I took Gemma’s hand after the song ended and led her off the dance floor to get some drinks. If Gemma knew what I was singing to her when “Despacito” was on, I’m not sure what her reaction would be. I definitely wanted to do all the things that song said and more. Even if she did know, I supposed I could’ve played it off by saying it was just the way the song was written. But that would have been a complete lie. Just because I wasn’t acting on the attraction, didn’t mean I didn’t still feel it. And as much as she was probably just singing along to the lyrics of the last song, I wanted to make sure she knew I wouldn’t let her down.

“You know that’s something you’ll never have to worry about, right? I’ll always be here for you, I’ll never let you down.” I looked into her blue eyes as I handed her another glass of Cristal.

“I do know that. You always have been. And you always remind me.” She smiled sweetly up at me, lifting her glass. “I want to propose a toast. To the most amazing, sweet, caring, smart, and protective man I’ve ever known. Thank you for being my best friend, for always putting up with me when I need advice about my failed relationships, and for never judging me. You always know just what to say to brighten my day and I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it.” She clinked her glass to mine and I couldn’t help but feel the smile broaden across my face at hearing her say out loud just how much I meant to her. We both took long sips from our glasses.

After she swallowed she continued on, “All that said, it doesn’t mean I’m not ready to go inside to that game room and kick your ass now.” She smirked and put on her game face.

I laughed. “I hope you’ve thought about just what you’d like to lose. I have a few ideas about what I am looking forward to winning.” I knew I was a cocky ass when it came to being competitive, but I didn’t care and I knew Gemma would take my trash talk with a grain of salt.

We left the outside party behind and headed into the game room.

“Ladies choice, what would you like me to kick your tail in first?” I grinned confidently at her as we entered the room.

“Oh, ha ha. You’re so funny. We’ll see who’s laughing when it’s you who gets his tail kicked. Let’s start with darts.” She set her glass down on one of the high tables, then swayed her hips as she walked towards the dart board and collected her darts. “I choose the blue ones. Do you want the pink, pretty boy?”

I laughed at her insinuation. “I can whoop you with whatever color you want. Would you like me to use the pink?” I asked full of self-confidence.

“Whichever color you feel gives you the best luck is fine by me,” she tossed back at me as she turned and sashayed to the tape line on the floor.

“Luck, huh?” I took the pink ones just to show her how little the color of the darts mattered psychologically in a win or lose. “No luck needed here, precious, this will be a win of pure skill.” Precious, where had that come from? I wasn’t sure, but I kind of liked it. She was precious to me. My precious Gem. I shook off the thought. If my new nickname bothered her, you couldn’t tell by the look on her face.

“Best out of three?” I asked.

She nodded at me in response, already focused on the task at hand.

I watched as she took up position on the line, squared her shoulders, drew back and released. She had this cute way of throwing that as she released she ended up standing on only her right foot, her left raised high behind her. I was amazed she could do it in her stilettos and maintain her balance. The muscles in her calf were defined as she used them to hold her position. When she stepped back, I glanced up to see she had hit a bullseye.

“Must be my lucky day,” she smiled as she did a little happy dance. “You’re up. Show me what you’ve got, hotshot.”

I took position and hit a triple 20. I tried not to notice how adorable she was as we battled it out. Her face scrunching in concentration.

At the end of three, I lost to that one bullseye from the first shot. I couldn’t believe it. I shook my head in disbelief. When had she gotten this good?

“What happened to your ‘pure skill’? Guess pink isn’t your lucky color,” she winked at me as she laughed. She had no idea how much I loved the color pink. “I know what I want for winning, but why not make it even more interesting. We’ll play two more games, each a round of three, and winner overall gets to decide what they win. Deal?”

“So, you’re willing to forfeit this series win in hopes that you’ll get an even bigger win?” I squinted at her, trying to figure out what was going on inside that pretty head of hers.

“Let’s just say I’m confident in my game playing skills. Plus, the prize I want is kinda big, so it might not be fair to use it on just this small round of three. You still game?” She bit her lip and arched her brow at me.

“You been practicing on the side somewhere?” I cocked my head in question.

“You afraid?” She challenged back.

“Never. If you win, you get whatever you want. If I win the next two, I get what I want.” I held out my hand to shake on it.

Her red lips parted in a huge smile and her eyes twinkled with amusement. “Fair is fair. I guess you get whatever you want if you win too. But that’s a big if.”

“Don’t let one win, make you over confident, precious. I’m not planning on making a habit out of losing. Not even to you. What would you like to try your hand at next?”

“Ping-Pong, please.” She smiled sweetly when she said it, but her eyes were sparkling with mischief. It made me wonder what she wanted to win and if she had been practicing somewhere. Paranoid much?

I grabbed the paddles and tossed one her way. She grabbed it effortlessly and held out her hand for the ball.

“Winner starts.”

Begrudgingly I handed it to her. “Don’t count on being the winner this time…”

“We’ll see about that.” Her smirk was beyond cocky and her eyes danced with laughter, she kicked off her stilettos so she could cover her end of the table more efficiently.

She served and I returned, back and forth we went. I won the first, she won the second and I scored the final winning point of the third. I tossed the paddle in the air, spun around and caught it, and made a whooshing sound.

“Yeah, baby! My winning streak is just beginning. Be prepared to accept defeat. I choose pool for the last round of games.” I couldn’t help the elation I felt from the win, but she didn’t even look fazed, her smile just as big as the Cheshire cat.

“Bring it on. There’s nothing you can dish out that I can’t handle. I’m beyond ready for you.” Her cheeks pinked at her own insinuation and her eyes dropped to the floor. “Maybe we could grab a couple more drinks first? I’m getting a little thirsty.”

I was thirsty too, but my thirst was from being alone with her so much the past two nights and I knew it wasn’t something that Cristal would quench. “I’ll go grab them and be right back.”

I left the room with erotic visions dancing through my head and kept reminding myself that Gemma is only your friend. No matter what my traitorous mind and cock might be thinking. Something about seeing her competitive nature come out is so hot though. In your defense, her tits did look like they were trying to escape, her dress has been riding high on her thighs all night, and she does have gorgeous legs. They are the kind I want to run my tongue up and over until I reach her sweet – I blinked hard. You have to stop this, I chastised myself silently.

I wandered into the kitchen and asked the wait staff for a bottle of Cristal, and then grabbed two waters as well. As I headed back to the game room I repeated my mantra, she is only your friend, over and over again. When I walked in the room my mantra was forgotten.

Gemma had put her heels back on and was leaning over the pool table practicing her shots. Her ass was tipped in my direction barely contained by that red scrap of lace that she called a dress, and the upside down V at the apex of her thighs was scarcely covered by a matching red lace thong. My mouth watered instinctually. Guess that answers the question I had pondered earlier of what type of underwear she was wearing.

I was instantly hard as a rock and I knew then, without a doubt, what I had been telling myself all along was a lie. I wanted to be more than just Gemma’s friend. So much more. I wanted to bury myself so deep inside of her that I’d forget where I ended and she began.