3 more losses gets them close to the end

Even with the additional **** on the table, it didn't seem like either Vicky or Ashley were doing any worse than in previous rounds at all, and in fact it wasn't long before the former of the two managed to steal herself yet another win - which put her in a pretty good spot, with two wins and a single loss, while poor Zack ended up with the exact opposite results.

"Looks like I'm on a roll today!" The blonde smiled at him sweetly, as she received the second piece of his clothing for today - in the shape of his pants -, which she tucked away behind her back. "I hope you don't mind though...?"

"Oh, not at all..." Zachary managed a sarcastic little grin, even as he felt like things weren't going his way at all. There was little consolation in the fact that Vicky was happily making jokes about undressing him after all, unless they'd also end up in the same room over night - and so far, he really couldn't see that kind of thing happening any more.

It was a little difficult to keep track of the 'markers' however - considering that some of them were still obscured by other clothing, or in some cases pretty much hidden out of sight -, but as far as he could tell it appeared like he was sharing the last spot with Brandon and Heather by now. What he'd yet to realize though - as his mind was set on 'winning' his roommate, rather than the other way around -, was the fact that the sweet blonde was now getting close to the lead, with only one point behind both Gavin and Chloe...

Ashley was all the more aware about this however, even if she'd yet to realize how a single point could still be meaning quite a lot in the game, and she ended up 'celebrating' her best friend's win with practically giving up her next hand for free - in full confidence that Vicky would somehow be able and win the whole game just as easily as the last round. Thus she didn't notice the glare that she received from Heather across the table, while she'd just beat her to yet another game of 'having the most worthless hand', and even the quick glance from Victoria herself managed to pass her completely by - just like the fact that she'd just made the gap between leader and third place even bigger.

She'd probably never noticed the look which Gavin was giving her either though - if it wasn't for the fact that she was looking right at him -, and she could barely keep from laughing at the cute blush that was rapidly spreading across his wide-eyed face, while she ended up dancing her way out of her lacy white bra. Apparently it'd been wrong of her to think that everyone in the room was getting pretty much used to see her without clothes by now, though she'd hardly let it keep her from finishing in style - by throwing the little garment into the young man's lap.

Her little striptease wasn't originally meant for Gavin however, even if she had to admit she enjoyed his reaction, but instead it was the girl right next to her she'd been trying to draw some attention from. She wasn't so sure that her friend would actually appreciate her show though, but was given a soft smile at least, when she eventually plopped herself back down on her seat again.

Whether it would help them into sharing a room together remained to be seen, though she finally came to realize that the very next game could possibly be the last one they played for tonight - given that they'd all agreed on playing until the first one got naked.

"So, we're almost done then...?" Chloe was the first one to ask, with a meaning glance towards Ashley, and then looked around the table before she continued. "What if we're tied for a spot? We play another game, just between those on the same tier, or what...?"

"I'd say so, yes." Heather was quick to agree with her, but then pointed out that the results of a rematch between the 'winners' would quickly have an effect on the others. "Because there's only that many combinations, considering the rule about opposite sexes..."

"Which leaves us with less options in the lower tiers." Gavin filled in for her, as if he'd been thinking the exact same thing, and even looked a little impressed at the girl's suggestion. Which he'd got all right to be of course, considering that a talent for mathematics wasn't ever the first thing that people would even suspect her of - which was especially true on an evening like this, while she was lounging her sexy and half-naked body on the couch, and lazily taking sips from the glass of whiskey in her hand.

"And if there's still a tie at that point, we could just have the winner make their pick?" The brunette continued, after giving it another moment of thought. "Sounds fair, right? And it would keep us from dragging out on it for long..."

"Well, simple enough then." Chloe agreed, and then smiled as she had a quick glance at the cards on her hand. A royal straight flush would take her a long way towards dueling it out with Gavin the next round - though she was a little unsure of how she'd act in a room with, say, Ashley and Brandon together...

Meanwhile, it seemed like the blonde in question couldn't care any less about the eventual pairings however, even if she still had all the hopes for sharing a room with Victoria. For whatever reason she'd kept failing to read the other girl's subtle hints, and she'd still got crappy cards even if she did, so she ended up with yet another of those crappy hands towards the end of the thirteenth round.

In fact, she didn't fully understand her own faulty logic until they all put their cards down on the table, and she realized that Chloe was going to win over Vicky - just as easily as her own hand had once again managed to 'beat' the uselessness of Heather's...

"Hey, Vicky...?" Surprisingly it was Brandon who was the first to point something out though - once they'd all finished admiring the impressive hand at the other side of the table -, and turned everyone's attention back to the blonde instead. "That four of diamonds doesn't really go all that well with the other hearts, you know?"

"Uh, no...?" The girl let out a surprised little laughter, and blushed as it seemed like she hadn't even noticed until then. "I dunno how I missed that!"

"Well, it could happen to anyone...!" Chloe flashed her a friendly smile, before having another quick look around the table. "Seems like we're having another round then...?"

Thus Vicky ended up removing her beautiful sarong, as her hand was even worse than the others, while Ashley could barely believe how her friend had managed to make such a simple mistake. Or had she...? The more Ashley stared at the cards in front of her, the more convinced she became that the fateful card had in fact been sitting among her own, but was now mysteriously replaced by it's twin of hearts...

It didn't really matter how it happened though - if it was her own memory betraying her, or something else going on -, but now she knew at least that she couldn't afford to lose the game just yet, and so she played once more to the best of her ability!