Reward Trip
Chapter 7: It's in the Cards
Disclaimer: I don't own the Voltron Force-I just happen to like Voltron a lot. Diana's my original character while Lance, Manset, and the rest of Voltron Force belong to WEP and whoever they license Voltron to. I promise I'm super broke and just like to write stories for enjoyment.
Diana woke up in the morning locked in Lance's two-armed, two-legged embrace as it started to rain on Dradin. After a few moments, Diana smiled as she finally set herself free from Lance's embrace and slowly made her way to the window to take in the scene before her. She first looked at the terrace and focused on their terrace as the drops covered the furniture, tiled patio, and even the railings. Diana then concentrates on the distant mountains and Dradin's growing skyline. A couple of minutes went by, and Diana finally focused on the raindrops making trails on their window.
"Good morning, Sexy." Lance greeted as he joined Diana and stared out of the window. "I thought it never rains in Dradin?"
"It never rains in Southern California, either," Diana replied with a chuckle. Lance joined in the chuckling, before pressing his body closer to Diana.
"I see you're enjoying the beautiful scenery," Lance whispered into Diana's ear. Diana briefly closed her eyes and let out a soft gasp. "But it's not as beautiful as the view you give me every day we're together."
"Lance…" Diana softly moaned as Lance kissed her neck.
"And since we're both already here, I believe there's a fantasy I can fulfill right now," Lance whispered into her ear. "You know…the one about the rain…" He paused as he slowly moved his hands all over Diana's body. "And floor-to-ceiling windows…" Diana gasped as Lance slowly sandwiched her body between his hard body and the window. "…and making love in front of a beautiful scenery."
"Right now?" Diana gasped as Lance gave her a searing kiss on her neck.
"No better time than the present," Lance replied as he slowly parted Diana's legs and moved one of his hands to the apex of her legs. "Don't you agree?"
Diana tossed her head back as Lance continued his slow ministrations on her body. "Yes…I agree." Diana managed to say breathlessly.
"That's it, baby," Lance softly encouraged as his fingers continued to tease and stroke Diana's most intimate part. Diana pressed her hands against the cool window and tossed her head back as her body continued to its excitement of Lance's intimate caresses and the thrill of enjoying a long-held fantasy. Minutes later, Diana was crying out Lance's name, asking that he replace his fingers with another, more intimate body part. Lance chuckled softly before responding, "In due time…all in due time." Diana closed her eyes and allowed the natural ecstasy that Lance always seemed to produce within her to take over her senses and body.
A couple of hours later, Diana and Lance enjoyed another sensual, shared shower before getting dressed for the day. Diana was wearing a purple bandeau top and high front slit skirt set. The tube top bared her toned abs while the skirt allowed the eye to roam up and down her legs. She was also wearing a purple choker and earrings set and matching purple wedge shoes. Lance decided to wear a blue linen suit with dark blue sandals.
"What are we doing today? We're dressed very comfortably." Diana asked Lance as they got ready to eat their brunch together.
"We're going to enjoy a day participating in the big poker tournament that Manset's hosting here."
"A day of poker," Diana said with a smile. "After everything so far during our trip, I hope you make it to the money rounds. You have to be nearly broke at this point. I'm starting to think maybe you raided Wade's accounts when nobody was looking."
Lance laughed in response. "As much as I wanted to, I promise I didn't raid Wade's bank accounts—not even the dubious ones. You forget that some of my investments over the years have finally paid off big time."
"So, you tell me," Diana remarked as she took a forkful of scrambled eggs and placed it in her mouth. "I still have to wait a little longer before I can even touch some of my investments."
"Hopefully, you'll make it in the money with me," Lance smirked. "I like it when we both bring the bacon home together." His smile grew as he took a crispy strip of bacon and placed it in his mouth.
"So do I," Diana responded with a smile. "Hopefully skill and luck will meet me at the tables."
