Page 106 of Fake Game

“Yeah.”

“And? What else?”

She purses her lips together, and it’s fucking adorable.

“Come on, what else?”

“There’s this jacket I want.”

“What kind?”

She whispers something under her breath, and I don’t really hear it.

“Going to have to repeat that for me, Sparkles.”

“ALove Love Passion Schoolvarsity one.”

I let out a chuckle, and she snatches her hand back to her chest, glaring at me with the fierceness of a kitten.

“See, I knew you’d laugh.”

“Hey, no. Not making fun of you. I did spend like an hour in the car with you playing it. I respect the grind.”

She narrows her eyes like she doesn’t believe me.

“Really. In fact, I even downloaded it just to see for myself.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup, but if you tell anyone, I’ll deny it.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I just finished the part where I picked to go to the aquarium instead of the skate park.”

“Oh my Gods. You actually downloaded it.”

“Yup.”

“And you’re doing the Kenji route, interesting. Although, I guess it makes sense that you’d go for the smart and sensible love option.”

“I feel like you’re judging me.”

“I’m not. It’s actually pretty sweet.” She risks a glance at me and pauses for a beat. “You know, if you want, we could maybe visit the booths together tomorrow? No pressure, but if you think you’d be into that I wouldn’t mind the company. I’m not totally into the idea of going alone after today.”

I have to tamp down the giant grin that threatens to spread across my face. I’d steal any chance at spending time with her. It’s not hard to make the choice to ditch everyone else just to gain an extra second in her company.

“Sure, how about after your competition? Our showcase ends at the same time.”

“Okay.” She smiles and shifts closer to me but quickly winces when her elbow squishes against my chest.

I reach over and gingerly hold her wrist, stretching her arm out. When I look at the four pink dots at her elbow, I no longer see a haze of red. Instead, it’s like a boulder crashes into the pit of my stomach.

I lean down and place a soft kiss on the first mark.

Deer sucks in a breath.

“I’m sorry.” I kiss the second mark.

---