Page 86 of The Weight Of Falling
Gideon pumps a fist while Sofia writes The Big Kahunas on the board.
Aaron turns to Tess. “You have to let me name us. He can’t have the upper hand.”
“You mean, the bigger hand,” Gideon adds before Kate elbows him in the ribs.
“Is this big thing ever going to get old?” Tess asks on a long-suffering sigh.
“Never,” Aaron replies. “We’ll go with Large And In Charge.”
I bite my lip to cage the laugh bubbling up.
Tess narrows her eyes at Aaron. “Honey, if you don’t want the couch to be your permanent address, I suggest you let me name us.”
“Fine,” he grumbles. “You’re the writer.”
“Titans of Trivia,” Tess declares.
“Nice,” Aaron says, giving her a quick, tender kiss.
Sofia adds it to the list.
“You choose,” I say to Joel.
“The Bigger Picture,” he says without hesitation.
I bump his shoulder. “Excellent.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
Sofia finishes writing and turns from the whiteboard to face us. “Tonight’s game is, How Well Do You Know Each Other.”
Alarm taps at my ribs. I was expecting history. Or geography. I even studied for those (not that I’d admit it). But I haven’t studied Joel, not the way this game requires. Three weeks isn’t long enough to learn his tells, his favorite things, the stories he keeps locked away. Three weeks doesn’t tell me why he hates surprises, why he counts exits, and why he never sits with his back to the door.
The other couples have years together. They have shared holidays, running jokes, a whole archive of shorthand.
We don’t stand a chance.
I gulp air. I’m a blender without a lid, thoughts flying everywhere.
“Relax,” Joel murmurs beside me.
“We’re going to be terrible at this,” I whisper. “What do we know about each other? We’re coming in with a pamphlet and they’re armed with encyclopedias.”
“It’ll be fine,” he says calmly.
“No, it won’t,” I whisper back. How can he be so calm? This is a disaster. “We’ve only known each other three weeks.”
He turns those dark, steady eyes on me. “Trust me,” he says softly.
“Everything okay over there, Kenzie?” Sofia asks, her eyebrows raised.
“All good over here.” I paste on a confidant smile like I’ve got this. Inside, I’m the woman in the horror movie who just heard the basement door creak.
“Okay, warm-up round,” Sofia declares. “If your partner were an animal, what would they be?”
Tess jumps right in. “An owl,” she says for Aaron. “He’s watchful, sleeping with one eye on your firewall.”
“A red fox,” Aaron returns, smiling at her. “Clever, quick, and mischievous.”
