Page 30 of Snow Much Trouble
"Same difference."
"Not even close to the same difference."
"Fine. Play your seven-letter word. But I'm playing MISTLETOE next round and you can't stop me."
"Mistletoe is nine letters!"
"Is it?" She counts on her fingers. "Damn. You're right. Okay, fine. GARLAND then."
We play several more rounds, the score staying close. I pull ahead by a few points, then she plays TINSEL and jumps ahead again.
Finally, we're both down to our last few tiles. Lauren has been getting quieter, more focused, and I can tell she's trying to figure out how to use her remaining letters for maximum points.
"You want to call it?" I ask. "We can count up what we have left and subtract from our scores."
"No way. I'm going to use these last letters no matter what. We’ll have all day." She studies the board for another minute, then suddenly grins. "Got it." She lays down ZEN in a spot that gives her a triple word score. "Twenty-four points. And I'm out of letters."
"Damn." I look at my remaining tiles. I've got a Q and a U that I never managed to use. "You win. I fold."
"I do win, don't I?" She's beaming. "Final score is?"
We tally everything up. She beats me by eighteen points.
"Good game," I say, reaching across the table to shake her hand. I’m not even remotely upset, but I enjoy poking at her. “I’m silently seething. I’m outraged. I’m devastated.”
She takes my hand, but instead of shaking, she just holds it for a moment. Her skin is warm in mine, and I don't want to let go.
"At least you’re not a sore loser," she says. “Much.”
"I'm competitive, but I'm not an asshole about it. Much." I run my thumb across her knuckles. "Besides, I got distracted."
"By what?"
She knows by what. "You."
"Dylan…" She looks like she’s debating whether this is a good idea or not.
I let it go since she’s on the other side of the table from me and I don’t want her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. Hell, I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not either.
"Help me put this game away and then we can figure out what to do for lunch. I'm thinking we might need to venture outside again to clear that tree branch off the driveway."
"In this weather?"
"It's stopped snowing. The sun is out." As cozy as the cabin is, I could use some fresh air and physical activity. Something to burn off this restless energy.
"I’m going to jump in the shower first, in case the power goes out again. I’ll meet you there.”
I eye Lauren. “You have no intention of going outside, do you?”
“Nope.”
I don’t blame her for wanting to stay inside and take a hot shower instead, but I’m disappointed. I want to spend all the time that I can with her. “What about the tree branch? I might need your help.”
"Rule number six, don’t ask your roommate to help move anything." She starts to pack up the Scrabble board.
"How many rules are we up to now?"
"I've lost count. But I'm sure we're violating most of them."