"It will. You're already talking it into existence," Lance answered as he put more scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Besides, you always bring me luck." They finished their breakfast in silence before leaving the room for the poker tournament being held in the largest convention room Manset had. After standing in line with other aspiring champions for about an hour, Lance and Diana happily paid the hefty entry fee. After they were handed their tournament chips and their receipts, they were initially assigned to separate tables next to each other.
Lance's table was occupied by three other males, two females, and two non-binary persons—all of the humanoid species. As they waited for the dealer, Diana took a glance at her table mates. Diana was the only lady at her table with everyone else being males from various species. Lance turned to give Diana a good-luck look before blowing a kiss her way with a wink. Diana smiled and responded in kind with a good luck glance and a kiss of her own. When Diana turned back to her table, she was greeted with various snickers and chuckles. "Y'all are just jealous," Diana responded with a grin as the dealers for the tables arrived. After a few more moments of quick camaraderie, the poker tournament started.
Occasionally, Diana and Lance would text each other on hands that they folded—sharing game updates, quick thoughts, jokes, and even complaints about their respective tables. The intermittent texts helped make the first two hours less tense as Lance and Diana focused on surviving through the day. Every so often, as their chip counts increased, they were moved to other tables. After a somewhat grueling two hours, Lance and Diana met up for the first 15-minute break.
"So…having fun?" Lance asked Diana after giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
"Define fun," Diana answered with a smile. "These players are really focused—but then again, that entry fee does hang over your head as you make some hard decisions."
"But that's what makes a tournament!" Lance replied. "It's been a bit easy for me. At the same time, I do feel a little sorry for eliminating a couple of people."
"Hey! Some of the players were asking to be eliminated," Diana said, shrugging her shoulders. "I had to teach a quick lesson or two. But now we're moving to the more serious players—it's going to be a bit more fun."
"Want a challenge, hmm?" Lance asked as he pulled Diana closer.
"You know I'm always up for a challenge," Diana responded as her smile brightened.
Lance laughed before whispering into Diana's ear. Seconds later, Diana slapped Lance's shoulder hard before calling him a bastard and walking off as the break ended. Lance laughed all the way to his new table. The next set of players wondered why Lance was so joyful but was only given that it was an inside joke he shared with Diana. "Let's get ready to rumble."
The next two hours sped by as Lance and Diana focused more on their hands and paying attention to their chip totals. Similar to the first round, they were moved to other tables as their chip counts increased and the skillset of the players improved. Lance and Diana kept sending texts when they folded hands and piquing several players' interest at the same time. Finally, a break was called.
Diana and Lance met up in the hallway. "Looks like our chances of making it in the money have increased significantly. The semis start an hour after our break ends." Lance said with a smile after Diana reached out and gave him a lingering kiss. Lance and Diana spoke for a few more moments before Lance started to zone in on Diana's presence along with the other players in the hallway. As he enjoyed the mental list of the things he loved about Diana at the moment, Lance noticed that maybe this break would be a good time to propose to Diana again. Lance took Diana's hand and moved to a relatively quiet alcove in the hallway.
"Lance? Is everything ok?" Diana asked when they stood in the intimate alcove.
"Everything's fine," Lance started as he felt for the ring box to give him a burst of confidence. "Diana, I don't think you understand how much I love and need you in my life," Lance paused for a few moments. "I love waking up with you in my arms. I love sharing a shower with you to start the day and I love making you breakfast. I love how you're going to admit that I'm the better cook." Diana laughed for a second. "I can't get enough of you—I love every part of you. Your intelligent side. Your playful side. Your sexy side. I made you a promise months ago and now—" Lance softly groaned as the proposal was interrupted.
"Attention players, please return to the tables. Players, please make your way to the tables." The announcement sounded out in the hallway. "Play resume in 3 minutes." The announcement was repeated two more times. When the announcement was over, Diana turned back to Lance.
"I'm so sorry about that Lance. Do you want to continue from where you left off?" Diana asked, hating that whatever Lance was going to say was interrupted again.
