Winner Takes All: Round 02

Except for the handcuffs and ball gag.

Her hands were locked behind her back in normal steel handcuffs, forcing her chest and breasts forward. C-cup, Frank guessed, and firm. A generic red ball bag forced her mouth perpetually open. The straps visibly wrapped around her cheeks then disappeared beneath her hair, which fell loosely to her shoulders.

"Ah," said the gentleman. "Yes, this is Claire, my worthy opponent from last night. We had us a good game, didn't we Claire?"

"Nngh." Claire moaned through the ball gag.

"Yes, quite." The gentleman replied. "Ah, but where are my manners. Clark Brenner, pleased to make your acquaintances."

He gave a small bow, then offered his hand to Charlotte. She took it, and he raised her hand to his lips for a polite kiss.

"Charmed," he murmured, taking a long moment to look her up and down. "My, but you look ravishing. Your gentleman friend must be a very lucky man indeed."

He turned to Frank, this time offering a more traditional man-to-man handshake. Frank obliged.

"Frank Jones." He introduced himself. "Nice to meet you. I take it that means you're here for round two?"

"Just so. This little escapade has proven quite enthralling," Brenner replied. He punctuated his remark by nonchalantly patting Claire's rear end. The move knocked her slightly off balance, and without free arms to steady herself she stumbled forward a step and a half. Clark chuckled. "I wonder what fun tonight's activities will bring."

"Guess we'll find out soon enough," commented Frank.

"Indeed." Responded Brenner. "May the best man win, and all that. In fact, I do believe they're ready to get started."

As the two couples turned to look, the announcer from last night stepped into the center of the arena.

"Ladies and gentleman," he spoke. He didn't shout or use a microphone, but he projected well, and as the crowd fell silent Frank had no trouble hearing his next words.

"It's time for the main event. Spectators, please make your way to your seats. Contenders, please follow our staff to your own seat. We begin in five minutes."

An employee appeared to and gestured for Frank to follow. He led Frank and Charlotte to the table further from the door, where Joe McCurdy was already taking a seat. Frank glanced over to the other table to see Clark taking his position across from a professionally-dressed brunette in simple brown-framed eyeglasses.

"Sir," the employee interrupted. "Will your lady remain here, or should I show her to a spectator seat?"

"Here's fine." Frank replied. "I could use a little moral support, y'know?"

"Of course, sir. Best of luck." The employee departed.

Across the table, McCurdy made a similar decision. "Yeah, she'll stay. Can't have her running off, now can I?" He said.

"Right there, on your knees," he continued, pointing to a spot slightly behind his chair and to his left. "Don't distract me while I'm playing. I know you're itching for it, but I'll have plenty for you and your new playmate afterwards. Don't you worry."

Colleen stepped to to the indicated spot and sank to her knees. She already looked visibly uncomfortable. McCurdy, however, had already turned his attention back to Frank and Charlotte.

"No hard feelings, eh?" He ventured. "That's the game, after all."

"No hard feelings," Frank murmured in response. He gave Charlotte what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, then took his seat. Charlotte squeezed back.

The entire room sat in tense silence, save for scattered quite comments in the audience, until the employee returned with a game board held aloft, top side out of sight, and the announcer spoke again.

"We're ready to begin." The announcer intoned. "Tonight's game is a classic that even so sees comparatively little play here in the west. I give you, the eternal eastern contest of wit, Go."

The employee lowered the board to the table, revealing a large wooden grid of squares and two large piles of black and white stones.

"We understand that some of you may not be as familiar with Go as with last night's game of Chess. Allow us a moment to remind you of the rules.

1. There will be no handicaps, so the board will start empty.

2. Black makes the first move. You'll notice, once again, that it's ladies first. For the far table, age before beauty.

3. On your turn, you may place one of your stones on an empty intersection on the board.

4. You may pass at any time.

5. A stone or connected group of stones is captured, and removed from the board, when all intersections directly adjacent to the stone or group are occupied by the enemy

6. No stone may be played to recreate a former board position

7. Two consecutive passes ends the game

8. At game's end, the player with the most territory wins. Your territory is all the intersections your stones either occupy or surround.

