BENCHED

by Abigail Graham

  Dee grabs the thimble, and Aheahe and Akele take the locomotive and the dog, respectively. I say nothing while they patiently explain the rules to Ana and we make our opening rolls.

  Ana leans over the board and considers every purchase she makes, and keeps her fake money and deed cards tucked in her hands, eyeing the rest of us suspiciously.

  "You know what would be great?" I say as I collect my salary for completing a run around the board. "Strip monopoly. We'd have to get rid of these others though."

  Ana glares at me.

  "Dude," Akele says. "Strip Monopoly would take like six months."

  "Thanks, that helps."

  He grins. "You shouldn't say such crude things around a princess, cousin."

  "Fine. Your turn, Ana."

  She rolls the dice and picks up one of the green properties.

  "They explained the trading part of this game to you, right?"

  "Yes."

  "Look. I've got a green one too. Right here."

  She eyes me. "What do you want for it?"

  "Don't make a deal," Dee urges. "Nobody has a monopoly yet."

  "I don't want a property. Kiss me and it's yours. Also two hundred dollars."

  "What?"

  "I can't just give it away. I should be saying, 'Give me two hundred and I'll kiss you.'"

  "Dude," Aheahe says. "If she gets the green monopoly, we're all boned. That one's better than Park Place."

  "No it isn't," Akele protests.

  "Yes it is," Aheahe says.

  "Is it a deal?" I ask Ana.

  "Yes," she says.

  Dee's eyes widen.

  Anastasia darts at me quickly and plants a soft, chaste kiss on my cheek. When she draws back, she has the green deed in her hand, and she's slipped two hundred in pink and blue money into mine.

  She reshuffles her cards and sits back. It's Akele's turn to roll.

  I lean over and whisper in Ana's ear, "If we work together, we can crush them."

  "Dee can hear you," she says, loudly.

  "Join me, and I will show you the power of the dark side."

  "The dark side of what?"

  I sit back and look at her. "You didn't get that reference."

  "No?"

  I gape at her. "You've never seen that movie."

  "No," she says, turning away in annoyance.

  "Watch them with me."

  "'Them'?"

  "Yeah, there's three of them. A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. We'll watch all three. One and then I make you lunch, two and then I make you dinner, three and then I make you breakfast."

  "I'll pass," she says.

  "I'll receive. That was a football joke."

  "I gathered that, yes."

  "Hey, man, are we playing this game or what?" Akele says.

  "This is about Jason's game, bro," Aheahe snickers.

  "It's my turn," Anastasia says, then leans forward and grabs the dice, and rolls. She moves her piece. She's on the top row of the board.

  "Oh shit," I say.

  "What?" Dee says.

  "Look. Ana's piece is seven spots from the green monopoly."

  "So?"

  "So seven is the easiest number to roll," Ana says, glancing at me. "How did you know that?"

  "I have many secrets. I'd be happy to share them with you over breakfast in bed. I make a mean crepe."

  "I don't like crepes."

  "Okay, fine. One of us has to get that third green one before she does."

  "That wouldn't be a problem if you didn't trade it away to her for nothing," Dee says, glaring at me.

  "Maybe I want her to win. Maybe I like a woman on top."

  "Somehow I doubt that," Ana says.

  "Oh, why's that? Chivalry is my middle name."

  "I though your middle name was Thomas," Akele says.

  I wave him away.

  "What do you know about chivalry?" Anastasia says, folding her arms across her chest. "Roll the dice, Dee. Let us play."

  Dee groans and rolls.

  Her roll sends her directly to jail, and she does not pass Go. She looks over her stack of cash and her cards and shrugs.

  "I'll stay in jail and let you goobers roll. There's only a couple of properties left."

  The dice pass to Aheahe. He looks at Akele.

  "Trade," they both say at once.

  They spend the next twenty minutes arguing.

  "You haggle like fishwives," Anastasia says.

  "Is that good?" Akele asks her.

  She blinks. "Maybe?"

