The Third Brother - Strip Poker

(Thanks go out to both Blake and Rotorhead450 for helping with editing this piece, and for your guidance. Much appreciated.)

I am the youngest of three brothers. The eldest is Luke, a smart guy back at school, good at sports and anything else he attempted. He is an Army officer now. Next along is Gordon, and he was even better. He topped every class, was the fastest runner, the football captain, he was stylish, and he was popular. Then there's me, Brett. All I can say is the magic dust ran out by the time I came along. My brothers, especially Gordon, tease me relentlessly. Even teachers at school can't help themselves; they openly lament how my two brothers could be so successful compared with me. It's not that I'm completely hopeless; I get Bs sometimes, I scrape into the teams (usually) and ride the bench. If those two had never existed I'd be a relatively normal guy. But they do, and as much as I try to live up to the family name it's a task at which I mostly fail.

I'm in the throes of graduating at Fair Park High. Everything is pretty much done with, exams finished, just a coursework paper to hand in. Gordon is back home on summer break from college, running crazy with his old school friends. Mom and Dad don't really care that Gordon blows off steam; once again his grades were outstanding and post-grad beckons. We're lucky to see Luke a couple of times a year now. He spends his Army life in the worst of places on the worst of assignments, so Mom and Dad tend to be soft on us younger ones. And one thing about Gordon, he is as good at socializing as he is at his studies. He stays out in the guestroom above the garage now and I don't think there's been a day he's been in bed before dawn.

He and I rarely talk. Occasionally he'll bring me along to the beach or to his friend's house but he dismisses me as the kid-brother tagging along. His friends treat me just like he does; I wish he'd do more to lift my place. I have more confidence when he's away. I have my own good friends, not that Gordon would ever talk with them. Just like me, none of them are stars but they are good kids, and good friends. And I almost have a girlfriend, named Suzy.

Suzy is friends with an Asian girl called Mei, who has been my friend Jack's girlfriend for years. Suzy is so natural and beautiful it gives me tingles. She looks a lot like Lily James; most people tease her about it. If you ever find the March 2016 cover of UK's Glamour, it is the closest thing to resembling Suzy, with hair like that, too - except Suzy is a natural, fair blonde. I sometimes wonder if I'm good enough for her. Thankfully she is ridiculously shy, as am I. Jack says it puts a lot of guys off. Mei and Suzy go to a different high school, too; it makes it more difficult for me to get as close to Suzy as I'd like. Jack tells me she likes me, but Suzy herself hasn't said so and I've always been too terrified to ask.

Most times we see each other in a group at fairs or concerts or football games. The only time Suzy and I pair off properly is when we go to a movie with Jack and Mei. Given it's a foursome and they are a couple, we look like one too. I really do feel Suzy would like it to happen, but neither of us has the bravery to make a 'move'. It's tough to cross that line, to talk openly or touch.

Jack and Mei are an unlikely couple. Jack is a strong country lad, as solid as you can be. Mei is a silky and stylish Asian city girl - tiny in his big arms. They are the complete opposite of us; they are all over each other at every chance. Mei is flirtatious and wears designer outfits that openly show how gorgeous her little body is. It makes it hard. I don't want to seem like I'm copying them, especially when those two are so embarrassing. Suzy and I sit awkwardly while Jack and Mei don't watch a scrap of the movie.

It's gotten to where we sit in the row in front of them, so we don't have to be right there when they go at it. Those two kiss and touch everywhere, Jack has told me all about it. He says Mei puts her panties in her bag before they go in, and even I have seen she has a bra that undoes at the front; she doesn't take any care to mind about other people when she opens it for him. I've only seen glimpses of her bare breasts when the screen brightens, but it gets me hard to know they're bobbing around nearby, loose and open to her boyfriend. In utter contrast, Suzy and I are too nervous to even hold hands.

At the beginning of every summer my father earns an award trip. Without fail every year he wins the top ranking at his headhunt firm; he and Mom get a five-star gig in the Caribbean, leaving me alone with my elder brother or brothers depending on who was home. Yes, even my Dad is so good at what he does it makes my sad life even sadder. But where it all got complicated (and why there is a story to tell) is once they had left this year, Gordon began teasing me worse than ever - especially about girls and my lack of knowledge and experience. I had one official girlfriend last year, but Gordon said that was back in the ice-age and therefore irrelevant.

