The Bridge Club

This chapter lets the anticipation build ... leading to some action in Chapter 3. Pleasure deferred is pleasure intensified.

***********

I did something I had never done before. I let Massimo win.

I hammered my first serves into the net, and let him feast on my second serves. I played to his forehand, and set him up with some juicy lobs. He wiped the floor with me, 6-1, 6-0.

But that was all part of the plan.

It was Wednesday evening, three nights before the next bridge club. We had agreed to get together for tennis, but both of us had something else on our mind: the bet. I let him slaughter me on the tennis court, on purpose, to put him in the proper frame of mind. I wanted Massimo feeling invincible, with nothing but contempt for me.

- "So ..." he said. "You been thinking?" My plan was working. Massimo was passing up the opportunity to gloat, or to offer some patronizing tips.

- "Yes, I have." I said. "We would need to establish some rules."

- "Rules?" said Massimo. "There's no rules in love and war, Normie."

- "This isn't love, Mass. It's fucking. It's a fucking competition." Even here, I was playing him. I wanted Massimo thinking about sex, not romance. Besides, I already knew that he had no respect for rules or codes, as he showed when he tried to steal my prom date, Susie.

- "What kind of rules are you talking about?" he asked.

- "Well, you talked about 'banging' these girls ... I assume that doesn't mean a blowjob. You meant intercourse, right?"

- "Right." agreed Massimo.

- "And you weren't planning on using a date-rape drug, or getting them so wasted that they couldn't remember what happened - were you?"

- "No! Geez, Normie - what do you take me for?" Massimo managed to look offended.

- "Sorry - I had to ask. What about Beth?" I asked.

- "What about her?"

- "She's in a relationship, with Jake." I pointed out.

Massimo shrugged. He could care less about other people's relationships - including mine.

- "Whatever." he said. "But Jake is a dork. And the minute they break up, she's fair game."

I gave Massimo a long look. He would break them up if he could, and bang Beth before the dust had settled - if he could. I despised Massimo. But he could still surprise me, by sinking to new lows.

- "Alright." he continued. "What do we do about proof? I ain't doin' it with you hidin' in the closet, that's for sure."

- "I'm willing to take the girls' word for it. If necessary, I'll just ask them if they slept with you. If they admit it, that's good enough for me. But that brings up another point: no telling them about the bet. It stays a secret, until it's over."

Massimo nodded. "Ok. But when is it over? How long do I - we - have to do this?"

- "A year." I said.

- "A YEAR?" Massimo erupted. Heads turned at other tables as people looked over.

- "That's right." I said. "For one thing, you may be right about Jake and Beth. But we may need time for that relationship to end naturally, and for her to get over it. More important, you've had a head start, and a big advantage. I just met these girls, but you've known them for three months. And you work with them every day."

- "So?" Massimo tried to look innocent. And utterly failed.

- "So you've probably been working on the girls already. Hey!" I tried to act like a thought had just occurred to me. I pointed a finger at Massimo. "How do I know you haven't already slept with one of them?"

From the look on his face, I knew immediately that he had. Carmen, most likely.

- "New rule, then." I said. "Even if you've already slept with them, it doesn't count unless it's in the next year - starting tomorrow."

I could see his mind working. Massimo didn't seem too worried, so he was confident that he could repeat with that girl. That made me 95% sure that it was Carmen.

- "Alright." he finally agreed. "Is that it for the freakin' rules? What are you - some kind of lawyer?"

- "That's it - except for the stakes."

I gave Massimo time to consider that, while I produced a pen and wrote the rules down on a napkin.

Full vaginal intercourse

No breaking up the girl's relationship (if she is in one)

No revealing the secret

The girl must consent (no drugs / excessive alcohol)

The girl must admit it afterwards

Must take place in the next calendar year

(I included the date)

STAKES

: (and I left this space blank)

I handed Massimo the napkin. He had had several minutes to think about the bet. Now it was all about psychology. I was hunched over, leaning across the table, looking considerably smaller than him. I was wearing an old Celtics jersey, hoping that he might think of basketball, a sport where he had dominated me. As a final touch, the writing on the napkin was legible, but sloppy.

Massimo was studying me, a calculating look in his eyes. Was he reminiscing about high school, when I had not had much success with the ladies?