"I…no," Lance started as he grabbed Diana's chin and lifted it. "Basically, I wanted to let you know that I didn't forget the promise I made to you a few months ago."
"Which one?"
"The romantic one," Lance said before giving Diana a lingering kiss on the lips. "Anyway, we can pick up this conversation later. We better get back to the tables."
"Okay…" Diana responded, following Lance to the tables in the tournament room. The next hour went by quickly and the semi-final round was announced. After some light bantering, Lance and Diana were moved to their first semi-final tables. Diana was finally placed with a table that was split evenly between male and female players while Lance was at another table full of male players. The first hour went by quickly as the jackpots increased significantly. There were a few times that Diana had to bet all of her chips and go all-in while feeling that her time in the tournament was coming to a close. Fortunately, luck was on her side and Diana was able to win those hands while Lance deftly won some of his hands just on his bluffing skills.
Halfway through the semi-final round, their dinner break was finally announced. Instead of 15 minutes, they were given a full 30 minutes for a break. When everything was accounted for on his table, Lance gleefully met Diana at her table and whisked her away just as her table was secured. It was official at that point that both of them were guaranteed to leave the tournament with some kind of prize money. When they made it to the tournament's dining area, they each grabbed a plate of dinner and quickly sat at one of the smaller tables. Lance chose to have a simple meal of a hamburger with all the fixings and fries on the side. Diana chose to grab chicken and rice for her meal – the chicken was fried in a thick tempura batter and served with a side of plain fried rice. After a quick conversation, Lance and Diana's table was filled in by other players. A quick round of introductions and good wishes took up the rest of the time before the 5-minute warning announcement hit their ears. Since their plates were empty, Lance and Diana wished their fellow diners good luck before leaving the dining area.
Once Diana was at her table, Lance gave her a lingering kiss before wishing her good luck. "With any luck, we'll be in the final table together."
"Hopefully. I had a few close calls this round," Diana replied.
"That's what makes the game fun, though." Lance pointed out before giving her another lingering kiss as the rest of Diana's table arrived to take their seats. Lance returned to his table and took his seat. "Are y'all ready to lose all your chips to me?" The table laughed before play resumed. Things happened quickly as Lance and Diana managed to survive the semi-final round and make it to the final table. Unfortunately, Diana had the short stack-the least amount of chips on the table. She had the unlikeliest chance of winning the tournament. Meanwhile, Lance held the third-largest stack and had a decent chance of walking away with the big win.
Diana was announced and given the seat to the left of the dealer. Next, a Hydran player was introduced. The next three players were a former Drule soldier, a Balto scientist, and a Martian farmer. Lance was then introduced. The last two players were from Cetrac and Earth. If the end of the semi-final round went by fast, the action at the final table was even faster. After a couple of jokes and hands, Diana was able to eliminate the Balto scientist who was shocked that Diana managed to beat her with a near-impossible suited Royal flush. A few hands later, Lance was able to eliminate the Hydran player with two high pairs versus a high pair. Hands Later, Lance eliminated the Martian farmer while Diana managed to eliminate the Cetracian player.
"Three Earthlings and a Drule are playing poker…" Lance started as he tossed in his chips for the Small Blind bet.
"Correction…Two Earthlings, One Drule, and a hybrid Terran-Arusian woman are playing poker…" Diana interrupted as she tossed in her chips to cover the Big Blind bet.
"Further Correction…Two Earthlings, a Terran-Drule hybrid, and a Terran-Arusian hybrid are playing poker…" The former Drule soldier added. "For whatever reason, the Drule genes just expressed themselves more. I can't even give you an answer for how that even happened." The dealer smirked and dealt out the cards for the current hand.
"Anyway, two Earthlings and two hybrids are playing poker—"
"Are you sure you're Terran? I swear you are more like a humanoid space settler from Ito. There's this major Mars energy coming from you." The last poker player interrupted. Diana couldn't stop the laughter coming from her mouth as she peaked at the cards she was dealt. Lance turned to give Diana a mild disapproval glance as he peaked at his cards.
