(SU Rules! No. 23)

The soft breeze of the late afternoon gently wafted through the open window causing a deliciously soft coolness to stir through the large kitchen-slash-dining area of Nathan Reid's house.

The stirring was more than welcome given the heat outside made the house feel more than warm. But it was still not enough to stop Jennifer Carnell, Nathan's girlfriend of a year and a half, from flapping her t-shirt to try to cool down, even though she wasn't the one re-centring the kitchen table.

That job was left to Nathan and one of his housemates, Cory MacKenzie, who were both struggling to lift the large wooden table and slide it to a more centred position in the dining space.

Why they were moving the thing Jenni, as she liked to be known, had no idea. It had been perfectly fine where it had been, and they were only going to play a game of poker on it. Why couldn't it have been left where it was? But Nate had been adamant that the thing had to be moved, all for the right feeling of a poker night.

'You couldn't have it against the wall, it just didn't feel right when playing', he had said. So, the two of them were moving the table and trying to appear all manly about it, as if it were no big thing. Even while they lifted the thing barely two inches off the ground each time they picked it up.

Jenni, on the other hand, was standing watching the pair from the doorway to the lounge with a small secretive smile on her beautiful face as she tried not to laugh at them.

"You could just give us a hand rather than standing there," Cory said over to her good-naturedly, as he glanced at Nate and then looked at the table.

"And miss all of this fun?" Jenni replied with a hint of the laughter she was trying to hide, "Besides, you two are strong, masculine men, I'm sure you can handle one little old table."

Cory whispered something about the table not being little and Nate told him to shut up and just move the thing, which almost made Jenni laugh full out.

However, before long the table was sitting in the middle of the floor and Nate was staring at it proudly. Cory, on the other hand, was looking more than a little disgruntled and staring at the table as if he would never touch the thing again. That just made Jenni's lips curve even more as she watched the pair.

"This better be worth it, Nate," Cory half-said and half-muttered, as he flexed his toned arms, easing out the tension that had built up in them from moving the table.

"Oh, it will be. This is perfect," Nate replied with a bright grin, before he looked over to Jenni for her opinion.

Smiling and nodding the beautiful blonde girlfriend leaned against the doorframe and tried to look encouraging. If this was something Nate wanted done then the least she could do was appear interested. Even if she had told him she saw no reason in moving the thing.

The handsome grin her boyfriend gave her in return was more than worth the cost, and for a moment Jenni just stood there admiring his features and how defined he looked in his tight t-shirt. Cory's grin as he looked between the love-sick pair was lost on Jenni, until the other guy cleared his throat and brushed back his hair.

"Do you guys need a moment, or..." he trailed off, and Jenni's cheeks went bright red.

Nate, on the other hand, wasn't in the least bit flustered.

"Plenty of time for that later, ah?" he said, and Jenni would have slapped him if he had been closer. Not that she was a prude. Far from it. But she didn't want to flaunt their sex life in front of Cory either.

"Well, it's a good job you'll be leaving the game early. Ricky and I will keep your money warm when you're out," Cory jibed with a smirk, and this time Nate did react.

"With how you play? You'll be lucky to make it passed the first round," Nate retorted good-naturedly and made as if to sit down to show Cory how unthreatened he was by him.

"Me? I play better than you do. Unless you've been practising without telling me? You'll be out before Jenni gets bored of us playing," Cory replied, and Nate did sit down then with a chuckle, crossing his legs as he leaned back and folded his arms.

"Well, it just so happens that I have been practising actually. And I have a good feeling about tonight. Prepare to go home lighter in the pockets, my friend," Nate responded with a confident grin.

Glancing between her boyfriend and Jenni, Cory almost laughed as he smiled amusedly.

"Your boyfriend's about to bet all of your money away. Are you going to let him be this reckless?" her boyfriend's housemate asked her.

"If he's confident he'll beat you, I'm sure he will," Jenni replied, siding with her boyfriend once more. She wasn't anything of the sort, despite him claiming to have practised. Even she could beat him normally. But she wasn't about to let Cory know that, and not back Nate up. In a less confident voice, she added with a look at Nathan, "Besides, he's on a budget. And strictly his own money tonight."

