[Recap: While trying to get his Wife pregnant, Aidan has come up with a game to spice up their Love life. It appears to be harmless enough, so Rosa reluctantly agrees. Previous rounds have involved oral, waxing, massage, and this time Rosa has a new idea up her sleeve. But, will her risky gamble pay off or end in public humiliation?]

—

ANTAGONIST PROTOCOL

Rosa calls out the tempo change as the music pumps up to a crescendo. She knows the tracks by heart, knows where the drops are, knows when to get the girls ready to go flat-out until the end of the tune. It feels good, like being the director of a dance business, watching them all fall into line as she calls the changes. Just for the devilment of it, she changes up the routine halfway through the last song, going hard until her lungs were bursting for air. The music dies away and her head comes up, a flush of pride that most of the class had kept up with her.

“Smashing it!” she calls as she clicks the spin cycle into freewheel. “Just spin the legs now, get that lactic acid out.”

She cannot lie, it feels good. Here, in the spin studio everything all the time went to plan. She was the queen and she all the time got what she wanted. Coming down off the adrenaline high, she finds that she can even think positively about what was going on with her own body. The first run, the spa weekend, had turned out to be a dud, but there were more cycles. They’d graduated from menstrual timing applications and vitamin pills. This was prime time, and eventually it would bear results. For the first time since they’d started the journey, Rosa finally feels like they would win this.

“Nice work,” she says to the dark-haired girl. She’s the same girl who had triggered all those feelings months ago when she’d asked about getting back her pre-baby body. Her name is Anya and now she’s just another person in the class. Rosa can visualise herself in the other woman’s place, working hard to tone herself after eight months of carrying around another human being. Just a matter of time.

“Thanks,” she replies, “I thought you were trying to kill us there at the end.”

“Didn’t though. Makes you stronger.”

Anya laughs as she heads through the door. Rosa watches her approach a blonde woman who is waiting for her by the reception desk, sees them exchange a few words and then kiss. She turns back to her spin cycle and begins to wipe down the seat with her towel.

Aidan comes in later. He has the morning off on Wednesdays but all the time helps her to close up. It’s nice to be alone with him in the dark after they shut all the machines down and turn off the lights. She hugs him close to her at the door.

“What’s that for?” Aidan asks.

“Nothing. Because. You objecting?”

Aidan shakes his head. “No. Just, uh.”

She can see that he’s trying to process it. Sometimes, she would let him struggle, but today she feels better than that.

“I feel okay, honestly.”

“You sure?”

“Sure.”

She pecks him on the cheek to emphasise.

“Hey,” she continues, “We need to talk about the next.”

Aidan opens the door so that she can step through, and then locks the gym up.

“Let’s do that in the car,” he says.

Rosa isn’t in any hurry. She follows him across the car park and gets in the passenger side as usual. Once they’re on the road, she starts to talk.

“So, I was thinking. How about we do it a little differently this time around?”

Aidan’s weaving through heavy traffic, only partially listening.

“Uh huh.”

“How about we combine the bet with the payoff this time?”

Aidan changed lanes, gesturing at the guy behind in the rear-view mirror.

“Sure. Like what?”

“I thought we could invite some people around to ours and play a game.”

“Like what? Cluedo? Who are you thinking of?”

“I was thinking Ant and Theo. And maybe Arly?”

“Dunno if Ant and Theo are into board games.”

“No, not board games. Card games.”

The traffic grinds to a halt. Aidan turns to face his Wife.

“As I said, like what? Poker?”

“Nearly.”

Aidan’s eyes widen and he sputters, “Oh fuck. Really?”

“Arly’d be up for anything, and you know Ant, right. Theo would go along with whatever his boyfriend does. Five’s a good number. We’d do cocktails or something, give everyone a bit of Dutch courage.”

“Hold on. So how does this work into the bet?”

“Whichever of us loses gets pulled off to bed to be fucked.”

“So if Arly loses? Bearing in mind she’d probably go naked without the card game?”

“Uh, just between us two. Even if we have to carry on ourselves.”

“Um, technically we’re just having Sex together. No-one loses.”

“Ah, not quite. The loser gets to be led out of the room in the nude by the winner with our friends sitting there watching. Whatcha think?”

Aidan thinks for a moment. “So if I lose, I get to be paraded naked to the bedroom, with all our friends staring at my junk?”

“Ant’s seen your junk before, way back. Since before technically it was classifiable as junk.”

“So, wait, that was skinny-dipping when we were kids. He hasn’t seen it recently. Theo definitely hasn’t.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Rosa chuckles.

