I narrowed my eyes. What the fuck was up with Arnie’s air quotes?
Whatever.
I ignored him.
“’Course you can, bro,” I told Noah, not hating the way he’d checked in with me. Me constantly looking out for him was how we’d always rolled, and the rush of knowing he trusted me like that never got old. “Just don’t offer up anything I’m going to have to kick someone’s ass about,” I added with a wink, since my mind had definitely gone to some dirty-ass places about what a “service” might look like the minute it had been suggested.
“Aww, that’s sweet,” Arnie said, obviously still intent on being a dickhead. “You’d avenge Noah’s honor if someone took advantage of him, Gage?”
“Dude,” I said, leveling him with a glare. “No one’s taking advantage of Noah. That’s just not gonna happen.”
I wouldn’tletit happen. No one would be allowed to fuck with my best friend just because he lost a stupid bet.
Correction: no one would be allowed to fuck with Noah foranyreason.
“Mmhmm,” Arnie said, the smug little shit. He leaned back in his chair. “That’s what I thought.”
Then why had he fucking asked? What-fucking-ever. He was unimportant.
“So, what kind of services are we all going to offer up?” Cassie asked, which was far more relevant to my interests. “And if we’re changing the rules,” she rushed in to add before I could toss out some ideas I had on the subject, “I think we should stop using quarters altogether and make everyone bet that way.”
“Oh, hell no,” I said, shutting that shit down fast. I had zero interest in either “serving”or“servicing” anyone. Had to admit, though—speaking as someone who’d jerked off to the fantasy of having his own personal sex slave a time or three over the years—I did like the sound of having it go the other way.
“Quarters or service, either is acceptable,” said that smug-ass senior who’d been acting like he got to set the rules. “And the service will be anything…” He drew the word out, “…that you’re comfortable offering.”
I grinned, shaking my head. “Nah, I think you meant to say the service will be ‘anything goes,’ bro.”
“Anything goes?” Cassie repeated, eyeing me suspiciously. “That’s not a service. That’s, like, being a slave.”
“A sex slave?” Mel asked breathlessly, as if she’d read my mind.
I winked at her. “Works for me.”
“No one said anything about making the service sexual,” one of the other seniors pointed out.
We all ignored him.
“So, you’re saying we’d have to do whatever you want, Gage?” Mel asked, getting that thirsty look on her face again. “That’s what you want us to bet? That we’ll have to, um, obey you?”
“You only have to obey Gage if you lose,” someone pointed out.
Arnie jerked his thumb in my direction. “And only if it’s Gage who wins.”
“OfcoursheGage will win,” Noah slurred loyally, laying his head on my shoulder. His eyes drifted closed, those dimples I loved seeing popping out again as he murmured, “Because Gage is awinnerrrrrrrr.”
Aw, he was so cute.
“Well,someone’sgoing to win,” said the senior who’d thought of this brilliant idea in the first place. He turned to Cassie. “You ready to promise total servitude to whoever that winner ends up being, pretty thing?”
Her cheeks went pink, but this time it was a my-panties-are-wet shade of pink instead of the irritated-and-bitchy pink they’d been earlier. So maybe seniors did it for her and it was just me she liked to argue with?
“Total servitude for how long?” Cassie asked, giving the senior a flirty smile.
Her loss. I’d already moved on. Still, I jumped in before he could answer, just to fuck with her. “We’re talkingtotalservitude, Cassie. Pretty sure that means it only ends when your master says so.”
“That’s not how it works,” Cassie snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at me.
“Don’t… Don’t worry, Cassshie,” Noah said, drawing her name out in another adorably drunk slur as he lifted his head off my shoulder and blinked his eyes back open blearily. “You’ll like doing… um, doing whatever Gage says, if you… if you win.”
