Choose 4

Trevor was pretty much at his wits end. Sure, he'd planned this night out with his friends weeks in advance, the stress of his job and everything else that was going on had necessitated it. But that didn't mean that he was any readier to have a night with them than he was to just relax at home with a beer in his hand. Actually at this point, fuck the beer and give me a scotch, Trevor thought as he trudged upstairs to his apartment. He knew he should go out with his friends like he had promised, but all those weeks ago it had seemed like a good idea, now he just wanted to curl up and rest through the weekend.

He finally made it up the eternity of stairs, yep eternity, all 12 of them, he thought as he brought his key out of his pocket and put it into the lock. Whether it was his exhaustion at the week or just something simple he overlooked, Trevor didn't notice that the door was already unlocked before he even turned his key in the lock.

"SURPRISE!"

Trevor yelped in shock, nearly dropping his laptop and backpack to the floor. Standing inside his apartment were his three best friends whom he had made plans with for this weekend. His wits finally returning to him, he stepped inside and the door swung shut behind him, "What the hell are you guys doing here? I thought we were meeting at the Castle?"

"Oh come on, we all know that you weren't going to come if we didn't drag you there." said a petite red head. Allison, or Alli as she liked to be called since she hated saying someone's full name, was everything her red hair stereotyped. She was wild, impulsive, pale skinned and petite with a reputation for being one of the loudest in the room. Normally it was because she was never at a loss of things to say, and most of the time she spoke her mind, which Trevor would have found annoying, except, like right now, she's always right. To Trevor that would have made having her as a girlfriend pretty much impossible, but for some reason the man standing next to her handled her wildness with ease.

"Look, drag is probably a strong word," the man standing behind Alli said placing a hand on her shoulder. "Although I will admit Alli here was ready to pull some Mission Impossible stunt on you and abduct you from the hallway."

"Ssshhh you weren't supposed to tell him Steve." Alli said elbowing the man in his ribs lightly. "Now he'll be expecting it and I'll have arranged for that blindfold and delivery service for nothing."

"Please tell me she's joking." Trevor said to the final person sitting on his couch a large smile on her face.

"The words black masks and gasoline were thrown about in the car on the way here," the blonde said with a smile, "but Steve and I convinced Alli that it would really put a damper on the weekend if we were arrested because someone saw us."

"Well, if some of us were more athletic we could have pulled it off." Alli said gesturing to the girl on the couch.

"You're just jealous Jill has more curves than you," Trevor said with a smile. Knowing he hit on a weak spot. He watched with satisfaction as the timeless joke was picked up by both Steve and Jill; Jill for her part grabbing her boobs and bouncing her handfuls of flesh up and down in her shirt, while Steve just stared and let his jaw go slack with a single syllable word escaping his lips.

"Booooooooobs."

At that Alli turned and punched Steve right in the gut. Trevor could never be sure how hard she swung because Steve never flinched in all the times the joke played out. Trevor couldn't be sure if it was because of the muscles he hid underneath his baggy clothes from his MMA training routine, or if it was because Alli really didn't mean to hurt him. Either way the four of the friends' faces broke down in laughter at the old joke. It really is good to see them again, Trevor found himself thinking as he set his bags down on the table next to the door, maybe I did need this.

"So ready to go?" Jill asked standing and walking over to the kitchen counter where her keys lay. The click of her high heels on the hard wood floor echoing in the silence as she awaited Trevor's answer.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice do I?" Trevor said turning to Alli and Steve, "Wouldn't want to waste those black ski masks you got right?"

"Look man you know we were just kidding around." Steve said before Alli could respond. "We can all see how bushed you are, and I know just as much as you how much they're riding you at work." His tone changed so that it sounded like he was pleading a little, "but given what happened between you and Helen...look we just want to give you something else to do than let your mind wander."

"We've all been there," Jill said from her spot at the counter, "It sucks when the woman of your dreams walks out on you. I've been there-"

"At least yours didn't walk out for another man though." Trevor said, and then immediately regretted it. He remembered just last year doing a very similar thing to what they were doing for him, only it was Jill's apartment they were raiding. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like-"

"Look it's alright," Jill said rolling her eyes, not letting the insult even reach her. "One of the downsides to being bi; but now, we're here for you."