“What?”

“It’s more of a problem for Ant,” Rosa said, “If his boyfriend gets to see your equipment.”

“That’s pretty crude.”

“Just saying.”

“Saying what?”

“You’re bigger.”

Aidan is torn between threading through the traffic and navigating the conversation with his Wife.

“How the fuck would you know? Is there something you want to tell me?”

Rosa grins and pats her husband’s thigh.

“Just based on probabilities. I’m just saying you weren’t my first, but there’s a reason you’re my last.”

—

Rosa arranges it all for the next Thursday night, again dictated by the cycle. Realising she’d talked a big game with no way to back it up, she’d gone to Arly first and got her onside. Arly was between boyfriends and her generally rebellious nature, plus the promise of some party favours, had swung her around to the idea. Once she was locked in, Anthony was an easy catch. He was Aidan’s best buddy from college and they’d been up to all kinds of shit over the years. Being invited to play strip poker by his friend’s Wife was probably towards the tame end. Still, Rosa can feel the butterflies in her stomach as eight o’clock comes around.

Arly arrives first, sporting a blonde bob with a purple streak. Anthony and Theo arrive twenty minutes late and Rosa senses friction. She directs everyone to the kitchen table and Aidan sets up a round of cocktails.

Theo looks around the table nervously. “So,” he begins, “How does this work?”

Aidan gestures towards Rosa and says, “Rosa has the plan. I’ll let her deal.”

Rosa feels all eyes on her.

“First, we eat. I have pizza on approach. There’s beer and wine in the fridge, or you can mix more cocktails, so help yourselves. Uh, I also have some other stuff.”

Rosa glances at Arly, who smiles.

“It’s from before we started trying, but, um, that shit doesn’t have a best before date, right?”

“Cool,” Theo interjects, “But, uh, I mean, what are the rules? For when we’re done with pizza and we’ve raided your stash?”

Silence descends. Aidan is looking at her too, an amused twinkle in his eye. Either way, he’s getting laid because tonight’s the night. He’s just enjoying watching his Wife squirm. She takes a deep breath and straightens her shoulders.

“Let’s keep it simple. Five card draw. Two rounds. You can change as many cards in your hand as you like. The ante is an item of clothing. Worst hand has to take it off.”

Anthony smiles. “So, so long as we’re not absolutely shit we get to keep our clothes.”

“Not quite. You can’t fold. So if you’re holding shit, there’s no way out.”

“Fair,” Arly interjects.

Theo looks at her. “Really? So, like, are you wearing five sets of underwear?”

“That’s a real personal question. But no. One set of underwear.”

“But you’re a girl.”

“Fuck, yes. So I am.”

“So you have two items of underwear.”

“So you just better be less shit than me at picking five cards.”

Arly smirks at Theo, daring him to go again.

The doorbell rings.

Aidan gets up. “That’ll be the pizza,” he says.

Rosa also gets up and goes into the bedroom. She has her stash in a ziplock bag in her underwear drawer. Her previous life; these days she doesn’t even touch beer, let alone this stuff. She returns to the kitchen and deposits it on the table.

“Help yourself. Mi casa, su casa.”

Arly picks up the bag. “Fuck yeah,” she says.

—

Rosa helps Aidan clear the table. He’s found a pack of cards and is busy shuffling the deck. Under the table, she rests her hand on his leg. Aidan looks at her and smiles, and it feels like a lark, some stupid prank from their early twenties.

Arly is laughing, talking about penis sizes with Anthony, having already made her way through most of her first joint. She’d made a face when Rosa insisted she smoke next to the open window to prevent secondary inhalation but Arly had relented. Arly knows the score with the fertility treatments, but it still makes Rosa feel strange and excluded as she watches her friend smoking her stash while trying not to breathe it in herself.

Anthony has gone the vodka route. Theo sips a red wine, watching his boyfriend warily. It’s strange, Rosa thinks. Theo had all the time seemed to be the more outgoing type, but when push came to shove, he was much more conservative than she wondered he’d be. In a strange way, she realised that he was the threat in this game: both she and Aidan were abstaining whereas Arly and Ant were gonna be blind by halfway through. Theo could be quite the challenge; or, Aidan could deal her the worst hand in the world and no amount of strategy would help. Aidan taps the pack on the table to get everyone’s attention and deals everyone five cards.

“Let’s go,” he says.

The game is a car crash for the first dozen hands. Rosa cannot catch a break, turning in five cards and getting five equally bad ones back. The others aren’t faring much better, as if no-one understands the strategy. A dozen quick rounds in, and everyone has some pieces of clothing missing, even Aidan, the self-styled master card shark.

