“Are you going to play, Alice?” Aiden asked me and poked me in the shoulder.
“Sorry, I was just thinking,” I said and smiled at him as I picked up the dice. He smiled back at me and then looked away and started counting his money. I laughed at the happy look on his face. Aiden had always loved playing Monopoly, and he was the king of property buying. He always acted as if the game were real life and he was always a sore loser when he happened to lose a game, which had only happened once. And if I’m completely honest, I wasn’t sure if he had lost on purpose or not.
“Thinking is not acting,” he said with a stern face. “Roll the dice and move.”
“See what I told you, Xander?” Liv said and kissed her boyfriend. “Aiden takes this game so seriously. He really thinks he is buying real properties and hotels.”
“Don’t be a sore loser, Liv,” Aiden said, and Liv laughed.
“We just started playing ten minutes ago. You haven’t won yet.”
“Yet,” he said with a smirk and then looked back at me. “Are you going to play?”
“I’m playing, jeez,” I said and rolled the dice and then moved my piece. “I’m not buying the property,” I said as I looked at my cash.
“What?” Aiden looked at me like I was crazy. “How can you not buy it? You always have to buy.”
“I’m saving my money.” I shrugged and adjusted the strap of my top as it was sliding off of my shoulder. I noticed Aiden’s eyes shift from my face to my shoulder and his gaze became more intense as he watched me adjusting my bra strap as well. My fingers got stuck underneath the strap for a moment, and Aiden moved towards me. For a second I thought he was going to help me untangle my fingers, but he didn’t. I released my breath, and he moved back.
“You can play now.” I smiled at him sweetly. “My turn is done.”
“That was a bad move,” he said and shook his head. “How many times do I have to tell you and Liv to always buy a property?”
“I didn’t want to,” I said, and I saw Liv rolling her eyes as Xander smiled.
“Well, you should have,” Aiden said and picked up the dice. “I know you like being difficult, Alice, but really you should listen to me when it comes to playing board games.”
“I know, I know,” I said and picked up my bottle of water. “You know best. You’re the king of Monopoly, the baron of fake-property buying, the master of the universe.”
“The master of the universe, huh?” Aiden smiled and licked his lips. “I don’t know if I’m the master of the universe, but I can be a master of other things.”
My breath caught, and I looked away as my face grew red. Was Aiden confirming what Xander had told me? There was no way that he knew that I knew he was a Dom, so I wondered if he thought he was being smart. I stared at his hands and shivered slightly as I imagined them doing dirty things to me. Very, very dirty things.
“What other things?” I said softly and looked down at his belt. “Leather things?”
“Leather things?” His eyes caught mine, and I couldn’t read his expression. “Okay, I’m buying Park Avenue.” He changed the subject without continuing and I looked over at Liv, who was looking very confused. I really needed to talk to her about what Xander had told me. I knew it would be awkward for her to hear that her brother was a Dom, but my sanity was more important than her feeling awkward at this point.
“Get ready to pay me all of your money, bitches.” Aiden sounded gleeful, and Liv gasped.
“Is that any way to speak to women?” she said tartly. “Bitches? Really, Aiden?”
“No.” Aiden jumped up from the ground. “Sorry, girls, I got a bit carried away. My apologies to you two gentle damsels.”
“I’m no damsel,” I said and sipped some more water. “You don’t need to be gentle with me.”
“That’s good to know.” Aiden winked at me and studied my face for a few seconds. “Anyone want a beer or anything else from the kitchen?”
“I think I’ll come with you and grab a beer.” Xander jumped up as well. “Girls?”
“I’ll have a Blue Moon, please. And some chips.”
“I’ll have a Blue Moon as well,” Liv said. “And bring some more salsa out.”
“Anything else, ma’am?” Xander teased her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.
“Yes, some popcorn too,” she said as they exited the room. “Don’t forget the popcorn.”
“How could I forget the popcorn?” Xander looked at her from the door and then exited.