The Reality Engine Ch. 05

"Like Hell he would!" Rose snapped. "All boys only want one thing out of girls, and it's fucking disgusting. Boys don't treat us like the goddesses we deserve to be treated as."

"To be fair, your awful experience with your last two boyfriends doubtless colors your perception," Padme said. "You're terrible at picking men."

"So, you're defending him?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, we're all mostly drunk, and he's a man, and we're vulnerable women, and he's been nothing but kind and polite and decent and non-threatening," Padme said. "Neither of your boyfriends would have acted that way. At some point, you're going to figure out that the common factor in all of Rose's bad relationships is Rose."

"So, I should just let my parents arrange me to be married, like you?" Rose asked, batting her eyelashes at her roommate.

"You might want to give it a try," Padme said, flashing a devilish grin. "How much worse could it be than you dumping your last boyfriend after he got arrested for breaking and entering an old ladies' house looking for money to buy drugs? At least my parents won't marry me off to a low-life loser like that."

"Ladies, ladies, I don't want this to get personal. Enjoy your poker night, I'm going to bed," Scott said.

"No, stay, Scott, we'd love to have you play this game," Padme said, giving her roommate the evil eye, and, Scott noticed, failing to mention precisely which game he was to play.

"Fine!" Rose said. "Scott probably isn't a rapist, and that's the best that can be hoped for from men, he can stay."

"Yeah, okay. . .," Pepper said, hesitating.

"Problem?" Scott asked.

"It's nothing," Marisol said. "It's just that Pepper is starving, and she's also flat broke."

"Well, I can solve that," Scott said. "Is the LLA open on Saturday night? Can we order something?"

"Told you he wasn't a rapist," Padme said, giving Rose an elbow to the ribs.

"Yeah it is open, but none of us poor college girls have a cent to our names," Pepper said, hope beginning to dawn.

"Oh, pity the poor, penniless college girls," Liandra said, laughing and mocking her friend's obvious attempt to manipulate Scott into buying her food. "Oh, us poor college girls have no money for food, because we spent every cent we have on booze."

"Well, I'm not loaded either," Scott said, as he opened his wallet. "I had $500 this time two weeks ago, and I blew through $300 of that moving here from Iowa. I get paid in another week, but I still have plenty left over to buy us all a nice late night snack."

"Wow, you have a bunch of $20 bills in that wallet," Tammy observed. "How do you spend so little money?"

"My breakfast and lunch are provided at work, and I have a dorm to myself and a University meal plan and I don't know anyone and I work long hours. Pretty easy to live cheap given those circumstances. So, what does everyone want?" Scott asked.

All six girls made an order, and Scott opened the LLA app on his cell phone, and placed the order for delivery. The total cost came out to $77.

"You really didn't have to order all that fruit juice, Scott," Pepper said. "The pizza is what we're most interested in."

"Yeah I did, drinking some will help you avoid a hangover tomorrow morning," Scott said. "You drink as much alcohol as you girls have tonight, and you're going to get dehydrated."

"You sound like my fucking mother," Padme said. "Always telling me to wear a hat when I play in the sun, and to always take an umbrella with me in case it rains."

"It's good advice, all the same," Scott said. "Now, how does one play this poker game?"

"The rules are simple," Marisol said. "Each of us girls starts with six articles of clothing: a pair of socks, a pair of pants, a shirt, a bra, and our panties. Socks can be traded in for 10 chips each, or 20 chips total, which is the number of chips required to enter the game, and it's why all of us are barefoot. You trade in a pair of pants or a shirt, and that's 30 chips each. You give up your bra, and that's 50 chips. You trade in your panties, and that's 75 chips."

"Oh, so that's why some of you are fully dressed, and others have already stripped to your undergarments," Scott said "This is an extremely logical game you have. All clothing shouldn't fetch equal value, and having the more private articles be tradable for bigger chip returns is a good catch up mechanic to keep the game fun."

"Huh?" Liandra said, as all the girls exchanged a look. "I didn't understand most of what you said, not everything is rocket science."

"Yeah, don't try to quantify fun," Marisol said. "It makes you a drag at parties and other social gatherings. Just try to have fun."

"Okay," Scott said. "Should I go barefoot right away then?"

"Yeah, except you're a boy, so you don't wear a bra," Marisol said. "I mean, please tell us you don't wear a bra."

"I don't wear a bra, but that's alright, I'm the late comer to this game, so I'll go ahead and play with the 50 chip deficit," Scott said.