  By the time they're done and shake on it, Akele and Aheahe both have two monopolies, but they split the railroads. Dee will be out when she starts rolling again; she's only got the light blue ones, and I have the other cards keeping her from getting the purples. Control of the right side of the board is divided between me and Anastasia.

  I take the dice.

  "Okay, I can deal before my turn. Ana—can I call you Ana?"

  "No."

  "Sugar Tits, we need to make a deal. A real deal. We've both got nothing."

  She glares at me. "You've got nothing. I've got the green monopoly."

  "She's going to cheat," I warn the others. "I want her to roll from a cup."

  "I roll like you do, and if you call me sugar tits again, I'll emasculate you."

  "What's that?" Aheahe asks.

  "It's a big word for 'rip my balls off.'"

  "That would be 'castrate,'" Anastasia says, her voice icy. "'Emasculate' means I rip your penis off."

  "You'd have to touch it in the process."

  "I'll use tongs."

  "Are we actually playing this game?" Dee snaps.

  "Fine. Okay, Ana. You've doomed us both. You can make a deal on your roll, but not after. If you don't make a deal after my roll, no deal at all, got it? You can keep your green monopoly and let the owners of the rest of the board clobber you."

  Ana smirks at me. "Roll your dice."

  "Fine."

  I roll and take a bad hit from Aheahe's hotel. I grumble as I count out the rent money and pass it to him.

  Ana picks up the dice and in a single, smooth motion, rolls a seven. She looks at me and grins and moves her token, one step at a time, while the rest of us groan.

  "Bro, why did you do that to us?" Akele moans.

  "If that was the price I pay for a kiss from the princess's own lips, I'll pay it gladly."

  I lean over to Anastasia.

  "If you make a trade with me on my next turn," I whisper softly in her ear, "I'll make it worth your while."

  She tilts her head to look at me. Her mouth is so close to mine. I can feel her warm breath, taste the scent of her on my tongue. She smells like berries.

  "Worth my while how?"

  "Toe. Curling."

  "I'll make do with my hand."

  "Can I watch?"

  Dee rolls. She's still in jail. She continues to glare at me.

  It's Aheahe's turn. He lands on his brother's monopoly and pays a hefty rent, but I don't think he cares. If he loses to Akele, he'll own half the board and we're all screwed.

  "Make a deal," I plead with Anastasia. "I'll owe you a favor."

  "What if my favor is 'shut up and never speak to me again'?"

  "Then you'll make me dishonest. I want you, from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. Run away with me."

  "Roll the dice," she snaps.

  I sigh, pick them up, and roll them.

  I land on one of her greens, which is now covered in hotels.

  I have jack shit, and she just took half my money.

  Ana picks up the dice. "I choose to trade."

  We all listen.

  She turns to me. "These are my terms."

  Ana

  I must remain calm. I must not let on that my heart is hammering in my chest until it feels like it will crack my ribs, or that the gentle brush of his arm or hip against me as I sit next to him is enough to make heat flood my body, rising from between my l
egs in a twisting spiral of desire. Despite his unshaven stubble and baggy clothes, he truly is a beautiful man. I could gaze on his face for hours, studying every feature, his solid cheekbones and perfect chin and his sharp, intelligent eyes. Somehow despite all his size, there is nothing brutish about him. He is lithe, almost graceful, and he is warm.

  Whenever he looks at me, I can feel the desire well inside me. It brings out strange little tics that I never knew I had. I bite my lip, I sweep loose strands of hair aside, I tug on my shirt because it feels too tight around my chest, or perhaps not tight enough.

  I pick up the dice from the board and survey it quickly, sparing Jason the barest glance. I smirk to myself. He probably thinks I am stupid because I have blonde hair. Americans think this, I am told. I weigh them in my fingers, thinking as I survey the state of the board. This game really is trivial, and I am in an excellent position thanks to the foolish trade he made with me earlier.

  "I choose to trade," I announce.

  I turn to Jason.

  "I offer you these three"—I hold up the property cards—"in exchange for those four and that railroad."

  The others look at him nervously.

