"Ping-pong can be played in doubles," I said, leaning back against the wall.
"That's it?" Logan asked in disbelief. "That's your plan?"
I glanced around at the three of them. They were staring at me, a combination of thoughtfulness and confusion on their faces.
"Why not?" I adjusted my position on the cold floor. "We could propose we play doubles. If they agree, two of us could walk away from here." That significantly increased the odds of our survival.
"You might not be one of them," Sanun pointed out.
I sighed softly. "I know. Whoever does will appreciate the opportunity, though, right?"
"Of course they will," Bruno said, inching closer to me.
If he was any closer, I'd be sitting on his lap. He seemed to have attached himself to me for now. Honestly, I liked having him close. It made all of this that much easier.
"Who's going to ask them?" Logan asked.
"I will," I said, just as the sound of Hunter hitting the ping-pong paddle on the table sounded through the Arena.
"Get your asses back in here," he called out.
He was having too much fun with this, wasn't he? I wondered if he or his brother could even play ping pong. Maybe we should offer to take on one of them. Although, it wouldn't save us if they lost. Instead, we'd probably look forward to a much slower, more painful death. They had a few people working for them who liked to dispense that kind of demise.
It was Logan who offered me his hand to help me back to my feet. I should have taken Bruno up on the suggestion to take off my boots, but it was too late now.
I walked with them back into the Arena and back over to the bleachers.
"I trust you all enjoyed yourselves," Hunter said, giving us a look like he knew exactly what we'd been up to. It was entirely possible we were all that predictable. Or maybe it's what he would do if the tables were turned.
While everyone else sat down, I remained standing.
Hunter raised his eyebrows at me. "Something you wanted, Natasha?"
His gaze slid up and down my body with only a small amount of interest. Of course, his girlfriend would poke him in the eyes if he looked at another woman for too long. Parker too, since they shared the same girlfriend.
"As a matter of fact,” I started, "we were thinking we should make this challenge more interesting."
I half-expected him to dismiss the idea out of hand, but instead he cocked his head.
"Interesting how?" He wasn't committing to anything. He was too smart for that. But he was listening.
That was a start, I supposed.
"We were thinking it might be more interesting if we played in doubles," I said. "Twice the entertainment."
Hunter looked thoughtful. "Twice the amount of losers per match, twice as fast."
I couldn't tell if he liked the idea or not.
"We could get through the matches faster," I pointed out.
Hunter leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you in that much of a hurry to die?"
"No, I'm in that much hurry to win and get out of here," I said. "I just remembered I have dinner in the slow cooker. It should be ready in a couple of hours."
I didn't. I hadn't planned that far ahead, but it got a laugh out of him.
"How do you propose we choose who plays together?" he asked.
