Sylwia hummed. “In business.” The actual number was too difficult to actually get a hold on. Something about, ‘Who watches the watchers?’ came into effect. Sylwia rolled her eyes, laying a hand on her hip. “The original game. Before they changed it into Monopoly.” Carter had already said no, whether or not he wanted to admit it. “You should get used to losing then. Putting it off is not going to help you.” She paused, “It was called The Landlord’s Game. There were two sets of rules, one to make money, the other to give it back.”
Was it really? That seemed like a gross exaggeration and oversimplification at the same time. “Funny how neither of us are laughing. It’s time to swing it back around again.” Sylwia said, gesturing in a big circle in front of her . . . She never really watched sitcoms. Her parents weren’t the most sociable people, so sitting in an empty living room to watch families on the tv hadn’t appealed to her. “Does it really matter if you know or not? What could you do? I think opening accounts in your name would be more fun. Taking out a dozen lines of credit. Within a week I could rack up tens of thousands of dollars of debt, with high interest. All your responsibility.”
Oh! See! See?! Now that she’d turned him down, now that they were drinking from the same bottle, Carter decided to become a fucking stiff over sharing some wings she didn’t actually lick! Sylwia partially covered her face with a hand, holding back a laugh. “Yes. I’m aware, I’ve heard you talk.”
If she said she changed her mind now and had sex with Carter, she’d limit her suffering. Sex didn’t last that long, unlike Monopoly! She would have happily played Twister, or poker, but as Carter asked, all she could do was throw up a hand and say, “Sure. Set it up if you want to play.”
“Do I look like the type of guy who looses?” Before Sylwia had a chance to answer, he held up a finger. “Don’t answer that.” He took another swig, and considered goggling the rules of this new game. His pride, and drunkenness, prevented him from actually doing that. “Fine, we can play your silly little game, but you’d be surprised at how good I can be.” Oh, she’d be surprised alright, but it might be because he completely sucked at these types of things.
He held up his hands in the sprite of a truce. “It was funnier in my head.” Carter wouldn’t admit it, but she would’ve never really considered the idea of getting into his bed. And, consent was very important to him. His brows knitted together. “For someone with the money I have,” in a trust fund. “Do you really think that’s a lot of money, Sylwia?” To some that was a life changing amount, but Carter didn’t see the big deal.
A soft smile playfully tugged at his mouth. He thought she looked kinda cute trying to not laugh. Well, trying to not laugh at him. Taking her suggestion, Carter finished clearly his poker set and laid out the board game. Then, the money, and all the little pieces.
He motioned for her to sit when he finished setting everything up. Carter took a large bite of his pizza. “Since this was your idea, why don’t you go first?” He slid the dice across the table along with some pieces.
Oh, afraid of the answer, was he? If Carter already knew the answer, why bother asking? Maybe it was better . . . He actually knew the answers. Sylwia watched Carter set the board, her stomach tying in knots. It couldn’t be that hard, right? She saw dice and she knew they were supposed to buy property and ruin the other. Would it be too obvious if she looked at the rules? Sylwia didn’t know, since her big mouth had gotten her into yet another situation she didn’t know how to handle. Just had to figure it out as she went along.
“Is that what all men think?” Sylwia asked, looking through the properties, organizing them. To win, she’d probably need the dark blue ones, wouldn’t she? They were the most expensive. Would Carter land on them much? “Yeah, yeah. You can buy real life monopolies. That doesn’t mean you’ll be good at the game.” Sylwia said, giving Carter a pointed look.
. . . “To some, it is.” She didn’t know. In some ways, it was more than she could imagine having at one time, but at the same time, she regularly moved that kind of money through the data waves. “I think it depends on how you use it. To change lives, it can be invaluable.” She’d come without a penny to her name. Sylwia’s first taste of having any real money was picking up change off the ground! It meant something else when it was something you held in your hands, and maybe she would have built a different life if it’d been real and in her hands. “When it’s just numbers,” She started, carefully shifting through the pieces, finally picking out the battleship. “When it’s just numbers, it doesn’t mean anything.”
A small smile played at her lips as she sat down. Despite her nervousness, she couldn’t help but think that this was the stupidest thing they could have been doing with their time. “And here I thought you wanted to be a gentleman.” She said, taking the dice. Well . . . it couldn’t be too hard, right? Sylwia cast her dice.