"Huh?" Marisol asked.

"He means that since he doesn't wear a bra, that he'll go with what he has, and that he'll give up those 50 chips he could get by pawning off a bra," Pepper explained.

"Oh, I see," Marisol said.

"Ante up," Tammy said as she took 20 chips from the bank, and held them out to Scott, who removed his shoes and socks and sat down to play.

"You ever play poker before?" Liandra asked as Scott sat down, and took his chips from Tammy.

"No, not really," Scott said. "I know the absolute basics from watching the world series of poker a time or three on television."

"Here are the rules for how we play, and I warn you, it's very different from what you see on television," Pepper said. "I'm sure a smart guy like you will pick it up in no time. There are two cards in the community pot, that all players will use to put together their five card hand. The first card dealt is the first community card. Then, each player gets dealt two cards; one face up and one face down. There is a round of betting after that, you either put in five chips to keep going, or you fold. After that round of betting, the second community card is pulled. Then a second round of betting, where you can bet any amount between a minimum of 10 chips and a maximum of 25 chips. Finally, whoever is left gets a fifth card, face down. Final round of betting, which only ends when someone goes all in, everyone folds but one player, or everyone agrees to call. The betting is done in inverse order of the current chip count: player with the fewest chips bets first, player with the most bets last. Ties are broken by standard suit order superiority: clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades."

"I think I get it," Scott said. "Deal me in."

Tammy shuffled the deck, and put down the first community card: the King of Hearts. After which, Tammy dealt each player two cards: she dealt herself the King of Diamonds, Pepper got the 7 of Clubs, Liandra got the 3 of Spades, Marisol got the Ace of Spades, Rose got the 5 of Hearts, Padme got the Jack of Diamonds, and Scott got dealt the King of Spades. Scott's face down card was the King of Clubs. He knew he was in a good position, and that he had 3 of a kind with Kings, and that Tammy could not have 3 of a kind with Kings.

"You're so obviously cheating," Padme accused Tammy. "How do you do it? Is there a trick you use to make sure you get dealt a great hand every time?"

"Hey, I lost 30 chips in the last round, so if I'm a cheater, I'm a pretty bad one," Tammy said. "You're up first Liandra."

"I'm in," Liandra said, throwing in 5 chips.

"I'll bet five chips," Marisol said, as she threw in 5 chips.

"Me too," Scott said, throwing in 5 chips.

"Me too," Padme said, as she threw 5 chips in.

"I'm out, I fold," Pepper said.

"In too" Rose said, throwing in 5 chips.

"I'm in," Tammy said, throwing in her 5 chips.

"So, that's it?" Scott asked. "First round is just an in or out bet, with no raising?"

"Yeah," Marisol said. "It's meant to reduce the number of players quickly, and to give players who are behind a chance to sit out a bad hand without losing anything."

"Alright, all the ladies trying to impress the gentleman, and the gentleman trying to impress the ladies. All except for Pepper, who decided to exercise the better part of valor, let's see what the second community card is," Tammy said, as she plopped down the 7 of Diamonds.

"Dammit," Pepper said, when she realized she had two of a kind, minimum, and should not have folded.

"Hey, that's why it's not smart to fold before the second community card is drawn, provided you aren't way behind in the chip count," Padme said. "You only have 60% of your hand at that point, anything can still happen."

"I'll bet 10," Liandra said, as she tossed 10 chips into the pile.

"I'm out, too rich for me," Marisol said.

"I'll bet 10," Scott said.

"I'm out, fold," Padme said.

"Me too, fold," Rose said.

"I'll bet 10, no one wants to raise?" Tammy asked, and Liandra and Scott nodded no.

"I don't really like to raise before I know what all my cards are," Liandra said.

"Okay, last card," Tammy said, as she dealt Scott his card. He turned it over to glance at it, and saw he had the 7 of Spades, he had a really strong hand.

"I thought I had something, but I can't compete with card sharks, I fold," Liandra said.

"Just you and me now, Scott," Tammy said, with a smile.

"I hope someone beats you, bitch!" Rose said.

"Would you rather lose to a man or a woman?" Tammy asked, smiling. "At least when you lose to a woman, a man isn't the one who sees you naked."

"Your call," Scott said, forgetting that he was supposed to bet first. "I only have 5 chips left to bet with."

"My question is, do you have another King or not?" Tammy asked. "Tell you what, I'll bet 20 that you don't. If you can match that 20, I'll let you call, if you don't want to, then fold."

