Page 46 of Bad At Love

“Are you going to time the answers? What do I win if I guess first?” Chaaru asked. “Also, we need someone to monitor Dom because he’s a first-class cheater!”

“Calm down, you demon.” Minty said with a laugh. “It’s just for fun. There’s no big prize except your partner’s adoration eternally encapsulated in words.”

On the next lounger, Kash asked Diego something and when he nodded, made loud retching sounds. To which, the younger man flashed his diabolical grin.

“You guess the right answer first and I’ll give you a prize,” DP said, his chin perching on her shoulder.

“I know what I want.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s thick and veiny and hangs a little to the right and…”

He pressed his palm to her mouth and she bit the rough mound. He grunted.

“If the lust-birds on lounger four can turn their attention to us, please,” Minty said in her obnoxiously loud voice. Everyone counted loungers. Until she declared that Chaaru and DP were lounger four and could they please pay attention. “So, who wants to go first?”

Mona jumped off her lounger with a banshee-like cry.

Chaaru giggled.

Tugging her glasses up onto her nose, Mona unfurled the note and grabbed the mic from Minty. Even with the glasses on, she squinted. “This is one of those thingies.”

“What thing?” Dom asked.

“You know, the one with the strict rules about syllables…”

“A haiku?” someone guessed.

“Yep. That’s it. So what do I do? Just read it out loud and the rest of you guess?”

Everyone screamed yes.

“Okay, here goes.

Prickly black widow,

Success veils a heart untold,

Emotion’s rough flow.”

Every single head turned towards Kash, who for just a second, looked so heartbroken that Chaaru wanted to go over there and thump some sense into Diego. Kash, being Kash though, didn’t let the fracture rise to the surface. She threw her head back and laughed, chanting ‘prickly black widow’ as if it were an honorific.

“We all know it’s Kash,” Chaaru said, raising her hand, “but I’d like to change it.”

“That’s not how the rules work.”

“I thought you said it was for fun and there were no rules,” Chaaru said, pushing herself to the edge of the lounger.

Minty looked at Kash and said, “Fine.”

Chaaru grabbed the note from Mona and said loudly, “Prickly black widow,

Success veils a heart of gold,

Emotion’s rough flow.”

Kash sent her an air kiss, her golden eyes gleaming with affection.

---