New Games.

Hurdling a fence?

Climbing over it?

Madness.

I of course took the most sensible route.

The safe route.

I took my sweet time taking the long way around the fence like a civilized person. I rounded the corner of the fence, unsure if I even wanted to get between them. A chorus of giggles and outraged feminine voices pulled me from my thoughts. A flock of birds squawked and flapped through the branches scattering small branches and leaves in their wake. The canopy of the maple tree rustled and a shower of small maple leaves rained down before me. I frowned staring at the squawking crow that hopped with outrage in the dappled shadows of the maple tree. The sounds of the girls and the birds reminded me of the many bickering nights of gaming and DND with my old guy friends. I stifled a chuckle remembering the many arguments that I had to settle. It was oddly comforting and familiar to see that Emma and Nina were no different than us. I suppose I really have been putting them up on a pedestal. I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts, ready to become peacemaker once again.

Slowly, I carefully stepped over the thick roots, I shivered feeling the air cool, a relief against the bright day's heat. It was almost magical how the canopy of branches blocked out the sunlight, the trunk of the maple tree was massive leaving no trace of the girls to be seen. There was an almost serene quality to the way the branches and leaves peacefully swayed in the wind, it reminded me of the calmness before a storm. I took a deep breath savouring the calm. I braced myself pushing past the the low hanging branches that caught against my hair.

To my surprise, there was peace between the two, at least for the moment. Emma sat sulking against the trunk of the tree her legs crossed at the ankles. Her hands were a blur of motion as they combed quickly through her tangled dark raven hair, shaking out errant twigs and leaves. Nina looked almost serene standing beside her engrossed with her stolen prize. Her fingers flitted back and forth against the phone, her face red and rosy but pensive.

My entrance went unnoticed, a fact that I was grateful for as I quietly padded across the clearing to lean against the tree opposite them. My ears pricked for any sign of danger and the telltale signs of a budding argument, but the only sound was the twittering of annoyed birds and sashaying of branches in the wind.

I cleared my throat trying to get their attention and regretted it immediately. Those wide blue eyes usually so alluring became dark, cold, and unsettling in the shadows. Two pairs of eyes locked onto me as they turned towards me, I almost froze as if I was the one being hunted.

"What are you doing just standing there?" Nina asked with a raised brow that was almost Emma-esque. I frowned staring at brooding Emma who surprisingly showed no signs of rebellion. Nina gave a small laugh, breaking the spell, and gave Emma a pat on the head. Nina giggled despite the glare from Emma. Nina leaned downward slightly, a teasing glint in her eye, poking at Emma's legs with her stolen prize "She can't catch me - short legs - see," She jumped back with a smug grin as Emma lunged at her, raising the phone above her head, "Short arms too"

To my surprise, Nina chose that moment to drop Emma's phone back into her waiting hands. Seeing my confusion Nina shrugged with an impish grin, "It's no fun to bully her when she gets all sulky," Emma stuck out her tongue in response as Nina tutted and poked at her with a foot. Emma whined but shifted her body to the side as Nina undid her apron. She swept off over her head with a flourish and unfurled it with a snap. The clap of the apron startling loud amidst the soft caress of the wind on leaves. Nina lay the apron flat before the tree on the soft green mossy undergrowth of the canopy floor and sat down upon it with Emma.

Nina gave me a reassuring smile and knelt down, patting the space between the two, "You just gonna stand there staring at us, or are you gonna join us? Emma won't bite." Nina said with a mischievous grin, "Not unless you want her to," Nina patted Emma on the head who begrudgingly accepted the petting like a scruffed kitten seemingly defused with her precious phone held tightly in her hands. A laugh almost burst from my lips, but I stopped it just in time. Emma huffed through her nose, her nostrils flaring as she ran a free hand over her clothes smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes, but her head moved upwards into Nina's soft hands like a surly stray cat reluctantly giving in to her need for affection. "See perfectly harmless - unless it's me you're worried about." Nina winked, ducked under a branch, and stepped into the light. Her arm stretched outwards and beckoned me under the shade and my eyes shot straight down her shirt. A moment of glory spoiled as Emma's head tilted out from behind Nina's form, her dark blue eyes narrowed in suspicion, "You coming?" Nina asked with a frown, I blinked suddenly feeling the warmth in my hand, and let Nina escort me into the darkness.

