AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“About two years now. Samantha and Chip got friendly after Sam sold her the house.”
This fucker. He knows I’ve been running up against Imp’s walls since she moved here, chasing my tail in hopes that she’ll take pity on me and go on a date. But did he help a brother out by telling me that I can surefire find her in one place once a month? No, he sure didn’t.
“You’re buying lunch for the next two weeks.”
“What? Why?” He pulls a shocked face. I snatch the tumbler of whiskey out of his hand and, after downing the alcohol, answer, “You know why.”
Leaving him to refill his drink, I start back to the kitchen where Sam and Imp are dishing up their plates along with the other couples that are here tonight. I know and went to school with everyone in the kitchen.
“Hey man, you want to make a plate?” Pete asks, his hand resting on Carol’s lower back. Like Sam and Gunnar, those two were high school sweethearts, and after a brief stint at college, they moved home.
I scoot around him and grab one of the paper plates that Sam put out and load my plate with pasta and bread.
Imp’s standing right next to me, her shoulder occasionally brushing mine while she ignores me.
Like always.
I lean close to her ear and whisper, “How good are you at these games?”
Not for the first time, she aims a smirk in my direction. “Good enough that I won’t need your help to win.” She steps away from me and finds a seat at the dining room table.
Oh ho. Is that so?
I quickly grab cutlery and snag the seat next to her. “We should talk strategy.”
A single red eyebrow lifts, and she finishes chewing her pasta. “Why?”
I nod my head in Sam’s direction. “You heard her. We’re going to be a team. Which means we need to figure out how to beat all these losers.”
“Hey!” Jess yells from across the table. Her husband, Mike, shoots a scowl my way for good measure.
“I think we’ll be fine. Just follow my lead.”
She thinks that I’ll just sit back and let her win whatever game we play tonight? Does she know me at all?
No, she doesn’t know you, Byrne. She runs in the other direction every time you say more than two words to her.
I shove the thought away. For the next few hours, she’s stuck here with me, and fuck if I’m not going to take advantage of it.
Chip’s still ignoring me. Retreating, I eat my food and formulate my plan of attack. The spark of competition in her eyes and the confident way she claims to not need strategy tell me that she’s probably more prepared for tonight than I am.
I turn to Gunnar, who just sat down with his own food, and ask, “What game are we playing tonight?”
Before he can answer, Sam pipes up, “Pictionary or charades, I think. Those work best with teams.”
“I vote charades,” I say. My acting ability is better than my drawing capabilities, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
“We should do Pictionary,” Chip pipes up.
“What?” I turn to her, curious if she’s being contrary just because or if there’s a reason for it.
“I agree with Chip. Let’s do Pictionary.” Sam says.
Before I can get a word in edgewise, the rest of the group agrees to the game.
“I hope you know what you’re doing. I can’t draw for shit,” I say to Chip.
“We’ll muddle through. If I draw the majority of the rounds we play, we should still win.” She nibbles on her lower lip, and heat rushes through me at the sight of it pinched between her teeth.
