The game continued and Carole hovered around the table bringing us more drinks and snacks. When I deemed the group intoxicated enough, but not too mu...h, I started intentionally losing each hand. If it looked like I had a chance to win, I would fold, otherwise I would stay in and lose as many pennies as I could. Eventually, I was broke.“You want a loan,” Frank, the banker, joked, as the next hand was dealt.“No,” I said with feigned indignity. “How about this. How much do you think Carole’s. "But ... how can I put it?" He's a fucking idiot," Stephen said from behind me. "And a douche-bag!"I shrugged. "Those are the least of your concerns, Sandeep. By your own measure, I'm better than you, but your ego doesn't let you acknowledge it."Sandeep stared at me."You were advanced two years in math classes so you think you're special," I said. "I was advanced two years in everything."He broke the stare and looked away."You're good at math so you've decided it must be the only thing that. We rested, legs wound together, and when she got her breath, she sighed, "Enough, enough for now."I kissed her forehead sweetly, rolled out and buttoned up."I've got some chores that need doing?" she said, up on one elbow, smiling at me as she tucked one large boobie back into her bodice."Like the ones we just did?" I asked."No," she giggled, "harder work. Look up. You can see through the roof."So I found the ladder and did some patching and reshingling for her and then split a bit of fire. That’s a bit of data. It appears to me to be reliable data. The titles on this bookshelf match the range of titles on board his boat.I hear the shower stop, so I raise my voice. “Cat food! You’re starving your kitty.”“Tall cabinet. Middle shelf. Make sure it’s cat food. I don’t want to feed him tuna!”“Got it,” I replied. “Finish your ablutions!”Pickles knows what’s in that cabinet because as soon as I retrieve the can he’s twining around my legs. I dump the glop into his bowl. It’s something he.