  "Dude, you already screwed us," Akele sighs.

  Jason evaluates his own meager holdings and counts his cash. He sits back.

  "Make your decision," I say, my voice dripping with impatience.

  He scratches his chin, and his eyes rake over me from head to toe. I feel like his gaze is peeling back every fiber of cloth until it seems the air kisses my skin and I feel naked. I like the feeling and suppress a shiver, cursing myself for the way I feel my cheeks grow hot. I keep my gaze steady and my lips tightly pursed, willing myself not to bite my lip or stick out my tongue or flutter my eyelashes or some other foolish thing.

  He sits and sits, his firm, muscular stomach moving as he breathes.

  I cock my head to the side. "Deal or not?"

  "I'm thinking. It's a big choice."

  "Dude," Akele booms, "don't."

  "I need better terms."

  "I'm not offering you any more properties."

  "Maybe it's not a property I want, Princess."

  I roll my eyes. "Then what?"

  Jason

  I won't make it around the board again even with passing Go. She offers me a trade that would give me a monopoly on the far side of the board, so at least I'd have something. Of course, I'd get dinged every time I roll, practically.

  Late game is like that. I take a moment to think about it.

  "I'll do it if you kiss me."

  "You must be joking," she says, laughing softly. "I'm only allowing you to stay in this game because you amuse me."

  "Oh, really? Trust me, Princess. I can be really amusing."

  "I'm sure you can," she says slyly. "I'll give you a kiss as part of our deal, but I want a favor from you."

  "Great."

  I hand over the properties and she even gives me some cash, enough to cover the rent from my landing on her tile.

  "Where's my kiss?"

  "I didn't say you get it now."

  "Oh yeah? I feel cheated. You don't get your favor until I get my kiss."

  "Duly noted."

  She rolls the dice and nervously pays rent to Aheahe. Anastasia doesn't have much. If one of them doesn't land on her monopoly she won't even be able to put hotels on her new one.

  Thankfully for Ana, Aheahe pays her the top rent from one of her properties. She puts down hotels, and I roll.

  I land on her twice, on one side of the board, then the other. Our house rule says I forfeit everything to her, so I hand over all my properties.

  "Bro, you can mortgage," Akele protests.

  "It's my choice. If this is the price to serve my princess, I pay it gladly."

  Anastasia sticks her tongue out at me and rolls.

  I lean back and watch the game. Dee lasts one more roll, and she's out. Anastasia has a slight edge, but it's gone when Aheahe goes bankrupt on Akele and gives him almost total control of two sides.

  The buzzer on the dryer goes off.

  "Okay, we need to go," Dee announces.

  "But the game isn't over!" Ana protests.

  "We tally up our money and properties and whoever has the most wins," Akele says.

  After adding it all up, Ana is the winner, by ten dollars. Seriously.

  She bounces up and down in her seat and claps, full of excitement.

  "I win!" she declares.

  "You still owe me that kiss."

  She blushes when she looks at me. "So I do. Come get it."

  I lean in, and she darts away, bursting from the couch to grab her bundle of clothes and run for the back door. I leap the couch and chase after her, running through the kitchen to catch up.

  Anastasia and Dee are already on the back porch.

  "You promised."

  She shrugs. "So I did. Here."

  She darts to me, jumps up, and plants a kiss on my lips. I try to grab her waist. It's a good kiss, and I'd like to keep it going. She even tastes sweet.

  She slips out of my hands before I can get ahold of her.

  "Now I collect my favor."

  "Which is?"

  She sighs, and a sad look takes over her soft, beautiful features.

  "I like you, but forget about me. You'll be happier."

  She turns, takes Dee by the hand, and runs.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. No, I will not forget about you."

  She stops and looks at me, blinking. "Oh. Ah. I'm leaving now."

  "Wait!"

  "It's not you. I promise. I just can't."

  Anastasia gives me one last, longing look before she vaults the fence. Wow, she's very flexible.

  I walk to the door and lean on the frame, staring after them.