Stupidly I became oversensitive, and I blurted out that I had a new girl and that we'd done all sorts of things together. When he laughed and teased and interrogated me, I couldn't help but use the things I'd seen and heard about Jack and Mei and claim them as my own. It was madness, but I got caught up with not always being the nerdy little brother. I made up all sorts of stories about me and Suzy. Gordon pushed me for dates and times and places and which movie and all sorts of stuff and of course it stood up to scrutiny because I had actually been there. It just wasn't me who'd done it. The final piece of stupidity was to say my Suzy did what Mei did, that she wore no panties in public and she opened her top in front of other people, and that she didn't mind my friends getting a glimpse of her tits.

As dastardly as it was, it had the effect I was hoping for. For the first time I could remember I had my brother stumped. He looked at me like perhaps I wasn't just this naive little kid. For the next couple of days, it was great being at home alone with him. He started to open up, talking about his life at school and his friends. He bought beers and we sat on the back porch and drank, just the two of us. Even though I was bad at drinking he just laughed and showed me how, giving me tips like I'd always wished he and Luke would do. I don't know how to describe how much confidence I gained by winning the respect of my brother; I even began to forget how unearned it was.

But then came the bombshell. I was over at my friend Jack's on Wednesday when Gordon called me, saying get home for dinner, that he and I had a party to plan. Jack was happy for me, suddenly I'd become an important little brother - but I couldn't tell him why. As delighted as I was that Gordon had gone out of his way to call me, I had a sense of apprehension from the start. I worried my lies would come back and bite me. When I got home, Gordon had dragged the kitchen table out onto the back deck and ordered pizza and beers for us, with delicious garlic bread. It was another brotherly moment I'd rarely had.

"Okay, here's the deal," Gordon started out. He was on his third beer and I'd just started on my second. "Mom and Dad are away until Monday night, right? So, Saturday night is good for a party, enough time to clean up even if we get wasted and Sunday's a write-off. So, whatever you have planned for the weekend cancel it, ok?"

"Ah, okay," was all I could say.

"Now, about the party. Here's the thing. We've done this a few times before and it's wicked. Couples only invited. We get everyone full of drink, then just when they're relaxed enough, we get going with a game of strip poker, followed by dares."

Gordon stopped and sucked his bottle while it hit me. Strip? Dares? Oh shit. What had I done? I had a hundred questions and fears, none of which I dared mention.

"Since your chick seems pretty cool, you've got to bring her. I can think of a few people I know, but who else can you bring that would be up for it?" He asked me like I was a co-conspirator. I was torn. I was so proud to be brought into Gordon's inner circle like this after all these years, but, but...

"Huh?"

"Who else you got? What about that girl of yours, she got friends? Usually if one chick takes her tits out for people to see, her friends do too."

"Ah, ah, let me think..." I stammered. Ironically Suzy did have a friend who did that. It was Suzy herself who would have a problem.

"It works better if you start out with about six couples, and better if not all of them are boyfriend and girlfriend. Sometimes you need some less-jealous people to get things started. Which means I'll organize two other couples, you bring two, alright? It'll be you, me, your girl, I'll get Maryanne, she's been up for it before, you probably don' t know her, but you remember Billy and Josie, yeah? They'll be good cause they used to go out before they went to college...," Gordon pondered. "Liam will be pissed if he's not there, but not sure if he has a girl or not. Who else you got?"

Gordon was writing these names on the inside of the pizza lid. Billy and Josie? Josie Cameron? My brain sparkled. Did you ever see Melissa George's Playboy photos? That's Josie Cameron right there.

"Ah," was all I said, racking by brain not for names but for an escape.

"What about Jack, he got a girl?"

I nodded. "Mei."

"Oh, that Asian chick, of course. She's damn hot, for sure I'd love to see her with her kit off. I'll put them down," he said, writing their names. "Who else, one more couple?"

I couldn't think of a soul, even Jack would be near impossible to convince. Gordon mistook my speechless pause as consideration for additional invitations. It was frozen panic.