"How would I get the 15 additional chips?" Scott asked, as Tammy threw her 20 chips into the pile.

"You have to part with clothing," Tammy said. "Either your pants or your shirt, either one will land you the 30 chips you need to match my bet."

"Okay," Scott said, as he jumped up from his seated position, and took off his pants.

"Hey there, big guy, are you sure you don't want to trade in your shirt first?" Marisol asked.

"Nah, these pants are good-looking for a party, but they're a little pinchy around the crotch and I'd rather be rid of them, if it's all the same to you girls," Scott said.

Scott handed his pants to Tammy, who put them over to the side in a pile of other clothing, and gave Scott his 30 chips. Scott tossed 20 into the pot, and he called.

Tammy had the 2 of Hearts, and the 2 of Clubs, giving her two pairs. Scott had three of a kind and a pair, and won the pot, and a net gain of 65 chips. He was now sitting on 115 chips and had vaulted into second place, behind Tammy, with one hand.

"One other minor detail, but once you pawn off a piece of clothing for chips, you can't get that piece of clothing back, even if you have more than enough chips to do so," Tammy said. "Transactions are one way only, which makes players have to think hard before making insane bets or going all in at the end of a hand."

"Do you have to get naked to go all in?" Scott asked.

"All in is the only exception," Tammy said. "You can go all in and not get naked, because going all in has an automatic call, and betting ends as soon as anyone does that. However, if you lose an all-in call, you're sitting naked for the rest of the night."

"I don't know how you and Scott stay as cool as a cucumber," Pepper said. "I stink at poker because I get so nervous that everyone knows when I have a good hand or a bad hand."

"It's easier to play strip poker when you're a guy playing with a bunch of girls than when you're a girl playing with a bunch of girls and one guy," Liandra pointed out. "Scott loses all his clothes, and what's the worst that can happen? All of us see his penis, which is something he probably would want to show all of us anyway."

"Coochie definitely is more valuable than cock," Scott said.

"See?" Padme said, giving Rose another swift elbow in the ribs. "What kind of rapist would ever admit we're better than him?"

"I never said Scott was a rapist," Rose protested.

"Ahem," Marisol said. "You said all men are rapist, Scott is a man, therefore Scott is a rapist. QED, bitch."

This was on the verge of escalating, when there was a knock at the door, and everyone turned to see a slim, willowy girl with white skin, long dark brown hair to her waist, large, brown eyes and a small, circular face standing in the doorway. Scott wondered who she was for a moment, and then noticed the LLA uniform and deduced she must be here to deliver the food.

"Hey Cassie," Rose said, as she raised her hand. "You got our food?"

"Yeah, is he paying?" Cassie asked, as she produced a stack of to go orders in a large bag, which also held the juice that Scott had ordered.

"Of course," Pepper said, as Cassie walked into the room and deposited the bag on the floor, while Scott grabbed his pants, and pulled out his wallet. "Girls don't pay for food, boys do, everyone knows that."

"Here's $80 for you, and take another $20 for the tip, thanks!" Scott said.

"Wow, no one ever tips the delivery gal," Cassie said, impressed. "It's all delivering to freshman dorms anyway, which are full of broke students."

"Hey, here's an idea," Padme said. "Why don't you do something a little extra for Scott to, you know, earn it."

"Oh, whatever could I do, though?" Cassie asked. "I'm not good at anything but delivering meals."

"It's okay," Scott hastened to add. "You don't have to do anything, just keep the money."

All the girls, including Cassie, laughed.

"That is why you were a virgin until Sonya took your V-card a mere 4 nights ago," Tammy said. "You may be good at poker, Scott, but you're utterly clueless with women. Cassie was being sarcastic, and you totally missed it."

"So, what is her hidden talent?" Scott asked, curious.

"Rose, you want to tell him, or should I?" Cassie asked. "I'd rather you tell him, since if I do, it might sound like bragging."

"Sure," Rose said. "Scott, Cassie and I went to High School together, Saint Thomas Aquinas in Saint Paul, and when we were both at school, Cassie Francine Smith, who you see before you, had a nickname. We called her the deflowerer of men."

"Don't you mean the devourer of men?" Scott asked.

"No, we mean deflowerer," Rose said. "Her nickname senior year in High School was Deflow, it was so well-known."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Scott asked.

"It means that, in High School, 11 guys lost their v-card to me," Cassie said.

"Holy fuck, really?" Scott asked. "But, how, and why?"

