Chapter Three — Alex
I squirm in my seat, consciously aware of the feeling of the large butt nestled inside me, as well as the feeling of my raw stinging ass. I’m turned on, confused, nervous, and annoyed all at once.
I still have absolutely no idea what the game is going to be.
I also have no idea how I feel about the games. If you’d asked me a few weeks ago, before the darts game, I would have told you I didn’t care at all. Back then, I didn’t care about the games or the money. I thought Callum was my soulmate. I cringe thinking back to how foolish I was.
Things have changed since then. It’s been hard to put my finger on exactly what changed, but I felt it.
I know I did. Callum’s behavior shifted.
He pulled away. Around the time we had our movie night.
And since then, I’ve been rethinking everything.
I’m wondering now whether I imagined the whole thing — the period of time when it felt like there was something magical between Callum and I.
Maybe that was all a dream. A figment of my imagination.
Around the time Callum’s behavior shifted, I talked to his friend and cofounder, Trent.
Trent told me that Callum was distracted by me and losing his edge at work.
I wonder if that could explain Callum’s behavior.
Maybe Callum’s been trying to distance himself, trying to intentionally cool things off? I’d understand that.
When I talked to Trent, he mentioned an idea that seemed insane at the time.
He told me I should sleep with other men.
After I told Trent I wasn’t so sure about that plan, he brought up a milder option: I could flirt with other men in front of Callum.
Trent said Callum would get jealous and territorial.
He said it would ignite Callum’s competitive edge.
I’ve been texting Trent about the idea, trying to get more insight into Callum and his history before doing anything drastic. At first, the idea was totally out of the question, but I’ve been kind of warming up to it. At least the flirting part.
I think part of me was turned off at the start because it’s not the type of thing good girls do. It seems like the kind of thing I should be outraged by. But Callum’s brought out a darker side of me. A side of me I’ve never seen in myself until now.
Anyway, that was back when I was thinking Callum and I were endgame, when I didn’t care about winning these games.
But as things have shifted between us, I’m not sure anymore.
I used to think for sure that Callum liked me, but now I don’t know.
And if that’s the case, I need to do my best to win here.
I can’t be the softie letting him win if he doesn’t even care about me.
These are the thoughts going through my head as we make our way to the location. By the time Callum turns off the car, I’ve made up my mind.
I’m going to win today, no matter what.