I started to panic, we hadn’t come up with a backstory, a lie to get us through these questions. We should have talked aboutthem in the car, at least, but we were playing Dolly’s favorite songs.
“Well, we actually knew each other really well years ago,” Nikki answered. “I guess I never got over her.”
I studied her. She was dragging her thumb through the condensation of her water glass.
“We were at work—” I chimed in. “And, it just sort of… happened.”
“Oh, my stars!” Tilly slapped Danielle’s thigh excitedly. “Babe, they got lucky at Lucky Lanes! I’ve been telling you, it’s not weird to make out in the storage closet. Everyone does it!”
Nikki nearly snorted out the sip of water she was in the middle of taking.
“Actually, yeah, no.” She coughed to clear her throat, “We didn’t do that. And, yes, we find many people making out in the bowling alley.”
“We should totally do that, too.” Tilly waggled her eyebrows at her wife.
“You’re a spectacle waiting to happen, my love.”
“What is life without some risk?” Tilly laughed.
Nikki was shaking her head with a small smile.
“Don’t make me kick you out of Lucky Lanes,” I teased.
“Then, I would have to challenge you to a matchplay!” Danielle said.
“A matchplay?” I asked.
Nikki wrapped an arm around me and explained in my ear. “People use it as a bet, one v. one style game. It’s very much an ‘if I win then, you have to do this’ situation.”
“And, I would do that to regain access to Lucky Lanes,” Danielle said. “Our team needs us.”
“Or, you could just not make out in the supply closet,” Nikki countered.
Tilly shrugged. “It’s not my fault I’m in love. You guys know how it is.”
Heat climbed up my neck, and I was suddenly sweating.
To my surprise, Nikki laughed. “Then, I’m surprised you’d be satisfied with seven minutes in heaven at Lucky Lanes. Nah, if it were us, I would just wait until we were somewhere private with all the time in the world. No amount of taboo thrill could make me want to rush through my devotion.”
Danielle fanned herself with her hand, “Damn, Nikki, that was hot.”
It was. The thought of her, being devoted to me, made my blood warm and speed up.
Nikki and I held eye contact for a moment, and I tried to parse out the emotion in her eyes. Was it pleading for me to go along with her scam, or was it genuine desire? How could I ever be sure? In the moment, I wanted so badly to believe that I meant something to her, but this was a sham. A set-up. I needed stability, Dolly needed stability. I knew that I could only rely on myself. So, I would make this work to get Tristan off my back and get myself situated in more permanent housing once my lease was up. And I would not let my emotions shortcut me into heartbreak. Because there was no other way this would end if I got my heart involved. Nikki would get her dream of owning Lucky Lanes. If I exposed myself to the risk, I would end up being rejected.
Nikki reached over and held my hand under the table.
Game on.
Chapter Ten
Maeda
The following few days were a blur of social obligations. Turned out, Nikki was a popular person. How she was able to manage Lucky Lanes, make food from scratch for different events at the Center, find time to help people when they asked for it, and maintain this fake relationship was insane.
During a shift when Dolly was hanging out and coloring in an outdated menu, Nikki started helping her practice writing her name. It melted my heart a bit, to see them interacting so naturally, but it wasn’t surprising. Dolly was a sweetheart, and Nikki was a caring soul.
We were locking up at the end of the shift when Dolly grabbed Nikki’s hand. “Nikki, I want you to come to my dance performance tomorrow!”