"So, I guess I'm not going to get the joke out, am I?" Lance asked the table as the Drule hybrid folded their hand.
"Nope. It was going to be as bad as a joke as my hand was." The Drule hybrid answered before checking their phone. The table erupted in laughs as Lance threw his physical hands into one-finger gestures. The Terran player raised the bet level higher than Diana's forced bet. Diana and Lance called the bet before the Dealer dealt the flop. The community hand featured the King of Diamonds, 5 of Clubs, and 7 of Clubs. Diana smiled as she now had a pair of Kings and a higher chance of winning the hand. Lance checked the bet and Diana responded with the same action. The Terran player smiled as he raised the bet again. Lance responded by calling the bet. Diana acted like she was on the fence but after a few seconds called the bet. The fourth community card was added to the table and ended up being the King of Clubs. Lance looked at his cards again for a few moments before ultimately deciding to fold his hand. Diana simply motioned to check. With a slight grin, the Terran player raised the bet again.
Diana acted like she was going to waver before raising the bet even higher. The gallery gasped in surprise. The Terran player chuckled and raised the bet again. Diana responded with more chips. For the next two minutes, the Terran player and Diana went back and forth, increasing the bets until the Terran player finally declared he was going all-in. Diana smirked as she answered that she was going to go all-in as well.
"I would hate for you to drown at the River after coming this far, Diana." The Terran player stated as he stood up.
"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you, Jan," Diana responded as she stood up. They smiled at each other before revealing their hands. Diana's hand now included the King of Spades, King of Diamonds, King of Clubs, Ace of Spades, and 7 of Clubs. Jan's hand included the King of Hearts, King of Diamonds, King of Clubs, Seven of Diamonds, and Seven of Clubs—meaning a full house.
"It's looking real bad for you now, Diana," Lance pointed out. "That's a full house"
"We still got the River," Diana said, pointing out that there was still one last card to play.
The dealer dealt the final community card and flipped the card so all could see. The gallery burst into an even more unbelievable gasp as the Ace of Diamonds was shown—allowing Diana to win another near-impossible hand. Jan looked at the table in disbelief, letting the results slowly process in his head before congratulating Diana on the win.
"You're one tough cookie on the table, Diana," Jan complimented Diana, shaking her hand before giving her a friendly hug. He then turned around to shake hands with the hybrid Drule and Lance. He waved at the camera crew in the room before joining the gallery to watch how the tournament would ultimately end.
"Then there were three…" The announcer spoke into the room. "Who will win the tournament? Will it be the beautiful Marchioness currently hailing from Arus? Or will it be the former hybrid Drule soldier? Then there's the intergalactic hero pilot."
Diana, Lance, and the hybrid Drule all smiled at each other as Lance moved the big blind into the pot. The hybrid Drule tossed the small blind bet into the pot. Diana played with the ceremonial dealer chip for a few moments as the next hand was dealt. All three players peaked at their cards and thought about how they would go forward with the next hand. None of them felt like they had the beginnings of a winning hand but wanted to see what the flop had in store for them. All three players decided to simply check the board before the community cards were revealed. Still not truly satisfied with their hands, the next round of betting ended with checks as well. When the fourth card was revealed, Lance and Diana folded their hands to give the hybrid Drule the automatic win for the hand.
The next few hands ended in the same way—two players would fold after seeing the fourth card, giving the remaining player the automatic win. Eventually, play started to get interesting again when all three players started a bidding war after the flop was dealt. "Are you sure you really want to battle this way?" Dak the Hybrid Drule asked.
"You can't be too comfortable with your hand since you're basically calling the first raise," Diana pointed out. "You haven't raised in this hand yet."
"What's a bluff or two?" Lance asked as he raised the bet again to Dak's displeasure.
