Page 4 of The Killing Game

Colton and I stare at each other. What did we miss in the last five minutes?

I look over to the deck elevator behind us. Jason is doubled over in laughter, butt ass naked. Everything is showing in the sun. I do my best to not linger too long on his toned body, but it’s long enough for me to notice what he’s packing below the belt. I quickly glance away and feel a red blush creep over my face. My question from earlier has definitely been answered. I mentally think of dead puppies and wrinkly, old man balls to calm my racing thoughts.

Gods be damned. I knew Jason was always an arrogant prick, I just didn’t know he had the cock to prove it. He’s clearly a shower and not a grower, but I’m not complaining about it. What would he look like aroused? The thought makes my insides flutter again. I groan at the mental image. This is not fucking helping my case to avoid getting in his bed this weekend. I take three deep breaths before heading towards Sam.

Colton is already handing Jason a towel with the most disapproving frown on his face. I can’t hear what they’re saying. I can only imagine Colton is ripping him a new one for his exploits in broad day light.

Sam has calmed down a bit by the time I reach her. It’s not the first time Jason has pulled this stunt. He’s notorious for skinny dipping during our visits. I’m all for body positivity, but come on, man! Have some decency when the sun is still up. I sit next to Sam and rest my head on her shoulder. A gesture of good faith. I’m on her side for this one, no matter how much my kitty wants to know how he feels slipping inside me.

No. Fucking stop, Ashe.

I push the thought away again.

“You good, girl?” I ask her as we watch the boys descend in the elevator.

Colton waves at us like the clown from that Stephen King movie. His disappointment is now replaced with a mischievous grin. Whatever annoyance he felt before is long gone. I mentally take note to check the kayaks later before using them. It wouldn’t be the first time Sam or I have found a hoard of spiders inside, cleverly placed by Colton or Jason to watch us squirm like little girls. I may have an obsession with horror, but creepy crawlies is where I draw the line. It gives me the literal ick.

My eye darts to the other side of the elevator before it descends out of view. Jason is staring directly at us. Well, directly at me. He’s leaning against the back wall of the elevator, casually holding onto the back railing with his head tilted to the side. His towel is wrapped dangerously low on his waist as he watches me. Waiting for a reaction. My breath catches and my body freezes under his gaze. I can feel a blush creeping up my neck. Every nerve in my body is on fire. The burning desire I felt earlier returns with a vengeance. I’m hyper aware of my eyes widening when my brain finally catches up with what my body already knows. Somehow, someway, I want to fuck Jason. Jason’s eyes flash in response. He knows the effect he’s having on me. The same smoldering smirk on his face that I saw earlier in the kitchen makes another appearance as he moves out of view.

“Ugh. Jason can be such an ass sometimes. Totally ruined the vibe for my chakra meditation. I was trying to get in the right head space and now all I can think of is his head. In my face.” Sam shudders, dramatically trying to get the ick off her body and mind.

“Yeah,” I say casually, stuck staring at the spot Jason disappeared from view. “You have to admire his confidence, though.”

Silence falls through the space between us. I continue staring at the spot. I’m highly aware of what I just said. Maybe if I don’t acknowledge what was said, then it won’t be a big deal. Sam is my best friend, though. She knows everything about me, so she definitely knows what’s going through my head right now.

I can feel Sam’s stare burning into the side of my face. I take a hesitant glance towards her. Her face is contorted into the most extreme side eye in existence.

“Excuseeeee me. Earth to Ashe! Is that really you in there? You just gave Jason a compliment. He’s not even here and it wasn’t followed up by a snarky joke.”

My mind races to find an excuse as to why in the world I would say something nice about Jason. It’s not that I hate him, but that’s how our relationship has always been. He pushes my buttons. I tell him to fuck off. Then I get back at him with a stupid prank. It usually involves some level of grotesque gore or humiliation. The last time he pissed me off, I super glued a King Dong to the hood of his truck. It took him a week to pry it off. Round and round the cycle we go. Anything to avoid whatever feelings might be lingering beneath the games.

Jason joined the group midway through freshman year. Sam, Colton, and I were the trio no one expected to see in school. The hippy, the jock, and the horror girl. Our love of music and books brought us together. We bonded over our childhoods, the realization that we weren’t alone in this twisted world kept us together.

Colton was already friends with Jason before he met us. He brought Jason to a few gatherings. He wasn’t officially accepted into the group until he came to a rave we had planned. Sam and I learned who Jason truly was that night. Even though his appearance was a shy, emo boy knockoff, Jason’s personality made up for it in droves. He made dick jokes the entire time driving there. Sam was ready to snap his neck by the time we got to the venue, which means something fierce coming from the resident make love, not war girl. I secretly found it amusing, but I refused to let him know that. I had an image to maintain. Each joke was met with an equally sarcastic quip from me. It was invigorating to finally have someone match me verbally, blow for blow. Back and forth we went that night, participating in what I could only describe as linguistic foreplay. That was until the headliner music started. Jason changed. We could visibly see him melt away into the beat. He knew every single damn beat and pantomimed the most dramatic scenes while dancing. It was endearing to see someone who’s usually so high energy surrender to the music. We screamed our hearts out, danced together, and went apeshit with each new song. There was a single moment where I could have sworn Jason was going to kiss me.

It was towards the end of the night. We had all been drinking and taking hits off the joint Sam snuck into the venue. It was the final song and I was swaying with the music. Jason grabbed my hand, swinging me into him. We waltzed together, laughing to the song. When I looked up at him, I saw it. The lust in his eyes as he peered down at me. I felt his warm arms wrap tighter around my waist. He pulled me closer. Our lips were mere inches apart. I could smell the mixture of sweet rum and pineapple on his breath. In a lapse of better judgment, I leaned in to close the distance. The song ended before our lips met. He immediately released me, acting as if we weren’t seconds away from sucking each other’s faces off. I awkwardly took a step back and wrapped my arms around myself, ignoring the embarrassment creeping across my face. Of course, he wouldn’t actually kiss me. This was Jason we were talking about; crude, mildly disrespectful, and a little unhinged. Definitely not something I wanted to entangle myself with.

Now, though? I can’t even form a coherent thought with him around. It has to be whatever fuckboy dating tips he picked up while modeling. Falling for the ravened-hair, bad boy is too cliche, even for me.

I shift my legs out in front of me and lean back. I don’t have an answer for Sam. She would kill me if she knew the flashback I was having right now.

“Do you want to go kayaking once you’re done meditating?” I ask her as nonchalantly as possible.

“No fucking way. Nope. You’re not getting away with it that easily! Answer my question. Did you just give Jason a compliment?”

I shrug, propping my arms up to feel the sun on my face. Maybe I can lie my way out of this. “He’s growing on me. We’re not going to see each other for a while after this trip. I figured it’s time to start being nice to him.”

Sam glares at me. She can see straight through my bullshit. She knows damn well that I’m lying right now. Hopefully, I did it well enough that she’ll leave it alone.

“Uh huh. Sure. Let’s go with that. It has nothing to do with the interaction you guys had in the kitchen earlier?”

I bolt upright. My skin is ice cold. There’s no fucking way she saw or heard anything that happened in the kitchen earlier. I vowed to take that to the grave. I was so sure no one saw what happened between Jason and I.

I’m certain she can feel the anxiety rolling off my body.

“Wh-what happened in the kitchen?”

Sam laughs. “Denial is a river in Egypt, babe. Don’t think I didn’t see Jason trying to seduce you on my way to go mediate. He basically had you in the palm of his hands. You were straight up giving him fuck me eyes.”