Rosa watches Anthony closely, seeing the way that he’s overplaying his hand, asking for more drink, but all the while the eyes are tracking the game closely. Theo is already down to just his jeans and Arly, despite her early bravado, is sitting in her bra and panties clutching her hand nervously and one more loss away from serious exposure.

“Five aces,” she announces, ironically, as she lays down a jumble of cards with a single queen high.

“Pair of fours,” Aidan says, and adds, “Thanks, you saved me. I thought I was cooked this time.”

Rosa has a king, Anthony has two queens. Theo rocks back in his chair.

“Whatcha got, hon?” Anthony asks.

“Fuck,” Theo growls.

“Just a jack?”

“Nah. Worse than that.”

Theo lays down a royal flush.

“Holy actual fuck,” Anthony gasps.

“What a waste,” Theo counters. “I’ll never get that again in a million years. All to beat a pair.”

Arly huffs. “Spare a thought for the poor fucker with the queen.”

Quiet descends on the table and all eyes lock onto her.

“Nah, right. Yeah. Don’t worry.”

Arly reaches behind her back and unclasps her bra. She slips off the shoulder straps and deposits it on the floor on top of the pile of her other clothing. Her shoulders go back, thrusting her bare breasts forward. They are much bigger than Rosa’s, sitting high on her chest with her large, dark nipples jutting out. Rosa would have killed to have a chest like that. Arly looks around the faces, making no attempt to hide herself.

“Irony is, only one person at the table appreciates the artistry,” she smiles sardonically at Aidan, then looks at Rosa, “Unless you’re turning.”

Rosa can feel Aidan shift uncomfortably in his seat.

“What do ya think?” Arly continues, and shakes her breasts, making them wobble.

Aidan smiles and replies, “Let’s compare after the next round.”

Rosa stiffens. “Big call. I still have my jeans on.”

“Two rounds then.”

Despite her best efforts, Rosa loses the next round. She’s angry with herself but also with Aidan for predicting it. Defiantly, she stands up and slides her jeans down to her ankles, revealing lacy black panties to match her already exposed bra. It feels strange to stand there in just her underwear in front of her friends, but there’s also another feeling beyond it, as her gaze settles on her husband. His eyes are burning now, and she can feel herself responding to his unremitting gaze, to his desire. Despite it all, she’s been put on display in front of these people and it’s making her feel good.

Eventually she sits down and, as nonchalantly as she can, she asks Aidan to deal the next hand. She’s doing better than Arly and Anthony, both left with just enough underwear to cover their crotches, but not by much. Like the hand of fate, Aidan deals the next set of cards as Arly leans forward over the table to drink her wine, breasts swinging Free. Her eyes shift over to Rosa’s husband. Rosa watches Aidan carefully out of the corner of her eye, but Aidan’s pretending very hard not to notice Arly’s assets.

Aidan deals five cards. Rosa picks hers up and groans, realising too late that everyone else at the table would have heard it. Aidan raises an eyebrow.

“What?” Rosa asks.

“Uh, your turn. How many cards do you wanna ditch?”

Rosa drops her hand to the table. “All of them,” she says. “New cards please.”

Aidan’s face is impassive as he deals her five replacement cards. She picks them up and tries to maintain a poker face. Aidan continues around the table, then deals his own.

“Okay,” he announces, “Show.”

Rosa watches pairs appear. Aidan flips over his to reveal an ace high.

“Babe, whatcha got?” he asks.

“Ten high.”

It’s humiliating, knowing that she needs to bear her breasts to everyone. It doesn’t matter that there’s only one person at the table into girls, and it’s her husband. She unhooks her bra and begrudgingly exposes her pert breasts to everyone, then makes eye contact with each one of them in turn, silently daring them to opinion.

“Ah,” Anthony says, “So I was right.”

Flushing with embarrassment, Rosa hisses, “Right? About what?”

Anthony has the nerve to look her in the eye and smile. “That November shot on your socials. I always said it was photoshopped.”

Theo snorts, sputtering out his drink. Arly titters.

“Oh, you are a twisted fuck,” Rosa exclaims, folding her arms to try and somehow hide herself from view.

Rosa seeks comfort in Aidan’s face, exquisitely aware of how exposed she feels. But instead of reassurance, Aidan discreetly holds up one finger. One more loss and the bet was his. Like an irresistible force of nature, Aidan begins to deal the next round.

