"Did Carrie reply yet?"
"No," I said, moping. "But John did, and he can't hang out. He's helping his parents move this weekend."
"Bummer," Adam said, flopping lazily onto his back, unlocking his phone as it buzzed.
"Oh, and looks like Greg and Dan have a soccer tournament."
"Man," I complained, tossing my phone to the side in a huff. "How is nobody free to go out on a Saturday night?"
Adam rolled over again onto his chest, tossing an arm over me and burying his face in my curls.
"Sorry, babe," he mumbled, giving me a sympathetic squeeze. "I know you were looking forward to going out. Maybe we could have a fun night in? Just you and me. We haven't done that in forever."
I turned my head to see his eyebrows raised and a goofy grin spreading across his face. I tried to hold my scowl, but cracked a smile and squirmed away when he started to tickle my sides.
"Fine, fine!" I laughed, shoving him off of me and grabbing at his wrists. I wrestled his hands over his head and flipped him on his back, swinging a leg up to straddle him. Adam was six foot and athletic, with toned shoulders and arms. He could overpower my petite frame with ease, but I knew he had a soft spot for play wrestling and loved watching me try to act tough. I held his wrists tight, smiling down at that infectious grin that had won my heart a million times.
I leaned down and brushed my lips lightly against Adam's. His eyes closed, and I could feel his smile lingering as we kissed. I pressed my body into him, letting my form melt into his. Releasing his wrists, I combed my fingers through his sandy hair as his hands traced my waist. I broke the kiss and lingered only a few inches from his face, staring deeply in to his radiant blue eyes through batting lashes. His breath caught as I ground my hips into his, and I leaned down to whisper seductively into his ear.
"I'll kick your ass in a game of ping pong."
Adam gripped my waist and locked eyes with me, his gaze intense and hot as molten lava. He pulled me down and brought his own lips to my ear.
"You're fucking on."
Then he unceremoniously tossed me off him and bounded into the hallway.
I launched myself from the bed, chasing after him in a mad race to the basement. I almost ate it running down the stairs and we came crashing into the rec room, nearly taking out the TV upon our arrival. Adam grabbed some ping pong balls from a basket and tossed me a paddle.
"Now babe," Adam drawled, rounding the table and bouncing the ping pong ball deftly on his paddle. "As I have declared many times before, your ass is absolutely stunning. It is immaculate. A national treasure. So prepare yourself. Tonight I will gift you the greatest wealth there is to be had. Because you are about to have your ass handed to you."
"Oh my god," I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief while Adam cackled in spite of himself. "Now I really have to kick your ass, that was terrible."
"I'll believe it when I see it," Adam challenged, with an eyebrow raised. He bounced the ball onto my side of the table. "Ladies first."
"Play to twenty-one, win by two," I said, squaring up with the ping pong ball in one hand and the paddle in the other. "May the best ass win."
"Dammit!"
"Ha!" Adam cheered, throwing his paddle on the table and dropping into some obscene victory dance. "You were so cocky after winning game one, but watch out! I'm back, boys!"
"Hrmf," I pouted, wrinkling my nose as he gyrated his hips disturbingly. "That last shot was lucky."
"Just admit defeat and all this can be over," Adam shrugged, snatching his paddle up and falling into a crouch. "Or I can make this quick and painless, you're choice."
I shuffled my feet and bounced the ball on the table.
"I don't know, babe. I might be burning out on ping pong."
"No way!" Adam accused. "Don't bail on me for the championship round. This is for all the cookies! Or should I say tookies?"
I glared at him.
"Come on," Adam encouraged, coming around the table to envelop me in a hug. I buried my face in his chest, breathing in the musk of his slightly damp shirt. He pulled back and looked at me with a smile that only said mischief. "I have an idea. What if we spice up this last game a little to mix it up? Keep it fresh."
"Like how?" I asked, doubtfully.
"Hmm..." Adam said, rubbing a hand over his stubble thoughtfully. "Loser takes shots?"
"We finished off the tequila last week for Cinco de Mayo," I reminded him. "And no way am I taking shots of vodka right now."
"What if we played with our non-dominant hands? Or blindfolded? Or without paddles?"
"Yes, let's make ping pong extremely difficult and not very fun. Sounds like a blast!"
Adam shoved me lightly and laughed.
"Hey, I'm trying my best!"
He stared at the ping pong table for a moment, eyes narrowed and hands resting on his hips. Suddenly he gasped and grabbed my shoulders.
"I've got it," Adam grinned.
"What now?" I asked, suspicious, smiling in spite of myself.
"Strip ping pong."
Adam raised his eyebrows, beaming at me expectantly as I burst into laughter. I wiped my eyes and shook my head at him, giggling. I regarded my sweet, handsome, goofball of a man for a second before letting out a long sigh.
"Okay."
Adam's eyes widened and he jumped in the air.
"Seriously?" he asked as I laughed, and he raced back to his side of the table. "This is so awesome. How should the rules work?"
"Every five points I score," I said, retrieving my paddle and a ball, "you remove an article of clothing. When you score five, I'll remove an article of clothing."
"Sounds fair," Adam agreed. "Although socks counts as one!"
"Okay, cowboy," I laughed, squaring up to serve. "Hope you're warmed up, because you're about to get real chilly."
And I let the ball fly.
Invigorated with the spicy challenge, I mustered up a second wind and took the first five points. Adam grumbled as he unbuttoned his plaid shirt and tossed it aside. Much to Adam's irritation, I was on a roll, and managed to hit ten points soon afterwards. He slipped his undershirt over his head with a flourish. He took the time to twist and stretch his torso for a moment, side eyeing me to confirm I saw his muscles ripple and flex.
"Thanks," Adam smirked, swinging his arms in wide circles and flexing a toned bicep.
"My range of motion has improved significantly."
I scoffed, but quickly ate my words when he hit his first five points. I couldn't help laughing at Adam's disappointment when I tossed my socks at him.
"Aw, come on," he complained, "show a little skin. I feel exposed!"
"Score some points," I winked.
A few minutes later, after many more shouts of victory and groans of defeat, Adam had lost his socks, and I was down to my black bra and blue lace underwear. Starting to feel competitive, as well as a little frisky, I made sure to pick up the wayward ping pong ball facing away from him, bending from the waist to give Adam a view. As I turned around, Adam's eyes snapped back up and pretended to be looking out the window.
"Don't get distracted," I scolded, waving a paddle at him.
"Oh, I have my eye on the prize," Adam crooned, popping an eyebrow at me. "I'm up 19 to 16, your serve."
Naturally, I hit it right off the back of the table. A wicked grin spread across Adam's face.