AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re in,” we both answered.
Barb slipped away, leaving us alone again, a steaming appetizer between us.
“I should…” Thea glanced at the other side of the table but didn’t move.
I rubbed my thumb over her arm. “So, how’d the experiment go?”
“Inconclusive.” Her cheeks flared as she turned her attention to the appetizer.
* * *
“Now, for a score recap before the final round. Alexis and Matt are in third with five points. Jared and Robin in second with seven points. And in first, our newly engaged couple, Chase and Thea, with twenty points.”
“Not fair,” Robin grinned over at us. “They’ve known each other since they were babies.”
If booze and chocolate hadn’t been on the line, I might have felt bad about dominating the game so thoroughly. We’d only missed one question: What is your partner’s pet name for you?
I went with “honey.” And to the confusion of the crowd, Thea had written “Benny.” We stumbled through an awkward explanation, but it didn’t matter. After successfully answering what thing of mine she’d want to get rid of (my Carhartt jacket that had arguably seen better days), who is the better catch (Thea), and our favorite place to “make whoopie,” (unknown, but we both put “bed”) only the most catastrophic question would prevent us from winning. And even then, I don’t think anyone could have caught up with us.
“Last question for Chase, Jared, and Matt: What is your partner’s worst trait?”
Jared leaned close to me. “This is a trap, right?”
“Absolutely.” I nodded.
Across the stage, Thea locked eyes with me, mouthing, “Don’t blow this,” before hunching over her paper to write the answer.
Habitually late.
I scratched out my answer, giving her an exaggerated wink.
After thirty seconds, Barb called time and announced that the last question was worth ten points. Not enough points make us lose, but enough that I’d annoy Thea if I botched it.
“Starting with third, Alexis, what does Matt think is your most annoying habit?”
A middle-aged woman with a kind smile revealed her card. The word “Indecisive” jotted at the bottom after above half a dozen other guesses made and crossed out again.
“Matt, do you agree?”
Her partner showed the crowd his matching answer to applause. Fifteen points. Still nowhere close to beating Thea and I.
Robin and Jared went next, mismatching by Robin stating her worst trait was credit card debt and Jared opting for her caring too much. A weak answer, but not so innocuous that Robin didn’t get annoyed with them placing third overall.
“Well, we all know who the winners are, but just for fun, let’s look at your answer. Thea, what’s your worst trait?”
“According to Chase?” She asked, raising an eyebrow and turning over a card that read, “Always late.”
“And Chase, do you match?”
I turned over my blank card. “Nothing. Thea’s perfect.”
“Damn it,” Jared swore under his breath. “That’s good.”
Thea bit her bottom lip and rolled her eyes as a chorus of soft sighs rose from the crowd and Robin squeezed her arm.
“How about we have a round of applause for our winners?”
We stood up and accepted the win. Thea gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek. Considering I had no intention of making out with her in front of any more people at this resort, I was grateful she didn’t chance another kiss on the lips.
