I felt a bit awkward, on my way over to the girls' apartment. It had occurred to me that I would be in a room full of women who all knew that Kasia had used me as a sex toy. Technically, I wasn't a cuckold, but the distinction wasn't that great. On the other hand, Trisha and Jazz had known all of it, but had still chosen to invite me over. Maybe I was the only one who saw it as odd.
Trisha, Angie and Vee were already there; Jazz and Lucy arrived shortly after I did. They were all acting very naturally, so that I began to feel more comfortable. We talked about school a bit, essays and upcoming exams - until Jazz got bored.
- "What are we playing?" she wanted to know.
- "I thought that we could introduce you and Lucy to Castle Algaron, since you missed it, the first time we played it. Then, if you guys want, we could replay Hot Air Racer, since Angie and Trisha missed that one when they were away. The only one who has played both is Vee - if that's alright with her."
- "Fine with me." she said. "They're both fun."
- "It'll also help me figure out who likes what - so that I can choose games that the majority will like."
- "I like killing stuff and kicking these girls' asses." said Jazz.
- "The cooperative ones are fun." said Angie. "Like the castle one. But I don't mind competing, either."
- "Aren't you making a game?" asked Trisha. "From scratch?"
- "Really?" said Jazz, one eyebrow shooting up.
- "That's so cool." said Vee. "Can we try it - when it's finished?"
- "I'm designing it specifically with you guys in mind." I admitted. Well, for Kasia, originally. But I was curious to see if it would work with these girls.
We had a fun night. Jazz didn't complain about the cooperative aspects of Castle Algaron, because she got to 'kill lots of stuff'. In fact, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that being on the same side as the others didn't diminish her enjoyment one bit. Lucy didn't say much during the game - she just peeked at me from underneath all that red hair. But at the end she gave it a smile and a thumbs up.
I had acted as a sort of master of ceremonies through the first game, but in the second, it was every man - or girl - for themselves. That allowed me to observe each girl as she took her turn.
It was hard not to stare at Jazz. She was so exotic-looking, so unusual. Her unruly, un-brushed black hair, her dark brown eyes and that prominent nose all riveted my attention. She caught me looking once, and simply stared right back. There was a challenge in her eyes, and in her posture and body language. Everything about this girl seemed to shout 'What are
you
looking at?'.
Trisha - I had to resist the urge to think of her as Patricia - was a pretty, vivacious girl, trapped in a large girl's body. She also had incredibly large ears. I could only imagine the teasing she must have endured in grade school. Yet she remained kind, and pleasant. She was easily the most attentive and empathetic to other people's needs.
Lucy was just a mystery. She didn't seem shy, or lacking in confidence. She simply didn't say much. Maybe she was unconsciously following her friend Jazz's lead, but Lucy also looked as if she didn't own a hair brush. And I still couldn't get used to her unusual posture: she always seemed to have her chin tucked in, her head tilted forward, so that she looked up at people through a curtain of red hair.
Angie looked different, for some reason. She had her hair braided, instead of in a bun, which made her appear younger. She had big brown eyes, an over-large nose, and rather thick lips - but I had seen all of those features before. Maybe it was the transition from winter wardrobe to spring clothing; she didn't look so much like an elderly librarian. Now I could see the curves of her body, and they were quite impressive. In fact, if I had to guess, I would have said that Angie was stacked.
Vee still looked like the typical girl next door. Her hair was that in-between shade, neither blonde nor brown. It was fairly straight, lacking anything in the way of body, or curl. Her face was cute, but where Kasia made me think of a pixie, or a fairy, Vee reminded me of a hobbit. She had that 'little sister' vibe, and what little I knew of her financial situation (difficult) and her home situation (less than ideal) made me want to protect her.
Vee's wardrobe had also changed with the season. For the first time, I realized that she was not chunky at all. Her waist may not have been narrow, but she wasn't fat, by any means. She had only looked that way, previously, because of the excessively loose and bulky clothing she wore.
On my way back from the fridge with a beer, Trisha asked me a question about a card she had drawn. I answered her, then stood behind her chair as Angie finished her turn. That's when I realized that, from this position, I was ideally placed to do a little surreptitious cleavage inspection.
