Page 81 of It's in the Contract
I swallow, disappointment flooding my system. “How?” I whisper. “How did they sell more than us?”
Suzy frowns, watching them go. She pulls out her phone and begins tapping away.
Zeke is obliviously packing up the boxes. Caroline wraps one arm around my shoulders. “Oh, honey. We were so close. Second place is still a win, and we’re going to celebrate.”
I woodenly clap as Amanda and Brielle receive their prize, graciously thanking Steve and the congregation.
Suzy wordlessly holds up her phone and shows me Brielle’s social media feed. She posted something similar to what we did, showing herself at the church sale and asking for votes. But she has over two hundred more likes than me, and she even posted later than I did.
That’s just depressing.
Thirty
This is only a preview, @CallieCarter.
Instagram caption by @briellewilliamsplus.
I plopon the couch in Zeke’s living room, completely exhausted after being on my feet all day. Mia kneels on the floor and sets up an intricate “shop” with her toys on the coffee table, placing them each in a row.
“What would you like to buy?” Mia asks, turning to me.
I point. “I’ll have the unicorn plushie, the plastic corn, and the . . . transformer robot?”
Mia busies herself getting me my merchandise. Zeke walks into the room and settles next to me on the couch with a happy sigh. “The robot was mine. Mama kept it for some silly reason and now Mia plays tea parties with it.”
Mia brings me my stuff, and I pretend to eat the corn. She promptly takes everything back and replaces them in her shop. “That will be a hundred trillion dollars,” she says.
“Here you go.” I hold out my hand.
Mia shakes her head. “No. Real money.”
“Okay,” Zeke says, standing and holding out a hand to help me up. “Miss Callie is super worn out, I am sure, and we have some celebrating to do.”
Of course Caroline insisted I come back for dinner to celebrate, even though I kept saying that second place was nothing to brag about. She stared at me like I was nuts and dragged me along anyway. Now she’s humming in the kitchen, whipping up her famous lasagna, and I’m still trying to process everything that’s happened.
Is there no way I can win?
Zeke takes my hand and helps me up, his fingers smooth and warm. He leads me back to his room, and I can’t help it that my mind goes to things it shouldn’t. Is he going to kiss me? Is he going to push me up against the wall and press his body against mine the way I long for him to . . . ?
My face heats, and I banish those thoughts.
“It is time, Callie Carter, to introduce you to D&D.” Zeke takes a seat at the table in his room covered in maps and figurines.
“Oh no, I’m too tired today, I’m?—”
“It’s going to be fun. I promise.” Zeke smiles, and my heart melts. “Please? Will you do this with me? My brothers are getting on to play virtually in thirty minutes. That’s just enough time to make you a character.”
I sit on the chair next to him, resting my aching feet. “I do need a good distraction.”
Zeke grins. “My goal today is to make you forget about your worries and immerse you in nerd culture. Nothing says, ‘I’m letting go and living my best life’ like battling an orc with a Medieval executioner’s axe.” He pushes aside a few maps to make room for his laptop. He opens it and logs onto a site called Roll20. “Seriously, though. Thanks for playing with me.”
He looks up, and our eyes meet. I don’t look away. I allow myself to get lost in his deep brown eyes, just for a minute. Could we really work out? Is there a universe where Zeke and Callie, D&D warrior and perfectionist cheerleader, actually get together?
Zeke clears his throat and looks away. “Do you want to be an elf, dragonborn, halfling, tiefling, dwarf, gnome, half-orc, or a human?”
I blink. “Umm. A human?”
“Boring,” Zeke teases, but he clicks that option.
