Page 105 of Foolish Games

“Look, I may not know much about relationships and all that shit, but I know a lot about fucking up,” he says. “If you don’t try, you’ll never know for sure.”

“And what if she says no?”

“Then at least you’ll have your answer.”

I drop my arm and blink up at him, sure he’ll see the seriousness in my eyes and know this is killing me. “I already have my answer.”

“Did you admit you fucked up?” he asks. “If you don’t at least try, you’ll always wonder if you could have won her back. Come on, man. No regrets, right?”

“I think that’s your motto, not mine.”

“You can borrow it for the day,” he says. “Now step on it. The others are waiting, and if I leave Lexi in the truck with Tony too long, I’ll have a dead body to deal with when I get back.”

“You brought the others?” I groan, trying to pull up the blanket again.

Billy grabs it and yanks it down. “And I’ll bring them in here to get your ass up if I can’t do the job alone,” he says. “So, what’s it going to be?”

Dread weighs down my limbs like lead, but somehow I drag myself out of bed, shower, brush my teeth, and get dressed. By the time I come out, I’m so tired from the effort that I’m ready to crawl right back in bed, but Lexi’s sitting on my couch. She bounces up when she sees me.

“Hola, asshole,” she says.

“Hola, bitch.”

“Somehow I missed your sorry ass,” she says, throwing her arms around me.

“Is this really necessary?”

“I could have come in the shower and bathed you.”

“Totally unnecessary,” I say, detaching her from me. “Fucking one friend’s sister did more than enough damage.”

“Good call,” she says, grinning and hooking a thumb back toward the kitchen. “I loaded the dishes while you were in the shower. Didn’t want to turn it on until you were done in case it stole all the hot water. Should I start that now?”

“I got it,” I grit out, striding past her and starting up the dishwasher.

“Y’all eat anything besides ramen and cereal?”

“Y’all do anything besides invade your friends’ privacy?”

“Sometimes,” she says, shoving her hands into the pockets of her oversized Razorback jacket. “Ready to roll?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really,” she says, swinging her shiny ponytail behind her. “Let’s blow this joint.”

“Cool beans,” I say. “But I need to stop and get some stuff on the way.”

thirty-one

In the News: The Denver Broncos defeat the Green Bay Packers (31-24) in Superbowl XXXII.

Vivienne Delacroix

“Krissy, please take off your hat,” Mrs. Wheeler says, glancing down at her clipboard and marking attendance.

“I can’t,” Krissy says, her face going a shade of maroon that satisfies me in my petty little heart.

“I don’t think you’re allowed to have a ballcap on during the event,” Mrs. Wheeler says. “And I’m not going to get our team disqualified because they think we’re cheating. I told you, this event is being televised on the local news. We don’t want to draw any negative attention.”

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