Gambit Excerpt

Chess Series: Interlude After Pawn/Book 5.5

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Chapter 1

I gratefully sank down on the couch in my study and broke the seal on the letter I’d gotten that day from my brother, Charlie. He didn’t write that often, but when he did, he always had at least one hilarious story.

This time was no different. He’d gone to a friend’s birthday party where they shared stories all night long and teased the birthday boy that he’d been turning thirty. I grinned — I thought about how I’d teased Anders that he was almost thirty, even though he’d only been turning twenty-nine. Then, Charlie told me about the drinking game that he’d played — Never Have I Ever.

As I was reading the rules, Anders came in and sat down next to me. “What’s that?”

I smiled. “Letter from my brother. He played a new drinking game with his friends and told me about it.” I tilted the paper so Anders could read it. He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve played that before. Got pretty smashed to. Apparently all the guys I played it with were…less experienced than I was.”

I frowned. “What?”

He grinned. “Yeah, he didn’t make that clear. You can say whatever you want. Like, never have I ever been in a threesome.”

I looked at him sideways. “Did you have to drink on that one?”

He pulled me closer and kissed my forehead. “No. That I have not done.”

I thought for a moment. “I think if we played this we’d all end up embarrassed.”

He smiled. “That’s part of the fun — trying to think of something you haven’t done, but you can say to force your friends to have to drink. So, if they make you reveal something personal, you can throw it back at them.”

I leaned into his side. “Okay. But if sexual questions are going to be allowed, can we agree up front that anything I did with Lucian doesn’t count?”

He pulled back and looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Why? Did you do things you would actually have to admit to?”

I smiled. “No, but I can see someone saying ‘Never have I ever kissed two people in the same day,’ or ‘Never have I ever..’” I tried to think of something, but was coming up blank.

“Had sex in someone else’s bed?”

I nodded. “I’d have to drink on that one, unless we exclude Lucian.”

He nodded back. “I think that’s a reasonable house rule.”

“Although, even if we excluded Lucian, I’d still have to drink on the kissing two people in the same day.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, me to. And, ironically, our second person is the same person.”

I snorted. “True.”

“But I’m up for playing, if you want to suggest it.”

I smiled. “Sure, why not? I’ll order more bottles of wine be brought in.”

∼∗∼∗∼∗∼

There were some wary looks around the table when I said I wanted to try a drinking game. The guys had heard of it, but neither Celeste nor Eve had. I explained, “So when it’s your turn, you say something that you’ve never done. If anyone else has done that thing, then they have to take a drink. If only one person has done it, they have to tell the story about it. If no one else has done it either, then you have to drink.” They nodded, then I added, “I would like to ask for one house rule, though — Lucian doesn’t count.”

We all agreed and everyone was given a glass of wine, and a glass of water, with more bottles of wine ready on the sideboard. I gave Alecks a glass of cranberry juice instead of wine and said, “If need be, at least one of us will be sober to escort us back to our rooms.”

He snorted. “Just because I’m sober doesn’t mean I’m going to put up with any drunken shenanigans. Just sayin’.”

I grinned. “Fair enough.”

They made me start. I thought for a moment and said, “Never have I ever danced in the rain.” I figured that was pretty tame. I admit I was surprised when only Eve took a drink, though.

She smiled. “Okay, I didn’t expect to be the only one drinking on that one. Let’s see…the night before my oldest sister’s wedding there was this huge thunderstorm…”