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We sit with our foreheads together. As soon as our eyes meet, Mark’s mouth tugs at the corners as he tries to hold in a smile. A snort escapes him which causes us both to erupt into laughter. I wipe at my eyes and try to fix my makeup the best I can before heading back across the hall to my desk.
I wave awkwardly as I pass by Nancy’s desk on my way out the door.
“Good seeing you, sweetheart.”
“Bye, Nancy.”
She winks pointing towards Mark’s closed door. “That’s a good one in there.”
I smile. “Yes, he is.”
“You two should come to dinner sometime next week.”
A weight is lifted, and I relax. “Give Mark some dates, and we will make it happen.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart. You have a great rest of your day.”
Mini-golf might not have been the best idea for a double date. At least Duncan and Amara have been good sports dealing with the ultra-competitiveness that is me and Mark.
“We don’t need to keep score,” I say, trying to make it sound like it isn’t a big deal. I’ll just keep score in my head. No one will be the wiser.
Mark nods in agreement. “Yeah, what’s important is that we’re having fun. Not who’s winning.”
“Says the person winning,” Duncan mutters.
Amara elbows him. She plasters on a smile. “The whole point of tonight is for us to all get to know each other better.”
“Exactly!” I respond.
Amara and I eye each other. This isn’t going as smoothly as we had hoped. We probably should have done that pottery class Amara had mentioned. Maybe if we only play one round of golf tonight? At this rate it’s going to take all night anyway. I knew my family was intense when it came to any sort of sport or game, but this complete and utter lack of competitive spirit is ridiculous. Even with all of us playing, we would have been almost done, and that’s if the kids and wives were here. Just the nine of us Jacobsons? We’d be on round two, forming new alliances and strategizing how to make the winner of the last round lose.
After a rather (agonizingly) long round of mini-golf, we had decided to head to Pete’s Pie Palace for pie shakes. Food is always safe. And who doesn’t love pie? Or at least ice cream?
When we get to Pete’s, the line is pretty long so Mark and Duncan go put in our orders while Amara and I get a table. I keep watching them in line, but they aren’t talking much. I don’t know if that’s because they don’t know each other or if they’re both miserable.
“How do you think it’s going over there?” Amara asks.
“I don’t know. They aren’t talking much.”
“Mark’s pretty reserved, right?”
“I mean, yeah, but to not talk at all? And it’s not like Duncan is shy. He usually never stops talking.” I turn back around and face Amara. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just—”
She puts her hand up to stop me. “No. You’re right. Duncan usually does talk a lot but not in new situations. At least not if he doesn’t have to.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve never seen Duncan have a hard time talking to anyone.”
“Yeah, but he was probably with people he’s comfortable being around or he was working a gig. He’s pretty quiet until you get to know him.” She cranes her neck to look over at the guys. “But once he’s comfortable, he’s the best guy around.”
I smile watching Amara. I love seeing her light up when she talks about Duncan.
Amara turns back towards me. “What?”
“Nothing.” I grin. “I just like seeing you so happy.”
A blush lightly colors her cheeks. “Thanks. And for the record I like seeing you so happy too. It’s been a long time since you’ve been this happy.” She pauses, but doesn’t continue.
“What?” I eye her. “You look like you want to say something.”
