Player's Guide To Catfishing (PLAYBOOK #1)

CHAPTER 30: Honor among liars

LIAM

"We can switch." I offer when dessert arrives.

I don't know how but Odessa has managed to choose the worst dish possible every time someone takes her order.

"What is that?" She hisses and her brows close in.

"I think it's a lemon—"

"No. I'm talking about you offering to switch instead of warning me beforehand." She picks up a tiny spoon, "it's like telling a person to move out of the way after a car hits them."

She cuts into the yellow, pasty ball and off-white limey cream spills out.

Ew.

I look around the table and we all got the chocolate devil cake with a strawberry sticking out. I mean come on, when presented with a choice always choose what you know, everyone knows that.

"I didn't realize—" that she would listen.

"It's fine Liam, just stop." She braces herself before sticking a spoonful inside her glossy lips.

Maybe it's not that bad.

I watch her close her mouth, wince a little then swallow as her fingers tap the table gently. Okay maybe it is that bad because she says something under breath in Russian.

"We can still switch," I repeat despite her warning and she responds with a glare.

The boosters like to hire this French chef who believes experimenting with food is an art. His food is not bad but it's just not that good either. The boosters love him because they are pretentious rich people but anyone who has had a decent meal in their lives can admit it sucks.

It's like overly decorated dog food.

But they are loopholes to this. Like ordering dipping sauce with the main meal and the gay sous chef who has a thing for John B.

He is an aspiring chef who specially makes our meals on the side, which means no matter what I order he'll bring me what he makes and it will taste amazing.

If I knew Odessa was coming she would have gotten the same deal, like Jonathan's date and America who eating her lemon cream ball with a smile.

"Should I get you more soda?"

I watch her power through a second bite. I don't get why she's torturing herself, one bite looked enough to me.

"It's fine Liam." She exhales and faces me, "what's after dinner?"

"We go around the tables and have a chat with a few of them, feed their egos and sometimes even dance." I follow her eyes to my fork, "then some speeches are made by representatives and by then most of them will be drunk so it'll be easier to bail."

I push my plate away and look at her.

"Okay." She connects her mouth to the spoon as her hand falls off the table. I follow it to her lap and she is grabbing the fabric of her dress tightly.

That can't be good.

"Fuck it," I take my fork and dip it on her plate.

I brace myself and connect the dessert to my mouth, I want to swallow but mouth is not getting the instruction.

It's actually worse than I thought.

"Ah Liam?" Vecker waves her hand in front of my face. "Are you okay?" She wipes her mouth probably to spit into the napkin.

"I hate to break it to you Vecker," I gulp. "But I think we just ate mucus." She breaks out into a fit of laughter and I join in before adding, "can we have some chocolate cake now?"