Page 9 of Deep In Love
We face off in an epic stare down before he sighs in defeat.
“If you’re going to be the king of trivia, you have to know the five members of the greatest boy band to ever grace the human species.”
Mateo huffs. “Just write it down.”
“I need to bask in this moment.” I lean back, throwing my arms wide and pretending the warmth of the sun’s rays are hitting my skin. When I rise, Mateo wears a goofy smile. “What?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing.”
It didn’t feel likenothing, but I let it go and list out the names. “Harry, Niall, Louis, Zayn, and Liam.”
He scribbles them down while I wonder if the rare smile he offered me will reappear.
The last question is called out, which Mateo and I both know, and we impatiently wait as the announcer tallies the score. The silence between us isn’t awkward like earlier, rather anticipatory for our impending victory.
He reaches our table and offers the second-place prize: a twenty-five-dollar gift card.
“Congrats. You came in second!”
His cheeriness to our devastating loss rubs me the wrong way. Second place is just first loser.
That’s not right. From the huffing, puffing, and groaning I heard around the bar, this was a tough night for others, meaning Mateo and I should have won.
“What do you mean we placed second?” Mateo asks, full of disbelief.
The announcer gives us a dumb look. “Someone answered correctly more than you.”
“Who?”
As much as it pains me to admit, Mateo and I absolutely killed it. The only questions we missed were obscure, pre-1975 pop-culture facts, and neither Mateo nor I were alive in that era.
No one here should have been able to beat us.
The announcer scans his sheet. “Charlie and Mateo’s worst nightmare. Odd name.”
“Excuse me?” My voice raises two octaves.
I glance to where Amy and Oliver traveled after complaining that Mateo and I were too competitive. We both scoffed, proving their point, and they’ve been there ever since. They’re both lost in conversation and unlikely to be our enemies.
“What the…” Mateo trails off. “Can you point them out?”
We follow the announcer’s hand, which points at a couple on the opposite side of the room, hidden in the shadows. They peek out of the booth, and that’s when I spot my advisor, Cheryl, and her husband, Dan, who is Mateo’s advisor.
They wave, shit-eating grins on their faces. Cheryl winks and wiggles her eyebrows, and for the first time in two years, I agree with something Mateo says.
“Those two need to pay for this,” he mutters as Cheryl mouths,Better luck next time.
I’m ready to confront our advisors when a body slams into mine from behind and Amy’s distinct vanilla-cupcake scent fills the air.
“Did you win?” she yells, before leaning in close to whisper, “I think I’m in love with Oliver.”
I offer her a fond, bemused smile. Amy falls in love with everyone she meets—a trait I envy. Oliver stands close to her, his palm splayed on the small of her back, as if he can’t help but touch her.
He steals a peek at her ass when he thinks no one is watching, thenblushes.
Go, Ames.
“Our advisors beat us,” Mateo grumbles, an uncharacteristically annoyed tone in his voice. I can’t help the cackle that tumbles out. His face freezes at the sound, like he can’t believe what he’s hearing, before he responds with one of his own.
