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“Who made you king of this castle?” Dorian asked. “Oh, right. You are king of the castle.”
Braden’s grin was infectious. “Damn right I am. Time to play kings.”
I didn’t know the game, but Ryan saw my confusion and leaned over to explain it to me. A deck of cards was spread out in a circle, face-down. Each player took turns drawing a card, and the card corresponded to a certain drinking activity. Two was you, meaning the player who drew got to pick someone to drink. Three was me—the player himself drank. And so on with more and more complex rules.
It was fun, and fast-paced. On my first turn I drew a nine, which was rhyme. I had to pick a word, and the others each had to think of a word that rhymed with it.
“Luck,” I said after a moment.
“Duck,” Ryan said next.
Braden: “Stuck.”
Dorian: “Struck!”
Andy: “Hmm, cluck.”
Me: “Muck.”
“Fuck,” Ryan said with a childish grin.
“I was wondering how long it would take for someone to say it,” I said, giving him a playful smack on his arm. It was like bumping against a boulder.
“Uhh,” Braden said. “Canuck?”
“That counts!” I said. “That totally counts.”
“Shit, umm,” Dorian said, reaching for a word. “I… damnit.” He accepted defeat and sipped his drink.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dorian lose at rhyming,” Braden said, winking at me. “You’ve really tied his tongue.”
“I just happened to be the odd man out once all the answers were extinguished,” Dorian said. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve said he was annoyed at losing.
“I’m surprised you bucked your chances by giving up,” I said. “And Braden’s Canuck answer should have caused you to huck one final answer into the mix: puck.”
“Oh ha ha,” Dorian said, with a fake-annoyed laugh. “I left my rhyming dictionary in my other pair of pants.”
“Yuck,” I said with an ever-increasing grin.
Ryan roared with laughter. “Yep. She’s definitely my new favorite roommate.”
One game lasted about an hour—or two of Dorian’s drinks, which were indeed so good that I had him make me a second one. Ryan wanted to play another round, but the other guys were all too tired. Ryan slumped his massive muscular frame in his chair, clearly disappointed.
“Hey,” Braden said to me. “Want to move your stuff over tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“Great. We can have brunch with my sister after.”
I cocked my head. “Just your sister? Not your parents yet?”
“Consider it a rehearsal. A little practice before the real thing.” Braden lingered for a moment like he wasn’t sure whether to shake my hand or hug me. In the end, he smiled, nodded, and left.
“Goodnight, darling,” Dorian said, wasting no time in wrapping me in a warm hug. His slender body was warm against mine. “Dream about those understudy lines we practiced today. And the ones we’ll practice next time!”
“Oh, I will.”
Andy nodded politely to me as he left. Once they were gone, I went to the counter full of drinks and mixers and began making two more drinks. Ryan twisted in his chair, surprised.
