Right as I watch my phone screen switch from 7:59 to 8:00, the fireplace cracks open and I'm on my feet, walking to Jameson as fast as I can. He sets a bundled-up hoodie on the couch as he walks in.
He's still in his uniform, and as he closes the door I grab his tie, pulling his head down by his neck and putting his lips on mine. He reaches behind him, closing and locking the door, and puts his hands on my waist. All I can think about is this; my top lip in between his, my hands on his shoulders and my forearms resting on his chest.
When his lips go to my neck, I breathe out a "Hey," and throw my arms around his neck, letting him break our kiss and wrap his arms across my back.
"What's up, Heiress?" he greets.
I break the hug, putting my hand on his chest. "Not much, Hawthorne," I say, slightly out of breath, "What about you?"
"I'm excited, for one thing," he leans down for another kiss, cupping the back of my neck in his hand, but I push his head back by his shoulder and say, "Actually, I had something else in mind." I gesture to the chess set and walk over to the white side of the board, sitting down as Jameson follows me over.
"Chess?" he asks.
"A little more interesting than that," I say.
"Strip chess?" he guesses, his eyebrows raising.
I shrug my shoulders, looking up at him through my eyelashes. "I thought it'd be fun."
"Oh, 1,000 percent," he says. "Are we even to start?" he asks. He points at me, silently counting how many items of clothing I have on. "Do you have on underwear?" he asks casually.
I twist my eyebrows and lean back onto my hands. "Yes."
"Okay," he says, putting his hands up in defense, "just checking. So you have...six."
"Seven, including my necklace," I correct.
"And I have," he pauses, adding up his articles of clothing. "And I have ten." He cuffs the sleeve of his blazer and takes off his watch, setting it on my couch before reaching down and taking off both of his shoes. I get up for a second, starting the record player and listening to the room fill with soft piano. When I turn back around, Jameson has the bottle of wine open and is pouring me a glass. "Your move," he says as I sit down.
I think it through before I do anything, then decide on something safe. I move my pawn to d4, starting my castle. He responds by moving one of his to b5. My king's bishop to d2. He mirrors me. I place my knight on a3, our gameplay speeding up. He mirrors me again, putting his on a6. I complete my castle, replacing my rook with my king and pressing the button on the chess clock. I watch Jameson do the same.
Bishop to a5. Queen to d8. My hand brushes his as I instinctively move a pawn to d5. His eyes flash up, meeting my gaze for a split second before he moves his pawn to h5. I move my pawn one more space, and Jameson falls into my trap, taking it with his pawn and exposing his queen. I reach behind me, unclasping my necklace. I move my bishop four spaces, taking his queen and watching him take off his blazer as he plans his next move. His rook moves over, killing my bishop and forcing me to take off a stocking. I inch my skirt up and hook my thumb into the top of my stocking before I peel it off.
Knight to b5. Jameson's tie gets yanked off. Rook to c8. Knight to d6. His left sock. Pawn to h4. Knight to c8. Jameson looses his rook and his other sock in one fell swoop. I'm starting to like this game.
His king moves to the right, taking my rook. I roll my other stocking off and move my pawn to c4. His king goes to e8, shielding itself behind a pawn.
My turn. Pawn to e4. Knight to b4. Pawn to e5. Knight to c6. Rook to c1. Knight to d8. Bishop to b5. Pawn to h3. Knight to h3. This move takes his pawn. He starts to unbutton his shirt, pausing after a few buttons to move his bishop to where my pawn is.
