Page 63 of Playing Flirty

All we’d done was kiss.

I needed to get ahold of my heart, but… I dared a glance in William’s direction, and the mere idea of defenses fell.

Shaun cleared his throat, pulling me from my stupor. “Okay, where was I? A follow-up email detailing Round 2 will be sent to the five people mentioned above.” He scrolled through my emails. “Let’s see… Ah-ha!”

I settled onto the couch as Shaun took the seat beside me and opened the next email.

“Congratulations!” He beamed, his voice bright. “We decided your game was worth playing, so that is exactly what we’ll do.”

The four of us looked at one another as he continued.

“We believe we need to play the game to know if it’s the one for us. That is why we’d like for someone, not you, to come to our offices and play your game.”

My mouth opened in protest, but Shaun held up a finger.

“Why not you?” he continued reading, and by the tone of the language used, it felt like a casual conversation. “Well, the creator of the game tends to become a bit overbearing, trying to explain things mid-game, and that’s not how board games are played.”

I blew out a breath. Fair point.

“So, send us the details of someone you trust with your precious prototype, and we’ll get them here and get us playing,” Shaun said.

William.

That was the first and only name that came to mind.

My head snapped up, only to find his eyes already on me.

“In short, you will be judged on the following criteria: How long it takes to set the game up, deciphering the rules, game enjoyment, game difficulty, and game length. The rest will beexplained on the day of. Good luck.” Shaun turned to me, his blue eyes wide. “It’s signed by Dudley.”

Much as I tried to wipe the smile off my face, I couldn’t.

“I’ll go!” Shaun and Neema volunteered together.

I cut them off. “No. I want William to go. If he…” I looked at him. “I mean… if you want to.”

William’s eyes lit up in a way I’d never seen. He nodded, and that smirk found its way onto his face. “I, too, think I’m the best option.”

Shaun made a comeback, but I didn’t hear it. All I knew was my game had made it. My game was good enough for them to want to play.

My fingers navigated to my mother’s contact details, and I hit dial.

And like always, she answered immediately. “Hey, Rosie, your cheeks are looking particularly rosy this evening.”

Before I could get the words out, Neema hopped beside me and shouted, “Aunty A! Rose’s board game made it to the next round!”

My mother screamed, and a few seconds later, my father ran into the room swinging a spiky branch around.

“What’s going on?” he yelled.

“Rosie’s game won!” my mother shouted.

My dad cheered in the same way he did when his favorite sports teams scored.

“Thisround!” I shouted, trying to lower their enthusiasm. “I wonthis round! There’s another round!”

“It doesn’t matter, baby. You won this round. You won. You’ve proved to yourself you created something of value.” She beamed with pride.

I blinked the tears away. “Don’t make me cry, Mom. I’m not alone.”

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