Sandrine's Bet Ch. 02

Sound began building in the room. The goalie realized he didn't have the puck and turned just in time to watch it slide into the goal. The sounds became screams and kept up for a long while. Sandrine resumed her seat with a "Fuck!" Danielle was sitting on her love seat. Her face was in her hands and she was breathing deeply.

When the room began to settle, I asked Sandrine, "So, now what?"

"The shootout continues starting back with the original skaters, but this time sudden death. They keep up like they were, and first time the puck goes in the net it's over."

"So, the Stars get to go first?"

"That's why they elected to go first at the beginning of the shootout. If it goes to sudden death they have the advantage." For the first time I heard a quaver in Sandrine's voice.

Yeah, I think the lacquer had all worn off now, and this was finally real to Sandrine. It wasn't just bravado and loud conversation and invective and theoretical opportunities to humiliate some woman she didn't happen to like for no particularly good reason. Sandrine was finally face to face with the idea that one of them would soon be naked and shortly after have a long train of cocks using her mouth. Danielle hadn't had that layer of protection, or at least had it much more briefly than Sandrine. Danielle had sooner, and more readily, been willing to face the truth of what losing meant. Who that loser would be was to be decided in mere seconds, and Sandrine was finally face to face with the reality that, meaningless omens notwithstanding, it was as likely to be her as Danielle.

Then I heard something I never would have expected.

Sandrine cleared her throat. "Um, hey, Danielle. I'm, uh, you know, maybe you were right before and this bet is pretty extreme." Her voice was both shaky and timorous. "It's still not settled. Still tied. Maybe, um, maybe we should just, you know, drop it? That okay with you?"

The room was silent, waiting on Danielle's response.

She started to giggle, and then to laugh outright. "If you were a guy I'd say your balls were starting to sweat, honey." Danielle's voice was the exact opposite of Sandrine's, strong and confident, and there was mockery on her face. Now that the room knew where she was going to take her response, the guys were more than ready to get behind Danielle. They weren't loud, but it seemed that every one of them had some disdainful comment about Sandrine's cold feet, and the ridicule, sarcasm, and jeering were non-stop.

It was the perfect reversal. Bold, fearless Sandrine, too ready to put it all on the line, was suddenly the timid one, cowed by the thought of the horrendous penalty that awaited her if she lost in the next few seconds. Danielle, who'd been manipulated into a wager she'd never have made were her rational mind working, was now the audacious one, ready to courageously seize an insane chance and see it through, win or lose.

Danielle gave Sandrine her unambiguous answer. "Sorry, pussy-kins, I'm good, but I understand how spineless Yankee Stars fans can be. If you're backing out I guess you're backing out, but you're doing it on your own."

Obviously, it was an answer Sandrine didn't want to hear and hadn't expected.

"Decide now, gutless pussy," Danielle said.

"Oh, fuck," Sandrine answered. The quaking tremor in her voice was now unmistakable. I was close enough to her that I could see what perhaps the others couldn't: the slight trembling of her lower lip and chin. "Fuck you, Danielle. Yeah, I'm still in. The bet's still on, and am I ever gonna love humiliating you." But the threat was timidly made; the poise and assurance had completely abandoned her voice.

"Okay. You heard her. We're still on. Now let's get this done and get you naked, quitter."

Everyone settled. The teams had paused for only a brief time. A moment later the Stars' shooter, the one who'd scored before, advanced to the puck. I glanced to the side and saw that Sandrine had her hands exactly the same way as Danielle, except she was bouncing them lightly against her lips. As the shooter crossed the blue line she put her head down and shut her eyes.

The shooter tried the same thing he had the first time, but the goaltender was better able to defend the effort and the shot went wide.

Sandrine looked up and I heard a whispered, "Fuck." I wasn't surprised to see the same extra moisture in her eyes I'd seen in Danielle's. Yep, this was something tangible now.

The Flames skater was soon pushing the puck down the ice. I don't know if was called a 'double deke' or what, but he tried the same move the Stars' skater had, but doubled back to the original side. The Stars' goaltender committed too far to the first decoy and the Flames' shooter actually danced around him and took the puck right up to the crease before slapping it home. Then his stick and arms were in the air.

I'd thought the screaming was loud before. I was wrong. Now it was deafening, the roomful of Flames fans finally able to cut loose. It was over.

I looked at Sandrine. I now knew what stories meant when they said someone looked 'stunned.' Her features were frozen, eyes wide and staring, a couple fingers over her mouth. Her eyes rolled up in her head, she shut them, and a tear rolled down each cheek. Her lips formed the words, 'Oh, my God.'

Long before the celebrating was over Keith looked at Sandrine and me and indicated with his thumb the hallway. Soon, he, I, Sandrine, and Danielle were in one of the bedrooms.

Danielle skipped into the room. Sandrine sat on the bed, her head down, her hands pressed together palm to palm between her drawn together knees. Danielle bent down in front of her laughing merrily.

"Hey, loser bitch, ready to suck some cock?" She had her beer with her and proceeded to illustrate on the bottle the task that was in Sandrine's immediate future.

"Danielle, just....." Keith started, but he didn't want to use the words. "Now, first thing. This is my house. Nobody does anything in my house they don't do willingly."