- "How much were you thinking?" he asked.

- "A thousand." I said, without hesitation.

Massimo didn't reply. Did I see a little disappointment there?

I spoke again. "Per girl."

- "A thousand each?" Massimo was attentive now.

- "If you sleep with all four, and I don't, I would owe you four grand." I explained. "If we both sleep with all four before the year is out, then it's a tie."

- "What if I get all four, but you only get three?" Massimo wanted to know.

- "Then I owe you four thousand. If you sleep with three, and I don't match that, then I would owe you three grand. And so on."

Massimo needed quite a bit more time to make up his mind. But in the end, he did what I expected - and hoped - he would do.

He thrust his hand at me, across the table.

- "You're on." he said, grinning.

*************

You might consider me crazy for coming up with this plan, especially given the fact that I had only met these girls once. Even old Edgar Allan Poe might have been questioning my sanity. But I knew Massimo, and I knew myself. He was expecting a slam dunk competition, but I was planning a contest of strategy.

In a sense, it was not unlike a hand of bridge. You have to lead your cards in the right order. I would try to win the bet. But my main goal - my only goal, actually - was to make sure that Massimo

did not win

.

I reviewed what I knew so far:

Beth - involved with Jake. Confident, outgoing, and a good card player. She had complimented me on my play and called me a "nice guy". I would have to see how she treated other guys, especially Massimo, to compare.

Carmen - aggressive, in cards, and with guys. There are no sure things, but she was pretty darn close. If it wasn't for the bet, I might have already called her. Who was I kidding? I would have called her. She might not be the kind of girl you bring home to meet your parents ... but you

definitely

bring her home when your parents

aren't

there.

Abigail - fresh, sporty, blonde. The girl-next-door. Not a confident player. Cautious, even hesitant. This girl would need some old-fashioned wooing.

Christina - the most intriguing of the bunch. A very good bridge player - smart and confident. Did that carry over to her personal life? I thought of that cute little up-turned nose, the beauty mark near the corner of her mouth, her smooth light-brown skin ... oops. I found myself hoping that Massimo would not succeed with Christina. These thoughts were not helping my strategy.

*************

It was Carmen's turn to host, on a Saturday night (we had drawn lots to decide the order). She lived in the same building as Beth, two floors up. I arrived ten minutes early, hoping for a moment alone with our hostess.

Unfortunately, Beth and Jake were already there, having a glass of wine. But I had no complaints about the greeting I received from Carmen. She put a hand on my shoulder, and leaned in close, to present both cheeks to be kissed, European-style. Carmen also made sure to press her massive breasts into my chest. That was no accident.

I greeted Beth and Jake, and then presented Carmen with a bottle of wine.

- "Chilean?" called Beth, from her spot on the sofa.

- "Sorry. French, this time." I replied.

- "Let me put that in the kitchen." said Carmen. "Shall I give you the quick tour?" It wasn't exactly a question, as she took me by the hand and led me there.

Her apartment wasn't very spacious, but she had good taste in furniture. The kitchen was somewhat spartan, and there were no signs that Carmen spent much time cooking. She put the bottle down on the counter.

- "I thought for sure you were going to call me." she said, softly. "Why didn't you?" She kept her voice down, so that Beth and Jake wouldn't hear much.

I followed her lead, keeping my voice low. "Carmen, I have two standard excuses: for the first week, I didn't want to appear too eager. And in the second week, we had a near-total meltdown at work. But if you will forgive me, I would really like to make it up to you."

- "Hmmm ..." she said, pretending to be unconvinced. But she was curious. "How, exactly?"

- "Dinner at the Chez Maurice?"

Her eyes widened. The Chez Maurice was a classy, expensive restaurant. It had a star in the Michelin Guide. Carmen couldn't hide her excitement.

- "When?"

- "Are you free next Friday?"

- "You can get a table for next week?" she asked. "I thought they were booked a month in advance."

- "It can be done." I told her. I did not tell Carmen that I had booked a table for two less than an hour after Massimo had agreed to the bet. I also didn't mention that it had cost me a pretty penny.

- "If you're trying to impress me," said Carmen, "it's working."

Beth called out from the living room. "What are you two talking about?"

- "Secret card signals." I answered.

Carmen continued the "tour" by showing me her balcony (which didn't have much of a view), and then the far side of the apartment.

