Page 30 of Love or Leave

Maybe they should stay so he wouldn't have to be depressed all night. She really didn't want to be there but abandoning him so soon after she just used him to get a date with Jalen seemed wrong. He'd got dressed and came out with her. Plus, he was clearly going through a really shitty time.

She also really enjoyed hanging out with him, and she was determined to fix her impression of him and make her brain see him as a friend.

"Do you play euchre?"

Antonio lips curved. "I've played before. Why?"

"There's a tournament tonight at a gaming cafe close to here. They run card tournaments every Sunday night. Do you wanna play with me?"

He smirked before a range of emotions played across his face. "I'm not sure—"

Cara cut him off. "It's just cards, Antonio," she said. "Don't you think we should try to be friends?"

He narrowed his eyes, struggling with the invitation. He reached a hand to the back of his neck before shrugging and giving her a smile. "Okay," he said. "Why not?"

Cara walked into the gaming cafe and took off her coat. She hadn't been there in a while, but nothing had changed.

The Dungeons and Dragons tables were still in the corner, the artist who painted Warhammer miniatures was still at a table by the washrooms, and the endless shelves of board games still filled the far wall.

She walked between the tables toward the counter in the back and smiled at the bartender.

"We'd like to join the euchre tournament," she said.

The guy behind the counter nodded.

She turned to Antonio to ask him if he wanted a beer, but the look on his face stopped her. "What?"

"Are you a regular here?" he asked.

She glanced around the room and realized she'd revealed a lot about herself in the last ninety seconds. He knew she was a nerd, but maybe he hadn't realized just how nerdy she was? That room had probably been the largest gathering of nerds he'd ever been a part of—what with his triple A hockey and general hotness. He'd probably been popular in high school. And had friends. And went to parties where he hooked up with slutty girls.

She'd been so painfully shy it was as if she hadn't existed. It wasn't until she'd put in a great deal of effort, and countless hours of YouTube makeup and hair tutorials, before she garnered any attention from a classically attractive man, and that turned out to be a nightmare.

Cooper taught her a few things, though. Most notably that men like him didn't like nerdy gaming cafes.

"Are you really that surprised?" she asked.

His brows rose and his jaw dropped open as his gaze raked down her body and back up. "You're kidding, right?"

She looked down, trying desperately not to read into what he was possibly implying. Despite her efforts, her cheeks flamed and didn't know where to look.

Antonio shook his head, a move she was realizing he did often when talking to her and turned toward the guy behind the bar.

"Two cream ales," Antonio said to the guy as he pulled his wallet from his pocket.

"I'll get it," she said, but he waved her off and handed over his card.

While the guy was getting their beers and snacks, she decided to ignore Antonio’s flattery and check out the tournament situation. She leaned over to look through the door into the back room, where all the tables were set up for the tournament.

"It's been a while since I played. How mad are you going to be if I suck?" Antonio asked.

She turned to him and smiled. "It won't matter. I'll win."

He laughed. "Are you always this confident?"

"With card games? Yes. Other things, not so much."

Antonio narrowed his eyes at her as if she was a puzzle to solve. "What other things?"

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