House's eyebrows raised, and it was only partly because that was the reaction he wanted to show. "Has he finally found his way out of that 'boring' rut?" he asked. "Because--" He dropped his voice into a well-meaning stage whisper, "He always comes back, even when he promises he won't." House had reported Foreman to the Fun Police more than once, sadly without any results. At least it made him good to bait. But harnessing someone plodding to someone as fired up as Amber seemed like a good recipe for implosion.

Well, that's why he was here, after all. To set that particular ball rolling. "Starting small?" House contorted his face in surprised disappointment. "The locker room gossip was wrong after all." Not that he needed to know--or have CTB think he cared about--anything physical about Foreman. The point was to show her that she was--heh--belittling him, whether she knew it or not. Once they'd gotten into the habit of insulting each other behind their backs, it was only one very small step to the next betrayal.

Still, she was taking the early rounds a little too easily. House already knew she could handle a euphemism fight. This was about learning something new, not sparring over old news. It was time to drop his first bomb. "So you're better than that?" He nodded in faux understanding. "Moving on when you've sucked him dry is a good plan." An infinitesimal pause, and then, "Don't worry. Foreman won't be surprised when you screw him over." And, in another calculated move, he let his face slip into comic dismay. "Oops, did I say too much? You're already doing that. I meant 'shank in the back'."