Let's Play A Game

Chapter 1

I'm lying on my bed watching television, when I hear a loud knock. I groan because I'm so warm and comfortable and I didn't feel like moving from my bed. Knowing that the person will just keep knocking because they saw my car outside, I throw the blankets off my body and swing my legs over to the edge of the bed. I slide on my purple slippers and walk down the hallways. I run down the stairs and pull open the front door.

"You need to get dressed now! We have the biggest party of the year to attend and it starts in exactly an hour and a half. All the seniors will be there, and considering it's a junior's party, it's a huge deal. So, walk up those steps and get ready." Kylie was talking extremely fast and I surprised myself that I kept up with all of it.

"I'm not going, Ky. I really just want to stay home and watch sappy romance movies all night. You go and have fun, but don't get into any trouble." I see the smile on Kylie's face straighten to a thin line. I know the controlling side of her is about to show with the look in her eyes.

"Like hell you are. The past two years I've let you skip a lot of parties. This is our junior year, which means one more year of this and we will be off to college. I mean, sure college parties are crazier, but these are the days of our lives and I'm not letting you miss them." Kylie grabs my hand and pulls me over to the stairs. I try to drag my feet and put all my weight on my lower body, but she's a lot stronger than she looks.

When we reach my bedroom, Kylie walks over to my walk-in closet and pulls open the doors. I see her disappear in my closet while I take a seat on my bed. I lay my head back on the pillow and began to doze off while waiting on Kylie.

Before I get a chance to fall asleep, something hits me in my head. Immediately, I jerk my eyes open. I look down to see a tennis shoe.

"What the hell, Kylie! That hurt." I yell. Kylie just looks at me and motions to my vanity table. I knew what she was thinking before she had to say it.

I sit in the chair in front of my mirror. I open my foundation and apply it to my face. I apply a light layer of silver eyeshadow to bring out my baby blue eyes. A thin line of liquid eyeliner is drawn on my eyelid. After, I put mascara on my already long eyelashes to give them more volume.

I stand up from the vanity table and walk over to my bed. Kylie already has my outfit and shoes laid out for me. I take all my clothes off, except my panties and bra. I wiggle the black shorts above my toned thighs. I pull the orange crop top over my head. The bright color of it heightens my tan skin and shows off my flat stomach and belly ring. I put my socks and black converse on. My hair didn't need any touching up since I straightened it this morning.

Kylie and I walk down the stairs as I'm applying a bit of lip gloss. I grab my keys off the coffee table and we leave.

We're singing along to the radio, being loud and obnoxious. People are staring at us when we arrive, but we never cared what anyone thought of us. I lock the car up after we get out, just in case someone mistakes my car for theirs. I don't want to go through the process of tracking it.

As we begin walking to the house, I realize whose house this is. It's Canyon Thomas's; the school's star point guard and all-state running back. Usually girls would be freaking out over Canyon's parties, but I've never showed attention to anything about him or anything that deals with him.

As soon as we walk through the door, guys are staring us down with gaping mouths. Their girlfriends slap them and storm off. Kylie and I look at each other and laugh.

We walk to the kitchen to get a drink. The crowd becomes smaller as we make our way down the hall. The kitchen is crowded, but not like the living room or backyard.

"Beer or liquor?" One of the guys from the group asks. I know him from my English class. His name is Walker. He's cute, but not exactly my type.

Kylie and I look at each other for a second before looking back at him. "Liquor." We say at the same time.

"Are you sure you two little things can handle that?" One of the others ask. I don't recognize him, though. He's probably one of those perverted jocks that tries to have sex with anyone.

"We can handle more than you think." I say, as Kylie and I grab our drinks. When we walk out the kitchen, we go our separate ways; she goes to the backyard and I go to the crowded living room.

