Page 31 of In Spades

“It kind of reminds me of Europe,” Will commented, unpacking the food.

“Ever been?” I asked.

“I’ve traveled a little,” Will said with a shrug. He popped the tops off two large takeout containers and handed one to me.

The sight of red meat and greens had my stomach growling. I fished around in the bag for the packet of disposable utensils.

“So,” he said, pouring a container of dressing over his steak salad. “What was the, uh, drama you mentioned earlier?”

“Will—”

He reached across the table and laid his hand on top of mine. “Would it be presumptuous of me to point out that I think you keep a lot of things buried inside?”

I couldn’t help but laugh before taking a sip from my bottle of water. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t know you well enough to dump my shit on you.”

He speared a forkful of lettuce and topped it with a piece of medium-rare steak that cut like butter. “You don’t act your age.”

“Excuse me?”

Will grinned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I just mean, I didn’t expect you to be twenty-five. You look twenty-five, but you seem like the type of woman who has seen some things.”

“Takes one to know one,” I clipped between bites. Will opened his mouth to make a sarcastic remark, but I cut him off. “You tell me your story, and I might tell you mine.”

“What do you want to know?”

It surprised me how quickly he offered a blank check for personal information. Of course, not everyone was as guarded as me, but still… I didn’t even know what to ask for. I knew that whatever I question I came up with, he’d expect the same in return.

And I wasn’t ready to give it to him.

I shoveled down a few bites, monitoring the time to make sure I didn’t go over my break. “How did you get into, uh, whatever it is you do?”

He chuckled. “That’s really what you want to ask?”

I shrugged.

“Okay, I’ll bite,” he said. “I was in foster care as a kid. Had a lot of time on my hands. I got into video games and started modding them. That got me interested in computers. Near the end of high school, I had gotten into coding and taught myself C++, Java, and a few other languages.”

Will paused and took a sip from his bottle.

“Ah, yes. Java,” I said, nodding enthusiastically. “I drank some this morning.”

He burst out laughing and choked down the water. “Proud of yourself?”

I smiled proudly. “Obviously. It was hilarious.”

“And I’m the old one? That was a terrible dad joke.”

“Are you jealous that I’m a better old man than you?”

He grinned. “A little, yeah.”

Being able to make Will laugh sent a tingle up my spine. And that boyish grin made me tingle in, well, other places. “So, you started coding in high school?”

“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat. “I had a math teacher who took me under his wing. He helped me apply for scholarships. I went to MIT and graduated with honors. And you know the rest from there.”

“That’s ridiculously impressive,” I said between bites. “So, playing video games helped you get into college?”

He nodded. “I guess when you put it that way, yeah.”

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