The idea made me feral. I nearly rose to haul her to my bedroom.
She went to the door that would’ve been the pantry for someone whose mama didn’t supply him with meals. I had a few staples tucked in the corner if I ever got stranded, but the rest of the shelves were filled with games.
I had to get a hold of myself, or a flirtatious game of strip board games would derail all my honorable intentions.
“Oh my god, I haven’t played Battleship in forever.” She withdrew the box and turned. Her bottom lip was pinched between her teeth and delight danced in her eyes. “That was the thing about being an only kid. I didn’t have enough friends to play games with.”
She sat and did a little wiggle when she opened the box. Her smile never left her face as she took out the game units. She was really enjoying this. Pleased, I placed my ships.
When I’d dated in my early twenties, I’d felt like I had to do backflips to entertain the women I went out with, and Bobby’s taunts had rung through my head the entire time. Didn’t help that he’d been proved right. No one but my family would like me. I was too sloppy, too big, too clumsy, too slow, too whatever.
“Losers go first.” She grinned wickedly. “B-seven.”
Grateful to get yanked out of the past, I shoved my hair off my forehead and put a red peg in my destroyer. “Hit.”
She clapped and giggled, her delight a show just for me. We continued to play.
Ruby Casteel was amazing. As she took down my destroyer, my admiration grew. I was into her. That sweet smile. Her body. The way she blushed.
I flipped my unit around. “You sank my battleship. Shirt or pants?”
“Hmm...” She rubbed her chin and eyed me. “I’ll never pass up you without your shirt.”
I used to hate taking my shirt off in public. Still did. Until that growth spurt, I had avoided it. My tennis teammates had wanted to practice on weekends. All of them would go shirtless but me. Girls I’d dated had made me self-conscious with the comparison to my brothers. Katrina had sent me information on gym memberships, claiming my morning runs weren’t enough and we could work out together.
I stripped off my shirt. I didn’t run anymore. Nor had I ever enjoyed the gym. Without a partner’s opinion to worry about, I hadn’t questioned my decision. But the look in Ruby’s eyes was nothing but appreciation.
She did that little wiggle in her chair that almost had me surging over the table to drag her onto it for my own personal dessert. “Do I try my luck at more Battleship or...” She rose and went to the game closet. “Exploding Kittens? What’s that?”
“It’s a card game. Chance loves it, but it’s better with more players.”
She continued to stand in the opening. I continued to eye her ass. “I feel like you’d decimate me at Scrabble.”
“Especially when you can’t use the slang you young’uns are used to.”
She laughed, tossing her hair back. “No wonder Lane calls you old man.”
A dark cloud passed over my good mood. “It’s exactly why. This whole night is why.” She turned and I waved my hand over the table. “I don’t go out unless it’s with my family, and I love game nights. I’m not exciting. It’s not because of my age.”
“You’re my kind of excitement. What does that make me?”
“Special.” Her eyes took on a shimmer, and I dropped my gaze. “Don’t ever doubt that.”
She abandoned the board games and took the chair next to me. “You know why I love my job?”
“Because you’re good at it.”
Her expression remained solemn. “It’s because I never fit in. I can follow the trends, but they just don’t look right on me. I can speak the lingo, but it’s always just a little off. Online, though? It’s like when people claim they can’t read tone. I can do the trends, I can talk the talk, butI’mnot the product. My posts land like they should. My content resonates with people, whereas I never did.” She folded her hands on her bare legs.“And when something doesn’t hit like it should or people leave mean comments, I don’t take it personally. Not like when Brock broke up with me because I wasboringandpredictable.”
I twisted toward her and took her hands in mine. Our skin was touching. Her legs were under my grip. “If he was bored with you, then I think he fell into the uneventful mind category.”
Some of the sadness left her face. “Bet he never played strip board games.”
“Bet he’d lose. Just like you’re going to.”
Her eyes went wide. “I will not lose.” She squeezed my hands and winced. “How far down are we stripping?”
I raked my gaze over her half-nude body. “I have to win two more games.”