"So you're coming." Alli said hands on her hips. It sounded more like a statement than a question and had a feeling of finality to it.

And with a sigh, Trevor knew that it was. "Alright, let me change first." And almost as an afterthought as he retreated into his room amidst the smiling faces, "And please tell me someone brought scotch."

***

"So what game did you guys bring with you tonight?" Trevor said as they arrived at "The Castle" as they called it. In reality it was a large studio apartment with a massive lofted ceiling. The studio had a narrow spiral staircase that went up to the sixteen foot vaulted ceiling and ran along a raised platform that encircled the apartment about six feet from the ceiling. It had the illusion of a fishbowl, and when the group often had parties in "The Castle" with many of their friends it was a running joke that only the privileged were allowed on the upper floor while those less worthy had to stay on the main floor. What actually happened was those who wanted to keep on playing drinking games stayed on the main floor, while others looking for some peace and quiet retired to the lofted area.

Regardless, the area was empty now, and even the wall sized windows facing the setting sun shed little light into the place. With a flick of a switch by the door, Steve lit the area and set the keys down on the counter near the bar they kept stocked for such an occasion. There was only one set of keys, and they rotated the keys around to each person if they had need of "The Castle" for anything. It was no questions asked, because they were all friends and usually merited an invitation to whatever was happening anyways.

"Still want that scotch?" Steve asked from the kitchen as he grabbed glasses from the cabinet.

"Sure, but someone going to answer my question?" Trevor asked looking back towards his friends.

"How about we get a couple drinks in us first," Steve said from the kitchen.

From his tone, Trevor could tell this was going to be one of those nights. Like the first time they had gotten together and he had been introduced to Cards Against Humanity. Never before had Trevor thought his friends had some weird senses of humor than that night. And yet, I felt right at home with that kind of weird, Trevor thought to himself as he walked towards where Steve had finished pouring his scotch and was getting the girls their drinks. Only I would be lucky enough to have three friends as weird as I am.

Trevor had always known that Steve was into the same sorts of things he was. It was hard for someone to hide their internet history when they shared a room with someone else for four years in college. Although they had never outwardly spoken about it, Trevor knew his old friend had similar tastes and fetishes, and more importantly than Steve having similar interests was the fact Jill and Alli had ones just as kinky.

Although the four friends knew that their various fantasies were just that, fantasies, it had always amused Trevor that given the opportunity to act out on those fantasies he wasn't sure whether he would be able to or not. He had wondered about his companions too, but at the end of the day he was sure of one thing only, fantasies are things that can only exist on the internet...and probably Japan, he chuckled to himself.

"What'cha laughing at Trevor?" Alli asked as she grabbed her screwdriver from the counter and nearly downed it in one go. "You still wanna know what we're playing tonight?"

"I did ask didn't I?"

"Well I'm not one to spoil surprises before you're good and drunk," Alli said, sticking out her tongue in the process. "Especially since Jill picked it out."

"Geez," Jill sputtered through her drink, which had just recently been removed from her lips. After a short coughing spell from the carbonation of her rum and coke trying to travel up her nose the blush returned to her cheeks. "I was just walking through the mall today and saw it in a toy shop window. Don't know why I got it, but something told me it was just the game for tonight."

"Okay so what are we playing Chutes and Ladders?" Trevor asked with a laugh. "Or is it something more complicated like Candy Land?"

"Not that kind of toy shop," Jill said in a huff. Her face, however, got just a bit redder, "An adult toy shop."

"Oh you didn't tell us that!" Alli said with an impish grin.

"Well, I was just...you know..." Jill's voice trailed off a little as she saw everyone staring at her waiting for her to finish. "Girl's got needs!" She shouted to everyone's laughter.

