The Games We Play Book Novels & Stories

Su Ling: “Yes?” Su Lan: “Do you have a book for “how to make friends for dummies” ?” Su Ling: “...” Su Ling: “You came here to ask for a book for how to make friends?” Su Lan: “...yes…” Su Ling: “Did you forget you have a computer in the room connected to your original world?” Su Lan: “Wasn’t it only to make purchases?” Su Ling: “... didn’t see the websites you were on before? It is still there.”

“Not as much as I'm going to like it, that's for sure. – That smile, that barely seemed real it was so beautiful, suddenly became mysterious – But, please, can you go get the deck and the cards… I have a proposal for you when you get back. - The lascivious way he murmured that, running his long fingers through her palm, before releasing her, made her feel so hot that she wanted to take off those pajamas at that very moment, right in front of him. Shaking her head to dispel thoughts of hot, sweaty sex, Missy found herself practically flying to the small closet in her bedroom where she kept all her games, quickly grabbing the small box of pins and playing cards. They were inspired by character

Queens in a chess game where men thought themselves kings. Amira sipped the champagne a waiter placed in her hand, letting her eyes sweep the room. Every interaction was laced with double meaning. A touch on the arm, a whispered word, a glance held too long. Alliances and betrayals danced in the air, hidden beneath the guise of polite society. Montez placed a hand on her back, guiding her deeper into the crowd. His touch burned through the silk, possessive and unyielding. She stiffened, whispering sharply, “Don’t touch me.”

I asked. Why was everyone acting like they’d never seen games before? It’s as if they were kids talking about a birthday party coming up. “Games are just a nickname for f*cked up pranks and activities. They spin the ‘wheel of fortune’ and whatever it lands on, that’s the event for the night. For example, if it lands on ‘games of chance’, then they’ll play something like bingo or roulette. If they decide on bingo, the spectators write up a bingo chart for the players to do.” Leilani replied.

“Why basketball?” “What will you do if you fail?” Ezra always answered. “I won’t.” “Because it’s the only time my head shuts up.” “Because my dad needs something to believe in.” One day, Ezra slid a folded paper across the table. “What’s this?” Matteo asked. “A schedule. My games. In case you ever want to see one.” Matteo stared at it. “Why would I?” Ezra shrugged. “Because I’m going to be great.”

He thought he could use me, humiliate me, and then keep me as a pretty prize in his private fortress. But as I looked at my reflection in the dark glass, stripping away the wet, ruined emerald fabric, I realized something. Kai had spent the last year teaching me how he operated. He had shown me how he analyzed his enemies, how he anticipated their every move, and how he crushed them from the shadows. He thought he was my protector, but in reality, he had been training his most dangerous opponent. He wanted to play a deadly game? Fine. I would learn the rules. And then, I would destroy his entire empire from the inside out.

He returned to his food. Camille was reading something on her phone. She looked up. "Did you see the quote from Kowalski in the sidebar?" I had not seen the sidebar. I pulled out my phone. The sidebar was a short feature on three team members who weren't the subject of the main profile brief quotes, casual shots. Kowalski's quote read: I think this is our year. I feel it. I've felt it since August. Also I found a lucky penny in the parking lot in September and I've been carrying it since and we haven't lost a home game.

We sat huddled near the fire in a comforting, if slightly stiff, silence. "Let's play a game," I suggested. Darian immediately looked uninterested, but Valen perked up. "What kind of game?" "I learned it from Diane. It's called 'Never Have I Ever,'" I explained. "Usually, people play it with alcohol, but we can play it just to get to know each other better." I looked at them both. "Are we in?" Valen nodded. We both looked at Darian, who let out a resigned sigh. "Fine. I’m in."

she said, her eyes lighting up a little. “ That is great, so why don’t we head out to the game section?” I asked. I remember Scarlet loved games, she was a game freak. Maybe Arabella would too. “That sounds nice,” she said, the word nice seemed to hang in the air “But I don’t know how to play games. My parents always said games are for lazy people, so I never really played one. But it sounds interesting.” “No problem. You’ll love it, I assure you,” I said, trying to keep my excitement in check. As I looked at Arabella, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Scarlet. They had the same sharp face, her smile seemed to be like the way Scarlet smiled.

The text under the image scrolled like captions: ROUND 3: CARNIVAL. AUTHOR STRAIN: MODERATE. PLAYER LOSS: ACCEPTABLE. I snapped the book shut. The image folded in on itself and vanished. “These are… logs,” I said. “Narratives, the way *it* tells them.” “Correction,” SML said, pulling a volume labeled GAME CITY – MINI-GAMES from the shelf and flipping it open. “It’s fanfic. Bad fanfic. Look at this.” We leaned in.