Page 168 of Biggest Player
This is supposed to be fun, yeah? Just a casual night in, getting to know Dex’s best friend and his girlfriend, who have been harassing him for an introduction for weeks and flew herespecificallyto meet me. At least, that’s what we’ve been told.
Hey. No pressure, right?
No big deal.
Except itisa big deal. This is my chance to show them I’m not just some random woman Dex is seeing. I’m someone he’s serious about. And I want them to like me for both our sakes. I know how influential other men are in Dex’s life because his parents aren’t a part of it, so for Andy to give him his stamp of approval means the world to me.
It is what it is.
Harlow hands me a glass of wine. It’s still cold, the glass chilly in my hands, and I quickly take a sip, hoping it will ease my nerves.
She is so nice!
I can tell we’ll get along, hope fluttering in my soul, filling me up. I’m going to need allies once the season is in full swing, won’t I? Being the girlfriend of a famous football player cannot be for the faint of heart, from what I’ve seen through extensive online research.
“So what game should we play?” With the tip of his toe, Andy gives the black Cards Against Humanity box a tiny nudge. Shoves it to the center of the table, a beggar’s expression on his face.
“Oh no. No you don’t.” Harlow laughs. Picks up her glass of wine but then immediately sets it back on the table without taking a drink. Hmm. “Forget it, buddy. The last time we played this game, you caused such a stink they kicked us out of the sports bar we were hanging out at for getting rowdy.” She and I share a look. “Landon haszerochill.”
“I can relate to not having any chill,” I say, sipping from my glass, doing my best not to chug it. “My daughter tells me to chill nonstop.”
We’re all seated around the couches, Andy and Harlow on one sofa, Dex and I on the other, facing each other.
“That’s right, Dex keeps mentioning your daughter. He said she’s hysterical. I wish I would have been able to meet her tonight, but maybe next time?” Harlow beams at me. So friendly. “I love kids.”
Is it my imagination, or did Andy nudge her with his knee when she made that proclamation?
Huh.
I peel my eyes away and force them back onto the table, where the boxes sit, waiting for us to decide which one we’re going to open.
“Can we please, please play Cards Against Humanity? Dude, I’m begging,” Andy quite literally begs. “Please, dude? It’s so fun, and I’m so good at it.”
In the end, he wins—probably because of his extensive use of the worddude—and we commence the word game, my face getting redder and hotter with every turn. With every card that gets placed. With every politically incorrect or pervy phrase.
Then.
Andy lays a black card in the center of the table that says:It’s here. It’s finally happening, I’m finally doing it. It’s time for _________.
“Harlow—your turn,” he tells his girlfriend.
She seems to stew over her options, nibbling on her bottom lip, holding the ten cards in her hands close.
“Hmm.” She hems and haws. Removes one card from her hand and goes to place it on the table. Hesitates. Adds it back to her collection and hems and haws again. “Ah.”
“I’m finally doing it. It’s time for—” Harlow reads Andy’s card out loud at the same time she lays down a white response card.
Making Babies.
For a split second, Dex goes about the game on autopilot, flipping through his cards to choose his next move, eyes roaming from Andy’s card to his own. The humming sound emanating from his chest tells me one thing: he isn’t getting the hint.
“Making babies,” I repeat quietly.
I don’t know Andy or Harlow all that well, but now they’re holding hands, and all I can do is give Dex a tap, hoping he’ll notice so I don’t have to spell it out for him.
“Wait,” my boyfriend finally says. “They have a card that says making babies? Since when?”
Honestly, I’m trying not to roll my eyes. I love him dearly, but occasionally he is too clueless, even for me.