Cory grinned at that as if she had confirmed his belief in his friend. Nate just sat there confident and grinning at both of them, with a playful wink for her to boot.

"Well, if you're alright with him losing his money then I'll be alright taking it," Nathan's housemate said cockily, and Jenni flashed a look between him and her boyfriend.

Both men were equally confident and grinning, and for a second Jenni felt her stomach flutter. Had Nathan been practising? He must have if he felt this confident. And he certainly looked self-assured. But still, that meant that if he did lose like normal then he was going to be even more difficult to console afterwards.

Staring at the two men as they looked haughtily at each other, Jenni could only think that the two of them were two of the most competitive people she had met. They were always like this though, trying to one-up each other on things. Whether it be what phone they had, playing poker, or even what girl they had. Jenni knew that for sure.

There had been many times when Cory had brought home a girl only for him to show her off in front of Nathan as if to show that he too could get a hot woman. That was one area where Cory always came up the loser though, as with Jenni at his side none of the women had compared to her, and Cory had known it.

But still, the two of them were always competing at things and now was no different. This may be a friendly game of poker on the surface tonight, but it would still be as competitive as if the two friends were really rivals when things got down to it.

The only one who wasn't was Ricky, who was so laid back and focused on his own thing that Jenni wasn't even sure the other housemate noticed what went on most of the time.

"Just don't expect me to go easy on you, bro," Cory added, breaking the swaggering staring match first for a change before he looked over to Jenni once more.

"Are you going to be joining us tonight?" he asked, and the way he looked at her suddenly put another bit of colour into Jenni's cheeks.

She wasn't wearing anything sexy at all, just jean shorts and a t-shirt, one that wasn't even low-cut, but the way he smirked at her told Jenni that Cory was flirting a little with her as much as if he had leered over her slender body.

"I might pop in a little bit," she replied as nonchalantly as she possibly could while he was staring at her with lit up eyes.

"Just to see how well Nate is doing," she added, to make sure he didn't think she was being flirty back or anything.

"Well, if you're going to check on a winner, looks like you'll be sitting on my lap," Cory joked. Well, flirted, but Nate took it as a joke even if Jenni knew better. Her cheeks coloured just a little more at that.

"In your dreams, bud," Nate responded, meaning it for Cory winning rather than his girlfriend sitting on his friend's lap.

Jenni felt a little nervous flutter in her stomach at that. Nate was so blinded by winning that he didn't even pick up on his friend hitting on his girlfriend. Overtly, at that.

The beautiful girlfriend didn't have time to think, however, as Cory jumped right back in with a smug response.

"We'll see who has who on the ropes, Nate. You might just have to be careful what you bet tonight. You don't want to lose anything important," he replied with a sly wink at Jenni.

Nate just sat there and grinned as if he hadn't realised what his friend was implying. And likely he hadn't. He was a little too trusting when it came to his friends. Jenni guessed he had to be to live with them. But still, anyone could have told what Cory had been thinking just then. Jenni certainly could. But then she had seen him wink at her.

"You'll see. You'll see," Cory continued confidently as his friend just sat there self-assuredly, before he turned to glance at Jenni again, "It's a shame you're not going to be our waitress tonight."

Nate laughed out loud at that, once again missing that this was his friend hitting on his girlfriend rather than just being his joking self.

"I have the perfect costume for you upstairs," he finished with a grin, and Jenni felt her cheeks colour more, mostly due to the lecherous look on his face.

Trying to compose herself, after all she was used to how Cory behaved, Jenni tried to focus on what a douche her boyfriend's friend could be when he tried hitting on her. That seemed to help a little, enough for her to stop blushing like a virgin anyway.

"You think I would wait on you three?" she asked, and then gave a little laugh, "I'm not your maid."

"You could be," Cory winked in a way that told Jenni just exactly what kind of outfit he had for her upstairs. He probably had bought it for one of his many women 'friends' that he had. To think he would want her to use it, "You'd make a pretty sexy maid."

Jenni shuddered gently at the thought of dressing up as a maid for Cory. She knew exactly what he would be like. Not that he was a disgusting guy or anything. But he did have a way of hitting on her all the time despite her being in a relationship with his friend that made Jenni feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, this time even Nate couldn't miss what his friend had said. And although he didn't seem to take it as Cory hitting on his girlfriend, he did seem to think some line had been reached.

