Page 33 of The Romance Game

“How would I possibly? Making rent is hard enough with the t—” I almost said two of us. “I mean, it’s just tough, you know.”

“Remember, I’m helping you out because you’re helping me out.” He brushes the pads of his fingers and his thumb together in the universal sign for money.

I exhale my long-held breath. “Oh. Right. Forgot about that. Because this is a game.” I wag my finger between us.

If I’m not mistaken, Ryan flinches, but it could just be that the server surprises us with an enthusiastic greeting. “Welcome. I’m Chelsea and I’ll be your server this evening.”

Ryan orders frosty drinks and three appetizers, then asks for a few minutes to browse the menu.

I gawk, mouth open, not used to “living large.”

“Sorry. Was that?—?”

“No, I’m just surprised you remembered that I liked the citrus ginger crush drink in a coconut cup and was a sucker for the bada bing coconut shrimp appetizer.” If I hadn’t trained myself to find the cheapest things on the menu, that’s what I would’ve ordered.

“You were also voted most unforgettable, Harley. Couldn’t forget you. It’s in print.”

I frown, not quite remembering that superlative. “I wonder if I still have my high school yearbook somewhere.”

In the next few minutes, we travel so far down memory lane with easy conversation, laughter, and a few debates about the accuracy of certain information, we hardly notice when the foodcomes. Our shared laughter fills the patio and wafts into the night like puffs of smoke from a chimney.

“You were one of us island grunions until high school,” Ryan says.

“I was only here during the summer before that, so how do you know what I was like the rest of the year? Maybe from June to Labor Day, I let my hair down.”

“Then you moved to Coco Key freshman year and joined the cheerleading team.”

“I did gymnastics growing up. If you didn’t notice, there isn’t a gym nearby, so cheerleading made sense.”

“And so did asking you out.”

“Ryan McGregor, you never asked me out.”

“Three days before school started. I saw you, Darcy, Talia, and Tallulah by the lifeguard tower at Quiet Cannon Beach.”

Gazing at the stained-glass panels of a ship with cannons, I think back to that day.

“We waved at each other.”

I nod slowly, the memory tiptoeing back to me. “You were with your brothers.” Surprisingly, Brando wasn’t there.

“I said, ‘Want to dominate high school together?’”

The space between my eyebrows pinches. “Hopefully, you’ve improved your pickup line game since then because nothing about that suggests you wanted me to go out with you.”

“Out, in, up, down. All of it, Harley.”

I splay my fingers on the table, exasperated. “How was I supposed to know?”

“I asked if you wanted to dominate high schooltogether.” He emphasizes the last word.

Instead, we just tried to dominate each other—it was a constant tug-of-war between us.

“You went from being one of us to a pageant princess. I had a crush on you. Asked you out. Then you sidelined me.”

“I wasn’t rejecting you, because how was I supposed to know you were asking me out?”

His eyes sparkle. “Can I try again?” Without enough time for me to wrap my head around two trains colliding, Ryan asks, “Harley, would you like to dominate life together?”

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