"I really hope this isn't a bluff…" Dak started as he looked at his cards and the community cards again. "But this hand is getting a little too rich for me. I fold." Dak tossed his cards toward the dealer.
"Just the two of us again," Diana remarked before calling Lance's bet. The dealer flipped the fourth card and watched to see how Diana and Lance would react to the recent change in cards. Diana stared at the cards and thought about her next move. Diana held a pair of sevens—7 of Clubs and 7 of Hearts. She was sharing the 4,5,6, and 7 of Diamonds with Lance. At the moment, Diana was holding on to the hope that she could pull in a Full House with the next card. Meanwhile, Lance was personally holding on to the 3 and 6 of Diamonds—and with the community cards he was destined to win no matter what the "river" card shows. Lance smiled as Diana raised the bet—it was oblivious to him that Diana was bluffing her way through this hand.
"I'm going to raise you 20,000, Diana," Lance answered, wanting to see how much bluffing Diana was going to do. There was no way she could beat his hand—nothing could save Diana from losing this hand.
"And I'll raise you 50,000," Diana responded to Lance, tossing in the chips to the growing jackpot. Lance smirked again, ready to raise the stakes.
"I'll raise that to 100,000. You can stop anytime, Diana."
"I got the chips—make it 250,000," Diana responded confidently—hoping that Lance would fall for her hard bluffing.
"300,000."
Diana paused for a few seconds. She knew there was an outside chance that Lance may have a straight flush, but shook off the thought before responding again. "450,000."
"650,000," Lance responded without flinching.
Diana paused for a few moments. Although she had enough to call or raise Lance's bet—it would make an unrecoverable dent in her stack. The idea that Lance might have a better hand hit her brain again, but Diana decided she wanted to bluff her way through anyway. "All-in."
"Are you sure about that? It's not too late…" Lance warned.
"I said, All-in," Diana responded as she shoved all her chips into the jackpot.
"Fine. I'll call that—I'm going All-In." Lance said as he pushed his chips to the jackpot. "Nothing personal," Lance said as he stood up from the table.
"Nothing personal," Diana said as she also stood up. Lance and Diana flipped their cards. When Diana saw Lance's cards she mentally groaned. She should have listened to her intuition telling her that Lance had the better hand. As Diana sighed, the "river" card was dealt, giving Diana the 5 of Spades and a full house. And just like that—Diana was eliminated from the tournament—but was walking away with a great return for her entry fee. Diana shook hands with Dak before turning to Lance.
Lance extended his hand for a handshake but was surprised when Diana decided to hug him instead as the organizers called for a final break. Diana was swept to the gallery entrance where she took a picture with the organizers—including Manset and was given the oversized ceremonial check. After a couple of shots, Lance pulled Diana to him in the hallway.
"I hate it when you eliminate me from the game," Diana said with a mock frown. "I'm starting to think you take great pleasure in it."
"Only when there's a prize I want," Lance responded with an unrepentant grin.
"Of course," Diana said as she rolled her eyes.
"It can't be helped when someone is obliviously bluffing," Lance said, giving Diana a chaste kiss on the cheek as the 3-minute warning filled the hallway.
"I guess I should wish you good luck," Diana said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Yes."
"Or I could do this…" Diana said, trailing off with a smile. Before Lance could ask in response, Diana grabbed Lance and pressed him to the wall before giving him a lingering kiss. Happy with the surprise, Lance grasped Diana's waist and deepened the kiss. As the final minute warning blared in the hallway, Diana finally stopped the kiss. "Good Luck. I hope you bring it all home."
"With a kiss like that, I definitely will," Lance said as he let go of Diana and escorted her to the gallery entrance. He blew Diana a kiss before returning to the dealer and Dak. The crowd cheered as play resumed when Lance and Dak tossed in the blinds to start the jackpot. For roughly 30 minutes Lance and Dak managed to win alternative hands with the occasional default win due to the other player folding their hand after the initial glance. Finally, the last hand in the tournament happened when Dak managed to win four large jackpots in a row, making Lance work with an extremely low stack of chips.
