Usually, I’d be petrified to answer any questions, but seeing Maddox have fun plus having the whiskey gave me liquid courage to agree. I'm looking forward to our new game because this also gives me the chance to get some answers. Hopefully, we can avoid making it serious and ruin the mood. Well, hopefully, I can keep from making it too serious. This could be my chance to get to know him, no matter how small and unimportant the details may seem. This could open the door to the more pressing questions at a later time.

Maddox killed me at poker, and I’m pretty sure that was his intention. Was he trying to get me drunk? For a moment, I start to think this may not be a good idea after all, but that thought is quickly quieted the moment I look at him. Maybe it's the liquor talking, but I could look at this hunk of a man all day. His dark hair is long enough to curl just right at the nape of his neck and the waves make him even sexier. His eyes are mesmerizing but also look as though they are hiding a lot of secrets.

“Alright, He-man, are you ready to lose?”

He chuckles. “He-man?”

“Yeah. You keep calling me princess, so that’s your new nickname.”

“Right. Well, princess, I'm ready when you are.”

I feel confident with the first few cards, then get excited when I have a wildcard I can finally play. I look at him over my cards first, making sure he’s paying attention, then slam it down on the discard pile.

“Wildcard! That means I get to ask a question.”

“Yes, it does. You also get to pick what color we are going to continue with.”

"I know. So, hmmm. What to ask." I honestly have no idea what to ask him. Racking my brain, I try to think of a good question that isn't too heavy, which is hard since right now I want to get down to the bottom of all the complicated stuff.

“Any day, princess.”

“I know, I know. Ummm. Screw it. Why are you all the way out here all alone?”

“I like peace and quiet.”

“That’s way too easy of an answer.”

"No, it isn't. You were expecting a deep, philosophical answer, which I don't have. I like to have my own space that's not interrupted by anyone."

That stings a little more than expected. Why is his answer bothering me? “So, me being here. You hate it.”

“That sounds like another question. You’re going out of turn. What color?”

“Are you seriously not going to answer?”

“Get another wild card or win the hand and you can ask again. What color?” Maddox smirks and pops an eyebrow at me.

I glare at him slightly, so he knows I'm not happy with his answer. Reluctantly, I look at my hand to see what color I want to continue with.

“Red.”

“You may be in trouble now, princess.”

“We will see.”

He chuckles then lays down a wild card that also indicates I have to draw four cards. I shake my head and draw my cards.

“Okay. What's your question?”

“Well, I think you mean what are my four questions.”

“Four? How do you figure?” I ask.

“That wild card is also a draw four. Ergo, four questions.”

All I can do is look at him. What a sly dog. “Okay, fine. Shoot.”

“Okay. You’re in college. What are you studying?”

“I'm an English major,” I say. That was easy peasy.

“And what do you want to do with that?”

“I want to write. And maybe one day, teach. I honestly haven’t made any final decisions on what I want to do.”

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Maddox throws it out like it's no big deal.

I'm taken back a little by his question, but in a good way. I suddenly felt the slight flutter of butterflies in my stomach at the mere thought that he may be interested in me. “No. No boyfriend.”

“Do you want one?”

“I guess I'm open to it if the right guy happens to come into my path. But that hasn’t happened in a while, so....”

“You are making the question complicated,” he tells me, studying my face.

“No, you just want an easy yes or no answer, which I don’t have.”

Feeling like I just got a notch on my imaginary "win" column, I'm full of confidence. I can tell by the way he's looking at me that he was not expecting me to come back with his own smartass remark.

“What color?”

Maddox studies me for a moment as if I'm going to give him the color of my cards telepathically. Finally, he picks a color. “Yellow.”

“Ha!” I slam down my yellow seven. “UNO! You’re about to lose, big boy.”

He laughs, shakes his head and lays down a yellow three. We go back and forth with yellow for a while until I put down my last yellow card and clap my hands as I bounce in my seat. I know it's silly, but I don't care. I'm thoroughly happy I have beat him at the game.

