The build up to the contest

Dana had informed Prince of the upcoming contest when she returned that day, and he had smirked. He had promised to help her with the contest the best he could. She had shuddered, not sure of the type of "help" she would get.

On the morning of the contest, Dana saw her clothes laid out in front of her and was pleasantly surprised. It seemed like Prince had selected a skater/goth/punk themed outfit for her (Dana wasn't sure which one). Her outerwear had six things: an oversized t-shirt, fishnet tights, jean shorts, knee-length socks, sneakers and a short jacket. She even had underwear this time - even if it was a skimpy bra and thong, that was more than what she was afforded most days.

Dana had clarified the rules of the contest with Vince. On losing a point, she had to take off one item of clothing of her choice, and hand it over to him. Things worn in twos, like shoes and socks, counted as one item. Items like her purse, phone and jewellery were exempt.

This meant that in total, she was wearing eight items of clothing. Dana calculated; she could lose seven points before she lost completely - a small handicap against her opponent's cushion of ten points, but something she felt was possible to overcome. Feeling hopeful, she stepped out of the mansion and into the arcade.

She saw Vince out of the corner of her eye, playing some rounds of air hockey with a friend of his. Looking at her watch, she had a couple of hours of fun before the contest would begin.

Both of them had discussed this earlier: Vince didn't want any backlash on him from the challenge, so Dana was to approach him and loudly propose the challenge. All the stipulations would be suggested by her, giving Vince an easy excuse in case something came back to him. Even though she detested him for covering his bases like this and throwing her under the bus, she reminded herself that all she had to do was win, and the risk would be worth it.

At the agreed time, she walked up to Vince, acting confident, and said "Vince, I heard you were talking a big game about your skills. I bet you can't beat me in a match of air hockey."

She noticed his friends fall silent as he feigned surprise, saying "What? You know I would wipe the floor with you! Tell you what - I'll play blindfolded so you have a fair chance."

"Cut the bullshit, Vince", said Dana, repeating her rehearsed lines. "Tell you what - I'm so confident that I can beat you, I'm willing to put up or shut up."

Vince replied with faked surprise, "Is that so? Well, what's the wager?" Dana noticed that their conversation had already drawn the attention of a few colleagues and some other people nearby. She steeled herself - this was it. Once she said it, there was no turning back.

"If I win - you step aside, and recommend my name for that promotion instead.", said Dana. She noticed a slightly shocked expression on some of the nearby people - well, they were about to hear something a lot more shocking.

"Now hold on," replied Vince. "that's a big ask. What could you possibly offer that would make me consider saying yes?"

"I'll put my own clothes on the line. You score a point - one thing I'm wearing is yours to keep. If you strip me, you win.", replied Dana. There, that was it. No turning back now.

"And when you're naked, that's it? You'll just run away and hide.", said Vince, practically overflowing with glee. Dana could see that he was very confident - he had her right where he wanted her.

"IF I lose - and it's a big if - I'll do one dare. Anything you say.", said Dana. She could hear the whispers among those nearby - the game would definitely have an audience. Before her mind could conjure thoughts about being on display, she shook herself. For the sake of her mission, she couldn't afford to lose this one.

Dana and Vince shook hands and took their places in front of the table.