Page 19 of One of Them Girls

“Playing video games with Jack.”

“Oooh. Let’s do that. It sounds fun.”

“Really?” he says skeptically.

“Yep. Loser buys pizza.”

“I’m game. Let me call Jack and have him meet us at the dorm.”

He dials Jack as he leads me to his car.

“Hey, you at the dorm?”

I smile as I hear Jack’s voice on the phone. I can’t hear the words, but his tone always makes me smile. He has an infectious smile, and the boy is never serious.

“Cassi and I are joining you. We will be there in ten. For the love of God man, pick your drawers up off the floor.”

He clicks the phone off as he opens the passenger door for me. Then he rounds the front of the car, jumping in.

“I’m surprised you want to play video games with us. Usually girls hate that kind of thing.”

I watch as he turns out of the parking lot, staying quiet for a moment.

Then, I turn to look at the side of his face. He is handsome. Even with his city boy style, I can’t deny I’m attracted to him.

Maybe this is a bad idea.

I brush the thought away.

“I’m not a normal girl. I think you’ll find we are a different breed down here.”

He chuckles. “You’re right. It’s a whole different world down here.”

“What do you think of it?” I ask, realizing I never asked him if he even liked it here.

He glances my way, smiling. “It’s interesting. The people are different. Jack, for example, is a goofball, but he’s loyal as fuck. I’ve never had that for myself before.”

“Jack’s a special one.”

“It’s not just him, though. The people here are friendlier. Do you know how many times people wave at me or even give me a simple smile?”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure the girls are falling all over you,” my sarcastic tone hides the twinge of jealousy that I feel when I think about it.

What the fuck is that? I think to myself.

“Sure. The girls are friendly, but it’s not just them. Everyone has been very hospitable to me. It’s a different experience.”

“You make it sound like people are assholes where you’re from.”

“Maybe not assholes, per se. Disconnected is the word I would use. Here, everyone is in your business. Where I’m from, people won’t even make eye contact with you on the streets. They are so focused on their own lives that they don’t even look around.”

“That sounds bleak.”

“You can see why Texas is refreshing for me. So you want to play video games? That’s crazy to me. I’m used to girls that care more about taking their next selfie or shopping than spending quality time together.”

“Quality time, huh? Is that what we’re calling it?”

He smiles at me. “Yep. Quality time. Besides, you can learn a lot about a person from the way they play video games.”

---