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“And we said if the Raptors won, I’d cough up a hundred dollars, and if the Eagles kicked your ass, you’d buy some lacy panties and wear them to school for a day.”
“And you won the bet. I felt like a loser the day of the game and then again that day when I was wearing those panties around school. Congratulations. What about it?”
Why is he bringing this up?
He places his pizza slice on the box, then wipes his hands on a napkin. “You guys were just one point away from victory.”
“And…?”
“You played really well that night. Maybe better than usual.”
“Not that you’d know. That’s one of the only games you came to, and, I should add, were sitting on the opponent’s side.”
The corner of his lip curls up as he shrugs. “That’s who I was rooting for that night. And did you or did you not play harder because of our bet?”
I hate when he’s right. Yeah, I played a lot damn harder, which only made losing hurt that much more. “Sure. What are you on about, A? I’m lost.”
He picks up a beer and takes a swig, then says, “What if we made a little bet around your next test?”
Now I’m downright suspicious. “What do you need?”
He grins. “It’s not something Ineed, but I could use you for a few hours one night. I’m not telling you what it is before the end of the bet, but whoever wins, if I tell you, you’re not allowed to tell Ellie and Glen, or anyone else, really. That’s officially part of the bet.”
“So if I fail this Thermo test, then I’m basically your servant for a few hours? Doinganything? Why would you think I’d ever agree to that?” How stupid would I be to let him have an open-ended request where he could make me do anything he wanted?
“I promise it’s nothing unreasonable. It’ll be like coming to a party some of my friends want you to come to. It’s not that,obviously, but just so you have a rough idea. I’m not going to tie you to a motel bed and pimp you out for a few hours, if that’s what worries you.”
“But it’s a little creepy that you said that, right?”
“I can be creepy sometimes. What of it?” He winks, making me chuckle.
“So that’s all I get about this thing I’d have to do for you?” Why am I even asking? It’s not like I’m going to do it! “In a hypothetical world where I say yes to this, what do I get out of it?”
Despite wanting to blow this off, I’ve got my mind fixed on my name scrawled across his ass. There’s this competitive part of me that would welcome the opportunity to mark him again. Do I really want that so bad, I’d be open to doing whatever he wanted for hours? No, this is a horrible idea.
“Use your imagination,” Atlas says. “You want to write on me some more?”
It’s like he pulled that right out of my head, and I hate that he knows me that well.
“I know you enjoyed it that first time…senior year,” he adds.
During the panty bet, throughout the day, I realized that every time I sat or bent over, I had to stress about someone seeing the underwear. So when I won against him the following year, I enjoyed placing my name right above his shorts so that he would have to be as self-conscious as I was for the day. Petty as our little bets may have been, there was something life-giving about them…intoxicating, even.
“I’ve already done that,” I say. “And it’s gotta be bigger if I’m having to do some mystery challenge.”
“So you want something more substantial? Come on. Name your price. Have you been thinking about me in panties since I made you do it?”
“I’m more original than that.”
Atlas grins. “Then what have you got? There must be something you want me to do. Something that would put me in my place if you aced your next test.”
“Whatever I say, it doesn’t even matter because I only have a few weeks until the next test. You know damn well you’re going to win and then parade my F and whatever creepy-ass secret thing you want me to do.”
Atlas pushes to his feet and approaches me. “Lil stepbro, are you conceding before we even made the bet?”
“You don’t get to make up an impossible bet for me to win and then act like you won when I refuse to accept it.”
“Think of something you want from me. I can be your personal Uber for a month.”