The music is so loud I can feel the bass shaking the floors. I make my way to the middle of the people and started swaying my hips to the beat. My drink is raised above my head and my eyes are closed. Suddenly, I feel someone place their hands on my hips. I'm startled by the touch and jump. My heart starts racing for a moment. When my heartbeats are normal again, I turn around to see Canyon smiling at me.

"It's your turn." He whispers in my ear. A chill runs down my body, causing bumps to erupt on my skin.

I knew what he meant when he whispered in my ear. There's this tradition at his parties. He picks one girl to play this game with his three friends that pick a girl, too. The girl they pick is given a task to complete by the deadline they are given. Sometimes instead of a task, it's a bet or dare. Most of the time it is sexual favors, but only if the girl is willing. Usually, the girls are definitely willing. They are rated the hottest guys in our school. Who wouldn't want to hook up with them?

Canyon leads me upstairs to his room, holding on to my hand the whole time so I don't get lost in the crowd. The sea of people part down the middle, like Canyon is a God and they are the villagers. He opens his bedroom door and gestures for me to go first. He closes the door gently and locks it. When he turns around, he looks me up and down like I'm eye candy.

"Just so we're clear, I'm not having sex with you. I'm not like your other little groupies. I respect myself too much." I cross my arms over my chest, implying attitude.

"I don't want to have sex with you." He stops for a moment, adding emphasis to the statement. All I want is you to follow the rules of the game. You do know the rules, right?" He asks stepping a little closer.

"Of course I do. Rule number one: while in the process of completing your task, bet, or deal you cannot have any type of relationship or boyfriend. You are committed to the guy you were chosen by. Rule number two: when needed by your guy, you are to be there immediately and you cannot ignore your guy. Rule number three: if you do not complete what was assigned to you within the deadline, you have to do whatever the guy wants you to do for two weeks. It can be anything they want, but if it's sexual, you have to be willing. There is no form of sexual harassment or rape involved." I recite the rules to him and he smile, as if he is impressed that I know them so well. "Can we get on with it now?" I sigh of boredom.

He walks close enough to be right in front of my face. "Yes. I'm going to give you a choice, since you're not like the other girls. Your first option is to keep me completely happy for a month. This does not mean sexually happy, unless you are willing. Your second option is to make me fall in love with you. It has the same deadline as the first option. Again, the only way we will do anything sexual is if you want to. I'm not going to ask for any sexual favors or anything like that. A kiss or making out is in the agreement, though. We are not a couple throughout this, unless we decide we want to be. Do you understand what your duties are?" His arms are crossed over his chest and he's smiling. When he says the part about falling in love, I get a little confused. He's never asked for this with any other girl, so why me? I mean, he just doesn't seem like the type to fall in love.

"Yes, I agree, but to both of them. Oh, and a when you fall in love with me, don't act like you don't feel anything." I smile cocky and step back a bit before starting to walk past him to exit the room.

I have walked less than three feet before Canyon grabs my arm. "You haven't been dismissed, yet." I look down at where he has a hold of me, then back up to his eyes. They were gorgeous, just like him. His smile was perfect and his skin looked so soft. His dark brown hair stopped just above his eyes and his lips were perfectly pink and kissable. I wanted to kiss him right now, and by the look on his face, I can tell I wasn't the only one.

"For the record, I know you're not like those other girls; throwing their self at me and my friends. That's why I picked you. I wanted a change in the game. It's completely predictable now. I wanted to pick someone who nobody else would think of picking." There's a faint smile on his face and a sincerity in his voice that makes me believe him.

"I don't know if that's an insult or a compliment." I scrunch up my face in confusion.

He chuckles for a moment. "It's a compliment, Tyra. You can go enjoy the rest of the party if you want. I'm going to need your cell phone number and address before you leave, though." We swap numbers before I leave to go just what he said I could.

"Goodnight, Tyra." He smiles a genuine smile before walking over to the door behind me.

"Goodnight, Canyon." I smile back before walking out. I hear the lock click as fast as the door is closed. I walk down the stairs to enjoy the rest of the party, with my drink in my hand.