"That's dumb. Tag along with us!"

"What?" I started.

"Yeah! I'm sure Rachel wouldn't mind if poor, sad, lonely Ian served as our third wheel. Prom's super dull anyway, and we've been dreading it. Having you along will add some variety. Just so long as you don't mind going home alone at the end of the night, or taking your chances on a hook-up at the dance. And, if you want help forgetting your real crush, I am one hell of a wingman."

"Is that right?"

She flashed a million-watt smile. Her chest swelled, straining the fabric against her nipples. I wanted nothing more than to close the space between us and feel her body on mine.

"Ian, have you forgotten who introduced you to all of us in the first place?"

"I haven't forgotten, Talia."

Her left arm caressed her thigh. With her right, she ran her fingers through the hair on the back of her head. "Tell you what. Let's make this interesting. I bet that I can get a girl you have never spoken to go back to your hotel room with you."

The hotel room! The spent deposit, the empty bed...suddenly, I had placed Talia in the bed in my mind, Rachel beside her, both blessedly naked...the rest of our group cheering as I entered, why not....

"What happens if you can't close the deal?"

"You get me, of course." She scrunched up her nose in an absurd grin. "Rachel and I haven't stopped talking about our afternoon together. Besides, prom will be dead boring without something on the line. If I fail, you can join Rachel and me in our room. She said that it's OK for me to very, very occasionally have sex with men, so long as she is nearby, and that the man is you."

My pants were getting very tight. This will be the **** of me. The dryness in my throat caught my next words. She was enjoying this, the game she was playing. "Who did you have in mind?"

"Hmm...I have the perfect candidates. Do you know our foreign exchange students for this year?"

I vaguely recalled some talk about all three exchange students being female this year. I had more than enough on my plate this past year, so didn't take much interest.

"I know of them."

"Well, there are three of them, and they happen to all be beautiful, interesting ladies."

"Talia, is there anyone you don't know?"

She smiled again, at that.

"Our soon-to-be alma mater is currently hosting ambassadors of three mighty nations. France, Norway, and Japan. All you have to do," she leaned in, close enough that I caught a warm whiff of her shampoo, "is pick."

I leaned in to meet her. "You sound mighty confident."

"You have no idea."