Page 23 of Playing For Keeps

Farren turned, looking up into his eyes, albeit a less severe angle than usual in these heels.

“What are you doing here?” she blurted before she could make the statement sound nicer. He didn’t seem to mind, chuckling and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I mean, I thought you couldn’t make it tonight.”

“I wasn’t sure you guys would still be playing. It’s later than I would have come in on a normal Friday. I didn’t want to say yes and then disappoint you. I’d hoped, but if you weren’t here, I was just going to grin and bear it, grab my croissant and head home.”

It was Farren’s turn to laugh, to shake her head at him.

“That damn croissant. I see your real motivation. Game night or not, you were coming in for it. Well, I hate to break it to you, but they’ve been sold out since before I got here. No croissant for either of us tonight.” It was meant to sound sad, a little scolding, but none of it came through when Farren had the stupidest grin on her face.

“We’ll both have to content ourselves with the company instead. I’m game if you are.” When he said it, it sounded almost more like a question, as if he was worried she wouldn’t want him there.

“Joke’s on you. I’m getting a sandwich on a pretzel bun and a really gooey cinnamon roll. If you’re content to survive on company alone, that's your prerogative.” Farren stepped up to the cashier, surprised to see Sebastian following her, his body close by and almost crowding her. But she liked it.

Farren placed her order, Sebastian chiming in that he’d have the same, but a water instead of her chai latte. Before Farren could reach into her purse for her wallet, he’d already tapped his smartwatch against the receptacle sending an online payment, the card reader happily chirping the receipt of the money.

She started to argue, little more than a sputter passing her lips before he smiled at her, patient as can be, and asked her to introduce him to her friends.

They were on their best behavior—well, as good as this group could be. Most of them asked benign questions about his job, where he was from, and how he came to be here. All stuff she already knew. All the while, he rested his arm along the back of her chair like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Giddiness bloomed in her belly, nerves melting into excitement and, strangely, a sense of pride. Having him here, joining in on something she loved doing, looking at her like she was a goddess walking around the cafe. It was a heady thing.

Corinne was the one that ended up asking the first risqué question. “So, Sebastian, what’s going on between you and my girl?”

Farren’s stomach knotted into a stone, the chai now somehow bitter and gritty on her tongue.

“I’m not quite sure, Corinne. We haven’t really discussed it, but from my side of things, I’m just happy to stick around and see where things go from here.” It was said with tact, Sebastian looking at her as if he wanted her to clarify, his thumb tracing a circle into her shoulder.

“So, you guys are dating?” Corinne continued, and Farren turned away from Sebastian to give her friend a warning look. “What?” Corinne asked, acting oblivious. Farren tried to drive home the message with her eyes, raising her eyebrows to punctuate her point.

“We’re all curious, Farren. You can’t blame us for asking now he’s actually here. He’s an elusive office gremlin, so we have to strike while we have the chance, before he disappears into Cubicle World again.”

“Hey!” Farren interjected just as Corinne chimed back in with, “No offense.”

Sebastian laughed it off good-naturedly.

“No, I get it. My job has been kind of crazy lately. But yes, we’ve seen each other a few times, so I guess that counts as dating.”

“Exclusively?” Corinne asked without skipping a beat.

“Corinne! None of your business, now drop it.” Farren was getting more than a little mortified by her friend and the audacity on that side of the table. Sebastian shook with laughter beside her, the heat of him pressing against her side, and she let it wash over her to calm her ragged nerves.

“I think Farren and I should discuss it in private first. I’d hate to speak for her, but I know I’m not seeing anyone else,” he said, planting a kiss on Farren’s blazing cheek. “Now that it’s sorted, I’d like to play a game with you all, since that’s why I’m actually here.” His fingertips left a trail of fire on the outside of her arm, a quick kiss burned into her temple.

The contact shot through her like an arrow, straight through sinew and flesh, keen and to the heart of her. Her insides did a flip, the slightest bit of dizziness reminding her she hadn’t taken deep enough breaths since Corinne started this whole thing. Farren focused on slowing her breathing, trying to calm down the excitement that started and spread at his unspoken claim.

Luis pulled a hot pink box from his tote bag on the floor, unveiling the contents with a whoosh of cardboard against cardboard. He laid the drawing pad out in front of them, dispensing a marker to each before he jumped into the rules. Farren was already well-versed in the game.

“This is ‘A Fake Artist Goes To New York.’ Everyone will be aware of the image you’re supposed to be drawing, except for one—the fake artist. Each person will get ten seconds to draw in one continuous line, and then it will have to be passed to the next person to continue the drawing. It’s up to the fake artist to try and stay hidden while figuring out what the picture is. The rest will be trying to determine who the fake artist is. At the end of the game, the team will have to vote on who they think the fake artist is. If they’re caught, the team wins. If the fake artist is not exposed and they can guess the image, they will win.”

Luis wrote on the back of a dry erase card for each of them. One was marked with an “X,” but only time would reveal who exactly was the culprit. Though as it went on, she had a sneaking suspicion.

It was cute watching Sebastian try to keep a straight face, not to give away his position. Farren tried her best not to peek at his card, wanting to give him the opportunity to win it on his own despite the sense of surety growing within her. He did surprisingly well, making it all the way to the end before he accidentally veered a little too far from what they were supposed to be drawing.

When the voting round came, everyone ended with their index finger pointed at Sebastian and his neck blushing pink.

“What the heck were you guys drawing?”

“A bathroom,” Corinne answered, her tone more than a little smug.

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