The Bed You Make
Chapter 48, concluded
"The Steppes."
"Of course."
It was that time of the day when the sun no longer shone high in the sky but the darkness was still an hour or so away from falling. Stefan Cassadine took a sip of wine and waited patiently for his wife to make her move. They were seated on the massive bed playing Go, a 2500 year old Chinese strategy game. As Stefan expected, Dara was a fast learner. He'd taught her the rules and shown her a few moves. In short order they had both claimed portions of the board. Now, halfway through the lesson, they were preparing to engage in true competition against one another.
"Cuba?"
"Often."
The competitive nature of the game notwithstanding, the atmosphere in the room was a lot more relaxed than when Stefan had first returned to his suite of rooms and declared their private time begun. The food and wine left their hunger satisfied; the fireplace threw off a gentle heat that left the room as warm as a spring day.
"Is there anywhere you haven't traveled?" Dara asked.
Stefan paused to think. "I have not visited your Martha's Vineyard," he replied.
"The folks there not rich enough for you?" Dara absently nibbled on a crisp, warm cheese stick as she cleared the board for a new game. Made with hand-twisted sourdough and aged cheddar, she'd taken a handful and put them in the linen napkin that was draped across her lap.
"The wisdom of making one's self a target by frequenting a locale created solely to flaunt one's wealth escapes me." Stefan watched as Dara finished clearing the stones off the board. "Shall we make this interesting?" he posed.
"This is my first real game!" Dara half-heartedly protested.
Stefan raised a brow. "I have observed that the reality of consequences is often a great motivator toward success. Go is a game of wit," he continued. "Are you hesitant to truly test your intellect against mine?" That was a gauntlet Stefan knew that Dara had no choice but pick up.
"What did you have in mind?" she asked.
"I propose that the player who loses must remove an article of clothing." Stefan held up a finger. "Before you object, allow me to point out that I go into this wager at a disadvantage - I have on but a single article of clothing to begin."
Dara took a white stone from the pile beside her and placed it on the board to begin the game. "Well, that hardly seems fair," she murmured. She carefully lifted the linen napkin from her lap and moved it aside. She reached beneath the emerald-hued pajama top Stefan requested she wear and began to wriggle out of whatever was beneath. Thrown off guard by her actions, Stefan silently watched as Dara finally held up a tiny scrap of lace and silk underwear for his observation. After a moment,she dropped it carelessly atop her pile of stones. "Now," she announced with a mischievous glint in her eye, "I'm only wearing one piece of clothing, too." Dara gestured vaguely. "Your move."
