“So does anyone have any fun plans for this weekend? Any parties going on?” Coop asked the guys. Akash rolled the dice. The game officially started, and all eyes, ears, and brains were fixated on the board. Coop didn’t get a response, not even an acknowledgement.
Correction: This was going to be averylong night.
* * *
Some time later, Coop hunched over the board, soaking up every bit of activity on every single hexagon. His pupils were dilated. His skin was flushed. Every nerve in his body was on high alert.
Coop was high on Catan.
He held the dice in his fist and calculated all of his potential moves before he rolled. Matty watched with the icy glare of a Mafia crime boss. He wasn’t settling for anything less than world domination. He had two major clusters of settlements and cities at opposite ends of the board. He was but one road and one settlement away from connecting them, thereby claiming half of Catan for himself. He showed no mercy for any player. He boxed in Akash’s pieces, thereby cutting his growth off at the knees.
But Coop had a plan to build a road and a settlement that could blow up Matty’s empire. He just needed one brick card and one sheep card to put his plan into action. The dice slid around in his sweaty fist.
“It’s your turn, Coop.” Matty sounded like one of those evil twin girls inThe Shining.
Coop released the dice. The cubes bounced on the table. Coop didn’t blink until they settled.
“Four!” He raised both arms in the air and pumped his fist for good measure. He collected his sheep card. His eyes opened wide as he turned to the other players. “Does anybody have a brick card they can trade me? I just need one little brick card.”
Akash and Tim shook their heads no. Coop turned to Tom. Sweet, kind Tom.
“Tom, one brick card. That’s all I need.” He had a sinking feeling about this. Tom didn’t trade with anybody the whole game. Trading was an essential component of Catan, but Tom had decided to be a bastion of rugged individualism.
“Tom doesn’t trade,” Matty reminded him coolly, enjoying his perch at the top.
“You don’t speak for Tom.” Coop shifted his chair to face Tom. “Two turns ago, you got a brick resource. I know you did. Don’t try to deny it. Listen, I need that brick card from you. It’s the only way we can stop Matty. He’ll take over half the board.”
“I need my brick card,” Tom said, but Coop sensed an opening.
“Do you? Will that brick card be worth anything once Matty takes his turn next? This is the only way we can stop him.”
“And what about you?” Matty asked, eyebrow raised. Coop stared daggers at him in this moment, but couldn’t deny how sexy his confidence was. They were definitely engaged in some type of foreplay. “Can we stop you?”
“You’re the threat here. You’re spreading over this board like the Bubonic Plague.”
“That’s an easy excuse,” Matty said with a reserved calm that rattled Coop. He was quite versed in this psychological warfare. “My settlements are spread apart. If you build that settlement, you will have control of the center of the board.”
“But I have no chance of winning,” Coop said. He only had three settlements and a city built, giving him a whopping five points. Dead last.
“Or so you say, but this settlement will tie you with Akash and give you all that power. Tom, do you really want this trade to be your first trade of the night?”
“Tom, don’t listen to him,” Coop said. “Think of what Joseph Smith would do.”
“What’s he got to do with this?” Matty asked.
“Tom’s studying to be a bishop in the Mormon Church.”
“You are?” Matty spun his head to Tom, who nodded in agreement.
“I’m a religious studies major.”
“You didn’t know that?” Coop asked.
“That’s why you drink Caffeine-free Coke.” Matty’s expression changed with the click of understanding.
“No, I drink Caffeine-free Coke because it’s nighttime and I want to sleep. We’re allowed to drink caffeinated soda.”
“Oh.” Matty nodded at the new information. Then he was back in take-no-prisoner game mode.