"We understand Jill," Trevor said walking over and putting his arm around her shoulders. She was just the right height for his arm to drape easily around her since she was only a few inches shorter than he was at just shy of six feet. "Or at least Alli does. Steve and I can sympathize though."

"Very funny," Jill said pushing Trevor in the ribs playfully. She looked around for a bit before ruffling her brow. "I don't see it here; I must have left it in the car. I'll be right back."

***

Jill hadn't been gone long before she was back again with a bag that Trevor assumed carried the game in question. When prodded though she just set the bag down on the table and the changed the topic onto something else. That something else was Helen, and Trevor found solace in recounting all the things she had done to ruin their relationship.

"I mean who says, 'I was curious what it was like to sleep with him so I did. I didn't think you would be mad.'" I spouted off after about a half an hour of drinking and recounting to my friends who for their part listened with the attentiveness that close friends always do. "Sorry guys, you've heard it all before, I hate to keep repeating myself."

"Don't be sorry, man." Steve said from his folding chair on the opposite end of the table. "This is the first time we've all been together to hear the whole thing. Unfiltered, I might add." He said with a grin.

He knows better than anyone how much I internalize, Trevor thought as he returned the smile. "Really though, thanks guys. You're the best friends anyone could ask for." Taking another sip of his third, or is this my fourth-ah fuck it, drink he looked back over them all and said, "Although you could have told me sooner she had commitment problems."

"Like you would have listened to us?" Alli said, her chair backwards to the rest of the group, her legs straddling it as she leaned over the back. "Please we could have told you she was the anti-Christ and you wouldn't have believed us."

"It's just who you are Trevor," Jill chimed in. "You fall in love so deeply it's hard to see all the imperfections."

"Ya, and trust us the signs were there," Alli said rolling her eyes, "Believe me, they were there."

"You did the right thing leaving her," Steve said. "She was toxic and I'm not saying that just because I'm your friend. I'm saying it because it's true."

Trevor looked at his friends and saw them all nodding in agreement. Of course he had talked to each of them individually about his break up with Helen, but this was the first time they had been able to get together since it happened. It felt good to feel vindicated in his decision, but now it was time to end the pity party. "Alright you ready to play this game or what?"

"I guess we're all liquored up enough to have a good buzz going." Jill said with a shrug before standing up from her chair to grab the bag from the counter. Trevor, Steve, and Alli were all sitting around the gaming table that Steve and Trevor had purchased in college which they had centered in the middle of the room. It was made of solid wood, and yet was collapsible to the point where each piece could easily be carried around meaning the two hadn't needed to leave it set up all the time. This left the top surface looking relatively new, and that was something both Trevor and Steve had taken pride in.

"Alright so you guys ready to play?"

"C'mon Jill, quit keeping us in suspense already you big tease." Alli said from her chair as Jill approached with the bag.

"I consider that a compliment, thank you," Jill said with a wink before reaching into the bag to withdraw a wooden box. "The man at the store said that it was best played with friends who had some low inhibitions and kinky personalities." Jill looked around the table, "And I just happen to have three friends who fit that description perfectly."

She set the box down on the table letting Trevor and the others get a good look at the box cover. In big bold letters the top of the wooden box had a single word "CHOOSE!" spelled out across its face, with smaller text beneath and to the right, "From the Makers of Arguments & Alterations."

"Anyone heard of Arguments & Alterations?" Steve asked looking around.

"Nope."

"Same."

"I hadn't either," Jill said completing the loop, "but the man at the shop said that it was a fantastically popular card and board game that came out a couple years ago."

"Huh, never heard of it." Trevor said with a shrug. "Guess if it comes highly recommended then let's play-"

Trevor had his hand hovering over the cover of the box ready to remove the lid when the box started to shake. Retrieving his hand in a hurry Trevor watched as the sides of the box popped open and the top seemed to drop onto the bottom of the box. As the sides of the box folded out and attached themselves to the sides of the top square, smaller squares folded out from beneath each of the sides making a perfect square that included the top and sides. Trevor couldn't believe what he was seeing, as lines suddenly appeared laying out in some sort of grid in a pattern he could have sworn he'd seen before. In seconds though, the game board lay there unmoving, as cards appeared in two draw piles and game pieces that looked like people seemed to materialize out of thin air, a pen and a booklet rose out of the empty space in the middle of the game board.