The mood around the table becomes tense. Aidan and Theo are safe for this round, but the other three players are down to their last item. Losing would mean bearing all. Reluctantly, Rosa picks up her cards. Jack high. Aidan nods towards her and she lays four cards down. He deals replacements, and she receives another jack. Rosa feels a flush of excitement, sucking in a quick breath that makes her pert breasts bob.

She watches the other players intently as they lay their hands down. Theo has three threes. Arly has two aces. Anthony drags it out but finally lays down two queens. She lays down her cards and her eyes turn towards her husband. Aidan surveys her hand grimly and then lays down his cards one by one. A six, a seven, a ten, a king. He holds the last card in his hand, teasing her, his expression unreadable as he turns it. A king.

Rosa’s stomach clenches as she realises that despite the pair of jacks she’s somehow lost the hand. She scans the faces of the other players, seeing amusement and relief.

“Well, that’s shit,” Anthony exclaims, slurring his words slightly. “Show us your Pussy.”

For a long moment, Rosa doesn’t move. Her eyes lock onto her husband, appealing to him silently.

“I guess that’s the game,” Aidan replies. He looks at Rosa. “Once you’ve taken off your panties.”

The words hit her like a blow, and she realises that Aidan isn’t faking it. He really means to put her on display in front of their friends. Reluctantly, she stands up. Burning with shame, she begins to pull her panties down, revealing her naked crotch.

“Shaved?” Arly asks, nonchalantly, “Or waxed?”

“Waxed,” Aidan replies, as if Rosa cannot answer for herself. “I waxed her myself.”

Arly had the nerve to lean in close to Rosa’s crotch, staring.

“You did a good job,” she replies, “Not a hair.”

Rosa stands stock still, gripped by humiliation as her friend inspects her naked body. She just needs it to be over. Her eyes lock on her husband’s, imploring him.

“I guess that’s the end of the game,” Aidan says.

Theo nods enthusiastically, “Yep. I guess we have a loser.”

Aidan makes a show of gathering the cards up and putting them back into their box, while Rosa stands there. He takes his time, stretching the moment out. Their friends take that as their cue to start to put their clothes on and get ready to leave. Rosa bends down to pick up her panties.

“No,” Aidan says.

Rosa looks at him, wide-eyed.

“Not you. You lost, remember?” he tells her.

Rosa’s hand curls around her panties, but she makes no move to put them on.

Aidan leans forwards, whispering into her ear. “Good.”

She watches everyone else get dressed and head towards the front door. Aidan is chatting casually to them as he opens the door, thanking them for a good night. All the while Rosa is forced to stand next to him, still naked, kissing their friends goodbye while trying to avoid brushing them with her exposed breasts. Finally, Aidan closes the door.

“Well,” he begins, “This has been fun.”

Rosa fumes silently, standing naked in front of the closed door. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t have to show your private parts to all our friends.”

“If it had gone the other way,” Aidan says, “I would have had to stand up naked in front of four people who very much have an interest in penises. You got the easy ride. I was the only one interested in seeing you bare all.”

Aidan takes her hand and leads his Wife back to the kitchen. Rosa can see the bulge in his underwear as he tidies the glasses into the sink. Once that’s done, he picks up the pack of cards but instead of putting them back into their box, he begins to shuffle them.

“What’re you doing?” Rosa askes.

“Want to go again?”

“I’m already stark naked. What are we playing for?”

Aidan deals five cards for her and five for himself.

“Pride,” he says.

“So, if I win, you strip?”

“Uh huh.”

“But what if you win again?”

Aidan begins to grin.

“We’re now playing the high rollers table,” he says, “I get to put clothing back on.”

Rosa snorts, “So each time I lose, you get dressed?”

“No babe. I get to dress you.”

Rosa stares at her husband, trying to read his expression but cannot get past his poker face or that grin. All she knows for sure is that prominent bulge in his underwear; whatever he has planned has got him all fired up. She feels an illicit thrill, standing naked under his penetrating gaze, being dared to put more on the line.

“High stakes,” she murmurs, leaning forward over the table, putting her breasts on display. “I’ll look forward to unwrapping your package.”

“How about we do three rounds rather than two? Better chances of a good hand.”

Rosa blinks, trying to work out the pros and cons. Aidan seems reasonable, as if he’s giving her a chance, but she cannot dispel the nagging doubt that this is some sort of trap.

“Sure,” she replies, mustering her bravado, “Less talking, more doing. Let’s go.”

After two rounds she has a pair of eights. She drops three cards and Aidan deals her replacements. A pair of tens.