Go back and relax.

+5 BS. 14 remaining.

Nice! That bit of debauchery more than paid for itself. I took a moment to look at the app.

XP +2! Level up!

Cash +2! Total: 10.

Next level in 20 XP.

Congratulations! You have reached level 2!

Max BS+10. Total: 110.

+10 BS. 24 remaining.

Very nice! Plus, there were a couple options for perks. I chose the one that would let me gauge how much a fallacy would cost. Hopefully that would avoid overdrawing on my BS total in the future.

I went back to the restaurant and found Ainsley was joking around with the others again, looking like she was in a much better mood. Good, I needed everyone calm to keep things running smoothly.

Nicole wrapped her arm around mine as soon as I sat down. She leaned in close and asked, "Did you and Ainsley have a nice walk?"

"Yes, it was very... relaxing."

She winked at me. "I know. She told us that you really seemed to enjoy the blowjob she gave you."

I froze. She just kept smiling. I'd read the app's instructions and I knew that observers were supposed to accept anything that someone did because of a fallacy. Still, it was jarring to see my fiancé happy to find out that I'd gotten a BJ from another woman. I guess anything less than penis-in-vagina really wasn't cheating now.

I picked up a strawberry from my unfinished fruit salad and delicately placed it on Nicole's soft lips. She playfully bit it and pulled it out of my hand. There was a loud throat clearing noise from Mr. Astor, but once I pulled away from his daughter a little he didn't seem upset.

A chime went off the other end of the table. Simone pulled out her phone and smiled.

Kennedy noticed this too. "What's going on, Simone? Is someone sending you naughty messages?"

The shapely Asian woman put her phone away and stood up. "Very much so! That was Steve, a guy I met last night."

Kennedy shook her head. "As a bride's maid, shouldn't you be hooking up with more than one person?"

"I know, I know. I'm just really not built for that. I need a sweeping island romance, not an orgy. I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight!"

Everyone waved bye to Simone. I was probably the only one imagining her in an orgy. Maybe Xavier.

Once she was gone, I looked over at Kennedy. "I appreciate you trying to get Simone to do her duties as the Maid of Honor."

She took a sip of her wine. "Yes, Simone's very good about pushing us to be open sexually so we can keep everyone relaxed, but she has a weird hang-up about only hooking up with one person at a time. This guy isn't even here for the wedding, he's just another guest at the resort, so it's kind of a waste."

"Well, at least you're focused on your bride's maid duties," I said. "Maybe you can give me a blowjob sometime, too?"

The whole table froze.

"Will?" said Nicole, her lips trembling. "How... why would you say that?"

I felt trapped. Everyone at the table was staring at me angrily. Mr. Astor was slowly standing up, clearly about to **** me. I turned back to Nicole. "But... blowjobs aren't cheating, right?"

"That's true for Ainsley, not for everyone else!" shouted Nicole.

All the other people at the table nodded. They stared at me like I was a puppy murderer.

"It was a joke!" I said.

-30 BS.

Error! Insufficient BS! Fallacy failed.

0 remaining.

Fuck! I hadn't even thought about the app, that just came out automatically. I guess a lie that takes everyone at the table from wanting to kill me to being on my side takes a lot of BS.

"I'm going to my room!" shouted Nicole. She got up and ran off.

I turned to yell after her, but an iron hard hand grabbed my arm and turned me around. Mr. Astor was staring into my eyes, huffing like a bull, too angry to even say anything.

I had no BS left. I had no tricks in my regular repertoire that could pull me out of a hole this deep. However, I did have one advantage left. I'd already laid some groundwork with Mr. Astor and I'd looked at his profile and learned exactly what effects on him were already in play.

Slowly, carefully, I said, "Mr. Astor, what I said was a mistake. I can fix this. I have a long history of messing things up, but then getting things back on track. If you'll just give me a little time, I can resolve everything with Nicole and make her happy again."

None of that was technically false, so I wouldn't get a fallacy failure. It played into my history, which he now believed was whatever I said it was. Hopefully, that would be enough.

The large man huffed a few more times, then suddenly let me go. "You have one hour. If my baby is still in tears at that time, I will destroy you."

Did he mean my reputation or physical harm? Probably both. I nodded understanding, and he left.