Page 36 of The Love Simulation

“Uh, yeah,” Jordan says, clearly uncomfortable.

I don’t know if he’s uncomfortable because he doesn’t, in fact, think my smile is cute, or if he simply doesn’t want to look at his vice principal that way. Either way, I don’t care. If Simone really wanted to know what anyone thinks about my smile, she should’ve asked Roman. I would love to know his answer.

I school my face. “So I was thinking we could play something to help pass the time and bring us all a little closer. As you all know, a team will work better and more cohesively if they can trust one another.” At the last bit, I look at Roman and offer a slight smile. Part in acknowledgment that I was stating the truth before and I’m trying not to be so suspicious of him and part in apology. Roman doesn’t exactly smile back, but his eyes do soften.

“That’s a good idea,” Jordan says from beside me. “What did you have in mind?”

“Charades?”

“That sounds like a terrible idea,” Angie says.

“No,” Simone says. “It sounds fun. Brianna, you go first.” She gives me a little nudge. Or at least what I assume was supposed to be a nudge. I almost go flying off the couch and into Roman’s lap. But I stand up and think for a second before making any movements.

Once I have it, I start moving my hands, gesturing in the air.

“Three words!” Simone calls out, and I nod, moving on to the next gesture.

“Walking the dog,” Angie says, and I shake my head.

“Mopping the floor” is Jordan’s guess, which garners another head shake.

“Playing kiddie games when you could be on the warm beaches of Cancún!” Angie says.

I stop and frown at her, holding up three fingers again pointedly.

Angie sighs and slumps in her seat.

I go back to the motion I was doing, slower this time.

“Yeah, you doing it slower is still not making it any easier,” Jordan says, sounding on the verge of defeat.

Clearly this idea has backfired, and everyone is not having a good time. It might be time to throw in the towel.

“Icing a cake,” Roman says.

I beam, jumping up and down. “You got it!” Now the show is getting started. I point at him. “Your turn.” When he looks ready to protest, I shake my head. “I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.”

Roman sighs and gets up. He stands in front of us, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, and I take this opportunity to let my eyes feast on the man. After a few seconds he nods to himself and holds up his hand.

“One word,” Jordan says, and Roman nods.

Roman stands still, but his hands keep moving. I’m momentarily hypnotized by their adeptness. How capable they look. Who needs tentacles when you have long fingers like Roman’s?

“Reading a book. Drinking coffee. Playing basketball,” Jordan calls out, rapid-fire. He really wants to win, but his answers are so off-the-wall and clearly not what Roman is doing.

After a few more wrong guesses from both Jordan and Simone, and Angie not even trying, I finally say, “Typing!”

“Yeah!” Roman says before schooling his features. “You got it.”

“Man, that was my next guess,” Jordan complains. “Does that mean Brianna gets to go again?”

“Them’s the rules!” I say, hopping up again.

As Roman heads back to his seat, we look at each other in passing.

Try to get this one, I say with a lift of my eyebrow.

It’s already in the bag, the lift of his smile says.

---