The guys climbed onto the bus about an hour and a half later, still dripping with sweat after another of their thrilling shows. They all ignored the two girls to get changed into clean clothes and wash up a little. Theresa watched Aj walk away from her sullenly and she sighed. Stephanie patted her hand and smiled, as if to say it would be alright.
They stared out the window silently watching the stadium fade from view. Stephanie shivered slightly and pulled on an old Kentucky Wildcats sweatshirt as Kevin returned to the front of the bus with a deck of playing cards. The other guys followed, sitting down around the kitchenette table, Kevin choosing a seat right between the two women.
"So ladies, we ready for a little game of strip poker?" he smirked, shuffling the cards quickly. Both women nodded and prepared for the game.
"So Steph, you ever played strip poker before?" Brian snickered from across the table, as an arm rested around Theresa’s shoulders. Stephanie noticed Aj had chosen a seat further away from Theresa.
"No, not strip poker…" She started, only to be cut off by Nick.
"Goody, then this should be a fun game. Rules are simple, what you got on your back is what you got to bet with, meaning you can only bet your own clothing. And you can’t put anything back on." He grinned widely, eyeing her as if undressing her in his mind.
"Here, we’ll be nice you call the game." Howie grinned, settling back in his chair after pulling on his white tank top.
"Five card stud, um, one-eyed Jacks and 5s are wild." Stephanie gave a small giggle when they all looked at her a little stunned. Kevin shrugged and dealt out the cards, smirking when Stephanie laughed softly under her breath when she looked at her cards.
"How many cards ya need Sweetheart?" he asked, chuckling when she sat aside three cards.
"Three please." She sat down three cards and picked up the new ones Kevin laid out. He handed out the cards needed to everyone else, then himself and watched Stephanie’s face as she smiled. "Okay, I’m still in."
"Hmm, well, my hand sucks. I’m out." Howie said, sitting down his cards and relaxing in the chair again.
"I‘m out." Aj sighed, replacing his sunglasses on top of his head.
"Well, I’m still in. I wanna see her strip." Nick smirked, meeting her chestnut eyes and noticed her unfaltering confidence.
"Well, I’m done. Kev you suck at dealing." Brian frowned, tossing his cards down on the table. Theresa simply shook her head and sat her cards down.
"I’m still in Beautiful. What do you have?" Kevin grinned broadly, then his eyes widened when she showed her hand.
"Royal Flush." Stephanie smiled happily, giggling when Nick’s face dropped and he slammed down his cards.
"Damn it, on her first hand, she gets a Royal Flush!" He growled, not noticing Theresa’s desperate attempts to hold back a laugh.
Kevin turned to her and smiled. "Well, you win this hand, what article of clothing should be removed for us?"
"Hmm, your shirts will do." She smirked, hoping for a really lucky few hands.
**~~**~~**
"Damn Girl, how did you get so good at this game?" Aj asked, noticing Stephanie still in her tank top, bra and underwear, while everyone else was nearly out of the game. Theresa had dropped out early, nervously mentioning her headache and that she would rather watch. Aj knew that wasn’t true, but wouldn’t push it just yet. Kevin was their only hope of the males winning. He was still in his boxers and a undershirt.
"Well, when you have an uncle that can only play cards and watch wrestling, you learn to love them both. He taught me how to play poker like a pro." Stephanie smiled proudly, noticing Nick and Brian both drop out of the game, deciding it was safer to watch rather than participate. That only left Kevin and Stephanie.
"Well, Princess, what do you have?" Kevin asked, keeping a straight face for the moment, wanting to see her reaction when he beat her.
"Full house, Queens high." She grinned, then noticed Kevin’s smile get larger.
"I have a straight, sorry, I beat ya. And since I have a great amount of confidence in the next hand, you just take off your bra and next hand wins it all."
Stephanie swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly maneuvered under her tank top, finally pulling her bra out from under it. Kevin dealt again, calling the wilds and watching in intense amusement as she chewed at her lower lip softly as she picked up the cards. He studied her face and noticed a small smirk fall on her lips.
"How many cards do you need?" Kevin asked with the same confident gleam in his eye.
"None." She smiled at him sweetly, causing him to think to reconsider calling her bluff. Instead he grinned.
"Oh really, well then. Show your cards." Stephanie smirked again and laid out her hand, another royal flush, all hearts. She grinned and leaned back in her seat, waiting patiently for him to erupt at the thought of losing. But he didn’t, just showed his hand. A royal flush, all spades.
"Hmm, that’s never happened before. I guess it’s a tie…" Theresa sighed, then rushing towards her bunk as her tiny cell phone began to sound off. She immediately answered it, greeted by her mother’s disappointed voice.
Theresa turned away from the rest of the group and muttered, "Sorry, I couldn’t come around, I was busy the entire time we were here. I promise after tour, I’m gonna come up here and stay for a month. Yeah, Mom, I love you too. I know, no, no Mom everything’s fine here. No, I’m just tired from all this excitement. Yes, I promise to come visit soon. Yeah Mom, love you too, bye Mom. Bye."
