AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Dragonwhat?”
And that’s how I find myself on Nolan’s leather couch, telling him about elves and eggheads and the end of the world, soothed by the video and by Nolan’s presence.
“I like this better than the Jughead show,” he says ten minutes in. I yawn, quite pleased.
Then, another ten minutes later, I’m only fast asleep.
THE EARLY AFTERNOON SUNLIGHT IS BRIGHT, BUT I DON’Tcare. I get to ignore it because the most delicious blanket is wrapped around me. Flawless, A+, 12/10, five- star Amazon review. It keeps me toasty and presses me into the back of the couch, solid and heavy, the perfect mix of hard and soft. Mostly hard, but in a good way. It even slipped a leg right between mine, and its arms are looped around my rib cage. It makes it nearly impossible for me to move, but I don’t mind, because I feel protected from attacks from all sides. Like the king during good chess.
I’m not leaving this place, ever. I live here now, in heaven. I open my eyes to survey my new kingdom and—
Nolan is right here. Looking at me. And something within me tells me I should panic, but all I can do is say:
“Hey.”
“Hey,” he says back, and I nearly feel the gravel of his voice against my lips. He smells of something ineffably rich and good.
“Hey,” I say again, stupidly, and we’re both smiling, and the air between us is sweet, and his eyes, his nose, his lips are suddenly closer, and—
Something buzzes and I splash back into reality. I wiggle inside of Nolan’s grip, shooting up to a sitting position.
“Ignore it,” he orders, but I ignorehim.
What just happened? Oh God. I’ve never slept with someone else.Never. Not like this. Not . . . what’s happening?
And the buzz, it’s still going on. “I think— my phone— ” Here it is. How do you pick up? Red? No, green. “Hello.”
“Mal? You okay?” Defne.
“Yes. Sorry about not coming in, I— ”
“Have you seen the paper?”
Oh, shit. The article. “I . . . Don’t worry about it. It’s a lie, I’m not sleeping with Nolan.” Nolan’s eyebrow lifts. His arms are still looped around my waist, and I die inside. “I meant, we’re not— ”
“This has nothing to do with Nolan.”
“Oh.” Phew. “What then?”
“It’s the Challengers, Mal. They chose you as one of this year’s participants.”
“— chess drama is usually boring, but this one might actually be juicy. Could you explain to our audience what’s going on in the World Championship?”
“Here is the deal, Mark: out of the ten people who make it into the Challengers tournament, nine are selected because of ratings, or because they win qualification tournaments. The tenth—the wild card— is chosen by FIDE. It’s usually a way to include a top-ten player who for some reason didn’t make it in. This year, everyone thought that the wildcard would be Antonov. Or Zemaitis. Or Panya, though he’s due to have a baby in February, when the championship will be on, and probably would have declined. Instead, last week the committee selected a low-rated, inexperienced player. Now, to be fair, Greenleaf is a talented player with great promise. But she’s only played professionally for a couple of months, and is still unproven. Her performance at the Olympics was remarkable, but choosing her for the Challengers is akin to asking a third grader to play an NFL game. The tournament is happening the week after Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, and many doubt that she can hold her own against other stratospheric players.”
“Some say she was chosen because she’s a woman?”
“There has been lots of conversation over the lack of female representation in professional chess, and Greenleaf ’s invitation could be a response to that. But there are many women with higher rankings and more experience whoearnedthat spot. Which had some people speculating that it’s not because she isawoman, but because she’sthe womanof a particular chess player.”
“Juicy!”
“Yup. Nolan Sawyer— You’ve heard of Sawyer, right?”
“Of course.”
“He’s chess royalty, a bona fide rock star. So influential in the sport, he might have pressured FIDE into choosing a specific player for the Challengers. And he has been photographed with Greenleaf in positions that are . . .”
“I see what you mean.”