“Easy, killer. It’s only one game. And to be honest, I feel like I won since I was able to get four questions out of you.”

“Look at it however you want. But when it comes down to the game and how it’s played, I won. And now I get to ask you a question.” Maddox holds up his hands and waves me on.

“What about you? Do you have or want a girlfriend?”

“I see what you did there. Trying to get two questions in. I will let you have it though. No, I don’t have a girlfriend or want one.”

“Then what do you want?” I know I'm asking out of turn, but his answer instantly confuses me even more. I would’ve sworn he’d been showing signs of interest, and I felt his boyfriend questions solidified that thought. Now he’s saying he doesn’t want a girlfriend. Why the hell not?

"That's three questions. Sorry toots, that's not in the rules."

“Toots?” I glare. “Screw the rules, just answer the question.”

“You gotta earn it.”

“What game are you playing? Are you trying to confuse me?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Too many questions, princess. Let's keep playing. We were having fun."

I look at him and can’t believe I'm letting him get to me. I went into this thinking I’d get answers, but right now I'm just full of more questions. Keeping the silence, I grab the bottle of whiskey that is still sitting on the table and pour me a triple. I look straight at his startled, curious face and down the drink with two gulps.

“Easy there. That’ll be hitting you hard here shortly. Especially if you can’t hold your liquor.”

“Don’t you worry about my liquor holding abilities. Just get on with the game.” I smile.

“Want to raise the intensity a little?”

“How do you mean?” I ask.

“How about we play strip UNO.”

I can’t help but laugh right in his face. Now with my new whiskey buzz, I want to come out of my shell and play. Maddox keeps a straight face and looks at me with such intensity that I agree, but I’m not ashamed by my body. Considering I just won, I know I can do it again, and maybe I’ll get to see those abs of steel or more.

“Okay, fine. What are the rules?” I see a quick chink in his armor along with surprise in his eyes. Good.

“Okay. Same rules apply. With a wildcard, we get to ask questions, but the person getting asked has to remove a piece of clothing. And to keep it interesting, I think we should double the number of cards we start with, to allow more time for questions, of course.”

“And to allow more opportunities to get me naked,” I add with a smirk.

“Or for you to get me naked,” he adds.

“I'm pretty good at this game. The result may not go how you hope.”

“Princess, whatever the result, I’ll be happy.”

I smile. “Alright then, you’re on. With one twist.”

“What twist would you like to add?”

“Because you are so much bigger than me, and because you probably can drink me under the table, we need to even the field in that respect. You need to drink. Now.”

“Alright. And how much would you like me to drink?”

"Put the bottle to your lips, and I will tell you when to stop."

“And this sounds fair to you?”

I answer with the hitch of my eyebrow and crossing my arms in front of my chest, slightly hiking up my boobs a notch to catch his attention. He wants a tease. I’ll give him one.

There's fire in his eyes as he catches my movements but reconnects eye contact before raising the bottle to his lips. I nod my head at him to start drinking, and Maddox responds instantly. I watch as his head tips back, and I see his Adam's apple dance with each swallow. I momentarily lose track of time watching him drink and am quickly brought back to the moment when he slams his hand on the table indicating it's getting to be a bit much.

“Okay, stop.”

He slams the bottle on the table and slides his chair back as he leans forward, coughing. I can’t help but giggle.

“Damn, woman. Are you trying to kill me?”

"No. Just thought you could take it." I feign innocence and shrug my shoulders. Maddox glares at me as he gets his breath back and controls his coughing. He moves his chair back into place and starts shuffling the cards. Now, his mood has changed. I thought the drinking thing would be fun, but it seems to have sparked something in him. Competitiveness. I guess I will have to wait and see. Maddox looks at me why he shuffles and shakes his head.

“What, are you mad now?” I ask.

He lets out a growl that somehow instantly makes me wet.

“Not mad, princess. Just ready to take this to the next level.”

Oh damn. I have gotten myself into uncharted territory, and he means business. I have a feeling that I have no idea what I'm in for.