The dealer dealt the initial cards and Lance was extremely pleased to have the Queen of Clubs and 9 of Spades. When he took a glance at Dak's face, Lance noticed that Dak seemed to be pleased with his hand as well.
"I'll raise to 100,000," Dak stated as he tossed four stacks of chips to the jackpot.
Lance sat and thought for a few moments before calling the bet. "I'll call. Let's see what the flop has in store for us."
The dealer nodded their head and dealt the first community cards. Lance was rewarded for his faith in his skills and luck with a community set of Queen of Spades, 8 of Hearts, and 5 of Hearts. This gave Lance a pair promising pair of Queens.
"Well now, I can work with this," Lance thought to himself as Dak decided to see if he could bluff his way to a win.
"I raise to 450,000," Dak announced proudly.
Lance paused for a few moments before responding. Lance had an inkling that Dak could be bluffing about having a better hand. Lance looked at his stacks and figured he had enough to call the bet once more.
"I'll call," Lance said, pushing all but the last two stacks to the jackpot.
Dak laughed before speaking again as the fourth card was dealt. The Ace of Diamonds made its appearance. Lance used his training and legendary poker face to hide the large smile that was on his mind. There was no way that Dak could win this hand.
"How about I take you out of your poker misery?" Dak asked Lance.
"Out of my misery, huh?" Lance responded evenly.
"Yeah. I'm raising the bet to all-in." Dak announced as he stood up.
"I'm a little short…but I'm going All-In, too," Lance said as he stood up. Dak had the largest smile on his face, confident that Lance didn't have a hand that could beat his hand. A few seconds later, the smile disappeared from Dak's face as they flipped their cards for all to see. Dak's pair of Jacks was strong—but not stronger than Lance's pair of Queens.
With practiced ease, the dealer added the final card to the table—the 4 of clubs. The crowd cheered as Dak stood shocked at his defeat.
"That was some great hands, Dak," Lance stated as Diana rushed to his side.
Dak smiled before speaking. "It sure was, Commander. Congrats on a great hand and tournament." Lance and Dak shook hands before Dak was whisked away to the hallway for his pictures with the tournament staff. As the confetti dropped down around him, Lance pulled Diana into a tight embrace and a lingering kiss. Diana moved her hands to rest behind Lance's neck as his hands hungrily held on to her waist.
"Whenever you're finished with that kiss…" The announcer stated into the microphone.
Diana laughed against Lance's lips before speaking. "I think you have some unfinished business, Honey."
"They can wait," Lance responded against her lips. Diana moved slightly away so she could catch her breath. "Fine, I'll take care of it." Lance moved to face the announcer, keeping his hands around Diana's waist to keep her from leaving his side.
"Congratulations on winning the tournament. You get to go back to Arus with the big prize."
"Thank you! I had fun while going through the grueling day. Skills and luck can only bring me so far—but my good luck charm here at my side always pulls through for me." Lance answered.
"And what a beautiful good luck charm Diana is!" The announcer replied. "The lady also possesses high poker skills!" The crowd clapped as the excitement for the win continued. Lance and Diana took pictures with the tournament staff and oversized checks before taking questions from the Poker press. It took another 30 minutes before the excitement finally died down enough for Lance and Diana to take a walk outside the Leisuredrome. They were ten minutes into their walk when they stopped in front of a large multiplex theater.
"I can't remember the last time we watched a late-night movie at a theater," Diana remarked to Lance.
"I can't either. Want to see what they're offering tonight?"
"Why not? What's the worst that can happen?" Diana answered as they walked to the box office to get a couple of tickets. The last showing of the night was going to start in 10 minutes. The theater employee slightly frowned as the tickets printed up. Slightly confused about the worker's face as they walked away Diana spoke again. "How bad can the movie be? So it's a Midnight showing…"
"Yeah. How bad could Stein's Flight be?" Lance asked as they walked to the snack bar.
