Page 80 of Not That Into You

“Uh huh.” He looks down at the board with a furrowed brow. “I’ll give it a try, but then can we get lunch?”

I get the sense Cameron gets hangry when not regularly fed. “Yes.”

He grumbles, tosses the shell onto the first square, and puts his hands on his hips.

“Hop on one foot,” one of the little girls says. “Hop to the second square.”

“Like this?” Cameron hops up and down on one foot.

“Yes, but hop forward.”

Cameron hops to the second square and looks at the little girl. “Now, what?”

“Keep going,” she says in a tone that suggests he’s a little dense.

He gives her an exaggerated look of disbelief. “All the way to the end?”

“Yes!” all three kids say in unison.

He hops to the end but doesn’t turn around. “Now, what?”

“Hop back,” the kids say.

He starts hopping backward, one square at a time, as the kids giggle and laugh.

“Not like that!” one of them says.

“Why not?” he asks.

It’s hard not to laugh at his antics and the kids’ delight. When he gets to the second square again, he tries to grab the shell in the first square by squatting on one leg and reaching behind him. Naturally, he falls on his ass.

The kids double over with renewed laughter.

Shaking my head, I reach out my hand to help him up.

“Smart ass,” I say just loud enough for him to hear.

He grins before picking up the shell and giving it back to the little girl. “Thanks for letting us join your game and teaching me how to play.”

She smiles, then touches his wrist. “Why do you have a bracelet?”

He kneels down, letting her get a closer look at his friendship bracelet. “Do you like it?”

Her brow furrows. “It looks old.”

He laughs. “Yeah. I’ve had it for a while.”

“Who made it?”

“Someone who wasn’t that much older than you.” He smiles. “He was like my little brother.”

“Oh.”

Judging by the little girl’s expression, she’s not sure what Cameron means. I’m right there with her.

“Okay, kiddos,” Cameron says while standing. “Keep practicing, because next time I’m going to hop circles around you.” As all three kids giggle, he grabs my hand, intertwines our fingers, and pulls me away. “Now, to lunch.”

As we walk down the street, I glance at Cameron while biting my lip.

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