Page 14 of The Games We Play

I move to the other side of the room and peer out of the blinds into the bay window that looks into her kitchen. This has the perfect view of the sink that sits in front of the window and the kitchen island behind it.

She’s sitting at the edge of the counter as she pulls her hair out of the messy bun she threw it up in when she was working out. It falls over her bare shoulders with only the straps of her sports bra between. She’s holding her phone face up, presumably the call on speaker, and the genuine smile she’s beaming into it is real and comforting. I tilt my head and squint as I focus my attention on the lit screen.

It’s a picture of an older woman with dark hair and a smile that mirrors her own.

Shifting my gaze, I watch Mimi’s lips move as she talks.

What are you and Dad up to tonight?

So, it is her mother.She keeps her eyes on the screen as her mother continues to talk.

That sounds fun.

Mimi flips her hair over to one side and leans her chin into the palm of her hand.

No, I don’t have any classes today, but I do have a date later.

What. The. Fuck.

Not with that guy, he was pretty dull. I haven’t met this guy yet. I’ve been talking to him on the site I told you about.

I know, Mom. I know. I always give Penny the profile information for the guys I meet online and I share my location with her the entire time I’m out.

Mimi rolls her eyes.

Mom, I’m super safe.

Her mom continues to talk, and Mimi listens with impatience written all over her body.

Yeah, okay, okay. I gotta go, though.

She hangs up the line, clearly irritated. A feeling I can completely relate to at this very moment.

I should expect that she would be dating, knowing she wasn’t married and attended Afterburn on opening night. But now that she’s here, next to me, so fucking close, knowing she’s going out with another guy, has me seeing fucking red.

I’m in complete control, on the outside, not showing a single emotion, but I am raging on the inside.

Mimi gets up from the stool, takes a swig from her water bottle, then disappears from view.

I wasn’t planning on making my presence known for a little while, but it looks like I have a date to crash tonight.

7

SEAMUS

17 years old

“So, why have you never come here before this summer?” Mimi asks.

The first day of camp was interesting, needless to say.

She saved me from what was probably going to end up a fist fight, then we spent the majority of the day together with her showing me around the grounds after finding our cabins. She’s absolutely gorgeous, in every way, and I find myself lost in her whenever she talks about, well, anything.

“I had never heard of this place, until my mom mentioned I was going. She just felt like it would be a good break for me this summer.” I keep it simple and change the subject away from me. “How long have you been coming here?”

“Oh gosh, forever it feels like. Since I was seven, I think,” she replies with a smile. “Yeah, this will be my tenth year. I met my best friend here, and this is the first year she couldn’t come.”

“Ah, I see, I’m a pity friend. The temporary replacement,” I reply, nudging her with my shoulder.

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