  "Damn, that's cold," Aheahe says.

  Akele joins him a moment later.

  "Did she say 'forget about me'?" Akele asks.

  "Yeah." Aheahe nods.

  "Not a chance in hell," I say to no one in particular.

  Chapter Three

  Anastasia

  "What was up with that?" Dee asks me as we take the long walk back.

  "With what?"

  "That 'forget me' routine."

  I look away from her, toward the horizon. It must be near noon. I have been gone far longer than I intended, and I may have hell to pay when I return. I should have Dee leave before she is seen with me.

  "You know what was up with it," I sigh.

  "Not this again."

  "You know how it must be."

  I've known it since I arrived here. Being a princess comes with duties. Expectations. Responsibilities. When I return home, I will be expected to marry. Whichever man I take as my husband must be appropriate to my station.

  Mother has been trying to find me a husband since I was nine. We no longer marry cousins, and half the island is related to me anyway, so that meant looking abroad.

  She made polite entreaties to the British crown, but was refused. For one, the British royalty no longer even arrange marriages. More importantly, they no longer marry foreigners. Marriage alliances are a relic of the past. That did not stop Mother from trying to betroth me. As I grew older, more suitors appeared.

  A few even deigned to visit us. One, a Prince Liam of Anglefell, disgusted me. Mother insisted we dance, and he did nothing but look down my dress and try to grope my buttocks. I told her I'd rather marry a lamprey than take that one as my husband.

  I threw a fit when she told me she'd asked Prince Kristoff of Kosztyla to visit us and meet me, or if he would be willing to accept a delegation so we would be introduced. I was ready to chain myself to my bed to keep her from saddling me with him, until he curtly refused with no more than a letter brought by courier. Mother ripped it to shreds and would have had the man who brought it thrown in the ocean if I hadn't stopped her.

  Until I left to study abroad, the stream of suitors was constant. When she ran out of nobility, she tried to pair me
with the children of rich, old-money families. I took one look at a man named Damien Blackthorne and walked out of the room; his eyes frightened me. The others I barely remember. They were all the same—soft, boring men whose only interest in life was counting money and venal pursuits, or drunken partying and fornicating.

  Yet here I am thinking about a man whose only interests in life are football, drunken partying, and fornicating.

  "Don't tell me you're already doing the 'how it must be' thing over this guy."

  "I didn't say that."

  "You totally did. You like him. Jason Powell, you like Jason Powell."

  I sigh. "I did not say that."

  "You're not denying it."

  "He is interesting," I huff. "He amuses me. He has fire."

  "He has a chubby. The only things he finds amusing about you are between your legs and in your bra. Oh, and your ass. Probably also your legs. And—"

  "I get the point. You do not need to list everything but my mind."

  "I just don't want you to get hurt, Princess."

  I give her a sharp look. "I don't need you to mother me."

  "I know." She rolls her eyes. "But you princesses, you're not the cautious type. Jason will twist you around his little finger and then dump you."

  "What if that is what I want?"

  I stop on the sidewalk and plant my fists on my hips.

  "What?"

  "Maybe I want to have a fucking and then quit." I stare her down. "Other people do it. Why can't I?"

  She looks at me sadly. "You're not the type."

  I scowl and turn away. "I need to get back. It's better if you are not seen with me."

  "I know, Princess," she sighs. "I'll see you in class."

  We part ways and she heads for the dorms, while I head for my house.

  When I settled on De La Warr, Mother bought a house near the school and had it appointed for my use. It stands separate from the others on the street, and has its own yard. I reach it by cutting through the neighbor's property and climbing over the fence.

  From there, I have to climb. I hop up and grab the roof overhang, hook my feet on the porch railing, and push up. On all fours, I crawl to my window, raise the sash, and swing my feet inside. My bedroom is on the third floor. The servants and bodyguards are on the second floor.

  Once inside, I strip. It is not until then that I realize I'm still wearing Jason Powell's sweatshirt. Turning it in my hands, I look it over. It is old and worn and threadbare, and I suspect it has not been washed.