The Loft Game: Kermit

Do they do this walk in the winter? What if there's snow? Anything to distract my mind from knocking at the house of two strangers while totally naked. And what about ... Suddenly, I understood the concern Owen had mentioned and scanned the hedges, trying to see if anyone was peeking in.

Five seconds after I pressed the buzzer, the door opened. A thirty-something couple looked out at me. He was tall and kind of burly, dark hair with just a touch of early gray at the temples, making him look distinguished.

She was about my height, willowy with long blonde hair. I could almost picture the cheerleader to his football player.

Both wore smiles a mile wide. Both sets of eyes raked down and back up. Not an ounce of diffidence; they were checking out my body and didn't care if I knew it. Sixteen years they've been doing this. I fought the urge to cover up.

"Thank you for letting us use your place."

"And who are you?" It was her speaking.

"Charlene ... err ... Charl," I stammered. "Or sometimes people call me Chips."

"Welcome to the Loft Game, Charl. I'm Kim and this is Andrew." She reached out and I shook her hand. When she let go, Andrew did the same. As if this were a perfectly normal introduction.

"You're very pretty, Charl," he said. "I'm glad we got to see you." He put a very slight emphasis on the word "see." It was saved from being creepy by the humor in his eyes and the grin that split his face when he did.

Let's laugh about this, was what he was saying.

I gave a nervous chuckle. "Thanks." I didn't know what to do now.

"Go on back to your friends," Kim said. "I hope we see you again." She didn't emphasize the word. She didn't need to; we all could hear it.

I gave another nervous laugh and turned away. Halfway back to the stairs, I heard a final comment from her before the sound of the door closing reached me. "You look nice from this angle too." I wanted to scurry faster, but her next words calmed me. "Own it. You rock this."

I kept that in mind as I reentered the loft. My back was straight, no shoulder-hunching to minimize my chest, no hands just "happening" to be in front. My gaze was up. Every eye still in the room—I noticed that Josh and Hannah were missing—leaped to me. The girls' expressions were amused. The boys' were amused and admiring. All were very slightly heated.

"I can get dressed now?"

"Yep."

As I was pulling on my shirt, Josh and Hannah stepped from the back room. His face was flushed, and I didn't think from embarrassment.

"Nicely done," Emily murmured.

Some of us took our leave. As I turned toward my car, Josh asked from behind me, "You okay?"

"What? Yeah."

"I get it. I did it a few weeks ago."

"I know. I was there." We shared a rueful smile.

"You coming back?" He asked after a moment.

It wasn't even a question in my mind. Yeah, I was embarrassed. Yeah, I had wanted to die for a bit back there. Yeah, I had trouble meeting Josh's eyes. But there was a thrill in knowing that five guys had shifted in their chairs when I stood naked in front of them, and I hadn't been blind to Andrew's eyes lingering as they traveled.

Letting guys turn me into a spank fantasy was totally worth it for the buzz I'd gotten those times when a guy struggled with his own embarrassment. I liked looking at abs and asses and dicks. I liked looking at someone doing what they had to do even more.

I finally met his eyes. "How was it with Hannah?"

He grinned. "She wasn't lying about the way she kisses."

I nodded, a smile on my face covering the adrenalin still pumping underneath. God, I'm wired! I hesitated for a moment longer. I don't want another night with just my buzz buddy.

I gave a fleeting moment of consideration to Hannah's face: there'd been an expression of self-consciousness, not a frown of upset. I thought that meant Josh had behaved. I looked up and down the street. It was quiet. Fuck it.

"Is that yours?" I pointed to the older Jeep Cherokee at the curb.

"Yeah."

"Okay." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a coin. "You in?"

"Huh?"

I flipped the coin up and caught it, slapping it down on my arm, keeping my hand covering it.

"Heads you get a blowjob in the back seat. Tails you take care of me the same way. You in?"

His breath caught. I'd seen the flush when he'd come out of the room and that he either had a lot in his pockets or ... yeah. He was worked up too. He debated.

This evening—hell, all the Friday evenings—had my mind stretching outside the proverbial box of "privacy" and "boyfriend or at least drunk-enough-not-to-care." I'd worry about embarrassment or regrets later. Now, just a nudge. "A slow one."

'Cause I'll be taking my time if you lose.

I could tell that he thought his little smirk was cute as he countered, "No quit, no spit."

I didn't think it was cute; the crude phrase made my opinion of him drop a smidgen. Still, this wasn't about finding Mr. Personality. It was my turn to debate. As I said, I'm not a total fan unless I'm really into the guy.

The risk is part of the thrill, and buddy boy, after that comment, you lose and you're gonna find out what a face ride feels like.

I nodded.

He dithered. "Why not both?"

I shook my head. "We're playing for stakes."

He pouted.

A pair of headlights appeared at the end of the block. He glanced at them, then at his car. "I don't want to be history if people walk by." The way he pronounced the word history brought back Owen's litany of the various ways one could be booted from the club. Having red-and-blues flashing outside Kim and Andrew's house might qualify.

Yet I still felt a flicker of disappointment. The thought of us both frozen motionless behind tinted glass, breath bated, praying the passer-by didn't look too closely ...

But I could see him faltering, and my father's words about landing a fish came to mind: "If they're running for cover, use a little fish judo. Lead their head to the side, neither toward their hidey hole nor your boat, and the body will follow." Lead him away from "no deal," but not toward the car. "My roommate's out. So?"

He finally nodded. I raised my eyebrows to say, Yeah? He nodded again, more firmly this time.

"You leave right after no matter who wins. Agreed?"

"Okay."

I pressed. "Say it."

"I leave right after no matter what." Our eyes met. I knew mine were excited. Now that he had committed, his were too. One of us was going to get some gratification for what we were feeling. One of us was going to ache until they were alone.

I pulled my hand away to reveal the coin.

"I want you naked while you do it," I said. He started to object. I shook my head. "We joined a fucking strip group. Naked and on your back."

I turned toward my car. "I'm in 137 Henry Hall. See you there." Over my shoulder; not allowing room for debate.

I thought about the game that was starting upstairs in the loft. "All things in due time," Emily had said. Jesus! How long is that, Em? For some obscure reason, the bet I'd just made seemed a knock-off, a cheap imitation.

I deliberately forced my thoughts away. Away toward ten minutes from now in anticipation. Away so I didn't have to dwell on the frustration of waiting for "in due time."

I hope you enjoyed it.

At some point, I'm not sure exactly when, Chips & Co. will be back in The Loft Game–Barney.

—C