"Ok, well, don't bust your head now, we've got until Saturday, I still need to find out about Liam anyway. Now here's the deal, tell everyone to say they are sleeping over. We don't want to be halfway through when someone hits curfew. That will screw it right up. If they go home, they go home, but at least give people a chance to play around all night if things go well, if you know what I mean? If your girl can't say she's staying with you then get her to pretend she's staying at a girlfriend's place, one who's also here. Got it?"

I nodded, though I had no idea why I was agreeing. No way would those guys do it, I myself was terrified.

"Now, here's what we do. People get here around six. You and I will cook a barbecue, not too much, just something light. Those guys drink. After eating, we'll all sit around but at nine sharp, once it's properly dark, the game starts. After that I'll use Mom and Dad's room. You can use the garage room upstairs if you like. Bed's a bit hard, but at least it's a double. You can choose who uses your room, I choose on Luke's and mine and any others will have to sort themselves out on the sofas and stuff."

I had become completely hard at the thought. Six couples sleeping together in our house, one of them me. Girls everywhere, possibly naked. Oh shit. How would I be able to organize this, or even get through this?

Gordon continued.

"The game's simple enough. Draw poker, lowest hand loses. That way it moves relatively fast and with so many people you don't have to be a genius poker player. Usually a decent pair will get you by. You play as a couple, one hand between you. When you lose you both remove a piece of clothing and you both have to down a shot of something. Better we give the girls white wine, not just vodka so they don't get too drunk. No point in having passed-out chicks before they're undressed. We'll play around the dining room table so people can hide a bit, it makes it easier for the shy ones to get started. Once someone, a couple, has lost everything they move down into the lounge room where we start the dare game. Which means as hosts, one of us two needs to look over the poker game till it's finished, the other one has to go and sort out the dare stuff as soon as two couples get naked. I better do the dares, though. You'll be able to handle the poker easy enough."

Gordon paused and opened a new beer. He handed me one too, I'd sucked my entire second one down without realizing it.

"All good?" he asked me with a smile. I forced a smile back as if I was in control. I was not in control.

I was completely drunk by the time we'd finished talking about the night. I crept off to bed and crashed. I had the worst nightmares. Josie Cameron, the girl I'd adored from a distance all my life was laughing at me with my pants off in the school hall and I couldn't hide my boner. Then it was Suzy in her underwear being ogled by Gordon while he teased me about having never slept with a girl, then all sorts of other things with swimming bears and crocodiles caught on my fishing line. It was a fitful night's sleep.

Neither Gordon nor I were up until lunchtime, though I suspect he went out after I crashed. When he saw me, it was still with a brotherly smile. I remained enchanted to be accepted despite the underlying problem of the party.

"Hey. Get on the phone," he told me. "Make sure your Suzy is coming over Saturday to show us her tits, hey!"

I smiled feebly.

"I'm seeing her this afternoon," I lied.

"Bring her back here to give her one," Gordon suggested, nodding toward our parents' room. "Use the big bed in there."

"It's ok," I kept lying, "Both her parents work till late, we can be alone there."

"Ok, well...," mumbled Gordon going back outside to his room. I suspect he would have enjoyed walking in on us, getting a look at Suzy. Not that we'd even held hands before. How was I going to get out of this mess?

I made my way slowly around to Jack's place, stopping on a park bench to think about how I was going to pull this off, or even if I wanted to pull it off. I decided to take it step by step. I told Jack that my brother wanted to throw a party at our house, jointly with him and me, his friends and my friends. Jack was my long-time buddy; he knew without saying this was a big thing for me. He knew how rough it had been sometimes to be Luke and Gordon's spluttering little brother. He helped me put a long list of names together I could invite, ones that wouldn't be too embarrassing. Later I mentioned that my brother was only inviting couples. So, we cut the list to couples.

"What about Suzy?" he grinned at me. "You'll have to ask her yourself you know."

"I know. Any chance she can stay over at Mei's that night?" I ventured.

Jack laughed at me.

"What?" I said, going red.

"Yeah, I get it. Stay at Mei's, huh?"

I hit him in the shoulder and he ran around me laughing and teasing. But he was right, I would need to ask Suzy myself. It was all so complicated. Jack and I decided on four potential couples that would not be too childish. Secretly I knew they would all pull out once they knew more.

"You know there will be alcohol there, yeah?" I told Jack.

