Page 62 of Overtime

“Oh.” My mood lifts, realizing Alex’s presence is his only concern. “That’s okay. The whole point is just to relax. It’s something we never get to do. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

I lift onto my toes to press a kiss to his cheek, feeling his skin stretch in a smile against my lips.

“I vote for Game of Thrones,” Alex says through a mouthful of Cheetos.

Rob and I face him in slow motion.

“You’ve never read the books.”

“You’ve read the books?”

We glance at each other and snicker before Alex redirects our attention.

“Hell, no. Too long, and too many of them. Natalie Dormer is hot though. That show’s practically soft-core porn.”

Rob glances at me with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll hook up your laptop to the TV, and then we’re binge watching Star Wars.”

While Rob sets to work with cables and connections beyond my level of knowledge, Alex whines about the choice of programming.

“Aww, come on! If you two are gonna have some cheesy, romantic Valentine’s Day that I have to be stuck with, at least we can watch something entertaining for all of us!”

“No,” Rob responds, not an ounce of emotion in his voice.

“But Star Wars is boring! I can’t possibly watch that geek fest all day!”

“No.”

“Come on, man! It’s my room, too!”

“No.”

“This isn’t a fascist regime. We’ll put it to a vote. There’s three of us, so no possible tie.” Alex falls to his knees by Rob’s bed where I sit, clasping his hands in a prayer-like pose. “Come on, Evie. Just vote GoT, and I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Anything I want?” Like I’m going to pass up this opportunity.

“Anything.”

“Okay.” I shrug. “Go hang out with Mike today.”

Alex smirks, then shakes his head. “Nice try, but that would totally defeat the purpose. If I go hang out with Mike, then I wouldn’t get to watch it anyway. You know he hates that kind of stuff. Besides, I said I’d give you anything you want, not do anything you want.”

Is he seriously trying to get into a semantics war with me? “I want you to give me the day alone with my boyfriend.”

“Fine.” He rises to his full height, then points at me. “This means war, Papageorgiou. Don’t forget I tried to play nice.”

Alex slips on his shoes and coat, then storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Rob shakes his head with a frown but crawls onto the mattress behind me, folding me up in his big arms as the opening chapter of Episode I: The Phantom Menace scrolls up the screen.

Ah. Perfection.

My favorite movies with my favorite guy. A light snow falls outside on the State campus, blanketing everything in sight under a glittering cover of white. I shiver as the wind rattles against the window, glad to be out of the storm. I’m warm, tucked under the blankets with Rob’s solid body wrapped around mine.

I don’t always get what I want, but sometimes…the universe gives me a break.

Rob buries his face into my hair. “I’d say that was well played, Mrs. Falls, but honestly? I’m a little worried about what Alex might do in retribution.”

I burrow further against Rob’s chest. “What’s he gonna do? Cut power to the whole building? Not likely.”

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