I riase a brow, leaning forward slightly. “What doyoumean?”
She straightens, her posture rigid and a flicker of confusion crossing her features. “That I’ve never done the whole random hookup thing.”
I lean back in my chair. “Neither have I,” I reply casually. “I wasn’t intentionally waiting or anything, I just never met the right–”
“Hold up,” Blair interrupts, throwing up her hands and staring at me like I just grew a second head. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? That you’ve never…” she trails off with an adamant shake of her head, expression twisting with disbelief. “No, there’s no fucking way!”
I can’t fight the grin that spreads across my face as pride unfurls in my chest. “So guess I did alright, then?” I drawl.
“You’re fucking with me,” she scoffs.
I furrow my brow, tilting my head. “Why would I joke about that?”
Blair stares back at me, chest steadily rising and falling with her breathing as she studies my face for any hint of a lie. Then she exhales slowly, some of the tension draining from her shoulders. “Holy shit, you’re not kidding.”
“Nope,” I reply, still grinning like an idiot.
She tosses her laptop aside with a frustrated groan, flopping back onto her bed and throwing her arm over her eyes dramatically.
“What?” I laugh, shaking my head at her theatrics.
She scrubs her hands over her face, muttering, “Now I’m definitely going to hell.”
CHAPTER TEN
the perfect date
BLAIR
"So, where are we going?" I ask suspiciously, glancing over at Matty from the passenger seat. He looks right at home behind the wheel of this sleek black Range Rover that he somehow convinced Cam to lend him. It still has that distinctive new car smell, blending with the earthy scent of the forest surrounding us as we travel the roads of the six-pack territory. We’ve just turned to head toward Riverton, but Matty still hasn’t given me any hint as to what he’s got up his sleeve for our ‘date’.
I’m not sure whether it’s excitement or anxiety that’s currently winding my stomach into knots. My knee keeps bouncing, my palms sweating. I never should’ve agreed to this in the first place, but I’m finding it more and more difficult to say no to Matty. Even though it’d be stupid to think anything could actually ever come of this, his wide-eyed persistence has chipped away at my resolve.
“Well, I was gonna wait until we got there,” Matty remarks, glancing over at me, “but since we’re almost there, I guess I can tell you. Have you ever been to Level Up?”
I sit up straighter, interest officially piqued. “The arcade?” I ask eagerly.
“Barcade,” he corrects with a teasing smirk. “From what I hear, they’ve got drinks, too.”
Damn, we’re not even there yet and he’s already nailed this date. I’m a gamer girl at heart, and Level Up has been on my radar since it opened a few months ago. It’s the perfect mix of nostalgia and novelty, and the thought of finally stepping inside has me practically buzzing with excitement. Still, I play it cool, reining in my enthusiasm and biting back the grin that’s fighting to break through.
“No, I’ve never been,” I reply casually as I card my fingers through my hair.
Toocasually, apparently, because Matty winces in response.
“Shit, don’t tell me you hate arcade games,” he grumbles, his voice a little panicked. “Or do, because if you’re not into it, we can just go somewhere else. I didn’t mean to–”
“No, I love ‘em,” I cut in, putting the poor guy out of his misery. “I’ve been wanting to come check this place out, it’s just… I never have the time, y’know? It’s always work, work, work lately.”
“Tell me about it,” he chuckles, glancing my way with a knowing glint in his blue eyes.
He gets it.
Matty’s one of the rare few who understands and respects the grind. He didn’t just bring his laptop to my room yesterday as an excuse– the two of us worked for hours, ticking off the last items on our task lists and freeing ourselves up to have Sunday off. We’ll have to be back in the command center bright and early tomorrow morning, but for now, I guess we’ve officially ‘made time’ for some fun.
Yet another reason I couldn’t deny him this date.
Though admittedly, I wasn’t exactly searching for excuses by that point. He didn’t specifically ask about taking me out tonight until we’d finished up all our work yesterday, and by then, we’dfallen into a comfortable groove with one another. Rather than being annoyed at him for invading my space, I was bummed for him to leave.