"Hey, what the fuck!" Danielle protested. "We had a bet!"

This time the words wouldn't stay behind Keith's lips. "Danielle, just shut up and back off. Sandrine, if you want to walk out the door no one is going to say 'boo' to you. The stripping I don't care about as long as there's no touching. But you're not paying off the rest of it unless I'm convinced you're doing it willingly."

Sandrine looked troubled. I knew the lacquer was now gone and she was down to her bare soul. I knew she desperately did not want to do this.

"Okay, Keith, you're a sweetheart and I understand your concern." Her voice again had that quaver to it. "But we made a fair bet. Shit. I'm the one who suggested upping it. I won't do it happily, but if the words you need to hear are that I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it willingly and consensually then you just heard them. I'll pay up."

"Goddamn right you will," Danielle interjected.

Keith put a hand up to Danielle signing, 'Be silent!'

"Danielle? You really going to make her do this?" Keith asked.

"Hell, yeah! She's the one....."

"It's okay, Keith," Sandrine said. "She doesn't have to make me. I opened my big mouth, and I'm ready to pay off."

Danielle pounced on that one.

"Oh, you're just getting started opening your mouth, bitch," she said. Then she got the same mischievous look on her face that I'd seen on Sandrine's in the kitchen. "She's gonna strip. She's not getting out of that. I just might let her out of the blow-jobs. But she'll have to pay a price."

Sandrine's demeanor brightened at the idea that there might be some way out of the most humiliating part of the ordeal she faced. "What's it going to cost me?" Sandrine asked. "You mean money? I don't have much cash with me."

Danielle laughed. "In your dreams. You think I'd let you off that easy? No, the price isn't cash. Believe me, you don't have enough of that anywhere to get me to drop this for just some money. It'd probably just be some of that boring, green American money, anyway."

"So, what?" Sandrine asked.

Danielle laughed again. She was learning quickly how to milk this for all the misery she could heap on Sandrine.

"After you strip we'll talk about it," Danielle said. "But, hey, let's get you naked, girl!" Danielle continued with great good humor in her voice. "You dance the first song and you'll be in your birthday suit by the time it's done. Then we'll put on some music and I'll let you know how to dance and when you're done. Then, unless you want to pay up, you start sucking cocks until everyone who wants it has gotten off."

"Yeah, I get it," Sandrine said. "I'll suck them one at a time. My mouth only. No fucking. Good enough?"

Danielle folded her arms thoughtfully. "Well, sure. That was the bet. But aren't you forgetting. The bet was also that I get to humiliate you. Any way I want. You insisted as I recall."

I felt I had to jump in. Sandrine had made a colossal mistake and I hoped to try to get her to the other side as easily as it could be done at this point.

"Hey, come on, Danielle," I said. "You know how many guys are out there?"

Keith used the opportunity to try to use his weight to influence her. "Michael's right, Babe. Can't you ease up?"

"Twelve," Danielle answered my question, "including you and Keith. You can make your own decisions about cashing in."

"Thanks guys," Sandrine said. "But it was my idea. Loser gets humiliated. She's right. I'll do whatever I have to so this is paid in full." She sighed. "Okay, what are you going to do to me? What's the humiliation?"

Danielle laughed again. "Oh, I know exactly how. But later. After you're naked and done dancing. So, we'll see."

"Fuck!" Sandrine said. "Okay. If I'd won I'd have put you through a wringer. Agreed. You direct the show. I strip. I dance the way you tell me. I either buy my way out, or I suck every cock in the house. I'll not only do it, but I'll do it all exactly the way you say. But when it's done it's done, Danielle. No bullshit about me weaseling out."

Danielle got a beatific smile on her face and put her palms to the ceiling. "That's all there is too it."

"Okay, Sandrine," Keith said. "You're doing this willingly?" Sandrine nodded her assent. "So let's go get this settled." With that he turned, opened the door, and headed for the living room. Danielle followed.

I was going or staying with Sandrine, and she was staying, at least for the moment. She leaned into me and rested her head on my shoulder. After a short time she straightened again and we looked at each other. She'd been shedding some tears and now she swiped with the back of her hand below each eye, blinking. She sniffed.

"Jesus Christ on a pogo stick! Michael, what the fuck have I gotten myself into?"

"I was trying to get you to ask yourself that question three hours ago."

"Thanks. Really. I listened to the sounds you were making but didn't hear a thing."

"Yeah. Hey, listen, Sandrine. Danielle's scored her points. Do the dance and then bail. Fuck the blow-jobs. Fuck whatever idiotic nonsense Danielle's got in her head about how you're going to buy your way out. Just dance, put your clothes on, and walk."

She thought about that for a moment, but then shook her head.

"No, I can't. Really, Michael. It's some kind of alpha female thing. We've been sniffing each other's crotches and snarling. And now she's won. But if I honor it all at least.....I don't know.....I can walk out of here with my head up. We're back on equal footing."

"Well, that's inspiring. You gonna to sell the film rights to the Lifetime Channel?"

It was good to hear her laugh. It would be her last for a while.

She sat for a moment more, then exhaled and said, "Okay, let's get this over with," and rose.

I followed her into the living room.