"Because when I was young," Cassie said. "I had an older brother who was terrible with women, worse than you are, if you can believe that."

"I still can't," Liandra said. "I've never met anyone worse with women than Scott Laird Cooper. With his natural attractive qualities, he should be stuffing all our pussies with his cock by now, but he has less game than anyone I've ever met."

"Well, it might seem that way, but there's worse in this world than Scott is," Cassie said. "He at least didn't turn down an invitation to strip poker night with 6 gorgeous babes. He at least has enough sense to bend over and pick up a $20 bill he finds on the sidewalk. My brother couldn't even do that."

"To be fair, when I was younger, I wasn't capable of that either," Scott said. "That's probably why I never got invited to parties as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa. I might well have been invited to a few, and just turned them down out of fear, or not noticed I was being invited somewhere."

"My brother absolutely did that, but he is also, like, super smart," Cassie said. "He dropped out of college after his sophomore year, and he went into business for himself. By the time he was 25, he had made a ton of money, and he bought my parents a nice house. His success is why my first car was a Lexus. I looked up to him and admired him and thought it was unfair how badly he'd been treated by women, just because he was different. So, I made it my holy mission in life to seek out as many really nerdy, unfuckable guys as I could find and to be their first lay. I notched 11 such instances in High School and this last summer alone. Some were truly pathetic guys, and I was the only ray of sunshine in their lives."

"I'm sure they all appreciated it," Scott said. "What you did, it's such a good and decent thing to do."

"Tell him about Jeffrey Conklin, the geek you fucked last Christmas," Rose said.

"Oh yeah, so Jeffrey Conklin," Cassie said. "It was two months after I turned 18, and it was the day after Jeff's 18th birthday party. It was a few days before Christmas. He was still a virgin, but I took care of that. I popped his cherry, and made a man out of him. He was so thankful that he still sends me $500 a month, every month, via Cash App, and he's vowed to do that for a whole year. You fuck nice guys, and they are the most thankful people on earth. Nothing but gratitude and appreciation. Plus, he showed me his impression of a chicken laying an egg, and that has to be seen to be believed."

"Wow! I mean, the entire monthly payment thing is great, but the impression of a chicken laying an egg, well, that's really something," Scott said. "I don't suppose he taught you how to do that, did he?"

"Matter of fact, he did, and I'd be glad to perform it for all of you as a thank you for the big tip," Cassie replied. "You ready?"

"Oh, I love this impression so much," Rose said. "Particularly the new touches you added to it to make it your own."

"Every artist has to be an individual creative talent too," Cassie said, as she tossed aside the LLA work cap she was wearing. "So here goes."

Cassie bent her knees slightly, and she positioned her hands near her breasts to form her arms into wings, and she started to cluck and buck around for a few moments. Scott was entranced by the show. She bent her knees and straightened them a few additional times, before she did something unexpected: Cassie lifted her shirt, and her bra, up her chest to her shoulders and exposed her boobs and tits. She unbuttoned her pants, and pulled down her pants and her underwear to her ankles. Cassie resumed making chicken noises, and Scott was amazed by what a really beautiful girl she was, slim, lithe, and possessed of a lovely body, with a perfect feminine vagina and a stocky tuft of brown pubic hair.

Cassie approached Scott, and she pulled his shirt off of him, so that he was now dressed in only his underwear, and she started to rub her naked body against his.

"Uh, oh, um," Scott said, uncomfortably. He didn't know what the right reaction was, as Cassie was overstimulating him, and he didn't want to scare her off.

"It's okay, I'm used to inexperienced men," Cassie said. "Do you like my body?"

"Hell yes," Scott said, as she smiled and turned around and bent over to give him a good look at her ass, before backing up and rubbing her ass-cheeks against his chest. Scott's cock went rock hard in his briefs. Cassie used her hands to pull open her butt-cheeks, and she rubbed her pussy and exposed butt-hole against Scott's leg. She knew exactly what lonely, desperate men wanted, exactly as would be expected from someone who had fucked so many of them.

"How about we take a look at that cock?" Cassie asked, as Scott nodded, and she pulled his underwear down to his ankles. "My, what a really big boy we have here!"

She took his cock in her hands, and started to titty-fuck him by mashing his cock between her breasts. Scott was in heaven, and he wished this would never stop.

"Do you want to see me lay an egg?" Cassie asked, with a mischievous smile, as she rose from titty-fucking him and once again rubbed her body against his.