"What the fuck was that?" Steve said looking around at everyone else.

"I have no idea what you did Trevor but that is the coolest game deployment I've ever seen." Alli said chuckling a little.

"I didn't really do anything," Trevor said still a little stunned, "I don't even think I touched it."

"Well looks like it's set up whatever you did," Jill said taking her seat again. Eyeing the game, she reached for the booklet in the center and pen. "Might as well read the instructions," she said before opening them and reading aloud.

"Choose! thanks you for your purchase and hopes that you enjoy the fun and magical time ahead of you. From the makers of Arguments & Alterations, Choose! allows you the players to do just that, CHOOSE!

The game is designed for 2-4 players and is best enjoyed by likeminded individuals looking for some fantastic fun.

Getting started is easy. Players will notice that each colored area has a START and a SAFE zone. Each player takes a turn with the pen provided to write their name on each START and SAFE zone for a respective color. If using the automatic game deployment method each of the game pieces should be appropriately placed by color, one in the START area, the other directly in the space in front of it.

(If not using the automatic game deployment method, please place the appropriate pieces in those locations.)

(If playing with only two people or looking for a longer game use the extra pieces provided for each color and place them in the START zone.)

Once the pieces have been placed and names have been written (the ink is easily removable in water), the turn order is decided by the youngest person in the room going first and proceeding to the person on their left. Each player will draw 1 (one) MOVE card per turn and do as the card instructs. The goal of each player is to end with both of their pieces in the SAFE zone. If a player cannot perform the action listed on the MOVE card, that player forfeits their turn.

In order to enter the SAFE zone, each player must have at least 5 (five) TRANSFORMATION cards in front of them. These cards can be gathered through instructions on MOVE cards (listed below) or can be taken by any player's piece that lands on the same space a piece is already occupying. The piece that was occupying the space is returned to the space directly in front of their respective START location.

Once a player has placed a piece into the SAFE zone the player must then discard all TRANSFORMATION cards associated with that piece. Once done, the player can then move out with their subsequent pieces and begin anew.

Good luck and enjoy Choose!"

"So it's basically SORRY." Alli said looking over at Jill as she finished reading.

"Basically," Jill said holding up the picture of the MOVE cards for everyone to see. They had similar numbers to that of the classic board game, but some new ones involving the TRANSFORMATION cards. "Guess we should all pick a color and write our names in."

"Wait, do they have a list of what the transformation cards are?" Steve asked.

"No," Jill said showing him that the MOVE card page was the last one in the booklet.

"Guess we'll find out when we start playing," Trevor said as he finished writing his name on the blue START space. "And unless something changed when I wasn't paying attention I think I'm the youngest one here."

"Dammit that means I'm going last." Alli said with a huff finishing writing her name on the orange START space.

Steve and Jill had already written their names on the green and red START spaces respectively and Trevor looked down to see that sitting where the word "MOVE" was etched into the board was now a single card.

"Guess it's time to get this started." Trevor said taking the card. It had a big number seven on it and Trevor read aloud the text underneath the number, "Move forward 7 spaces or move forward any number of spaces up to 7 and the person with the fewest transformations chooses a transformation."

"Huh, it is almost exactly like SORRY," Steve said with a shrug before looking at Trevor. "So you going to take all seven spaces I'm assuming?"

"Yep, might as well get moving." Trevor said moving his piece ahead seven spaces.

"My turn next," Jill said reaching for the card that now showed at the top of the MOVE pile. Trevor for his part put his MOVE card into the discard pile next to the MOVE pile. Jill for her part revealed the card she picked up, the large number one displayed prominently as she read the text beneath it, "Move forward one space or save this card to prevent a future transformation to any player." Tapping her finger against her chin she placed the card down in front of herself, "I'm not really going to get anywhere with this so I'll keep it to screw you over later."