"Whoa, there!" Jenni's boyfriend said as he lifted up his hands to his friend, "She would make a sexy maid, you're right, but that's for me to see and you and Ricky to imagine about."

He said it good-naturedly and so Cory only laughed with him as he held up his hands as if to say 'ok, you got me'. Jenni, on the other hand, thought, not for the first time, that she would never understand guys.

One clearly hit on the other's girlfriend and instead of getting mad Nate almost took it as a source of pride rather than being defensive. Not possessive. She wouldn't want him to be that. But at least protective of what was his.

Before she could think any more, however, the two guys were suddenly chatting about how they would fleece Ricky of his money first. Then they started talking about the different ways you could play poker, as if they were some kind of experts on the game.

Jenni shook her head as she listened to them, trying not to yawn, before finally she couldn't take it any longer and straightened from her place against the doorframe.

"Well, if you boys are done struggling for no reason, I'm going to take a shower. I'll leave you to your fascinating discussion," she said with just a hint of playful smarminess, but Nate and Cory didn't seem to notice her tone.

Her boyfriend only looked around as if suddenly remembering that she was there and smiled warmly at her, gave her a loving look, and then said, "Alright, babe. Hope it's nice and cool for you."

Whereas Cory only gave her a look up and down, his eyes travelling up and down her bare legs, up her baggy t-shirt-covered waist and chest, before settling on her face. No doubt he was imagining what she would look like in the shower. Jenni's cheeks turned a little pink at that, and she turned to focus completely on her boyfriend.

"I'll leave you two to get your game ready," she replied to Nate with an equally loving smile that made his eyes glow brightly and a little flutter start in her pussy. God, he was so good-looking.

"Miss you!" Nate called as she turned around, the feel of his...and Cory's...eyes on her tight shorts-clad ass.

Giving a little wave as she walked away Jenni tried to ignore that her boyfriend's friend was watching her ass sway as she made her way through the lounge. Fortunately, she had been around Cory enough to know the feeling well, and so she just focused on her boyfriend and did her best to ignore Cory's attention. He would never change, that one. But she would never let him see how he got to her either.

The bathroom was situated at the top of the stairs, between Nate and Cory's rooms, with Ricky's room being a little off to the front of the house. Slipping into her boyfriend's room, Jenni looked in the wardrobe at the clothes that she left there, flicking through them before finally pulling out a hanger with a beautiful blue sundress on it.

Pulling out a towel and a pair of matching pink underwear and bra, Jenni piled the clothes together and padded down the hallway to the bathroom.

Stepping inside, she locked the door behind her and turned the shower on before stripping out of her t-shirt and dumping her shorts on the floor. Her current underwear joined the pile before she stepped in to the lukewarm water. The temperature felt like heaven. Not too cold, as to be having a cold shower, but not hot either, and it was cooler than the warmth outside.

Feeling refreshed as the cool water rained down on her, Jenni began to lather up her hands and wash her smooth, 21-year-old body. After the heat of the day the water was perfect, and soon Jenni had forgotten everything other than running her hands over her body.

Her long, smooth legs dripped with water, as did her large, heaving breasts as rivers ran down her soft flesh. But soon she was clean and ready to go. However, for a few more minutes the busty blonde stayed under the soothing rainfall of the shower, enjoying the coolness before she finally turned the shower off and stepped out.

Taking her clothes, she slowly got dressed and then looked at herself in the mirror. Her long blonde hair hung towel dried over her shoulders and down her back, covering her bare shoulders and the thin straps that held up her clinging blue sundress.

The material hugged her slender body perfectly, the low-cut top showing off her full, 36D breasts, and the flowing skirt highlighting her toned thighs and her succulent ass.

Swirling from side to side for a moment to get the best look at herself, Jenni smiled happily and turned to the bathroom door, picking up her laundry and dumping it in the basket as she went.

Opening the door she padded out into the hallway and turned towards Nate's room, listening to the banter still going on downstairs as it drifted up to her. Walking into her boyfriend's room she left the door open because of the heat and threw herself onto his bed, turning on the television as she got herself comfortable.

