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“I’m game, tell me the rules,” Lucian says, followed by a round of echoing me toos.
“Okay, we’re going to need some shot glasses and a bottle of something. Lucian, can you look above the stove and grab the shot glasses and whatever sounds good?”
Otis and Dante follow me back into the living room, and we sit as we did earlier around the coffee table. I deal out seven cards to each of us and place the leftovers in the center, flipping the top card over to make the discard pile.
“So, here are the rules. We play as normal. However, when you lay a wild card, you have to call a name, and that person gets to ask you a question—any question, nothing’s off the table. Now, you can choose not to answer, but you’ll have to pay the penalty and take a shot. If you’re the player to call UNO and another player blocks you from going out, you have to strip off a piece of clothing. On the other hand, if you go out, everyone else must strip something. Of course, if you only want to play one hand, then you strip everything, not just one piece.”
“Got it. So, are we playing more than one round?” Dante asks, looking to the others.
“One round. I want Devin naked sooner rather than later,” Lucian states, putting a stack of shot glasses on the table and pouring clear liquid into each one.
“Vodka it is,” I say and grab a glass. “But what makes you think I’ll be the one losing?”
Lucian locks his gaze on me, and I smile my most innocent smile, never blinking, never wavering in my relaxed demeanor.
“All right, you two, can we play now? Devin, you go first,” Otis barks. I laugh as Lucian narrows his eyes on him.
“Gladly,” I say and lay my first card.
We go easy for the first handful of turns, no one laying any wilds. We all laugh as Lucian grumbles under his breath and lays a wild card, calling my name.
“Were you really a Boy Scout?” I ask him.
“Yes,” is all he says, looking to Otis on his left to go, but Otis looks to me.
“Oh, no you don’t, you’re not getting off that easy, spill.”
Lucian growls, “Fine, but if any of you say a word about this later, or try to use it against me, I will make your life miserable.”
We all mime zipping our lips and handing him the keys. He doesn’t play along, so we toss them at the open window in the corner.
“Children,” Lucian mutters. “Fine. Yes, I was a Boy Scout. I was also the extreme nerd growing up. I had thick, black-framed glasses with white tape around the bridge. I only wore button-up shirts with dress pants and suspenders. In my shirts, I always had a pocket protector.”
Lucian eyes each of us and sticks out a finger. “Not a peep, not one laugh, not one smile. You say anything, and you’ll regret it. Otis, lay down your card. The color is red.”
I grab Lucian’s hand, still in the air, and place a kiss on his outstretched finger. “I bet you were a badass nerd.” I smile, and he uses my hold on his hand to pull me closer to steal a kiss from my lips.
Otis is the next to lay a wild, and again, my name is called. “Okay,” I say, tapping my finger on my chin. “What’s your body count?”
“I’m sorry, my what?”
“Your body count, number of bed partners, number of people you’ve—”
“I get it,” Otis quickly says and eyes the shot glass on the table. His gaze flicks between me and the glass, his mouth twisting as though he’s seriously considering taking the shot instead of answering.
He huffs out a breath and keeps his eyes downcast as he whispers, “Thirty-four.”
“Is that all?” I ask, playing it off, not letting the number niggle at the back of my mind.
Otis visibly relaxes and looks at Dante. “Draw your four, man.” Then looks to me. “The color is green, princess.”
I look down at the two cards left in my hand. I eye each of the guys until I land on Dante, who glances down at his cards and back to me with a victorious grin. I match his grin as I lay my next card, a green reverse. “UNO,” I call and watch as the corners of Dante’s lips fall into a flat line. “Back to you, Dante.”
“Damnit,” he grumbles and lays down a green two.
Otis and Lucian each lay down their greens, and the rotation comes back to me.
I hold up my final card in one hand and grab the shot glass with my other. Dropping my wild card on the table, I take my shot and pour myself another. “Start stripping boys. I’ll just sit back here and enjoy the show.”