"Begin."

McCurdy looked at the black stones in front of him and smirked. After a moment's consideration, he placed his first stone dead-center.

Frank breathed a small sigh of relief. He'd never played Go before, but one of the articles he read earlier had covered it briefly. In particular, most strong positions started three spaces from a corner. Unless this guy just happened to be a Go expert, the "tic-tac-toe" strategy meant he likely didn't know the game either.

Frank placed his first stone three spaces from the near left corner, as he'd read, and waited for McCurdy's next move.

It quickly became clear that Joe McCurdy was no Go expert. He started the game by attempting to rope off the entire far left corner of the board (his near right), which Frank suspected would prove impossible to defend. Rather than attack right away, Frank elected to secure some territory of his own. As McCurdy built his wall stone-by-stone, Frank cordoned off a triangle by placing stones diagonally, first up and to the right, then down and to the right. He finished both diagonal edges of the triangle before his opponent even reached one edge from the center.

Rather than finish the triangle now, Frank decided to go on the offensive. He could always complete the triangle later, he reasoned, and it should be difficult for McCurdy to take from within. He began carving a path toward the center, placing stones every other intersection from the forward tip of his triangle. Of course, he could have immediately placed stones adjacent to the center, but Frank suspected those would be easily captured. The alternating strategy, he reasoned, would spread quickly, but any stone black stone placed in the gaps would already be half surrounded by his whites.

Unfortunately, Frank miscalculated.

When Frank was three hops from the center, McCurdy counterattacked. As expected, he placed a stone between Frank's leading piece and the one preceding it. Frank quickly responded with a third white stone on the black piece's left, leaving only one open vertex on the right to prevent it from being surrounded.

McCurdy saw it too. Crude though he might have been, he clearly wasn't stupid.

Frank's adversary placed another black on the remaining side, creating three open spaces where there had previously been just one. Frank responded by placing blocking the next space to the right, but he needed at least two moves to capture.

McCurdy took the opportunity to counterattack, placing his next black stone in the top left corner of the current skirmish. The move threatened both of Frank's forwardmost stones, forcing him to choose which to protect.

Frank consolidated, and spent the next few turns building another small diagonal wall, but he couldn't save the forwardmost stone of his spear.

Easy, boy. Frank coached himself. That was stupid, but hardly insurmountable. This game's supposed to mimic war strategy. Take small territories, then attack from there.

Frank took a few more turns to solidify his center-board outpost. He made ample use of diagonal walls, which like his dotted line would half-surround any attacking stone, but unlike the dotted line could be easily reinforced by placing another stone in a corner to make "stairs." He also reinforced his walls with "eyes," diamond-shaped formations of four stones that Frank's research suggested were very difficult to assault, and that only took two additional stones to build into the existing diagonal walls.

McCurdy watched closely, and several times positioned individual stones nearby to potentially launch attacks. With the eyes in place, however, McCurdy apparently decided that another attack would likely fail. Instead, he began once again roping off his corner. In the time it took Frank to establish his outpost, Frank reached the board's far edge (from Frank's perspective) and began building the line that would lead him from the center to the edge on Frank's left. He'd also picked up on Frank's diagonal strategy, and this edge zig-zagged across two horizontal rows rather than sticking to one straight line. The pattern still surrounded all edges of the interior, but like Frank's walls would be more difficult to attack.

Well, I can't let him have that. Let's try again.

Frank extended from his outpost again. This time, he placed two stones after the first skip, then three after the next, as he neared his opponent's front line. This pattern, he reasoned, would start him with more openings to be captured and space to extend, should McCurdy counterattack again.

His rival apparently followed the same logic. Rather than counterattack, he fanned out from his wall, recreating some of the same eye-style formations that Frank had used to fortify his own positions. His shit-eating smirk from earlier in the evening was gone, replaced with a scowl of intense concentration. His own face, Frank noted absently, probably mirrored the expression.

Slow and steady, now. Frank thought. There's no way that position's that easy to defend. Set-up first, then execute.

Rather than press the attack, Frank placed a new black stone in the center of the enemy's corner. McCurdy frowned, then fanned his wall out to defend from within as well as from without.