For a while she just enjoyed one of her favourite shows, forgetting what time it was as she leaned back on the pillow she had set up and ate a few chocolates she had left on the bedside table.

Time passed and the beautiful blonde changed shows to another of her favourites, paying little heed to the sounds downstairs of her boyfriend and his friend talking, nor of the heat of the day that gently began to pass.

Finally, after a few hours, the sounds downstairs changed into laughing and the sound of bottles clinking, and Jenni's mind began to wander as she flicked through the shows she could watch.

"That was just a practice hand. Wait till we play for real. I'll show you how good I am," came the voice of her beloved boyfriend from downstairs.

"You still owe me another beer, even if it was a fake hand. Come on, maid, serve me," Cory jibed in response, before laughing, and Jenni sat up and listened. The good-natured joking pulled at her in her boredom of looking through the television listings.

For a few more minutes the blonde girlfriend sat there listening to her boyfriend and his friend play a few hands of poker, laughing and joking with each other as they played. Finally, she turned the television off and threw the remote down. Standing up she straightened her dress from where she had been lying down and made her way out of Nate's room.

In a few steps she was making her way downstairs to see what her boyfriend was up to and join in the fun.

"Looks like it's your turn to get me a beer," Nate exclaimed as Jenni made her way into the lounge and finally saw the pair at the table in the kitchen.

Cory looked a little put out and confused as he stared at the cards on the table.

"How did you...You really have been practising, haven't you?" he asked, not moving.

Nate just sat there and grinned before motioning towards the fridge.

"Come on, maid, serve me," he said, mocking his friend's earlier words, and Cory grimaced again before he stood up to grab a beer.

It was then that Nate noticed Jenni walking towards the kitchen. Grinning still, he held out his hand to her.

"Here she is! My beautiful girlfriend ready to share in my well-earned spoils," he said happily, and Jenni felt a flush run through her at how handsome he was.

"Spoils? You haven't won anything yet. We're still not playing, remember," Cory replied as he came back to the table with two beers, placing one in front of Nate and drinking out of another as he sat back down.

Jenni made her way to her boyfriend's side slowly, her ass swaying beneath her short dress as she moved, before lowering herself down onto his one knee as he made space for her.

"I've won a beer," Nate responded smugly, as he placed his arm around her and squeezed her waist gently.

"So have I," Cory replied smugly, as he took another sip from his beer.

"So, it's all equal so far. But it won't be for long," Nate joked confidently, before looking at her as he too drank from his beer.

Jenni just smiled warmly at her boyfriend and grabbed his beer from him, taking a deep swig before she placed it back on the table with a cheeky grin.

"We'll see. I'll just have to step up my A-game," Cory responded with a focused look on his face as he stared at the cards on the table. Nate picked them up and began to shuffle them. Awkwardly, anyway, with Jenni sitting on his knee.

Before her boyfriend could respond, however, another movement in the lounge announced the arrival of Ricky. At first Jenni couldn't tell what it was about him that made her think he looked odd, and then it hit her after Nate spoke.

"Ricky! Just in time, dude. Are you ready to lose all of your money tonight?" her boyfriend jibed.

"To me!" Cory chimed in with a mischievous glance at Nate.

"Sorry guys, not tonight. I'm going to have to cancel. I've got a big date," Ricky replied, and it was at that moment that it hit her why he looked odd.

Ricky was dressed up to go out, not in his usual kind of outfit, and he clearly didn't plan on staying long.

"What? Aw, man, come on!" both Nate and Cory chimed in at the same time.

"Sorry guys. You know I'd love to play but..." Ricky replied, before stopping what he had been about to say as he glanced down at Jenni, then finished, "...when you've got a date you've got a date."

Jenni almost smiled wryly at that. She knew what her boyfriend's friend had been about to say; pussy comes before poker, or some such vulgarity. She had heard it enough from all three of them. She had no idea why Ricky was trying to appear decent in front of her now.

The other two guys shared a look as if they had heard the unspoken words as well, and, much to Jenni's chagrin, they both nodded as if they perfectly understood and agreed.

