a lot of flirting

Dinner starts off calm enough. The steaks are perfect, the vegetables roasted just right, and for a moment I think maybe—just maybe—the chaos from earlier is behind us.

Then Leilani pushes her pouty lips forward that dramatic, exaggerated little pout she uses whenever she’s about to start trouble. “So,” she says, slicing into her steak, “John thinks he’s competitive.”

I look up. “I never said ...”

Jasmyn cuts me off with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, please. You walk around like you’re the strongest one here.”

Leilani snorts. “Yeah. Big, tough ranch man. Terrifying.”

I blink. “I literally caught you when you almost fell.”

Jasmyn leans back, pretending to flex her arm. “And yet here we are, two weak little girls who apparently outsmarted you all day.”

Leilani gasps dramatically, “Outsmarted? Jasmyn, don’t say that. His brain can only handle so much.”

Jasmyn nods solemnly, “True. We should speak slowly. Use small words.”

I stare at them, “You two are unbelievable.”

They exchange a look, that silent, conspiratorial one, and then grin at me like they rehearsed it.

Leilani taps her fork. “John, sweetie, we’re just helping you accept reality.”

“What reality?”

Jasmyn gestures between them, “That you’re not as strong as you think…”

Leilani finishes, “…and definitely not as wise as you pretend.”

Every time I try to defend myself, they hit me with another jab. Jasmyn says, “Aw, look at him. He’s trying to think.”

Leilani responds, “Don’t strain yourself, cowboy.”

Jasmyn says, “He’s going to pull a muscle.”

Leilani says, “Again.”

I put my fork down. “You two are teaming up.”

They shrug in perfect unison, and say “Obviously.”

Dinner becomes a rhythm of teasing, shared glances, and inside jokes I’m not fully part of. It’s infuriating. It’s also… fun.

When we finish eating, I stand to clear plates — and that’s when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

Jasmyn has scooted her chair next to me , closer than she’s been all night, her touch warm and steady. She moves behind me, she rubs my shoulder once, slow, like she’s smoothing out tension she helped create. As she is rubbing my shoulder, I can feel her breathing against my ears and then I catch her perfume. It is expensive. subtle, clean, Something floral layered over something darker. The kind of scent that doesn’t shout, it lingers.

She leans in close, her voice slipping into that soft California lilt she uses when she’s being sincere. “Thanks,” she murmurs. “For… everything today.

I swallow. “You don’t have to thank me.”

She gives a small, almost shy smile. “I know. But I want to.”

Before I can respond, Leilani appears behind her like a mischievous shadow. Her voice slips into that warm, island‑soft lilt she uses whenever she’s about to stir trouble. “Well, well,” she says. “Look at you two bonding.”

Jasmyn steps back, cheeks warm, but moves her petite hands on his chest and move up my shoulder one last squeeze before letting go.

Leilani plants her hands on her hips, eyes sparkling with trouble. “Alright, cowboy,” she says. “Since you’re feeling all warm and appreciated…”

Jasmyn groans. “Leilani, don’t.”

Leilani ignores her completely. “…I think it’s time we settle something.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Settle what?”

She smirks. “Your so‑called competitive streak.”

Jasmyn mutters, “Here we go.”

Leilani points toward the game room. “Billiards. My rules. My table. My game.”

I blink. “Your rules?”

She grins wider. “Yep. And they’re very… naughty.”

Jasmyn drops her face into her hands. “He’s doomed.”

Leilani winks at me. “You in, cowboy?”

And just like that, the night shifts again, from teasing, to tension, to whatever chaos Leilani is about to unleash.

Leilani points toward the game room like she’s unveiling a grand destiny. “Billiards. My rules. My table. My game. You in, babe?”

I don’t answer right away, Because suddenly… everything clicks. All those shared glances, the way they kept teaming up, the way Jasmyn rubbed my shoulder like she was quietly easing me into place, and the way Leilani kept smirking like she already knew exactly how the night would end — it finally hits me that they weren’t just roasting me, they were flirting, with each other and with me, all of it at my expense, and now they expect me to walk willingly into a pool game like I don’t see the trap closing, absolutely not.

I raise both hands and say, “I’m out,” and Leilani blinks at me like she can’t believe it as she asks, “Out?” while Jasmyn steps in close, shoulder brushing mine, tilting her head with that soft, amused almost‑innocent look as she says, “Aww, John… you’re not afraid of two weak‑willed girls, are you?”

I try to defend myself and tell them, “I’m not afraid. I just know when I’m being set up,” but they exchange that silent, wicked, conspiratorial look that tells me exactly how outmaneuvered I am and how much they’re enjoying it.

Leilani grins, eyes sparkling, and says, “Come on, cowboy. One little game,” and when I refuse with a simple “No,” she tries again with, “Just one,” and I repeat, “No,” which only makes her lean in with that warm, island‑soft lilt as she asks, “You scared?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitation, “terrified,” and Jasmyn laughs so hard she wipes a tear as she says, “This is the smartest thing he’s said all night.”

Leilani throws her hands up dramatically and says, “Fine. No pool,” but the look she trades with Jasmyn says the opposite — a quiet, electric agreement that they’re already plotting something else.

And standing there between them, feeling both of their eyes on me, I know without a doubt that I’m still completely trapped… and they’re having the time of their lives watching me realize it.

Leilani circles behind me so quietly I don’t notice until I feel her presence at my back, light and warm, like she’s studying me the way a surfer studies a wave she’s about to ride. She rests her hands lightly on my shoulders, not holding me, just reminding me she’s there, and says in that soft island‑lilt she uses when she’s about to start trouble, “Maybe a wager would excite you.”

I turn slightly, but she’s already looking past me, straight at Jasmyn.

Jasmyn raises an eyebrow, that slow, knowing smile spreading across her face as if she’s already agreed to whatever Leilani hasn’t said yet.

And just like that, I know I’m in even deeper trouble than before.

Leilani stays close at my side, her voice warm and teasing as she says, “Maybe a wager would excite you,” and before I can even process that, she glances at Jasmyn — a quick, silent cue — and Jasmyn steps in front of me like she’s sealing off my escape route.

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Jasmyn says, tapping her chin with exaggerated thoughtfulness. “What could we bet?”

Leilani hums, eyes flicking to Jasmyn again. “Well… whatever he bets,” she says, “ours should be higher.”

Jasmyn’s smile sharpens instantly. “Much higher.”

I blink. “Higher? Why?” They both look at me like I’ve just asked why water is wet.

Leilani tilts her head, giving me that soft, wicked smile. “Because you’re a nice guy.”

“And nice guys,” Jasmyn adds, stepping closer, “shouldn’t finish last.”

Leilani leans in, her voice dropping into that warm island‑soft lilt. “And we… are very, very bad girls.”

Jasmyn laughs under her breath. “The kind who raise the stakes just to watch you panic.”

They’re not even pretending anymore, they’re openly escalating, openly teaming up, openly daring each other to push the wager into territory I’m not ready for.

Leilani brushes her fingers lightly along my arm. “So the real question isn’t what you want to bet…”

Jasmyn finishes it for her, eyes locked on mine. “It’s whether you can handle what we will.”

I exhale, already defeated. “Fine,” I say. “Yes. I’m in.”

Leilani grins like she just won something.

Jasmyn beams like she knew I’d fold from the start.

And neither of them tells me the wager.

Only that whatever I imagine…

theirs will be higher.

And they’re thrilled about it.