Page 52 of Love to Prove You Wrong

I swallowed. He thought he couldn’t live up to my expectations? In my mind, it was exactly the other way around. How could I ever live up to his?

“I should go and join the rest of our group,” I said, not knowing what to reply to his honest comment. I knew it was lame not to say anything more profound, but we only had a couple of minutes left before the start of the game and that wasn’t nearly enough time to tell him how I felt about him.

“Okay then. I’ll see you in there in ten minutes,” Justin said, pointing at the laser tag rooms.

I hopped off the bar stool and grinned. “Get ready to have your ass kicked by a group of girls.”

He grinned, showing off his dimples again. “I can’t wait.”

I walked back to our table with a spring in my step. As soon as I slid into my chair, Ashley grabbed my arm. “What did he say?”

“What did who say?” I asked, sipping my water.

I knew all too well who she meant, but hoped I was wrong.

“Justin Miller, that’s who. Did you tell him about me?”

“I didn’t, sorry. I was too busy scaring off this annoying guy trying to hit on me.”

Ashley let her gaze travel around the bar. “Who?”

I shushed her. “Don’t. He’ll notice and take it as a sign to come over here. Trust me, you don’t want this guy to make an appearance at our table. Watching him flex his bicep once was more than enough.”

Before she could start arguing with me or pressing the issue about introducing her to Justin any further, our group got called to laser tag room three.

“Aren’t you happy we got a makeover, though?” Ashley said. “I knew the guys would be here and figured we might as well look stunning.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I said.

Was I the only one who thought it was weird to get a makeover to play a game in a dark room? Maybe all the pampering had been a ploy for Ashley to get her hands on Justin.

A fearful grip tightened around my heart. There was no denying Ashley looked way prettier than I did. Justin would probably notice as well.

I glanced over my shoulder. Asher, Justin, and their friends got up, ready to follow us in there. My heart fluttered and I forced myself to take three deep breaths. I needed to get a grip. We were here to play an innocent game of laser tag, nothing more.

A staff member handed us all a special vest with sensors and a laser gun. Jess wiped hers down with a big blob of hand sanitizer before touching it. At least she didn’t chicken out this time. I had to applaud her for her bravery.

“The girls here will be team green, the guys team red,” the staff member announced. “Make sure to aim for the opposing party.”

The guys were acting like typical guys at a bachelor party, each one louder than the next. They held their blasters toward one another as if they were having a light saber fight. Ugh.

Justin kept extremely quiet, though. I glanced at him when I thought he wasn’t looking, but our eyes met each and every time.

I didn’t listen to the rules the staff member rattled off in a boring voice, as my attention got swallowed up by Justin’s appearance. The vest and laser gun made him look tougher than usual, especially with his feet planted firmly on the ground as if he was ready for a fight. His clean-shaven jaw shimmered in the neon lights. It was probably as soft as a pair of silk sheets. I felt the urge to run my hand over his smooth skin. Not just his jaw, but… everywhere.

I wondered if he knew we would end up in here together and decided to look particularly gorgeous.

The doors to the laser arena opened, excitement filling the air.

“Lock and load,” Asher shouted, eliciting cheers from the other guys.

“I hope we survive this,” Olive said.

She looked a bit shaken, but I assured her this was going to be fun.

“Remember, no running or climbing the obstacles,” the staff member yelled at us, but no one paid attention to him.

Justin pushed past me. “See you on the other side. There’s no escaping me in there.”

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