Emma's dark blue eyes met mine and her head nudged downwards with a pointed look at the empty spot between them. I took that as Emma's acceptance and invitation despite my sense of foreboding, but my legs felt like Jello as a shift in the winds parted the canopy and sent a searing white hot light into my eyes. Like a marionette before a puppeteer I let her sit me down gently. Free of her hand, I sat there in the shade, hands nervously wringing in my lap as I settled myself between the two of them.

This was awkward as fuck. Not only did I have to deal with these two troublemakers emotionally, but I could feel the sharp ridged bark biting into my neck and the rough thick roots pushed up through the soft fabric of the apron to nestle painfully against my backside. Yet, there I sat once more. Between two women seemingly headed into the belly of the beast once more.

Emma's eyes lit up seeing my obvious discomfort, thoughts of **** against Nina clearly forgotten as the easier prey walked willingly back into her lap. A glint caught my eye, and my vision shrank as I focused on the single coin held between her fingers. There was a brief pause as she let me process the sight. She uncrossed her legs and swept them over mine, weaving in between them and locking me into place. Even through our clothes, I could feel the softness and the sensation paralyzed as my pulse beat steadily increased.

“Want to play a game?” Game. That word sent a tingle down my back, my heart hit the accelerator and held it down. My brain flashed disjointed memories of the torment that came from these ‘games.’

“What are you, Jigsaw?”

Emma blinked; the coin lowered, beside me Nina covered her mouth as her shoulders shook gripped by a silent giggle.

“What?”

“You know, from the Saw… You know what? Never mind,” I said at her blank look. Emma’s eyebrows raised slightly, "I thought we already were playing a game."

"New game," Emma chirped flippantly, "Nina convinced me."

"Plotting against me no doubt"

"Perish the thought," Nina scoffed, "When have I ever led you astray" She smiled with innocent doe eyes no doubt trying to comfort me, but the shade turned the grin predatory. I frowned to myself, feeling slightly at odds. The easy familiarity felt completely foreign to me after a lifetime of awkwardness with my friends and I was reminded I barely even knew this girl beside me.

“Never answered my question,” Emma said tone insistent, She was right, I didn’t. Not because I didn’t know how to answer, but because I was avoiding it.

“You know I kinda hoped - thought we were done with those,” I said, trying to buy more time.

A slight quirk of her lips brightened her face, “Oh, Isaac. Why would we ever be done with them? Games are endless fonts of entertainment!”

“For you,” I muttered.

“Exactly!” The coin was back, wiggling back and forth between her fingers. “Want to play?”

“Ugh. Fine. What is it?” I blinked, realizing my mistake. “Wait, no—” Her cackle cut me off.

“Too late. You already agreed.” Emma shifted off me, unraveling our legs. She crawled in front of me and laid down, her legs splayed out to one side. “The game is simple," She said revealing a slightly crumpled sheet of paper dotted with faded marker labeled Emma Wright, "You choose a topic and I answer."

Simple. Right. Nothing was ever simple with her games. “What’s the catch?”

Her head tilted, an angelic expression meeting my suspicious nature. “Whatever do you mean?”

"There has to be more to it, that's barely any information. It's not even a game," I sighed. “Just tell me.”

“Think of it as a, ‘getting to know you’ icebreaker. Nina came up with it. I figured we're dating now, so… why not get to know each other better? You choose a topic. I'll tell you a little story about my past and you decide if I'm lying or not. Nothing complex. A yes or a no or a true or false."

"If you get enough correct, we'll give you a reward at the end," Nina piped up from my right. I almost jumped off the ground feeling an interloping but welcome gentle hand slipping around my shoulders. I froze as her soft cheek met the crook of my neck. Her breath came hot and heavy, the barest caress of her lips on my skin a shiver down my neck. Her sky-blue eyes peered up at me empty of Emma's usual trickeries instead filled with promise and desire. She giggled when my eyes darted between the two, trying to catch the signs of any devious entrapment or betrayal.

