I arrived early at the cycling team's meet-up spot the next morning. Using sun protection as an excuse, I wrapped myself up tightly, not leaving a single patch of skin exposed.
Liam was slightly surprised when he first saw me. However, his attention was quickly drawn to the way the cycling outfit outlined my figure.
"Supergirl?" He extended a hand toward me. "I'm Sir Johnson."
Liam's eyes were overflowing with desire, and the image overlapped with what I saw on the surveillance footage yesterday. Another wave of nausea surged within me.
He quickly pulled out his flask and handed it to me, asking in a concerned voice, "Are you alright? Just give me a sign if you can't keep up later."
I snorted coldly deep down. The way he so naturally shared his flask with a woman he first met—he truly thought he was such a good Samaritan.
Someone came over and teased, "Oh, my. Sir Johnson just made his first move. What if you don't end up drawing the same room later? Wouldn't that be a waste, then?"
"Come on, what's important to Sir Johnson is feelings. He'll just set up his own date if the draw doesn't work out!"
The man shot Liam a knowing look, yet Liam pretended to scold him. "Don't scare the newcomer off."
The man shrugged casually. "What's the point of pretending when we all know what we're getting into here? I'm not as slick as you, so I can only rely on luck. But the thrill of having a mystery blind box reveal is truly addictive!"
Everyone was buzzing with excitement the whole way. Before long, we reached the mountain lodge, and everyone was eager to start today's draw.
Everyone only knew their own room number. Each room had two copies of the key cards. Under the leader's instruction, men and women entered their rooms in separate batches.
I heard that initially, women would enter first to create the illusion of men being serviced. Later, they switched it up so women entered last, just to crank up the excitement of the mystery blind box reveal.
In the end, women were nothing more than playthings for the crowd—yet ironically, many of them went along willingly.
I walked down the hallway with the key card in my hand. Several mountain bikes leaned diagonally against the doorways, and the silence was deafening.
I dug out my phone. "How's the preparation over on your side, Gina?"
Gina replied to me with an "okay" sign.
Out of nowhere, "Dancing Queen" started blasting downstairs. A group of elderly men and women was arguing at the lodge's front desk.
"Why can't we dance here?"
"We paid to stay here, too, so you'd better serve us well. Keep running your mouth, and I'll trash your place!"
Finally, someone spoke up in the cycling group chat.
"Where did this bunch of country bumpkin come from? I was just getting hard, but that damn music killed it!"
"You just can't get it up yourself, can you, Lowie? Whoever rooms with you tonight must be unlucky!"
"Bullshit! Do you think you're any better? You can't even do much without taking Viagra!"
"I wonder who's sharing a room with Supergirl. She's new—I bet she'll get excited the moment she sees it!"
"My roommate hasn't shown up yet. Who the hell drew Room 2115?" Liam's text suddenly popped up.
My lips curled upward as I read through their conversation. It seemed like fate decided to play along this time.