- "Bathroom, if you need it later. And that's

my

room." she told me, indicating a door at the end of a short hall. She leaned in close again, pressing one of her huge tits against my arm. "Keep playing your cards right, mister, and you may get a closer look at it."

Her door buzzer sounded at just that moment. I moved back to the living room a bit awkwardly, trying to conceal the tell-tale bulge in my pants. I stood behind a high-backed chair to hide the evidence.

Darren had arrived. A few minutes later, Abigail and Massimo arrived together. She was blushing, and smiling nervously. The game was most definitely on. . I knew right away what Massimo had done.

He must have arrived early, and then waited in the parking lot until Abigail showed up. It would have been a simple matter to get to the door at exactly the same time she did. It would look like pure coincidence. Then he could ride the elevator alone with her, and start working on her before I had a chance.

I was not disappointed. It was exactly what I expected from Massimo. He would consider Carmen the "easiest"; he was saving her for later. Most probably, he had already slept with her, but without burning his bridges. He didn't expect a repeat to be too difficult.

Abigail would take some romancing. Of the four girls, I suspected that she was the shyest, the most traditional, and thus the least experienced. It was highly unlikely that she would "put out" on the first, or even the second date.

Massimo would woo her, score, and move on. I was no knight in shining armour, either; I meant to do exactly the same - with one key difference: I did not intend to dump her and immediately go after Carmen. That would probably break Abigail's heart. It may sound callous to be planning on doing the reverse, but ... I'm getting ahead of myself.

I noticed that Massimo did not get a "tour" of the apartment.

Christina was a bit late. "As usual" complained Carmen. When she did arrive, Christina was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, where everyone else was dressed more 'casual trendy'. Her hair was tied in a ponytail.

- "Sorry I'm late, everybody. I had to help my sister move."

We drew for partners, and got the game going.

Darren and I faced Carmen and Beth. Carmen was her usual aggressive self, but Beth had obviously played with her before, and knew how to get the most from her partner. I'll admit that I was a little distracted, as Carmen repeatedly adjusted the neckline of her top.

But Darren was a bit off as well. I wasn't the only one who noticed. Beth and I exchanged a glance after she noticed me looking at my partner. We lost to the girls quite handily. They were not above rubbing it in.

At the other table, Massimo had Christina for a partner, but he was paying far more attention to Abigail.

For the second match, I was back with Christina, this time against Carmen and ... Massimo.

Christina seemed pleased to have me as a partner. We understood each other quite well, and got decent cards from the very beginning. Carmen and Massimo, on the other hand, were a fiasco - at least, on this occasion.

Massimo couldn't help himself. He would check out Abigail, then wink at me. Then he would take a good look at his partner's admittedly awesome cleavage. Carmen certainly enjoyed male attention, but she liked winning at cards, too. Massimo was not helping much in that endeavour. Christina and I won easily. Too easily.

During the break, Carmen raised the subject of partners.

- "Are we going to do it randomly every time? Or should we set up a roster, so that everybody gets a chance to play with everyone else. For example, I've played against Norm three times out the past four - but never

with

him."

- "It would be fairest." agreed Christina.

- "Alright, alright." said Beth. "Jake and I will set it up for next time."

On the pretext of needing help pouring drinks, Carmen got me next to her in the kitchen. She whispered in my ear: "I almost said I wanted to 'play a rubber' with you." Then she 'accidentally' brushed against my ass.

Damn the woman! I had been semi-erect for most of the evening, but now I was painfully hard. I came back to the living room carrying drinks at groin level.

The third rubber was anti-climactic. I had Abigail for a partner, against Darren and Jake. She was all too aware of Massimo's attention, even from the next table. Abigail blushed prettily, but it didn't help her concentration any. It was probably a blessing that she didn't get many good cards, and only had to pass most of the time. Darren was still distracted, but he and Jake got by far the better cards, and they won handily.

I said my goodbyes soon after that. It was no part of my plan to be last to leave - because in that case I might not have left at all. Carmen saw me to the door.

- "You have to go so soon?" she asked. "It's Saturday night."

- "I know. But you still haven't told me if you're free next Friday." I told her. "Should I make that reservation?"

She smiled. Her eyes promised everything.

- "Oh, yes. You definitely should."