Jenni had to stop herself from slapping her boyfriend for his crassness. Cory she could understand, he was a horn-dog, but she thought Nate had more respect than that.

"Alright man, next time?" Nate asked, and Ricky nodded before he made his way to the fridge to grab a couple of beers. 'For luck', he said.

As their other friend made his way back into the lounge and finally almost slammed the front door behind him, Nate and Cory turned to each other.

"Looks like it's just you and me, bud." Jenni's boyfriend said finally.

"Shall we get it started then?" Cory asked, confidence returning as he clapped his hands together before taking out his wallet.

"You bet your ass!" Nate replied eagerly and placed down the cards as he too reached for his wallet.

"It'll be you betting your ass by the end of this," Cory responded, and Nate laughed confidently.

Jenni hoped that her boyfriend had more than confidence to back himself up with or else he was going to be short of money come tomorrow again. He wasn't the best poker player in the world, even she knew that.

As the two bantered back and forth Jenni stood up. Nate looked up at her curiously as she stood beside him smiling.

"Where you going, babe?" he asked as he reached for her side.

"I'm just going to go through to the lounge. Let you boys play," she answered warmly.

"You don't want to sit here for my big victory?" Nate asked smugly with a glance over to Cory, who rolled his eyes.

"No, no. I don't want to distract you. I know how focused you like to get with these games," she replied, squeezing his hand on her side before stepping back to the doorframe.

"Ok, you'll be alright though?" her boyfriend responded somewhat nonchalantly.

"I'll be fine," Jenni replied, feeling a little put out that he didn't really seem to be trying to keep her there despite his words.

That irksome feeling only grew a little stronger as her boyfriend nodded and let his hand fall away from her, before he turned back to Cory and picked up the cards to shuffle them. Not that Jenni wanted him to ask her to stay. She really didn't want to be part of the game, not when Nate started losing especially. And Cory could be unbearably smug when he won. And his eyes did have a tendency to wander. Not to mention his hands. So, she was glad not to be asked to stay. But he could have made more effort even so.

Slipping back towards the lounge, Jenni kept her eyes on Nate and tried to ignore that Cory's lingered on her a little longer before he finally paid attention to what her boyfriend was saying. Grabbing a bottle of wine from the shelf in the lounge she sat down on the sofa with a glass and tried to pay attention to both what was going on in the kitchen and the television as she put it on.

If Ricky had been there, she would have been in the kitchen with Nate and Cory, but with just her boyfriend and his one friend there she didn't want to see how far Cory would push things with her when Nate wasn't looking. He seemed to behave when more people were around. Right now, he would be unbearable.

Enjoying the relax and the soft taste of the wine, Jenni leaned back into the sofa as her boyfriend and his friend began to play cards. The television wasn't all that exciting, so she often found her attention wandering to what was going on in the kitchen. Well, that and drowsing a little as the wine started to take effect.

Laughter and banter sounded from the room next door and Jenni was happily relaxing with her legs tucked under her when something her boyfriend said from the kitchen snapped her head around.

"...Jenni will do it. Honestly. But you've got to win first," her loving boyfriend of a year and half was saying to his friend.

Jenni eyed the pair curiously, and cautiously, at that. What was Nate saying she would do? And what did it have to do with winning? She didn't have to wait long to find out what was going on.

"So, you're saying that Jenni will clean up after me and be my maid if I win? That's your bet?" Cory asked with a mix of smugness and curiosity.

That suddenly hit the blonde girlfriend like a shot between the eyes and her own eyes shot open. What? She would be Cory's maid? Wait, Nate was betting that she would be Cory's maid if he lost? Hold on...he was betting her in his poker game? To his housemate? Each of those thoughts hit Jenni like a battering ram and instantly she felt her irksome feeling from earlier light up into a full-on annoyance.

Her boyfriend was not only saying that she would be Cory's maid if he lost, but he was betting her in his poker game like some...some kind of prize or something! And he not only thought that she would do it - he sounded completely confident of that! - but he was betting her without even asking her first! To his housemate!

Jenni felt her anger boil up inside her as she got up off the sofa and walked through to the kitchen doorway.

"What was that, Nate?" she asked in a too neutral voice.

Her boyfriend didn't even have the decency to look abashed as he turned to look up to her with a grin.

