Player's Princess (A Royal Sports Romance)(13)

I drop onto the seat next to Anastasia, wedging her between me and Dee. Dee glares at me behind Anastasia's head.

"By the way, Dee, thanks a lot."

"For what?"

"The preemptive cockblock."

"Language," Akele says.

"Are we still doing 'language'?" Aheahe says.

"Whatever," I cut in. "I'm the hat."

Ana turns to me. "You're hat?"

"My token." I hold it up.

"I see. I shall be the iron."

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.