This follows on from the two previous stories but can be read as a separate story.
As my time at North Carolina was drawing to a close, I was focusing on my exams and I had Craig as my casual sex outlet, but I was still enjoying teasing Ollie around the house.
One day, we were having a conversation in our communal kitchen area. As always, Ollie tried to impose his superiority over me with his knowledge of politics - both British and American.
I snapped at Ollie, "You're not even that bright. You went to posh schools that your parents paid for and had to have extra tutors to help you pass your exams. You'd have been in the bottom sets if you'd been forced to go to my school without Mummy and Daddy's money to help you."
I immediately regretted saying it because I knew he wouldn't take it without further comment. There would inevitably be a follow-up and sniping from him.
And here it came:
"That's an interesting theory." he replied.
I didn't respond. I wanted the conversation to end.
"We should put a little wager on that theory of yours," he continued, "we can put it to the test and the winner gets a prize."
"Ok, whatever," I retorted.
"You're in then."
Not wanting to back down having come so far, I snapped, "Yes!"
"Are you sure, no shying away from the bet now Charlotte?"
"Tell me what it is then?"
"We sit exams here at North Carolina but in different subjects. But we'll both get a final score for the year as a percentage."
"And?"
"I bet you that I get a higher overall percentage score in Politics than you do in Biology."
"Ok, you're on," I replied, thinking nothing of it, an easy challenge. I knew I had worked a lot harder than he had this year and his bravado and superiority wouldn't actually translate to a higher score than me.
"Excellent," said Ollie, clasping his hands together in triumph.
"I wouldn't be getting so excited if I was you, you know I study harder than you."
"So, you're definitely taking this bet on?"
"Of course, I'm confident on this one."
"Shake on it?"
We shook hands to agree the bet.
I thought that was the end of the conversation.
Ollie piped up again, "$1,000."
"I can't afford $1,000 Ollie, my parents aren't part of the aristocracy. They don't have servants."
"But I thought you were super confident that you would win?"
"I am," I said as I thought I'd got myself into a bit of a situation here that I was struggling to back out of it, "but $1,000 Ollie, come on, I can't give you that much money."
"You don't have to then. Give me a blowjob if you lose. If you win, I give you $1,000. Cash."
"That's disgusting," I said, "I couldn't even imagine it," as I made a motion with my little finger barely poking inside my mouth before making a 'sick' motion.
"$1,500 to you if you win but if I win it's a blowjob and I choose your outfit."
I mulled it over, it was a lot of money, I was confident I would win but I really didn't want his penis in my mouth. If I was so sure, I had to say yes. I toyed with the idea but had to reply quickly.
"You're on," I said, "$1,500 dollars, but I don't want any forgeries or one dollar bills."
"Not to worry," Ollie replied, always determined to have the last word, "I don't want you to wear green, it'll be red, white and blue."
I went back to my room, I had an even greater incentive to study now.
As my time at North Carolina University was coming to an end, I struck a good balance between studying, exercising, having casual no-strings sex with Craig, my masseuse, and seeing friends.
Scott, who I'd kissed before Christmas and had declared his undying love for me via text messages, started going out with one of the girls in my house, Neeha. I got on well with Neeha, she was British Asian, a bit plump, short, but had fantastic blowjob lips and did her utmost to be nice to everyone she met.
I was pleased that Scott and Neeha were going out with each other because it meant I got to see a lot more of Scott, who I liked as a person and friend but wasn't sexually attracted to.
Ollie teased me about our bet but the evidence, right in front of my eyes, was that while I was studying, he was partying. $1,500 was a lot of money but the principle of proving him wrong was worth more than that.
Once our exams were over, we had a week until we were due to leave our accommodation. I was making the most of Craig and his massages that led to sex. I'd convinced myself that I wasn't cheating on my boyfriend Sam, who was working in the kitchens of a restaurant, because it was just for fun and he'd never find out. I'd told myself not to take things too seriously and that's how I was planning to finish my time in America.
I was lying naked in Craig's arms when I got the message through on my phone about my exam results. Because I was an international student, my papers must have been given priority marking. I was delighted with my results and averaged 80.4%. I'm not sure that Craig understood the significance of this but he told me has was pleased for me. He knew our time together was coming to an end and just enjoyed it for what it was - mutually beneficial sex.
I phoned Neeha, who had also had her results returned from her end of year exams and she too was delighted. I made plans to go out for dinner with her and Scott that night.
We were just about to have our main course served in a Mexican restaurant when I checked my phone.
I felt a sickness lurching down into the very pit of my stomach. It was as though my throat had closed over and I couldn't breathe. I felt as though I was going to be sick but I couldn't move.
I had been sent a picture from my housemate Ollie. It was a screenshot of his results confirmation slip from the university. He had scored 80.5%.
Underneath, he simply wrote, "I've shown you mine. I've heard about yours. Now it's time to pay up. My room at 10pm."