Aj was the only one to notice Theresa’s call and her sudden break down after she hung up the phone. He walked up behind her and hugged her tightly, leading her back to the entertainment room. He sat them down in a chair and stroked her hair until she released the sobs building inside of her. He continued to hold her to him closely as she cried noisily.
**~~**~~**
"Hmm, what kind of tie breaker can we do?" Kevin muttered, stroking his goatee thoughtfully.
"We could vote, and if we do, I say Kev wins so she’s gotta strip." Nick stated, slapping a high five with Brian.
"That hardly seems fair though…" Stephanie pointed out, feeling a little more uneasy without Theresa around. Howie laughed so hard, he couldn’t manage to speak.
"That is the point I believe." Kevin assisted Howie, grinning like the Cheshire Cat himself. "But, I guess we’ll do it the traditional way. I’ll deal out five cards, best hand wins it all."
Stephanie nodded, playing with her hair tensely as the male eyes around the room seemed to focus intensely on her. She shifted nervously, watching as Kevin laid out their cards face up. She sighed in relief when she noticed she had a pair, while Kevin had nothing. She smiled at his frown.
"I think this means I win…" She grinned as he jerked off his tank top and sighed.
"Well, next time I won’t let you win so easily." He smirked back, resting a hand on her bare thigh.
"I’m gonna go get dressed…" She shied away only to have Nick move to block her from getting up.
"Nope you knew the rules when we started. No putting anything back on…" He snickered, pushing her hair back away from her face and off her shoulder.
"But the game’s over now. So back up…" Stephanie warned, grabbing her sweatshirt from next to Kevin.
"Nick, let her get dressed. It is kinda cool on the bus tonight and plus, we need to discuss the initiation arrangements." Kevin stared at her as she pulled on her sweatshirt, noticing her toned stomach when her tank top shifted up.
Stephanie quickly tugged on her jeans, ignoring the almost tangible stares from the men in front of her. When she buttoned her jeans up, Kevin had already pulled back on his jeans, leaving his chest bare.
**~~**~~**
Aj caressed Theresa’s trembling arms until she calmed herself enough to speak.
"Baby, are you alright?" He whispered against her stray locks, supporting her bare thighs with his palms. She was clad only in her bra and panties, having lost her jeans and tee shirt earlier in the game.
"Yeah, Mom’s just worried about me not visiting…" Theresa mumbled, seeking more warmth from his neck. She wiped her eyes and sat up against Aj, reveling in his embrace.
Aj had no clue what to say to her, so he remained quiet, allowing her to curl against him. Neither one spoke for a while, occasionally caressing the other to make sure they were still there. Theresa shivered, shifting over Aj and snuggling a little closer. She winced aloud when his hand grazed one of the various welts across her back.
"Oh, girl are you okay? Shit, he really did a number on your back this time, didn’t he…" Aj stated, inspecting her sensitive back carefully, his nose wrinkling at how painful they looked.
"Yeah well, amazingly enough, he did as you said. None of them drew blood." Theresa tried to smile but couldn’t manage one.
"I’m so sorry…"
"For what? You didn’t do it…"
"No but I was the one at your initiation, I was the first guy to… I hate myself more every day just thinking about what I did to you…" Aj stroked her hair softly, allowing his fingertips to graze her jaw or cheek every so often.
"Aj, I forgave you a long time ago…" She whispered, brushing her lips over his slowly. He responded by jetting his tongue over her lower lip as it passed. Suddenly the privacy curtain was ripped open, revealing Brian and Nick.
"Oh sorry J, we didn’t mean to interrupt anything." Brian eyed the welts visible on Theresa’s bare back. "Oh and if you think those marks are bad, check out her ass. I did some nice work there."
Theresa sucked in a small breath and moved from Aj’s warm lap and retreated from the entertainment room to hide in the sanctity of her bunk. Aj tried to pretend he didn’t care and looked up at Nick.
"So who won?"
"She did, unfortunately… I think Kev’s being a little to easy on her though. He was never that lenient on Theresa. But I guess I can’t fuss too much, Kevin’s already decided on a date for her initiation. It’ll be in Cleveland. He’s gonna call and make the arrangements after he discuses things with Sweet Ass."
"You know, I don’t think she likes the title you guys have appointed her…" Aj said, ignoring the fact that Nick was now absorbed in his Nintendo.
"So, she’ll get over it eventually." Brian simply stated, relaxing on the couch to watch Nick play.
Aj got up slowly from the chair and attempted a discreet exit, heading for his bunk. He stopped at Theresa’s and peeked in, noticing her writing rapidly in a Powerpuff Girls journal.
"Hey Baby, what are you up to…" Aj paused, noticing her rush to hide her diary.
"Aj, can I sleep in your bunk tonight please…"
"Of course, Sweetheart, when could I ever say no to you…" He smiled, helping her down from one of the top bunks. He smiled when she grabbed her Powerpuff pajamas and watched her walk to the bathroom to change.