"What? Oh, nothing, babe. You just go and sit down and enjoy your wine," he replied with a loving charm that reminded Jenni of why she loved him. Too bad she had heard what he said for it to work.

Folding her arms beneath her large breasts Jenni kept looking at her boyfriend with a look that even silenced whatever smug thing Cory had been about to say. Her boyfriend's friend looked down at his drink when he caught her face.

"Nothing?" she replied with a hint of annoyance in her tone, "I thought I heard you betting me to your friend!"

"Wha...?" Nate sputtered and looked over at Cory before looking back at her again. His expression quickly changed when he clearly knew he had been caught. But instead of being repentant he just smiled that same charming smile at her again, "It was just for you to clean up after him. It wasn't like I bet him a blowjob or anything."

Jenni's eyes widened at that, but before she could get a word in Nate continued. A little more hurriedly this time as he registered the look on her face.

"Besides, that's only if he wins. And, babe, he's not going to win this hand. Trust me."

Cory coughed up his drink in protest at that but before he could say anything Nate just grinned at him and looked confidently back to Jenni. So confident in fact that Jenni felt a little of her nervousness fading from her, taking the edge off her annoyance as well. Still...she was pissed.

"And you can't just bet money on this?" she asked acidly, her back stiff as she stared down at her boyfriend's stupidly grinning face.

"I don't have enough..." Nate began as he indicated the small pile of chips in front of him, "...And I really wouldn't make the bet if I didn't think I would win. You know me, babe."

For a second Jenni was tempted to snap that he shouldn't be betting her no matter what, but then she realised how silly she may sound. After all, it was just to clean up after Cory. Something she pretty much did anyway around the house. The three guys could be slobs at times.

And it wasn't really that bad of a bet. And it wasn't like it was something Nate wouldn't come up with during a normal playful discussion with his friends. But he had still bet her, and without asking her as well! Like she was his to bet!

Sure, she was his girlfriend, but that didn't give him the right to bet her away like that. And to Cory of all people! The guy would probably expect her to wear a French maid's outfit for him to ogle her in while she tidied up after him.

Not to mention that Nate really wouldn't have made the bet if he thought he would lose. He knew how she felt about Cory most of the time and wouldn't put her in that position. And he did seem extremely confident in himself and his hand.

As the thoughts passed through her head Jenni quickly felt a little embarrassment soaking through her anger. It was like she was blowing things up out of proportion when there was no need to.

And so, feeling her cheeks heat - whether from embarrassment or annoyance, she didn't know at this point - Jenni tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked between the boys before eyeing Nate again.

"You promise you'll win?" she asked reluctantly.

"Babe, I can't lose," her boyfriend replied confidently. That same grin fastened on his handsome face.

Whether it was his confidence, how handsome he looked right then, or how mixed up she was feeling about all of this, Jenni finally nodded and turned to watch the action with a fluttering in her stomach.

The last thing she wanted was to be any kind of maid to Cory MacKenzie - he really would insist she wore a short skirt for it, she was certain! - but a small part of her felt a flutter pass through her at the thought that she was on the line.

The same sort of feeling, she guessed, that gamblers felt when they gambled. A sort of thrill. It was only a small, passing feeling as she watched the pot and imagined herself in it, but it was there.

There was something at stake now, something real. Her. Not just a little money that they normally betted, but her. And that made the beautiful blonde's stomach flutter gently for some reason.

"Alright, you've got my bet. Call or fold?" Nate confidently asked his friend over the table and Jenni looked over.

Cory was eyeing his cards and then looked up at her. For a moment his eyes stayed on her face but then quickly, almost so quickly you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it, they flashed down her body, taking her all in.

As she stood there with her arms folded beneath her large, heaving breasts in her short summer dress. He no doubt had imagined her in that maid's outfit. Or maybe her wearing just what she was now. Bending over in this dress wouldn't be that much different from the maid's outfit now Jenni thought of it.

Whatever he saw his face suddenly beamed with delight as he looked confidently back over the table at Jenni's boyfriend.

"Alright, Nate. You've got a deal. Call." he said as he laid down a full house on the table and leaned back, "Boom!"