"Hmmm. Then we really don't want the girls going home that night smelling of beer," he pondered. "Mei could get Suzy to say she's staying at her place, like you said, but I'm not sure what Mei will do. Is it too cheeky to tell her parents at the same time she's going to stay at Suzy's?"

"Do Mei's parents even speak English?" I asked.

"They're actually getting better, but it's probably unlikely the parents would call each other. Only danger is if they run into each other shopping or something. You know what this all means though? I mean, Mei, you know she puts out, right? But you and Suzy, overnight, that's an awful big step right there Brett. You haven't even asked her out properly."

"I know, I know, I know," I stressed out. "I'll find a way hopefully."

I went home to call Suzy, leaving Jack to speak with Mei. All in all I guessed I'd done okay so far but there was still plenty of hurdles. It took me an age to have the courage to call Suzy. I prayed she answered and not her parents. Funnily enough, my gut-wrenching procrastination had inadvertently done me a favor. While I had been pacing back and forth, Jack had been filling in Mei who in turn had rung Suzy. By the time I called to explain, it had already been mostly settled. Suzy would 'stay at Mei's' Saturday night and they would both come to my party. Gee. Was this actually going to happen? Well, something would happen, good, bad, who knew, but something would. When I asked her what I should buy for her to drink, she said she and Mei would bring juice.

"Ah, but what if I buy something a bit stronger than juice?" I asked meekly. "Is there anything you actually like?"

There was hesitation at the other end of the line, but I didn't sense disapproval, more like she was checking who was listening.

"I don't know, I can have whatever you have, don't get anything special," she said, seemingly calm.

I left the call before I ran out of things to talk about. My God, Suzy would be in my house on Saturday, for the first time. If only it was under different circumstances. Think about it, I told myself, I'm hooking my gorgeous Suzy into a game of strip poker so my brother and his friends can maybe see her naked. Gee. This was madness. The only thing that kept me sane was the belief that it wouldn't actually happen. Even if Gordon did try and start the game, surely most people would chicken out and maybe just spend the night kissing quietly in a corner. Shit, I had a monster boner at the thought of kissing Suzy. Gordon was out that night, so I was home alone, Googling up on how to avoid getting a hard-on in public.

I next saw Gordon at midday Friday. It seemed he'd spent the night elsewhere, but I didn't ask. He didn't look hung-over.

"You and I need to shop," I was told.

We dropped off my final school assignment papers then went and bought food and drinks, though I wasn't sure how he had so much cash. I told him I could only get two couples, me and Suzy, and Jack and Mei. Truth was I hadn't even asked those others; I had no idea of what to say to them. He frowned but shrugged it off. Five couples were still enough. He told me Liam didn't have a girlfriend but there was some girl he liked that he was going to bring. All Gordon knew was that she was a couple of years younger, closer to my age, and she wouldn't really know she was being brought to a strip poker game.

So, Gordon explained to me, we'd have to ease our way into the game, pretend like it was a surprise decision, that nobody knew what was planned otherwise Liam could be in the shit. He told me my friends had better act dumb, they better not act like they knew we had this all organized already. My heart leapt. This helped me; I could get away with not having to explain so much to Jack, Mei and Suzy. Shit, I was ecstatic, I was possibly off the hook.

"Sure, I'll make sure they don't let on."

When we got home, we finished the list, still on the pizza box lid:

Gordon

Brett

Maryanne

Billy

Josie

Liam

The girl Liam likes

Suzy

Jack

Mei

I knew Billy, Josie and Liam. The thought of Josie being there was scary. I always clammed up around her; for sure she could tell I was infatuated. Like in my dream, the thought of having to get undressed in front of her was mortifying. I pushed it from my mind.

"Who is Maryanne?" I asked. We were back on the beer; I needed the practice.

"Maryanne? She's originally a Playford girl. She's been at a few of these parties so knows the score, doesn't mind getting drunk and undressed."

"She's your pair for the night, though, you planning on sleeping with her?"

Gordon laughed.

"Maybe, little brother, maybe. You never know how these nights are going to end up, don't get too many fixed ideas in your head."

I wanted to look worried but dared not. I didn't sleep well during the night, a mixture of fear and excitement. Fortunately, at some stage I stopped tossing and turning and slept solidly till 1pm.