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As trivia night gets under way, Ves silently consumes the rest of his brownie, orders a second hot chocolate, and turns a few more pages. His leg stays flush against hers, filling Elisha with a giddy thrill and an urge to jiggle her leg in delight. But she doesn’t in case he gets alarmed enough to shift away.
God, is she so hard up for touch that a mere leg is exciting her? Well, in her defense, it is a really warm, sturdy leg. The kind poets write about, rivaling even Michelangelo’s David. She glances down at his slacks and wishes she were brave enough to put her hand on his thigh. Not even that high up or anything.
Lord, she has it bad. She fists her hands in her lap instead and tries to stop sneaking peeks at him.
But it doesn’t mean that she’s not excruciatingly aware of everything he’s doing while the team bickers and whispers and frantically scribbles down answers. His thigh tenses when Elisha has the right answer about contestants of a popular dating reality show but Mia’s equally adamant that her own answer’s correct. And it relaxes when the rest of the table agrees to go with Elisha’s suggestion.
Almost like he has something invested. Which is... interesting.
Because reality TV isn’t the kind of entertainment she thinks Ves would watch, so how would he know if she was right, anyway? Which means... maybe he just wanted her to be right? For her sake?
She doesn’t have long to question it, because the next question barrels out and it all moves quick, quick, quick. Kat Kwon, whose parents own the stables where Grandpa Dave boards his horse, nails which racehorse won the Triple Crown in 1973 (“Secretariat, obviously! How have you people been friends with me this long and you still don’t know that?!”). Isaiah knows sports and food (and obscure geography-related knowledge, since he knew that Switzerland eats the most chocolate and Coca-Cola was the first soda consumed in outer space) and Mia is ace at celebrity drama and notable figures (“The first name of Secretary of State Alexander Hamilton’s wife was Eliza, honestly, do you people not watch musicals?!”).
There’s not a person in this room who can outdo Elisha on television and movie knowledge, and Riley knows a little about a lot of things, especially when it comes to world history, current events, and languages, which is why he’s so successful as their chamber’s trade specialist and their team captain.
Unfortunately, Adhira Ambani, Riley’s best friend and town cardiologist, and their sixth team member, has to run when her babysitter calls, but not before furtively whispering that the heart has four chambers, which pushes Team Came to Sleigh into second place. Holding first, Team Dork Academia—comprising two high school teachers, an optometrist, and a veterinarian—shoots daggers from the other side of the room.
“Hey, man, you’re off the bench,” Riley informs Ves. “We’re putting you in play.”
Ves shakes his head. “No, thank you.”
“Not a request. If it’s not you, Richard is going to shove his way in and that’s completely unacceptable. I need Elisha fully focused on winning. The books-and-literature category is coming up next and we’re counting on her. So you’re in. You don’t have to do anything. Just lean in when we discuss the questions and pretend to take part so we look full up.”
It’s a perfect solution, Elisha has to admit. Keeps Richard at arm’s length and includes Ves. Win-win.
“Come on, Ves. I know you’ve been following along with the game,” says Elisha. She nudges his arm with hers, enjoying the solid feel of muscle through his light gray sweater. “Don’t think I didn’t notice—you’re not as stealthy as you think. You clench and unclench your jaw when it’s a hard question, like you’re stumped, too, but don’t want to show it. You let out a breath you’ve been holding when we take a random guess and it turns out to be right.” She lets her eyes beseech him. “Please play.”
His eyes narrow at her. It seems to take him forever to reach a decision. “Fine,” he says brusquely.
She perks up, unable to hold back her grin. “Really?” When he answers with a small nod, she has the ridiculous urge to throw her arms around him, which she doesn’t act on, but she does indulge in a quick squeeze of his knee.
The unexpected touch makes his lips part and his eyes soften, as if he’s surprised it takes so little to bring her joy, or maybe because now he knows he’s the reason for her smile.
In the very next question, Elisha is both vindicated and relieved that he said yes. “Name the author of the 1986 novel featuring a castle that can fly that inspired the Miyazaki animated fantasy film,” says the trivia master. “The clue is in the question, folks!”
She racks her brain, scrounging around for an answer. She knows this, she knows this. The other tables look similarly baffled, except for Dork Academia, who have already written their answer and are sitting there with self-assured grins. Elisha leans in, whispering so the other teams can’t overhear, “It’s Howl’s Moving Castle, but I don’t remember the—”
“Diana Wynne Jones,” says Ves, confidence in every word.
Riley runs his hand through his golden curls. “Are you sure?”
“He’s right,” Elisha says quickly. She meets and holds Ves’s impassive blue eyes. “I remember now.”
“If it’s acceptable to everyone, I’ll write it down,” Ves says.
The pencil, a short, stubby thing, like the ones golf players use, is nearest to Elisha. In fact, it’s rolled up right next to the curve of her palm. She hooks her pinky around it at the exact moment Ves reaches out. His fingertips, deliciously warm and light against her skin, jolt electricity straight between her legs.
With a sharp inhale, she clamps her thighs together. The sound doesn’t go unnoticed by Ves, who draws his brows together but doesn’t move his hand away. Neither does she.
There’s a ravenous, giddy desperation humming through her entire body. Their eyes lock, brown on blue, the undercurrent of the something started a few days ago simmering between them like a kettle about to shriek. Of this much she’s sure: she wants him.
Now, here, while the abandoned pencil rolls off the table and clatters to the floor, and his strong arms wrap around her to sweep her on top of the table. Okay, probably not right here, right now, but soon. She’ll combust if she doesn’t chase the spark between them.
“We have two seconds left!” Mia leans in to hiss, glossy black hair falling into her face. “Move it!”
Ves snatches the pencil and jots down the answer. His writing isn’t the hurried scrawl Elisha thinks it would be; it’s all precise, neat lines, even though the pencil point is rounded and blunt from use.
“And the answer is...” The trivia master pauses for effect, scanning the tables to make sure all the pencils are down. “Diana Wynne Jones!”
