Page 52 of Hard Count
“Should we go trap ourselves in a room?” Frankie asks.
Nash wraps his arms around me. “Trapped in a room with you? Sounds like the perfect way to spend the night,” he whispers in my ear.
“You’ll have one hour to escape. Each pair will be locked in a room but you’ll be able to pass information over the wall or through the cracks in the door. Each room contains clues or items that another pair will need in order to escape. You’ll have to communicate and work together in order to get out,” the employee of The Dark Escape explains. “Do you have any questions?”
The six of us glance around the group and shake our heads no.
“Great. Let’s get you locked in the room. If for any reason you need help, contact us through the middle room. It’s the only one with cameras. If there's an issue we can hit the emergency locks to let everyone out. The two pairs in the outer rooms will have to make their way into the middle room where you will all escape together. Who’s first?”
Nash and I volunteer to go into the first room. I reach for his hand as we step into the center room and then into a room the size of a jail cell. The employee closes our door and we’re shrouded in complete darkness except for the hallway lights as our friends go into their rooms. I squeeze Nash’s hand.
“Are you okay?” He brushes his lips against the topof my head.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m not sure how we’re going to be able to find anything in the dark.” I look around the room, willing my eyes to adjust. “Who’s idea was this again?”
“Ozzy’s. He said it looked cool.”
“Right now it looks like nothing.” The third door slams—for dramatic effect I guess—and it’s pitch black.
“You have one hour. Let the games begin,” a prerecorded voice says into our room followed by evil laughter.
“Ozzy, this is the last time you get to pick the group activity,” Eli says. A light flashes from their room.
“We have a stool, a locked box, and some weird ass steering wheel art on the wall,” Frankie informs us.
“I guess we should look around and see what we have in here.” Nash turns on the flashlight on his phone and starts moving it around the room. “We have nothing in our room.”
“Nothing?” Ozzy questions. “There has to be something.”
“Well there’s not,” Nash replies. Our room is completely empty from what we can see with minimal lighting.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ozzy murmurs.
“We can figure this out. We have a desk filled with jars and books,” Holden says. There’s what sounds like desk drawers opening and closing, then she says, “We have a flashlight. I’m going to pass it over the wall. Maybe you have something written on the walls.”
Holding tight to my hand, Nash walks toward the wall connecting our two rooms. He passes me his phone and then reaches over the wall. “Got it,” he says. It’s small and has awarm yellow light. He runs it up and down the walls looking for something to glow.
“I don’t think this is a black light.” I take the light from him and run it over my white floral dress. “This would glow.”
“Damn, you’re right. This isn’t for us. Oz, you need to find something to use it on in your room. Or maybe Eli and Frankie need it.”
“We’re wasting a lot of time,” Frankie calls out. “We need to do something,” she says, starting to panic. I don’t think she expected it to be so dark. Eli’s deep voice is barely audible but I have a feeling he’s calming down my friend.
“What are we supposed to do while you figure it out? Just stand here?” Nash asks.
“Hold tight. Give us a minute to look through some of this stuff in here. Frankie and Eli, keep looking around. Maybe you missed something. I don’t fucking know,” Ozzy mumbles in frustration.
“I’m sorry we got stuck in the room with nothing in it. I know you wanted to help figure out the clues.” Nash turns the flashlight off on his phone and pockets it. Then he wraps his arms around me and tucks my head against his chest.
“It’s fine. I’m still here with you.” I lift my head and run my hands up his chest. Even through his shirt I can make out every muscle on his abdomen. He drops his hands to my ass and pulls me tight against his body. In the dark, his lips find mine.
I slip my tongue inside his mouth. The taste and feel of him pressed against my body makes my toes curl. I nudge himbackward and he falls against the wall. He laughs against my lips but I don’t care. There’s something about being with him in the dark but knowing our friends are on the other side of the wall that turns me on.
He must feel the same because his hands are on my breasts and up my dress. I move my left hand down over his dick, making him grunt. “I know something we can do while we wait for them. That is if you’re not worried about getting caught.”
“I’m not. What did you have in mind?” His breathing becomes ragged as I continue running my hand up and down his growing erection.
“Canyoube quiet this time?” I ask, unbuttoning his jeans. He nods against my forehead. “Let’s see.” I slip my hand into his underwear and wrap it around his dick. A growl rumbles in his chest. I release him and he pushes my hand back on him, making me laugh.