Unfortunately for McCurdy, building a double-sided wall took time. By the time he had his stones in position, Frank had established an eye and extended towards the enemy line in three prongs. The formation resembled a white three-fingered hand, reaching out to grasp at the black wall still pressured by Frank's main body from the outside. The following turn, Frank attacked.

He realized his mistake the second he'd made it. He attacked from the hand's middle finger on the rationale that he could then reinforce from either of the outside fingers as needed. However, if McCurdy countered just so, the same position would let him threaten two fingers simultaneously. There was no way, Frank realized belatedly, to protect both at once.

Frank's outstretched hand was only inches away from the stone. He twitched, fingers reaching back towards the stone before his conscious mind could remember that he'd never be allowed to take the move back.

His opponent noticed. He eyed Frank suspiciously, stroking his chin, eyes flickering from Frank, to the new white stone, and back to Frank again. Frank could see the unspoken question in McCurdy's glare: what are you so nervous about?

Frank felt a small, soft hand on his left shoulder. It took him a moment to recognize Charlotte's touch. The hand snaked its way gently across his shoulders blades and down the right side of his chest, where it joined her other hand as it wrapped around from the left. He felt her breasts press themselves against his left shoulder and the side of his neck. She must have been bending over from behind him, Frank noted absently, to manage the embrace.

"You can do this." She whispered into his ear. Then, loud enough for Joe to hear across the table if he listened closely. "Mmm, I can't wait for you to take him home and ravage me. Nobody else can handle me like you. Please hurry. I need to get out of this dress. I need you inside me. You need to take me, own me, make me your plaything. Please?"

Frank looked back at McCurdy. His opponent no longer focused on Frank or the board, Frank realized, but rather on the substantial cleavage and white lace Charlotte's pose must have revealed.

Charlotte let him look a second longer then stood up, stepped forward, and turned around. Now she stood half a step in front of Frank, the bottom of her ass just barely brushing the edge of the table. From here, she reached forward and rested her left hand on Frank's right jawline. She also, it just so happened, gave McCurdy the chance to ogle her flawless ass, albeit still framed under her designer dress.

Between Charlotte's reassuring touch and Joe's obvious distraction, Frank felt a small wave of calm spread over him. He looked up at Charlotte and smiled.

Frank let McCurdy stare a little longer, then grinned and interrupted. "Think we can hurry this along, old boy? I've got somewhere to be, you see."

McCurdy reluctantly tore his gaze from Charlotte, fixed Frank with a brief glare, then returned his focus to the game. However, Charlotte's ploy had apparently done its job. It took a full minute before McCurdy reoriented himself and made his move. When he did, rather than the crippling counterattack Frank had feared, he merely placed another stone along his defensive line.

Charlotte let go of Frank's jaw, but otherwise stayed put. Occasionally, McCurdy's eyes would still flicker to her hips. Frank noticed a nearby employee take a step forward, likely to intervene, but he apparently decided the Charlotte was not interfering with the game Itself and said nothing.

Smiling to himself, Frank continued the offensive. He progressed slowly forward from multiple angles on both sides. A Go master may have mustered a counteroffensive, but McCurdy was no master. Despite the older man's best efforts, Frank soon took the black line's head, earning himself another outpost in the process.

At this point, both players began running low on stones. For McCurdy, that meant time was running out. He evaluated the board, then launched a final all-out attack on Frank's original triangle at the near edge.

For once, Frank's earlier assumptions proved accurate. McCurdy had limited space within the triangle in which to operate. He reluctantly placed several stones on the edge closest to Frank, where they naturally had fewer adjacent spaces to prevent capture. Frank steadily reinforced, refusing to surrender any territory and simultaneously tightening the vice. With only three stones left apiece, Frank finally captured the core of McCurdy's invasion force.

McCurdy dutifully placed his last three stones, but his expression and posture spoke clearly. A final tally confirmed Frank as the clear winner of Round Two.

***

Frank filled out the paperwork and accepted a few token words of praise from the spectators as quickly as possible. McCurdy sat in his chair and sulked.

"Right," Frank barked once he'd politely dispatched the last of the spectators. He wrapped one arm around Charlotte and pointed two fingers at McCurdy and Colleen. "You two. With me. We have an exciting night ahead of us."

