Page 14 of Bet on It

“I thought you were some fancy journalist,” she said. “The way your grandmother talks, you work for some sophisticated paper and practically wear a three-piece suit to work every day.”

The pride Gram felt for him and his career should have made him feel pleased, but it only served to make guilt bite at the back of his neck. “Not at all. I love my job. I write about sports—mostly baseball. It definitely ain’t fancy though. The last time I wore a tie to work was during my interview.”

“Maybe don’t tell her that, then. Because she’s definitely told everyone at bingo that you’re some kind of Don Draper type.”

He shuddered at the thought. He didn’t know if he’d have it in him to bust up Gram’s vision like that, but he didn’t like the thought of people thinking of him as that particular brand of asshole.

“I’m definitely not that,” he said. “I like to think of myself as more of a Michael O’Neal in My Best Friend’s Wedding kind of guy.”

“You’re missing the sexy scar though.”

He snorted. “Anyway, speaking of friends… I was thinkin’ that we should spend more time together.”

Aja’s eyes went comically wide, and she rolled her left wrist. “What… brings you to that conclusion?”

“Greenbelt is borin’. And aside from Gram, you’re about the only person in town I can stand to be around for more than two minutes. If I have to sit in that house with only my grandmother for company for the next two months, I will absolutely lose my mind. And it’s already far gone enough as it is.”

“I can definitely understand that,” she murmured. “But I’m not exactly sure what you think we should do. Like you said, Greenbelt isn’t the most poppin’ place on the planet. And I don’t invite people I don’t know well into my house. Most activities around here are either thrown by churches, are for kids, or are some combination of both. That doesn’t leave us with a whole lot of outing options.”

Walker shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be anythin’ super exciting, I’m sure we could make our own fun wherever we go.”

She bit down on her bottom lip, eyes narrowed in thought. “How would you feel about doing another night of bingo every week?”

He mulled it over. Gram had practically dragged him into the bingo hall by his ear, but he hadn’t hated it nearly as much as he expected. He knew that it likely would have been much more boring without Aja’s presence, but luckily he didn’t have to experience that. He would gladly sit through a hundred games, struggling to identify the numbers on his cards before the caller moved on, so long as he could fail while sitting next to her.

“I wouldn’t hate that. If my last couple games are any indication, I could use some practice. Maybe you could even teach me a few things. Hell, all of your supreme expertise might even help me win a game or two.”

Her answering laugh was clearly mocking him, but the sound was so sweet he couldn’t find it in himself to mind. “I don’t know about that,” she said. “You can barely keep up with the calls; I might not have enough ‘expertise’ to carry you that far, dude.”

Walker’s jaw dropped open, and he put a hand on his chest in mock offense. “It hurts that you don’t think I have what it takes to win, Aja. Like I can actually feel the pain, right here in my chest.”

She shrugged.

He pursed his lips for a second, eyes squinting. “How about we make a little wager? Since you’re so confident in my inability to win.”

“Let me get this straight.” She put her forearms on the table and leaned in. He mimicked her movement until their faces were inches apart. “I know you’re horrible at bingo, you know you’re horrible at bingo, your granny knows you’re horrible at bingo. And even with your chances of winning being as dismal as they are, you still want to make a bet with me?”

“Absolutely. If you’re not too scared to take me on.…”

“You’re ridiculous. Do you know that? Has anyone ever told you how ridiculous you are?”

“A few times,” he remarked. “But that’s still not goin’ to make me back down.”

Aja was quiet for a couple beats before she was shaking her head at him. When her eyes rolled, he knew he had her. “All right, I’ll take you on. But I’m going to need the promise of some kind of prize if I’m going to keep entertaining your mess while you keep losing right along with me.”

“I feel like we should be discussin’ what I get when I inevitably prove you wrong, actually.”

“And what do you feel like your grand prize should be, Walker?”

He screwed his face up, going all out in his exaggeration. “Think you could get your hands on a signed Hank Aaron Topps baseball card? I’d prefer 1962; he was with the Braves then.”

“Who?”

He made a disgusted scoffing sound in the back of his throat. “You don’t know who Hank Aaron is?”

She shook her head again. “I have neither the energy nor the brain space to get into sports.”

“You’re breakin’ my heart.”

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