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I bite the inside of my cheek, hiding a grin.
“Benji,” I say, without breaking eye contact with David. “Winner gets first pick on ice cream?”
“You got it!”
I wink at David and go back over to the couch. David leans against the arm of it, watching as Benji and I battle. At the lastsecond, I purposefully drive into a banana peel so that Benji wins.
He cheers, pleased with himself, and I moan in fake disappointment as he cheerfully chooses the rocky road for himself.
David, Benji, and I sit at the kitchen table with our three ice creams. I’ve stolen the strawberry, of course, leaving poor David with the vanilla. Benji and I laugh at him.
“How’s Angie?” I ask around with a cold mouthful.
“Good, though she did break it,” he says, sighing. Benji perks up, listening. “She’ll be okay, but she’s in a cast for the next six weeks.”
“So cool,” Benji mutters.
“Your mom was still at the hospital when I got off work, but I can take you back to hers after… dinner…” He looks down at the ice cream balefully. “If you want.”
Benji hesitates, looking at me.
“Well… I mean, Laura did say she was also good at Call of Duty.”
I nod sagely. “I amincredible.”
“Do you want to stay?” David turns to me, surprise evident.
“I mean…” I look between them, uncertain. “I personally have no plans tonight.”
Benji’s face cracks a smile, though he immediately smothers it. “Whatever.”
Impressed, David gives me a look. “Whatever,” he repeats, but he smiles at me.
We retreat to the living room after Benji gets a brain freeze and David can’t handle it anymore, insisting that we eat a real dinner. He caves at Benji’s request for pizza though when I argue that the vegetables on top do in fact count as nutrients.
Benji and I play the game, albeit to varying degrees of success, because I am not as good as I’d pretended. We eat thepizza quickly over the counter because the game is paused, and David even joins in a few rounds.
It isn’t until I’m yawning that I realize how late it is.
Benji notices and sighs. “Fine. You can stay the night again.”
I blink in surprise. “I didn’t realize it was up to you.”
“Well, it is,” he says, and then he goes back to the game.
“That’s our cue, actually,” David says. He holds out a hand. Glancing at Benji, he nods at me. So I stand up and let David lead me away, throwing a demand for a re-match over my shoulder at Benji.
David leads me upstairs.
It’s… strange.
I’ve never actually stayed at his house, not like this. Not… casually.
He opens up a drawer, pointedly, and then turns around to get dressed. Curiously, I peek inside.
Women’s pajamas. A little toiletry kit.
“Do you just always have these?” I ask in surprise. “Why the hell haven’t I seen them before?”