Neither Patricia nor Lucy were showing any. Jazz wasn't shy at all, but she wasn't wearing a push-up bra. In fact, she might not have been wearing a bra at all. Angie only had two buttons on her shirt undone, but even so ... mamma mia. She
was
stacked. The biggest surprise of all, though, was that I couldn't see Vee's stomach from this angle. She had a sizeable chest which was blocking my view.
I returned to my seat before I got caught perving. But I was quite pleased with my new discoveries. Then I thought of Kasia's pencil eraser nipples, and spoiled my own mood.
Hot Air Racer was a big hit with both Trisha and Angie. They liked the concept and the artwork. Jazz was on her way to victory, but the roommates colluded to bring her down. The eventual winner was a surprise to everyone: it was Vee.
- "Wow." she said. "I usually don't win these kinds of things."
- "Maybe your luck is changing." said Jazz. Just by the way she said it, I got the feeling that there were undercurrents here, things that were common knowledge to some or all of them, but completely unknown to me.
I was in no hurry to leave, since I wasn't walking Kasia home. So I accepted the offer of another beer, and listened to the girls talk. There was a little more buzz about school, but mostly they discussed the games we had just played - exactly as my buddies would have done. I felt right at home.
- "When do we play next?" asked Angie. "Two weeks?"
- "I won't be able to make it." said Vee, quietly.
- "That's too bad." I said.
- "How many players do you need?" asked Trisha.
- "For the game I have in mind, it doesn't matter. But the more players, the better your chances of survival. Five or six would be ideal."
- "I can invite someone else." said Jazz. "If that's OK with everyone else."
- "Who? Sin?" asked Trisha.
- "Did you say 'survival'?" Angie asked me.
- "Yes, I did. In this game, you play as a team, but you are being hunted." I said.
- "Who's hunting us?" asked Trisha. "Or is it 'what'?"
I grinned at her. "Zombies."
******************************
The old movie posters in Angie and Trisha's apartment were my first clue. Then, the fact that Jazz and Lucy looked like ex-goths. Jazz had said she wanted to kill stuff. That all added up to zombies. Plus it would be a cooperative game, and most of the girls seemed to enjoy those.
I had heard Trisha say 'Sin'. The new girl's name was, in fact, Cynthia - or 'Cyn', for short. She was considerably taller than the others, at 5'9" or maybe 5'10". She was slender, and reasonably attractive, if somewhat odd. For one thing, she wore her auburn hair long in the back, but shaved the sides of her head. She had on a baseball cap, but also lipstick and lots of eye makeup.
- "So you're Dean?" she said, giving me the once-over. "Cool. I'm Cyn." It was probably just my imagination, but they way she said it made me think of the other spelling. Sin.
Zombiepocalypse is a team game, where the players are stock characters from all of those old 'B' movies: the schoolteacher, the town sheriff, the cheerleader, the janitor. Each one has a special ability. Their town is overrun by zombies, the communication net has disappeared, and everyone else is dead. They must cross the center of town, picking up much-needed weapons, supplies and equipment, and then they must fight their way across the bridge to get out of town. By that point, of course, it will be swarming with zombies.
The first four players whose characters are killed by zombies get to pull another character from the reserve deck. After those are used up, anyone who 'dies' is eliminated. It's another great game for new players, because your teammates can help you out with suggestions and advice. Also, there's a slight advantage for those who have watched zombie movies. That, as it turned out, was everyone except Jazz.
- "You've never watched 'The Walking Dead'?" asked Trisha, incredulous.
- "You've never seen a zombie movie? Not even one?" said Angie, equally shocked.
- "I had better things to do." said Jazz, with a shrug.
- "Knitting sweaters? Or making those little tea cozy things?" asked Cyn.
We started off great. Angie found some medical supplies, and then a shotgun. Trisha found an axe. They gave the shotgun to Cyn, who was playing the farmer, and the axe to Jazz, who was playing the gym teacher. The medical supplies went to me. Yeah, I was playing the school nurse. My character card featured a photo of a vacuous blonde with huge tits, and an apparent shortage of buttons on her nurse's uniform. Did I get razzed about it? A little.
- "Nice tits there, Dean." said Jazz.
