tricks of time ― grayson hawthorne [the inheritance games]

004. HAWTHORNE GAMES

As Jameson led me to the Bowling Alley, I smiled. "I love bowling," I said excitedly.

"Yeah, well, not sure what you'll think about this one," he said, cocking his head slightly, but still smiling.

As I entered, I saw the rest of the brothers and Leslie all sitting there, quiet.

"Okay, now that we're all here, I'll reveal the game," Jameson said, and I sat down.

"Strip Bowling."

I felt my eyes go wide. I was about to object, but Grayson, thankfully, did it for me.

"No. No, Jamie. We're not doing that. I don't think that's a very good idea, especially with...Leah and Leslie," Grayson said.

"Oh, don't be a tease, please Grayson. Have some fun for once in your life," and I snickered under my breath.

"Don't listen to him," Xander said, brushing Grayson off as he tried to stay imperturbable.

"Agreed. Nobody cares about him," Nash said, clapping his younger brother on the back. "Only kidding, Grayson, calm down."

But I agreed with Grayson, perhaps for the first and only time ever, I wasn't sure if this was a very good idea. Jameson watched the worry coating my face.

"Fine, then let's take a vote," Jameson said. "All not in favor?"

Me and Grayson were the only ones who raised our hands.

"Looks like you've been outnumbered," Jameson said. I groaned, and Jameson smiled when he heard my annoyance.

"Anyway, the rules. You want to hit as few as possible. If you hit more than 3, you have to remove one piece of clothing. If it goes in the gutter, that too. Got it?" and all of us nodded.

I was picked to go first, and I sighed as my bowl hit 5 pins. "Shit," I murmured under my breath. I heard a snicker from Leslie, and I nudged her. "Shut up," I said, but I was laughing in the process.

"What do I take off first?" I asked Jameson.

"It can be as little as a shoe," and I breathed out in relief.

A few rounds later, I had lost both my shoes and socks, as well as Nash and Grayson. Leslie had only lost her shoes, yet Xander had impressively kept everything on. Jameson, on the other hand, had already stripped down all the way, and now only had his pants on. I winced as my ball fell in the gutter. My shirt.

"Do I have to take it off?" I asked Jameson, and he shrugged with a smirk.

"A game is a game, Heiress."

Slowly, I pushed it over my head, feeling several pairs of eyes on me as I went pink. In truth, I felt exactly like an animal at a zoo.

I zoned out, trying to tear my eyes away from Grayson, who had been...surprisingly on my mind.

Nash cursed out loud, and I blinked to be met with Grayson's wavering eyes, staring at me narrowly. I felt trapped when he looked at me like that. Like a animal in a cage.

I looked away, towards Leslie, and she went pink, looking away from Nash immediately. She couldn't keep her eyes off him, and neither could he. Their chemistry was unbreakable.

When it was Grayson's turn, he groaned when he hit 4 pins. The noise made me go feral.

He began to unbutton his shirt, and I tried to not look, but inevitably failed. I tried to distract myself by looking at Jameson, who hit 7 pins and unlike the rest of us, didn't groan or push our heads back in annoyance, but chuckled.