Colleen stood quickly and rubbed the soreness from her knees, relief evident on her face. Apprehension quickly replaced relief, and she demurely fell in line behind Frank.

McCurdy just stared.

"You're not- into that, are you?" McCurdy probed.

"Nah, man. This isn't the gay erotica section. Still," he continued at McCurdy sighed gratefully, "I could always use a manservant to handle all the mundane shit. After all, it looks like I'll be quite busy for the next few days."

Frank flashed McCurdy and imitation of the older man's previous shit-eating grin. McCurdy just scowled, but after a nervous look at the employee still filing the paperwork, he rose to his feet.

"What'll it be, then?"

"Go get the car. I'm sure whatever you brought will do nicely. Pull it around and keep the engine running. I just need a minute to get acquainted with Colleen, here."

McCurdy grumbled something unintelligible, but nonetheless brushed past Frank and headed for the parking lot. Colleen looked up, apprehension still apparent on her face.

"Come here," Frank urged, holding out his arm. "Let me get a look at you. Atta girl."

Frank took his arm from Charlotte and turned to face Colleen. He placed his right arm on her left hip and pulled her closer. His left hand he placed at her temple as he locked gazes with her, their faces mere inches apart. He moved his left hand slowly through her hair until he reached the tight bun still holding it up.

With a firm tug, Frank released Colleen's platinum blonde locks. Her hair dropped in curly waves to the middle of her back and gleamed despite the pale light of the gambling den.

"There," Frank said. "Much better. Other than that, I must say you look quite fetching in that maid's outfit. I may even find time for you to clean my place later."

The hand at Colleen's hip snaked it's way over her right buttcheek. Smallish, but still firm and with a pleasant curve.

"First, though," Frank continued, as the hand made it's way down to her leg and then back up under the skirt, "I have to admit I'm dieing to know what you're wearing underneath."

Apparently, nothing.

Wait, scratch that. While Frank's search turned up zilch in the way of lower body undergarments, he discovered a small, hard, round object nestled between her cheeks.

"What's this?" He asked, prodding it gently. Colleen winced, and her hips flinched away from Frank's touch and further into his embrace.

"A butt plug." She whispered. "Master, I mean Mr. McCurdy, put it in. Apparently I'm too tight. He couldn't get in my ass last night, so he made me wear this all day. Said he wanted me ready for the post-game celebration tonight."

"That was thoughtful of him," Frank said with a grin. "Remind me to thank Mr. McCurdy for his foresight. Speaking of which, we best not keep him waiting. Come now."

Frank left his right hand on Colleen's bare ass, and used it to guide her forward. His other arm he wrapped around Charlotte's waist. He rested his left hand on her ass as well, albeit over her evening gown. With bombshell on each arm and an ass in each hand, Frank marched his prizes out of the gambling den and into the night.

***

McCurdy's ride, it turned out, was a Lincoln Town Car limousine. He apparently brought his own driver, who sat in the driver's seat as the engine idled. When McCurdy saw the threesome emerge, he opened the door and beckoned them into the limo.

"Is that it, then?" McCurdy asked once they were seated.

"Of course not." Frank retorted.

"Driver!" Frank shouted to the front. "Take the night off. Joe here will still pay you, of course. Makes no difference to his wallet. But I think Joe wanted to take a turn behind the wheel for the next few days, don't ya Joe?"

"Of course I do." McCurdy's voice dripped sarcasm.

After a few stunned seconds, the driver caught on. He thanked Frank profusely, exited the car, then smugly offered McCurdy his seat.

McCurdy took the wheel and sighed. "Where to then?"

"I was just thinking about that." Frank answered. "I have a hunch your place will be more comfortable than mine. Why don't you show us your home?"

"Whatever you say," came the reply. McCurdy shifted into drive and slowly, his unfamiliarity with the vehicle apparent, drifted out of the lot and onto the main road.

"Right," Frank declared, turning his attention back to the women between which he'd sandwiched himself. "Colleen, why don't you start on your maid's duties by cleaning my cock? Charlotte, could you please show her how it's done?"