"Good evening. Looks like you're here for the late-night showing."
"That's exactly why we're here," Lance answered seconds before the snack bar attendant laughed.
"I'm sorry…no, I'm not sorry about the laughter." The attendant answered. "I'm about to close the snack bar, so whatever you want it's yours on the house. Even the adult drinks…" The attendant winked a couple of times.
"How bad can it be?" Diana asked.
"I heavily suggest taking advantage of my offer…especially the adult drinks." The attendant stated. "And you better hurry folks…"
"Tch, fine. Give me the extra large Dradin IPA. And a frozen 'rita for the lady." Lance answered.
"Excellent…anything else?"
"We don't want to get you fired…" Diana started.
"I won't get fired, I promise."
"The large popcorn should do it," Diana answered. The attendant smiled and took care of their order.
"Enjoy the movie." The attendant said in closing. "I'm not sure how, but enjoy it."
Lance and Diana shared a look before walking to their theater seats. "How bad can a movie be?" Diana asked Lance again as they looked for their seats in the crowded room. A few moments later, Diana and Lance found a lounging loveseat and made themselves comfortable as the movie previews started.
After 10 minutes of bad previews, the movie finally started.
"Hopefully the movie is better than the previews…" Lance said.
"Not a good sign…" Diana replied. "I'm not looking forward to any of those movies." Lance and Diana took a few sips of their drinks as the title sequence for the movie ended and the first scene started.
"What the…" Lance starts to say.
"Maybe, it'll get better. I hate when movies start in the middle, too." Diana whispered. "Hopefully."
"They should ban this kind of beginning, though. We're really supposed to fall for this?" Lance asked as he drank more of his beer. The next scene starts and it doesn't take long before Lance stares at his beer, then the popcorn, then back to the beer. "There's not enough alcohol to deal with this movie."
"My margarita is already gone, too," Diana replied as she rolled her eyes at the characters poor attempt to flirt. "There's not enough alcohol to wipe my memory of this."
"How long do you think it'll be before someone leaves the theater?" Lance asked as the next scene appeared. Just as Diana was about to answer, a whole row of customers tossed popcorn at the screen before leaving the theater. A few moments later, another group of people left the theater, too.
"This scene isn't that ba—never mind," Diana started to say before the movie turned the corner to be even worse. More people left the theater. "This movie isn't that bad…"
"Baby, the only thing that's going to make this movie bearable is to turn it into a movie roasting session," Lance said as he stared down at the nearly empty glass of beer and the mostly full popcorn bucket.
"Luckily, we're good at that. We spent good money—"
"We spent less on this movie," Lance responded. "The snacks and drinks were free, remember?"
"Yeah, whatever," Diana answered as the movie continued to play. Halfway through the movie, Lance and Diana found themselves alone in the theater. "I'm not sure why we're still even here."
"Because you riffing this movie as much as I do," Lance answered with a smile. "But, it's getting boring. I'm all out of beer and jokes."
"Yeah, let's go," Diana said, standing up. Lance stood up from the loveseat and tossed the remains of their popcorn into the closest trashcan. They took the back exit from the multiplex and took the alleyway back to the street they started their walk on.
"How bad can a movie be? It'll get better my ass," Lance said as he took another glance at the multiplex.
"Ok, we should have taken the hints from the box office and snack man," Diana admitted.
"You're also banned from choosing our next 3 movies," Lance added.
"Now wait a minute! I didn't choose this misadventure. If my memory serves me correctly, this was a mutual decision."
"I don't have bad taste in movies," Lance said with a smile. "Additionally, you asked how bad could the movie be as the tickets were being bought."
"Whatever. I have my ways of getting rid of movie bans," Diana said as they continued down the street. "I'm kind of hungry now. Somebody tossed the popcorn away as we left the theater."
