Page 10 of Delay of Game

When we get to the house, Robbie manages to pour some water and kibble for the cats and passes out as soon as his head hits the pillow. I smile and close the door to his bedroom, letting him rest.

Back in the living room, Jordan is pulling open the sleeper sofa, but he straightens up when he sees me. “I figured you’d take the spare bedroom, so I’ll take the couch.”

I nod but walk up to him, helping to set it up. We work in companionable silence and our hands brush every now and then as we lay down a sheet and pillows.

“Did you have a good birthday?” he whispers as Caramel jumps up on the blanket, attacking it ferociously with his little orange paws, thinking there’s some monster underneath.

I laugh softly and give him a few pets as he tries to chomp on my fingers. “I had a great birthday. Thanks for coming, by the way.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it,” he says earnestly as his eyes trace every inch of my face. He does that a lot recently—openly studying me, so I take the time to do the same.

Jordan looks tired, but not in an exhausted type of way. His eyes are droopy and darker than their usual chocolate brown color, and his lips are soft.

“Are you ready to go to sleep?” I find myself asking. Jordan contemplates this for a second but shakes his head, and I smile. “Want to watch a movie instead?”

“Sure, birthday girl, I’ll make some popcorn while you pick one,” Jordan says. He moves to the kitchen, opening up a bag of buttery popcorn.

I put on a ‘90s romcom and expect Jordan to grumble something about how he hates chick flicks, but he doesn’t. He sits down and places the popcorn between us on the sofa bed and we spend most of the movie judging the characters’ choices and making fun of their outfits.

Somehow we drift closer together, maybe under the pretense that we need to whisper so that we don’t wake Robbie up, and I rest my head on Jordan’s shoulder. After a second of hesitation, he lifts his arm up and drapes it across my shoulder so that I can better fit next to him.

He smells woodsy, with a hint of the whiskey he drank earlier tonight, and I close my eyes against the essence of him.

“Thank you for an amazing birthday,” I say quietly, and look up at his face right as he looks down at mine. My nose brushes his chin and he freezes to the spot, his fingers tightening on myshoulder. I can hear him swallow, and decide to be a little brave. If anything, I can always blame it on the alcohol.

I place my right hand on Jordan’s chest and lift up to bridge the gap, pressing my lips to the corner of his mouth, whispering, “You’re the best, J.”

When I pull back, I swear I can’t even hear him breathe. His eyes are glued to my mouth, and I am begging the universe that he’s taking the hint. That he’ll kiss me properly.

When he doesn’t, I lower my head back down to his chest and return my attention to the movie. Jordan doesn’t say anything to me for the rest of the night, but when the movie ends, instead of sending me to the spare room, he repositions us and drags the blanket up to our necks. His arms hold me tight the whole night through and I think I feel him kissing my forehead in the morning before he gets up and leaves the house, quiet as a mouse.

CHAPTER 4

Five Years Ago

Alice

The room is spinning.Or is that just me?

I’m not exactly sure how I got to this party, but I think it had something to do with one of my roommates dragging me here in search of her boyfriend. Once they found each other, they ditched me to hook up somewhere in the house. Typical.

I look around the unfamiliar kitchen and try to pinpoint how I got so drunk in the first place. The countertop is littered with empty beer bottles and red solo cups. Ah, it’s all coming back to me now—beer pong. Lots of beer pong.

A cute guy with green eyes and dark brown hair roped me into playing and since I had never experienced the game before, I decided to give it a try. Besides, everyone always told me I was the good girl that never embraced the college experience, instead focusing on finishing my bachelor’s degree in education as fast as possible. Tonight I decided, I’m in my senior year, so fuck it, we ball.

“I think I might throw up,” I tell the cute stranger, whose name I still haven’t asked for.

All he does is grimace and point me to the patio door. Lovely. I quickly make my way out and find the nearest potted plant to nourish.Sorry, little fern. You deserve better.

Sliding down the nearest wall, I take a moment to feel sorry for myself. This is why I don’t drink or party, usually. Icannothandle my alcohol.

A text from my roommate comes through telling me her and her boyfriend left half an hour ago to “make up.”

I need better friends.

I don’t reply to her, and wait for another roll of nausea to pass, while I rest my head back against the wall. I could call one of my brothers to come pick me up, but I don’t want to bother them. Robbie is meeting with Alex while he’s visiting from out of town, and Michael has two young kids at home now that Lory joined their little family. He’s alone with them for the first time ever since Tangela is away for a conference for the week.

There’s no way in hell I would call my parents. They’ve never seen me drunk and with any luck, they never ever will. So that leaves me one other option.

---