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“Yeah. You want me to show you some of the games I have?”
“Sure.”
“This is Roblox.”
“Cool, I know Roblox.”
“Do you? Do you play games on it?”
“Sometimes, with Ben and Ollie. Let me show you something.” Resting my arm along the back of his chair, I leaned over, clicked into the messaging section of the app and found my username. “Guess who that is.”
“You?”
Ruffling his hair, I grinned. “Got it in one.”
“What’s your favorite game?”
“I play the obstacle games with Ben and Ollie.”
“I like those.” He settled against the back of the chair and idly started playing a game. I got that he needed a bit of down time from the party, so I sat with him quietly, commenting every now and then on his progress. Other people’s conversation flowed around us, but I was content to largely ignore it as I felt Jesse relaxing, his focus on the game deepening. I liked it, a lot, that he chose me to sit with when the party was getting too much for him. Best not to explore that thought too much, though. Holding myself back from Gabe was hard enough, I really didn’t need to add Jesse to the mix.
Speaking of Himself, just then Gabe stepped through the sliding door to the deck, searching for Jesse. Our eyes met and he gave me that little half smile that always warmed my blood…and other things. Of course, that meant I had to force myself to look away, only to find Zara and Lucy watching me. Being the mature adult that I am, I stuck my tongue out at them, unable to hold back a grin when they both burst out laughing.
“Might be time to go, bud.”
Jesse looked up from the tablet, taking a moment to remember where he was. “Okay.” That was the signal for everyone else to leave, so we quickly cleared the table and less than ten minutes later, I was following Zara and Matt out the front door.
“What a great night.”
Matt veered off to his truck, but Zara followed me as I walked to my car, parked on the street. I felt her sideways look. Now I was going to have to bat off a fishing expedition. “Yeah.”
“It was so nice that Jesse wanted you there.”
“Yeah, I was surprised.”
“He’s a great kid.”
“He really is.” I pulled my car keys from my bag, jiggling them in my hand, trying to hide my impatience to get going.
“You know I love you, right?”
Well, that sure took the wind out of my sails. “I know. I love you, too.”
“And that I want, more than anything, for you to be happy.”
“I know.”
“I just…”
I sighed. “Don’t worry about me, Zee. I’m happy.” Okay…maybe that was a bit of a lie…but I wasn’t exactlyunhappy.
“Good night.” She hugged me, giving me an extra squeeze when I went to pull back.
“Good night.” I got in my car and started the engine. Before I pulled away from the curb, I heard my phone ping.Best to check the message before I start driving, I thought, so I fished it out of my bag.
Jesse:Hi Allegra
Awwwww. That made me smile.
