was anymore. Should I lie and tell Gabriela that I didn't care what her feet looked like, or was it better to tell the truth? It seemed like whatever I said, Gabriela would find some way to use it against me. I was wholly outmatched and terrified about saying the wrong thing. If I told the truth, maybe within the next five minutes this would all be over with? Gabriela would reveal her pretty feet, and I'd nod and admit that they were indeed worth the amount guys would pay for them. We could then all laugh and move onto something else, pretending that this whole awkward situation hadn't happened. I was hoping for some reassurance, or even guidance in Hunter's expression, but there was nothing, no hint of what he was thinking. He was just blank, completely blank while the woman he had dated for five years stewed and squirmed under the assault of the girl he had replaced me with.

I stared at her boot, and became almost lost in the way she played with the laces, delicately tugging and twisting the material between her fingertips. It was almost seductive and enticing, the way she teasingly pretended she was about to reveal all, the same way I imagined she performed in her underwear when alone with Hunter.

I glanced up at her face, and she was gently nodding at me in approval, subtly encouraging me to be brave and take the step. To verbally confirm what we both knew had to happen. I needed to see her feet, didn't I? I'd needed to see them since that first moment when she'd laughed at me for proudly stating I'd received $10 for a foot pic. Ever since that moment, my curiosity had been a ticking time bomb. I knew I was going to give in and ask her to reveal those feet, and Gabriela certainly knew it too: that's why there was such a smug look on her face as I reached my inevitable capitulation. I was just too curious, and some part of me felt exposed that she could see straight through me. She knew I was jealous and she was using it to toy with me.

However, in a final act of desperation to cling to my pride, as I crumbled, I tried to recover some hint of composure while confirming what she already knew to be true. Adjusting my posture, taking an extended gulp of liquid courage and patting down my chest, I swallowed before saying, "Well, come on then, let us see them. You've bigged them up so much that you need to put your money where your mouth is. All $500 of it." There was immediately silence. A few curious looks were offered my way, whereas a few in attendance snapped their attention to Gabriela.

Thankfully, Ruth sniggered when she saw the annoyed expression of my apparent nemesis. "Yeah, come on then, Gabriela. Put us all out of our misery since this is such a big deal to you." There she was, my best friend striding forth and making my new enemy look foolish. I could always depend on her, always.

Gabriela then shook her head, and kept her focus entirely on me, Ruth's jab not phasing her in the slightest. "Nice try pretending this isn't what you want, Ella." She fidgeted with the laces, then eased her boot from her foot and I noted there was a sweaty outline of her sole in the material of her sock. I watched open-mouthed as she gripped the ankle of her sock with her fingertips. "You ready for the big reveal of my little feet?" she teased while fluttering her eyelashes my way. "You ready to see how much more beautiful they are than your cheap feet?"

"Yes," I breathed, without really thinking of the consequences of my words. I bit my lip and nodded. Finally, I was going to have an answer either way. Truthfully, I just wanted this whole thing over with. Once I'd seen her feet, I could move on. Maybe they were actually pretty enough to be worth $500. Honestly, I didn't care, I didn't even think I'd be jealous. It was just the intrigue that was killing me. If they were better than mine, maybe I could adjust my own pedicure or whatever to mimic hers, and charge more for my feet pics in the process. Some part of me actually wanted her feet to be a disappointment. That this beautiful girl actually had a flaw, and it was one she'd spent the past hour bragging about. I wanted to reveal my own feet and prove that they were far prettier than this awful girl's. I wanted Hunter to witness that I was better than Gabriela in some way, that I could surpass her, even in something as ridiculous and meaninglessness as the cuteness of our feet. I wanted to beat her, and my fate was perilously hanging as she played with her sock.

"Hell yeah," Roger said with a mock cheer, which thankfully broke the awkward silence that throbbed between us all. He let out a wolf whistle. "Show us those money makers!"

My eyes were fully focused on Gabriela's socked foot. Why the hell was she taking so long to take it off? I looked up at her anxiously, eager to find out whether her feet were prettier than mine. Why the hell did she have to drag this whole thing out? She knew I only wanted to see them because we were in competition, I didn't want to see them because I actually liked feet or anything. She knew that! She knew it and she'd made it sound like I had a foot fetish. We were both foot models, and she knew this was all about competition and rivalry.

However, as she eased her sock down her foot, and I subsequently rose up on my knees to get a good look, she suddenly stopped, then yanked it back up. "If you want to see my feet"--she was staring directly at me, almost challenging me with the intensity in her eyes--"you can pay like everyone else, honey."

There were a few seconds where I just hovered in place, overcome with shock, still somewhat leering down with impatience at her socked foot. The colour drained from my face and I was desperate for a hole to open up in the floor and just suck me in. To take me away from the morbid embarrassment that was wracking every nerve ending in my body. She had made me look like a complete idiot. She had put the idea in everyone's heads that I was like those losers that paid to see girl's feet. She'd associated me with those perverted freaks, right in front of my friends and my ex. I glanced around in a panic, everyone's faces staring back at me, a mix of shock and amusement. I felt so foolish, crouched there in my favourite dress, brimming with an apparent dire need to see Gabriela's feet.

I swallowed under the daunting collective judgement of everyone, licked my lips, then tried to ease my posture, putting on a front of confidence before saying. "Whatever then." I rolled my eyes, and looked towards Ruth for reassurance. "Not like I care anyway."

However, my best friend seemed as confused as everyone else by my behaviour. "Anyway," she said while reaching for a fresh bottle of wine. "Does anyone need another refill?"

I immediately blushed, and my eyes jumped around the circle. There were a few sniggers focused in my direction, mostly from the boys, whereas Ruth and Heidi seemed almost embarrassed-by-proxy, caught in a cringe and unable to meet my gaze. It didn't matter what I did by this point, because Gabriela had planted the seed in everyone's minds. She'd made me reveal my desire to see her feet, while I kneeled there for all to see, captivated by her foot striptease, and had denied me anyway.