A silence followed as I stared at them. It was as if a brain fog had descended on me. Everything felt slow and muted as I struggled to find the right answer as alarm bells blared in my head. Was that it? Was Emma really having us play a legit game? Seeing she wasn’t going to say anything else, I opened my mouth to respond.

“Since you clearly have no interest in it, perhaps I should spice things up?” Emma interjected

Fucking hell. She did that on purpose!

“Wait—”

“No, no, no. You’re right. It would be rather boring just asking questions like that.” Emma tapped a finger against her lips, looking skyward and thinking of ways to make my life even more complicated before she broke into a wicked grin, the sort that would give even the most adventurous of people pause.

Nina's warmth left me, and an exasperated and frustrated sigh groaned out from beside me, "Why are you always like this Em? Can you guys just fuck already?"

It seemed as if Nina's words were wind on Emma's deaf ears giving no indication she heard her. Her mouth bunched up in the cutest of ways as she tapped at her chin. A soft hum came from her as she thought. Her smile sent another shiver down my back. The coin was back. “For every question you get right, you’ll earn a coin flip.”

“Okay…” I said, following along with growing unease.

“You can choose to have me flip the coin, or you can skip. I’m the one who flips it, and you have to call it in the air.”

“And what do I get out of it?”

“A kiss.” Oh. That was actually kinda nice. A grin formed.

“Well in that case—”

“A handjob.”

“Wait, what?” She didn’t pause, continuing on as she ticked off on her fingers. “Cleavage sex. A blowjob. Sex with a condom. Sex without condom.” A pause. For a moment, she looked unsure, but it faded in an instant. “Threesome.”

My heart hammered. Oh god. She was serious. Completely serious. “What is ‘cleavage sex?’”

She rolled her eyes. “A titfuck.” My eyes lowered to her chest. I mean, I wasn’t an expert or anything, but I guess she technically could if she maybe—

"Don't worry Emma I can give Isaac all the love he needs," Nina giggled beside me her soft fingers tracing patterns across my shoulders. Her usual soft smile was gone and in its place an evil grin that rivaled Emma's best.

“Don’t make us start the game with a penalty.” Emma's voice was cold as an arctic blizzard.

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Thoughtcrimes are still crimes.”

I took a few steadying breaths. Okay. Okay, Isaac. You got this. Finally! A fucking game that rewards instead of punished! Boyfriend perks were awesome. I could get used to this.

“Each time you correctly call a coin flip, you advance up the reward later—and no, you don’t keep the previous tier reward,” Emma said writing down the tiers on a scrap piece of paper.

I closed my mouth. Damn. “Get a call wrong, you go lower. With me so far?” She had a dazzling smile, clearly having fun. An excited nod answered her as I rubbed my hands together and shifted my sitting position to mirror hers. I was so ready for this.

“Good. Now for when you get the question wrong.” All joy fled faster than that feeling you get when the teacher calls for you to turn in that report you totally had done on your computer at home and not completely forgotten about. “Get it wrong, I flip. If I call correctly, you go down a peg.”

“Fair enough,” I grumbled as Emma practically preened with self satisfaction.

"I suppose 8 questions will be plenty. Enough for you to climb up the tiers," Her smile turned wicked. “and enough for you to climb out of a hole. Yes, you can go negative too. Same rewards, only instead of you getting them, one of your friends will.”

Aaaand there it was. Torment and misery wrapped in sweet lies and false hope. Her voice was smooth and light. The perfect level of playfulness, as if this were a game with no consequence.

“Well, Isaac? Are you ready to play?”

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait... had a busy few months with getting married and stuffs. Also did a lot of rewrites since I didn't like the last game I made and I didn't wanna retcon it so... Vox rewrote and added a bunch of stuff to this chapter. So /shrug. Horny times to come finally after months I guess l o l....