For a moment Jenni's heart skipped a beat and her stomach fluttered. There was a reason Nate's pile of chips wasn't big enough to cover the bet without her. She may just have found herself in Cory's possession.

And then Nate calmly and confidently laid his cards down.

"Four Aces," was all he said smugly before he grinned at the shocked look on Cory's face.

Her boyfriend's housemate wasn't the only one who looked surprised. Jenni looked at the cards both stunned and like they had released her from a fate worse than death.

Glancing back at her boyfriend Jenni saw him leaning back confidently, just as he had before Cory had laid his cards down. He had known he would win. Somehow, he had. He must have. It wasn't the best hand you could have, but somehow, he had known it would be enough.

Leaning forward Nate scraped the pile of chips in the centre towards himself and began stacking them up, smiling at Cory all the time as he did. For a moment there was silence, then Cory let out a loud breath.

"Damn, that was a good call, Nate. I thought for sure you had been bluffing then," he said as he raked his hands through his hair.

Jenni just looked from the chips to Nate and back. Luck must have really been on his side tonight! Not only from winning, but also for saving him from sleeping on the sofa tonight after betting her.

All of her annoyance, Jenni realised, was gone. Washed away with the four aces that sat on the table in front of her. Luck. Nate was never normally lucky, and he always lost at poker. But that had been one of the best played hands she had seen the guys' play. Maybe tonight would pay off after all.

"Told you I'd win it, didn't I, babe?" Nate asked smugly as he leaned a little towards her, contentedly counting his chips into his pile.

Nodding, Jenni still couldn't believe what she had seen. And how, for the briefest of moments, it had been exhilarating to be in the pot herself. Even if it was to Cory and she would have had to clean up after him if he won.

"You won't doubt me again," Nate added with a grin before he looked back to Cory.

Jenni sure wouldn't. Not after a hand like that. Maybe Nate really had been practising to get good at poker. Either that or Lady Luck was sure with him today. Whatever it was, Jenni was suddenly not sure about Nate's abilities in the game anymore. And from the sudden solemn look of concentration on his face, neither was Cory. Now the game had really begun.

Walking through into the lounge with a cloudy head, Jenni tried to think about what had just happened. Whether it was the wine or just the whole situation she found that she couldn't focus as she sat back down on the sofa and tucked her legs under her.

She couldn't focus on the television either as she took another sip from her glass, her mind just swirled. Nate had bet her to his friend. A maid for Cory. The thrill of being in the pot. How Nate had won and how confident he had been. All of it. The wine buzz mixing with it all and spinning it around inside her.

Time passed and the sound in the kitchen continued to be good-natured and full of banter, even if Cory was clearly paying more attention to Nate than he had before.

Sometime later, Jenni had lost herself in her wine and the television and all of the feelings from earlier in the night had dissipated. It was then that the beautiful blonde girlfriend chanced to hear a snippet of the conversation from the other room as an ad break was on.

"...I don't think Jenni would go for that, Nate," Cory was saying.

Hearing her name coming from the other room perked her ears up and Jenni glanced over her shoulder into the other room.

Nate and Cory were still sitting at the table with cards in their hands, but instead of playing the pair were staring at each other. The pile in the centre of the table was quite high and once again the pile in front of Nate was relatively small. Obviously, his luck hadn't held out after that other hand, and he was back to losing again.

It wasn't the look of the pair that snagged Jenni's interest, however. It was what they were talking about.

"Sure she will. It's not like I'm betting you a blowjob from her or anything," Nate laughed, clearly he found the very idea ridiculous, "And I know you would think that more than covers the bet," he added confidently.

Jenni was curious what her boyfriend was doing again, but this time she remained seated where she was, just looking over to the pair of them.

"If she went through with it, yeah. But there's no way she would," Cory replied with a hint of smugness.

"You leave Jenni to me," Nate said confidently, then added with a cheeky grin, "Besides, you won't beat me so she won't have to. But it's a more than fair bet, right?"

At this point Jenni's curiosity for what was going on was more than peaked, but for some reason she couldn't move. Clearly her loving boyfriend was betting her again in his poker game. To his housemate of all people. But what he was suggesting this time also clearly meant that he would have to talk her into it.

