--Round 3--
Ellie snatched the dice off the table, eager to go again. After rolling, she moved her piece into a white space, pouting as she did so.
"Hey, look on the bright side! You're in the lead," said Naomi.
"Yeah, that's true. I just wanted to get something cool. You're taller and Zack has Brandon's muscles, but I'm still short and skinny."
"You'll just have to get lucky," said Brandon as he rolled the dice. He maneuvered his dice into the gold space, and read from the card.
"EXCHANGE. CHOOSE TWO OTHER PLAYERS AND THEN CHOOSE AN EQUIVALENT TRAIT THAT THEY POSSESS. THOSE TWO PLAYERS EXCHANGE THAT EQUIVALENT TRAIT. Oh, hey! Ellie, would you rather be taller or have muscles?" Brandon asked.
"Wait just a sec-" Zack began.
"You can't just-" Naomi said at the same time.
"Muscles! I wanna be strong!" Ellie shouted.
"Then it's settled! Ellie, I give you Zack's muscles, and Zack gets hers."
Immediately Ellie's form swelled with muscle tissue. On her smaller frame, they looked absolutely huge. Excitedly, Ellie shot to her feet, picking up an ottoman and holding it over her head with ease.
"Thanks Brandon!" she beamed.
Meanwhile, Zack was sulking with his skinny arms crossed. "I'm even weaker than when we started!" he complained.
"That's how the game goes, baby." Naomi sighed. "Who knows? Maybe you'll get them back." She held out her hand for the die, and Brandon dutifully passed it over. Her piece glided into a golden space, and she drew her card.
"GIVE. CHOOSE A PHYSICAL TRAIT THAT YOU POSSESS AND GIVE IT TO ANOTHER PLAYER," Naomi read aloud. She felt bad for Zack's loss of muscle, especially seeing how happy he was to have it. Deciding to make her boyfriend feel better, Naomi made up her mind.
"Zack, I give you a foot of my height." She stood up and her boyfriend followed, as she shrank down to 5'1" and he grew to 5'8". Sure, this left her shorter than she started, but now she wanted to see her boyfriend walk away from this happy. And happy he was. He wore a cheesy grin, seeing that he now stood taller than his girlfriend.
"I love you," Zack said. His heart pounded in his chest. This was a big step...
"And I love you," Naomi replied. The two began to kiss, but were interrupted by Ellie before they could start fully making out.
"EW! Get a room!" Ellie shouted, standing up in an imposing pose that showed off her muscles. Zack was in another world, ecstatic about his first kiss. He was ready to tell Ellie off for interrupting it, but upon seeing her larger frame, decided it'd be better to just drop it. Naomi felt much the same way.
The couple apologized and sat back down. Meanwhile, on the couch, it occurred to Brandon that he'd have a tough time getting back to his original height. But still, he didn't feel too bad about that. As Naomi had said, it's the nature of the game.
Zack hastily grabbed the die and rolled. Hopefully he could end this game soon and take Naomi somewhere more private. Smiling as he moved his piece into the gold space, he read the card.
"TAKE. CHOOSE ANOTHER PLAYER AND TAKE ONE MENTAL TRAIT FROM THEM." Rubbing his hands together like a cartoon supervillain, Zack pointed to Brandon. "I take everything you know about Naomi, the memories you had with Naomi, and other stuff like that!"
"Does that count as one tra-" Brandon suddenly lost his train of thought. He looked toward his cousin Zack...hadn't he just taken one of his mental traits? There was a girl sitting to his left...who was she?
Meanwhile, Zack rubbed his temples as a flood of knowledge had just entered his mind. He knew all of Naomi's favorite songs, her favorite foods, the places in town she liked to visit for dates, and he even had...intimate...knowledge of Naomi's body. His cheeks grew red as he vividly remembered doing things he'd only seen online.
Brandon stood up and approached Naomi. "Hi, I'm Brandon. I don't think we've met." He offered his hand for a handshake.
Naomi smiled, feeling bittersweet. This was exactly how Brandon had introduced himself to her the first time. On the one hand, she was upset at Zack for completely erasing Brandon's memories of her. But on the other, since they weren't dating anymore, this could be a fresh start. A new beginning to their relationship, as friends.
"Naomi Rodriguez. Nice to meet you." She shook his hand.
"Are you a friend of Zack's?"
"I'm his girlfriend, actually."
Brandon's eyes went wide. "Wow! Zack, you're one lucky dog. Congrats!"
Zack chuckled, a bit nervously. This was a huge change, but he was glad that Brandon seemed okay. And besides, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Ellie's eyes were as big as saucers. Brandon completely forgot Naomi! How was that possible? "Magic!" she muttered. "Hope I get some magic too!" She grabbed the die and rolled.