Accept the bet. You want in

There’s no hesitation in your mind. You snatch the phone out of Jack’s hand and sign off with a flourish.

“Oh, just you watch,” you say, smirking back at him. “By the time Burn Night’s over, they’ll be calling me the King-killer.”

“Damn,” Mal laughs, “he got you real good there.” You pass her back the phone, and she looks down at it with glee. “That’s it, boys! We’ve got a good ol’ fashioned bet on our hands. Spit and shake on it. May the best man win.”

The two of you spit into your palms and grip each other’s hands so tight that you see the veins bulging in Jack’s forearm. The bet is sealed. The game is on. You’re in the Jack-Off now.

The actual econ class is flashing by in a blur. Professor Ward got in after the bet was finalized, thankfully, but you can’t concentrate on the lecture. In the end, with the bet still outstanding, Mal decreed that neither of you would get to sit in the seat that launched this entire mess. So you and Jack sit at opposite ends of the room, glaring at each other. You’re not sure how much the rest of the class overheard, but the two of you were getting pretty heated, and you’d have to guess that word’s getting around.

Sure enough, a few minutes into class, you get a text from “The Soccer L A D S (no Jack)”:

Charlie: Yo yo yo is the grapevine right or drunk out of their heads?

Javier: Heard about it too, deets please!!

You quickly text back, confirming what they already suspected.

Jason: We got you, bro. You need a cockblocker, just say the word and we’ll be there.

You stifle a laugh, glancing at Jack. He’s busy on his phone too. He’s not going to know what’s hit him.

Then, a few minutes later, Griffin sends you a text.

{if Griffin > 0} Fuckin’ A man, just heard about it! We’ve got to talk. I know a couple girls who’d be happy to do the close-up tango, if you get my drift. Come find me.

You grin, thanking him. Good friends pull through. That’s what they’re there for. {endif}

{if Griffin < 1} Wow. Always knew you were a manwhore. Thx for confirming.

You roll your eyes. He’s way too sensitive. {endif}

Then, halfway through class, you get a text from Gina. You feel your heart beat faster as you open it up.

Meet me after class. I bet everything on you. We need to make this work.

You hurriedly text your agreement, trying hard not to think about what will happen if Jack wins. Shit. You need a plan, going into this meeting with Gina. You need to show her that you have a way that you can pull this off.

You open up a new entry in your Notes app. At the top, you write down

The Count {The Count}

It’s not yet at fifteen, and you know Jack’s passed that. But how many will you need to beat him? You don’t know, and there’s probably no way to know until the end of Burn Night. You’ll just have to get your number as high as possible, while denying him as many chances as you can.

Then, you begin listing all the girls that you’ve met up until this point, writing down a guestimate of your relationship with them, just a number that seems to make sense based on your interactions with them.

It takes you the better part of class, and by the time lecture’s over, you stare at the list, and then up at Jack, who’s gotten up from his seat. He shoots you his cocky smirk from across the room, and heads for the far exit. You ignore him and make your way to the near exit. You can hear whispers surrounding you as you do. You ignore them too.

Right outside the lecture hall, you see Gina. She’s waiting for you. She looks gorgeous as always, wearing a crop top with the Zeta letters and some very snug pants that highlight her ass, plus a light jacket on top. But there’s no time to admire.

“Walk and talk,” she says, shooting you one imperious glance before striding away from the lecture hall.

“You… you’re okay with this, right?” you say, jogging lightly to catch up with her. As much as the Jack-Off excites you, you don’t want to **** your sister into this, not unless she really wants to. “I can still tell Mal you want to back out. I could tell her that you didn’t fully know what you were getting into. I’m sure she’d still let me do that at this stage. She’s pretty reasonable…”

“I gave my word. I intend to keep it,” she says, continuing to move at a brisk pace. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“You sure?” you ask, wanting to make extra sure of it.

“You must win,” Gina says, and it’s the last that you hear from her for the next little while.

You walk abreast of her in silence, wondering where the two of you are going, until she comes to a rest at a secluded bench in the Nassau graveyard. Nobody else is around.

“Here’s the deal. I have strings that I can pull. Leona has ones that she can, too. Many of them happen to be the same people. Do you see why this might be a problem?”

Gina waits for your reaction. You slowly nod.

“I want to see Leona taken down, but I am not going to burn every asset that I’ve curated over the last four years on my little brother’s sexual misadventures,” Gina says. “Leona feels the same way. So we talked, and we came to an agreement. The two of us are hands off.”

“Ouch,” you say, putting a hand over your heart. “I was hoping I could count on my big sister to give me a leg up. After all, you’d be much more helpful than Leona would be for Jack. You basically own her, don’t you?”

“Neither of us will directly or indirectly get a woman on campus to sleep with you or Jack,” she says, ignoring your flattery. “We’re also not going to intervene to stop them from sleeping with you guys. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways that we can help. You are going to win this thing, after all.”

“Wait, what are we talking about here?” you ask. Your mind immediately jumped to a conclusion, the most direct way that Gina could help you increase your count, but…

“Information,” your sister says. She gives you a hard look, as if knowing what thought crossed your mind, and you keep a poker face, knowing that a slip here could ruin your chances of… of everything, at this point. “I know things about this campus. Which girls want you. Which ones don’t. I know what pushes these girls’ buttons, how to turn a ‘No’ into a ‘Maybe’ and a ‘Maybe’ into “Yes’. I know where the hot girls hide during Burn Night, so that they’re found only by the ones who want them to be found. I know the secrets that the faculty keep. I know how to make you a God on campus, Alex.”

You stare at her, awestruck. You… you might have the best big sister. Ever.

“Just like how you’re a Goddess on campus,” you say. “Fucking hell.”

Gina gives you a knowing smile.

“It’s not going to be a cakewalk. You can never let her know this, but Leona’s not far behind me,” she says. “And I think you’ve got some… potential… that Jack doesn’t have. But he’s got his strengths too. Watch out.”

{if Leona > 40} “So Leona’s on Jack’s side now,” you say, feeling slightly crestfallen, “I thought I had her.”

“She was never interested in you,” she says. “Don’t be naïve.”

“But still, the moments we shared…”

“Meaningless,” Gina says, shaking her head. “Check your phone.”

You do, and sure enough, there’s a text waiting from Leona.

Forget about anything that we’ve done. Jack is getting my full support. It was fun while it lasted. Good luck. You’ll need it.

You look up at Gina, realizing that her words to you in that Sweetgreen all those days ago were more true than you could have imagined. Leona really was just using you. And then, you look up at Gina, a dark thought crossing your mind. You have to ask.

“And you and Jack?” you ask her.

“What of us?” Gina asks, her lips twitching in amusement.

“You’re on my side? Fully?” you ask.

“I made that clear,” she says.

“But even… even before today?” you ask.

“I sent him a similar text,” she says. Your mouth opens, and she titters, shaking her head. “I never let him get as far as you did with her. But you know that all’s fair in love and war. It’s time for us to talk strategy.”

{else}

“So Leona’s on Jack’s side now,” you say. “Well and truly. No more chances with her. That kinda blows.”

“You never had a chance with her,” Gina says.

“I never tried,” you reply, and she laughs.

“All the same,” she says. “Now get serious. It’s time for us to talk strategy.”

{endif}

Mallory +10
Gina +10