That strange feeling of being bet again flitted through Jenni's stomach and she thought that she should get up again and challenge her boyfriend on betting her a second time. Not to mention to also find out how he was betting her. But the strange confidence was back in his voice again. And the need not to make a scene, mixed with the flittering feeling of excitement at being part of the pot...even if it was to Cory...had her sitting still.

She was just about to stand up when Cory spoke.

"So, I call the bet and if I win Jenni sits on my lap?" he asked, and Jenni felt her stomach flip as she watched Nate nod.

What was he thinking? He clearly hadn't had better luck than he normally did, even after that fluke of a hand earlier, and he was betting her again? And to sit on his friend's lap while they play poker? In her low-cut, short-skirted dress?

Jenni really should have stood up then but Nate spoke and the confidence filling his voice seemed to fix her to the sofa.

"If you win. Yes. But you won't, so there's nothing to worry about. See?" he said to his friend, but Jenni almost felt that he was talking to her, and like before she suddenly felt that there was no harm in the bet. Nate had this. She was sure of it. How she was so sure, she had no idea. But he was, and that made her certain.

The fact that he was still betting her, and to sit on his housemate's lap at that, not even like earlier where the bet had been innocent, he must have been desperate to get Cory to call. With a pile the size of his that was not a surprise, but couldn't he have thought of something else compelling that didn't involve her sitting on his friend's lap all night?

It was at that moment that Jenni realised that she would do it if Cory won, and thus that she had already accepted the bet. Why she felt that way she had no idea...maybe because part of her was angry that her boyfriend would even suggest it, so it would serve him right if she did sit on his friend's lap all night. And let him get a good look down the top of her dress too.

That thought made Jenni suddenly realise what it would be like to sit on Cory's lap...his hands would not be idle...nor would his looks and comments. But even so she sat there knowing she was behind Nate one hundred percent even as she was annoyed at him.

"And don't tell me you wouldn't like it!" Nate said amusedly to Cory.

"Well, it's Jenni! Who wouldn't," Cory sputtered in response, before suddenly realising what he was saying.

Here he was, winning at the game and clearly thinking that the earlier win was a fluke by now, and Nate had just offered him his girlfriend on a plate. To sit on his lap. Let him touch her legs, no doubt. Stare down her top. It was too good a chance to pass up.

And so, Cory nodded and placed his cards down. Four kings stared up from the table as Jenni leaned up to see what he had got.

For an instant the beautiful blonde thought that she would have to sit on Cory's lap now, and that strange fuzzy feeling at being bet sparked a little at what she would hate to do but was somehow oddly exhilarating as well. Then Nate placed his cards down. Straight flush. Jenni's heart was in her throat and a feeling of relief washed through her all at the same time.

The look on Nate's face was a mix of triumph and 'I told you so'. He sat staring at his dumbfounded friend for a minute, basking in his victory, before he pulled the pot towards himself and began piling it back up. There was more there than the last time. He had won big and Cory's pile was now smaller than Nate's had been.

But for Jenni all that mattered is that he hadn't lost her to his friend. That he had bet her, again, suddenly fuelled her annoyance even as a flickering of that stomach-teasing feeling passed through her again. He had bet her twice now, and this time he had not bet anything simple like the first time. This time she would have had to do something inappropriate with his friend. After all, Nate was her boyfriend! She shouldn't be sitting on his housemate's laps like she was their girlfriend.

But still, he had won. And he had known he would again before he made the bet. So, was it really as bad? Jenni tried to push that reasonable thought aside. It wasn't like he had risked her. He had known he would win with what he had. He barely couldn't have lost. But still the annoyance festered that she had to think this at all. He was her boyfriend for fuck's sake. She shouldn't have to be bet by him. No guy bet their girlfriend to another guy, especially a guy that they felt uncomfortable around.

Slumping back into the sofa and taking a long sip of her wine, Jenni decided that she was going to let Nate know just how pissed off she was later. For now, she would just watch television and finish her wine. And ignore the reasonable thoughts that filled her head.

She didn't want to make a scene, and she wasn't exactly sure she would be right to. She tried to push those thoughts away even more at that and sank back into the sofa and finished her glass of wine off.