"It didn't have the right flavor anyway," Lance countered. "Let's go into this diner and grab a bite to eat." Diana nodded and followed Lance into the diner. Diana and Lance continued to make jokes about the bad movie they half-watched over a large plate of nachos, covered in layers of cheese and other toppings. They also enjoyed drinking Limon aqua frescas. After paying for the meal, Lance and Diana returned to their hotel suite. When they made it to the bedroom, Diana thought about the evening and decided to finally ask Lance about the conversation he was about to start in the hallway during the second break. While standing in front of their bed, Diana turned and stared at Lance. "Lance, I've been wondering all night…"
"Yes?" Lance asked as he unbuttoned his shirt while turning to face Diana instead of their bed.
"Are you sure that everything between us is fine?" Diana asked as she fidgeted with the skirt set she wore all day long.
"Of course," Lance said as he approached Diana as she stepped out of her skirt. Lance took the opportunity to take another appreciative glance at Diana's body as he took off the linen pants. "Why wouldn't everything between us be great? Hmm?"
"Because during the second break at the tournament, you started a serious conversation before stopping because of the announcements. It's been the same template this whole week. You have something important to say and I swear it affects our relationship in the future. I'm getting a bit nervous." Diana took off the bandeau top and tossed it towards the closet.
"Don't be nervous, baby," Lance said as he pulled Diana to him. "I love all of you—from fulfilling fantasies to poker tournaments to late-night movies." Lance gave Diana a lingering kiss on the lips.
"I still get this feeling that you've been hiding something from me though," Diana stated once she caught her breath.
"Me, hiding something from you? Have I ever hid something from you in the past?"
"Systemically breaking up my dates with other guys when you first moved back to Earth from Arus," Diana answered as she turned to admire the underwear set she was still wearing. The bandeau bra and matching thong managed to be comfortable and stayed put the whole day.
"I was saving you from bad dating experiences," Lance countered as he pulled Diana closer to him. "Not to mention a horribly bad date with your ex-boyfriend." He playfully smacked Diana's butt. "Besides, it wasn't like you weren't doing the same with my dates."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Lance chuckled at Diana's pathetic attempt to lie about breaking up his dates. "But even Pidge and Hunk would point out that I saved you from a terrible dating experience," Diana answered as she smacked Lance's shoulders. "How about the time you conveniently hid the fact that you started an accelerated Masters program?"
"At that time, somebody was busy securing her hours for both Social Work and Public Health programs," Lance started his counterargument. "We were in the middle of an extended Lovers' Quarrel." Lance softly pushed Diana onto the bed before fiddling with the bandeau bra. "On top of that, after everybody stood us up on karaoke night, I told you between making out sessions I started my Master's program." Lance managed to get the bra off and tossed it toward the closet.
"Good point," Diana gasped as Lance managed to brush his hands over her breasts. "What about the time you—"
"Diana, darling, you can come up with several situations—but you know that I'm going to disprove every one of them," Lance started as Diana managed to move positions so that she was straddling Lance. "So, let's just end things and agree that I never hide anything from you." Diana managed to move her hands and pulled Lance's boxers off. "And we can focus on more pleasurable things…like what's going to happen in the next few minutes."
"Freaking rogue," Diana said as she tossed the boxers toward the closet.
"But you love rogues…" Lance said before shifting to where he was hovering over Diana again. "Especially this rogue that has been yours since day one." With a smile, Lance pulled Diana's thong off before tossing it to join the rest of the discarded clothes outside the closet.
"My rogue." Diana gasped as Lance managed to brush one of his hands where the thong had previously covered her.
"That's right. And you're going to show me how much you love me, right now." Lance promised as he removed his hand and rolled to where Diana was straddling him.
"I can't stand you," Diana said breathlessly as she moved to initiate a more intimate contact with Lance's body.
"But yet you can ride me," Lance remarked as he moved his hands to Diana's waist. Diana tossed her head back with soft laughter and pleasure as she felt Lance inside her. "No response, hmm?"
"Not right now. I just want to enjoy this sensual moment." Diana said softly, savoring the feeling of her body connecting with Lance's body again.