The Game (Fiction)

As I looked around at the group of men gathering, I wondered if any of them figured out the main prize . I hadn't bothered to invite any women to the game, not wanting to face any sort of competition, and most of the men I'd invited were single. There were a few married's for appearances sake, but I'd made sure they couldn't hold their own in a game of parchesi, let alone poker.

It wasn't completely out of character for me to host a tournament full of varying degrees of attractive men; most of the people I knew were guys, and I knew very few women who even liked poker, nevermind enough to play in a tourney. All my life I'd made a point of mastering as many male dominated interests as possible. I'd always maintained that men simply had more fun, and for quite some time I really believed that to be my motivation, but the reality was, and is: I just want to be around men--and as often as possible.

A baker's dozen trickled in mostly one by one. I carefully chose a variety of intellects, a few bad boys, and the odd nice guy for good measure. Most of the men I'd met over the years, and one by one exposed them to the game of poker. When I'd started it was quite the challenge to gather enough people for a saturday night game (especially hosted or attended by a woman), but with the recent hockey strike, the popularity of poker rose exponentially and there wasn't enough time in a week to get to all the games. Being a female poker player was no longer a liability, but an asset in the typically male sport. And I was damn good.

Jason had just shown up, followed quickly by Mike and Andre. Warmth spread throughout me as I watched him take note of the other men. It really was an impressive gathering. Most were in their mid 30's, reasonably physically fit, and of course charming as hell (each in their own right). I was rooting for Jason, who smiled when he caught my eye. He was sexy as hell with his crazy black curly hair. When it was shorter, he looked like a typical business man, but with it a little longer he was downright hot.



cont'd