Page 61 of Call My Bluff
Monday afternoon, Oliviagrabbed a bag from under her desk and changed quickly in the staff bathroom, swapping her pencil skirt and blouse for a pair of flowing, wide-legged pants and a top that slouched off one shoulder. She left her hair down but fluffed it out with both hands before leaning toward the mirror to touch up the wing on her eyeliner. She kept reminding herself that she’d been out with Noah before—she’dmade outwith Noah before!—so this shouldn’t feel any different. And yet, for some reason, itdid.
When she was done, she headed for the parking lot and found him standing behind her car, leaning against the trunkthe same way he had the day he’d asked for a ride. Except this time, he was wearing nice jeans and a black T-shirt instead of his work uniform.
“Hey, Pixie. You ready to go?” he asked.
Olivia walked past him and popped the locks on her car before laying her work clothes in the back seat, silently reminding herself not to look too eager. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” he answered cryptically.
She shut her car door and immediately felt his hand against her lower back as he steered her away from her vehicle and toward his. As she slid into his passenger’s seat, he leaned down and brushed his mouth against her ear. “You look amazing, by the way,” he said, and a tingling wave of goose bumps washed down the side of her neck.
Keep it together, Cohen!she warned herself.
Though she was starting to think that might be harder than it sounded.
“Do I wantto know why you’re so good at this?” Olivia asked, her arms crossed as she leaned against the side of an arcade game called “Sink It.” Noah carefully aimed another ping-pong ball before bouncing it into one of several cup-shaped targets. The lights on the backboard flared to life, and the words “FIFTY POINTS” scrolled across the marquee in all caps.
He chuckled. “Probably not,” he admitted. “Here, you want another turn?”
“Why, so you can mock me again? No, thanks. I’ll take my airhockey win and go.”
“Aww, come on. You can’t bethatbad,” he coaxed. “Well, alright, you can’t be that badtwice.”
“What about that game?” she asked instead, pointing toward a massive console along the back wall. The outside was plastered with silhouettes of hip-hop dancers and a collection of pixelated arrows in various colors.
Noah’s face went blank. “No,” he said firmly.
“No? Why ‘no’?” Olivia demanded, already backing toward the game’s platform. “You danced with me before.”
“That was different.”
“Different how?” she taunted.
“One, it wasn’t scored, and two, I was making it up as I went.”
But she kept walking, ignoring his feeble protests.
“How aboutyouplay, andI’llwatch,” he compromised, finally following her across the arcade. The weekday crowd was thin, so they almost had the place to themselves.
“Oh, that’s disappointing. I never took you for a coward.” Olivia clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “But if you’re scared to lose to a girl...”
Noah clenched his jaw and pressed his mouth into a thin line, and Olivia could see how much he hated the gauntlet being thrown down. He wouldn’t be able to resist the challenge, especially when beating her would mean pulling ahead in their overall score.
“Fine,” he finally huffed. “But this is coercion.”
She cackled happily and stuffed arcade tokens into the game slots. The two platforms in the front lit up, and Noah took his place on the one beside her before using his foot to press a blue arrow on the floor.
“Battle round!” the machine declared.
“One way or another, you’re going to regret this,” he warned, and Olivia bounced on the balls of her feet as music surged through the game’s speakers. She hadn’t played this game since high school, but surely it would be like riding a bike. Right?
Colored arrows rose toward the top of the screen, and she stepped on the corresponding buttons in time with the beat of some random song. It took a few seconds, but she finally found her rhythm.
“Perfect! Nice one! Keep going!” the machine encouraged.
When she felt confident enough, she glanced over to see how Noah was doing, and a laugh burst from her chest. He looked less like he was dancing and more like he was hopping across hot coals. Most of his arrows missed their mark and turned gray as they reached the top of his screen.
“What do you callthat?” she shouted over the music.
