7
"How very interesting, Love," the Goblin King mused, reading her thoughts, as he could read all of the ones featuring him.
Maybe an aggressive lead did some good things for her, then.
This was a fascinating direction to see her thoughts go in – he was very pleasantly surprised.
Did he just read that right? She didn't just wish for him to be physically manipulative as well, did she?
Well, well, well.
It would seem that his plan just got the stamp of approval from Her Majesty, then.
Lovely.
Adam lolled about on his chair, satisfaction hanging around him like the cloud of smoke from his cigarette.
Jake sulked.
It wasn't fair that Adam always got the girls by being so pushy and confident. He basically forced them into submission, and if they survived that first rough handling, they no longer responded well to any other, and especially not to Jake's light touches, wistful stares and enigmatic manner.
And the ooze of slimy charm. Always the ooze.
Now, the gloating would not stop! Adam was offering to be "generous" and call the bet off if Jake paid him $25, saving himself the humiliation of having to pay $50 later.
There was a dance coming up this weekend, and after class was over today, Adam kept asking Sarah if she was planning to come over and over again.
In the course of this broken-record questioning, Sarah's answers moved from "No, thanks" to "I'm not sure" all the way to "yes, I'm definitely coming," completing the 180 degree turn that Adam had wanted completed.
Having thus assured that he'd see her again, and have more chances to dance with her, Adam also made sure to take up all of her free time after class was over to prevent Jake from bumping into her "accidentally".
There was definitely reason to sulk.
Adam was also hoping to make her his partner for the up-coming little competition in the nearby town. It was going to be small and unimportant, of course, but it would secure his victory over Jake completely, if he could secure Sarah as his dancing partner. Needless to say, it would also give him some of that pocket money he always needed more of and raise his prestige in the eyes of the teacher.
Profits, profits, profits – so many it was hard to keep track of all of them.
Jake had no definite plan. He needed to get some one on one time with Sarah, definitely, but where it would go from there, he didn't know. He was basically convinced that Adam would get her, and was contemplating paying him off and forgetting about the whole thing. But he suddenly realized he really sort-of liked Sarah. More than an object to bet on.
She was something else. There was some other-worldly quality about her – something not quite mortal, not quite human… if there were slightly sinister and dark-side faeries, he could definitely see her as the queen of them.
But, no.
He shook his head.
She was a girl.
Just a girl.
And she'll find herself in Adams bed just as quickly as the others had.
There was practically nothing to be done to save her from that fate.
Pity, really.