Page 44 of On Dancer
“Kind of you.” I sniffed, not sure whether to be grateful or put out by how easily he managed me. I held up the bag in my other hand. “I did remember it’s a potluck. I brought a cheese tray from the deli.”
“Excellent.” Rudy grinned at me as we walked toward the game store. “See? Cheese. Desserts. Gifts. This will be fun.”
“I still say we could make better use of staying in.” I needed to get a few more grumbles in.
“I’m sure.” Rudy was nothing if not affable. “If you’re really miserable, we can leave early after the gift exchange before the games.”
“And miss my chance to beat Troy again?” If I had to go to this party, I was going to pick up a win or two on my way out the door.
Apparently, that was the right answer because Rudy beamed, street lamp glinting off his glasses frames and making his brown hair appear more reddish. “Told you that you were looking forward to this.”
He playfully stuck his tongue out at me, which served to remind me exactly what said tongue could do. Sadly, we were in downtown Hollyberry, where many people who knew our mothers were likely lurking. The threat of gossip proved an excellent kissing deterrent. I’d enjoyed our outing to Evergreen the other night, where I could hold Rudy’s hand and flirt over dinner and pretend for a few hours that we were an actual couple, not the briefest of flings.
Troy let us into the game store, where we were quickly greeted by Ari, who was wearing a green velvet ballgown with white fake fur trim. She looked like she’d stepped out of a Victorian Christmas card.
“Rudy!” She greeted us both with hugs. “And Alexander! You returned.”
“Love the costume.” I returned the hug, careful not to crush her gown or jostle her gold crown. Across the room, her girlfriend was similarly attired in her seasonal finest, and I had no doubt both had brought their empress decks to play. “Very festive.”
“Thank you.” She accompanied us to the already crowded snack table, where I found a space for my pre-made cheese tray. Rudy added some cute mini gingerbread cupcakes from the bakery near the ballet school. Ari snagged one before pointing me toward a bowl filled with a dubious green substance. “We brought some kale and sesame butter dip if you’re looking for something healthy.”
“And I brought fudge if you’re not.” Mr. Davis, the third-grade teacher from the elementary school, was quite possibly the last person I wanted to see that evening.
“You playOdyssey?” I didn’t try to hide my skepticism.
“Occasionally.” He gave a friendly shrug. “Troy’s son is in my class, and I stopped in the other afternoon for a Christmas present for my nieces and wound up with an invitation to game night.”
“Chris is great at using games in the classroom to engage the kids.” Troy ambled over. Knowing Mr. Davis’s first name didn’t make me feel any friendlier toward him. “He’s one of the most popular teachers.”
“I’m sure.” My voice came out a little too frosty. Rudy gave me a stern look, so I added a tight smile. “We need more talented teachers.”
Lies.The last thing this town needed was more game-loving teachers with crushes on my Rudy. Of course he wasn’t technically my Rudy, but I glowered nonetheless.
“Go on, load up your plate before we get to the gifts.” Irma shoved a paper plate into my hand. Seeing as how her whoopie pies were a big reason I’d agreed to come, I managed a more genuine smile for her. I did, however, sit right next to Rudy, breathing no small sigh of relief when Chris ended up across the table rather than on Rudy’s other side.
Naturally, for a group of gamers, the gift exchange was not as simple as passing out presents. There were complicated rules, most of which I promptly forgot, including drawing of numbers for turns and the ability to swipe previously opened gifts from each other. Chris ended up going before me, and he selected one of the two gifts Rudy had brought. Coincidence? I didn’t think so, and I couldn’t let his opportunism stand, so I used my turn to swipe the deck of cards for myself.
“What are you going to do with a deck?” Rudy whispered next to me. “Are you planning to start a play group in Seattle?”
“You never know,” I said airily, trying to look for all the world like I wanted nothing more than this ant-colony themed deck.
“You should play-test the deck later.” Chris winked at me. Winked. The audacity.
And that was how I ended up playing an unfamiliar deck with none of my usual big attack mechanics in a foursome with Troy, Chris, and Rudy. I lost the first match rather soundly, so I was quick to agree to another round, plans of getting Rudy alone be damned.
In the next game, I was strategic, building my army of ants slowly, and sending small but annoying amounts of damage at Chris and his collection of friendly-looking frog cards every time I had the opportunity. Undeterred, he grinned at Rudy.
“Fancy an alliance?” He waved a palmful of dice in Rudy’s direction. “I’ll grant you peace for a few turns if you have a way of dealing with Alexander’s fortress of ants.”
“I might.” Rudy glanced over at me. It was entirely possible steam was rising off the top of my head. I shifted in my seat, wanting to be chosen, but not willing to speak up. Luckily, however, Rudy read my expression well. “But if I do that, the ants will turn on me. Can’t have angry ants headed my direction. Sorry.”
“No worries.” Chris proceeded to double down on his efforts to take me down, enlisting Troy’s help. For my part, I rewarded Rudy’s loyalty with all the assistance I could muster, putting him in a position to win. He took out Chris, and I tried not to gloat, even as Troy killed me on his next turn. At least I wasn’t the first to die, and Rudy handily killed Troy to win the round. Victory tasted sweeter than Irma’s pies.
“Good game.” Chris offered handshakes around the table as we cleaned up. “That was fun. Maybe I’ll make it to the January game night as well.”
I grit my teeth because I wouldn’t be here in January, and Rudy would be free to flirt with Chris if he were so inclined. Lord, I hoped he was not so inclined. If I were a nicer guy, I’dencourage Rudy to move on from our fling quickly, point out all the things he and Chris had in common.
I was not nice. I shoved Rudy’s dice box into his bag with enough force to rattle the dice. I might not have a winning play here, but I wasn’t going to help Chris any either. Fetching Rudy’s coat, I draped it over his shoulders with a possessive hand, potential gossip be damned.
