Page 55 of Spotlight
“I think you’re doing just fine in that department.”
I shrug. It’s true I haven’t had a lot of problems finding dates. “I’m only interested in you.”
“Why?”
“You want a list?” I ask with a chuckle.
“You could date a million other women who are way less…”
“Awesome?”
“Complicated. Greer is amazing and I’m not ashamed or anything, but my life is different.”
“I like different.”
“You’re twenty-one. You should date someone who doesn’t have to check her schedule a month in advance to make plans or spends her nights packing lunches and sometimes can’t remember the last time she washed her hair.”
My lips quirk as she spirals in front of me. I feel the anxiety rolling off her and while that’s not funny, the fact she thinks she can scare me off with unwashed hair is hilarious.
She still has on the Mavericks hat and her hair is in a ponytail that hangs over one shoulder. I reach out and wrap my index finger around a silky, blonde lock. “You know, I spent a lot of my life being told what I should or shouldn’t do. I have four older brothers who all thought they knew what was best for me. But I’m not them. And I’m not any of the guys you’ve been out with who obviously didn’t realize what they were missing out on.”
“You have a good answer for everything.”
“Is that a yes?”
She fights a smile. “It isn’t a no.”
God, I love that she makes me work for it at every turn.
“How about double or nothing?”
“What?” she asks with a laugh.
I let my hand fall away from her hair. “I’m going to win your daughter that pink ball and when I do, you’re going to go out with me again.”
I push my chair back to stand and walk over to join Greer. She stomps her foot as the mechanical claw closes over the top of the ball, not gripping it well enough to grab a hold of it.
“Can I give it a try?” I ask her.
She takes a step to the side. We got five dollars’ worth of quarters when we came in and she’s worked her way down to the last three coins.
I put in a quarter and the machine hums to life.
Greer presses up onto her toes next to me and peers through the glass as I move the claw into position over the pink ball.
“Is this the one you want?” I ask.
She nods her head, blonde curls bouncing with the movement.
I move the claw another inch to the right, then carefully examine the position from every angle. “Okay. Want to hit the button?”
Greer’s smile is the sweetest, purest thing I’ve seen as she brings her little palm down on the red button. I squat down to her level as we watch the crane slowly lower and the claw open.
A shadow falls over us and I glance over my shoulder quickly to see Olivia has stepped up behind us.
I turn back in time to see the claw close over the top of the pink ball and then ever so slowly grab and lift it.
Greer bounces with glee as the claw drops her prize into the shoot where she can retrieve it. She snatches it up with a huge grin and then she must have misunderstood my intention of winning it for her because her smile falls, and she holds it out for me.
