Page 21 of Run the Play
“Did you need what you bought today?” Baker asks her.
“Need? No. Want? Absolutely. I believe that learning should be fun. I also believe that there should be times when you take a break from the curriculum and explore alternative approaches. The games will be fun for my students, as well as help them learn to be social and that no matter how hard we try, we can’t always be the winner.”
“What kind of games are we talking about?” I ask her.
“Hungry Hippos, Trouble, Sorry, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Operation, to name a few. They were such a good deal I couldn’t pass them up.”
“Hold up. I’m the king of Trouble,” Reid says. “Do you have them with you?”
Sloane laughs. “Yeah, they’re out in my car.”
“Game night!” Reid thrusts his fist into the air. “Come on, we have to.”
“I agree with Montgomery. We can’t have Trouble in our presence and not play.”
“You two are trouble.” My sister shakes her head, but she’s smiling.
“Do you really want to play?” Sloane asks.
“They do,” Foster answers.
“What, are you too good to play a kid’s game with us?”
Foster scoffs. “Get ready to get your ass kicked, Reynolds,” he goads me.
“Boys, boys, settle down.” Sloane smirks. “I feel like I’m in my classroom.”
Rowan giggles, and the sound stops me. I freeze and turn to face her. Her body is shaking, and her hand is over her mouth, but when her eyes meet mine, I can see the humor as they light up. Damn, those blue eyes of hers are lethal, especially when they’re shining with happiness. I’m half tempted to pull my phone out of my pocket and take a picture, but I refrain. Just barely, but I manage to keep my composure. Instead, I wrap my hand around her calf and feel her soft, silky skin. I have to swallow hard before I can speak.
“You think you can take us, Roe?” I ask, keeping my voice light.
“Are you challenging me?” she asks.
“You bet your pretty ass I am. You and me, Hungry Hippos. Best out of three.”
She shakes her head but grins at me. “You’re on, Reynolds.”
I give her calf a soft squeeze before releasing her, then stand and gather our trash, taking it to the kitchen.
Reid heads outside with Sloane to help her bring in the games, and before you know it, we’re all set up around the living room. Reid, Sloane, Corie, and Knox are playing Trouble, Bakerand Foster are playing Operation, and Rowan and I are set up for an intense round of Hungry Hippos.
“What color do you want?” I ask her.
“Let’s make it interesting and go two. I want blue and green.”
“I’ll be yellow and red. Are we playing for the gold marble or just all the marbles?”
“All of them,” Rowan says. She’s sitting crisscross applesauce, and I smile when I think of how we used to say that as kids.
“Ready?” I ask.
She nods, and we both release our marbles. “One, two, three!” she shouts, and we’re off, slapping the tails of our hippos trying for a win. I don’t pay too much attention to how many marbles she’s eating because I want to win, so I can only focus on mine. When all the marbles are eaten and we count them up, Rowan throws her hands in the air when she realizes she beat me.
“Best out of three,” I remind her, just as Reid jumps to his feet and does a little shimmy around the living room.
“Trouble King, baby,” he boasts, and we’re all laughing.
Foster and Baker are both leaning over the operation game with serious looks on their faces. I watch as Foster gets zapped and curses under his breath.
