You consider your options...

The cards float above the stage like a constellation waiting to be charted. Six new options. One future. You study each face as it turns, lit by that strange, seductive glow of the College Spread screen.

Melissa? Too safe. Too flat. Karen’s a punchline waiting to happen. Morgan’s useful, maybe, but not for the hand you're building. Isabella? A queen. Gorgeous. Dangerous. But locking her means starting over. And Nyx—God, she’s tempting. A Jenny with the voice of a philosopher and the eyes of a threat. But too risky. Too loud.

And then there’s her.

Kennedy Brooks. 7♣.

You don’t look away immediately.

She’s not the hottest girl in the room. But there’s something about the way she sits—cross-legged, book in hand, campus sunlight caught in her hair—that makes you feel like she doesn’t need to be. Her tagline is cute. Too cute, maybe. But you can’t deny the power behind her soft aesthetic. She’s the kind of girl who will dismantle you politely, and you’ll thank her for it.

But that’s not why you pick her.

You already have Kailani. 9♣. One of the sexiest girls in the deck and one of the hardest challenges you’ve ever cleared. Put her next to Kennedy, and now the cards start lining up. Two suited, two steps apart. No hand yet—but a direction. A possibility. You still need two more even if win her challenge to make anything real. But this? This is a line worth building on.

You tap the tablet, announce your choice. Kennedy’s card glows. Slides into your hand.

You exhale.

And then you hesitate.

Because you’re not done thinking.

You think about whether to reserve a card. There's only one that really tempts you. The 8♣, Cost: 80 Points. You won't even know what the girl looks like unless you announce the decision to reserve. And there's the cost to consider.

You’ve got 70 in the bank. Chloe’s BDSM challenge got you that. One of the best cards on the board, one of the toughest multipliers. You earned every bit of it.

But 8♣?

That’s the key. The spine of every possible straight flush you could build from here. 7–8–9 is the heart of the hand. You'd still need the other cards too, sure. But without that 8, none of them will matter. Lose it, and everything collapses. Secure it, and you've locked in control of the best possible play on the board—if you survive long enough to build it.

The cost is steep. 80 points. It would drop you to –10 instantly. Not last place—Tank’s still at –20—but close enough to smell it. It would **** your hand next week. You’d have to draw something good. Lock something in alongside Chloe. Put off building the hand you're working on for at least a week just to survive. Score, or be eliminated.

Your head is buzzing with the weight of the choice. Take the card and risk losing, leave it as is and probably survive... but risk losing any chance of the big score if someone outdraws you.

"Not yet," you whisper in the end. "One more week. One more draw. Then we bet the farm."

The 8♣ stays in the deck.

For now.