“I believe you. I’m just … trying to figure out what to do with this information.”
His eyes lower to her mouth. “Hopefully something good,” he says in a low voice, brushing against her as he drops his plate in the sink. She steps back, exhaling.
“You said we needed to talk. Let’s talk.”
He sighs. “Okay, but let’s do it over a game.”
They’ve transitioned to the dining room table adjacent to the kitchen island, and Roman cuts the deck in his hands.
“I don’t play many card games,” Jahlani says while watching his hands work to shuffle the stack.
“No?”
She shakes her head, frowning. “My family isn’t the board game kind.”They aren’t really the family kind either.
“This game is easy. It’s six rounds. The goal is to have the least number of points at the end of all the rounds. You can look at two cards to start. Remember the number. You can also discard at least two black cards and three color cards of the same number. Got it?”
Jahlani nods, listening with rapt attention and he leans back, rubbing his fingers over his mouth.
“What?” she asks.
“You’re competitive—it’s cute.”
Jahlani flushes at the compliment. “I’m not competitive. I’m just determined to get things right the first time. There’s a difference.”
He shakes his head, starting the game. Three minutes in, Jahlani loses the first round. Roman’s eyes glint like he’s riding a rush.
“New rule: loser of each round does what the winner decides.”
Jahlani’s lips part. “You can’t do that,” she murmurs, shifting in her seat.
He shrugs, looking over her body. “My house, my rules.”
She sighs, sliding her cards to the discard pile. “What do you want?”
“Tell me what happened last night,” he says, not looking at her as he reshuffles for the next round.
She blinks over at him, suddenly deciding she has nothing to lose and everything to gain. “I’m attracted to you, and I shouldn’t be, and I—” she clears her throat, trying to steady her breathing— “missed you in class. And thought that I—” Hisgaze meets hers, and her palms grow clammy. “And I thought I would get to spend time with you in a safe zone so as not to feel tempted,” she says in a rush, startling herself with her honesty.
He grins. “Safe zone?”
She waves her hand around the room. “This isn’t a safe zone. There’s no one around to stop us.”
“But my mom’s house was full of people,” he murmurs to himself.
She nods, folding her hands under her thighs while he deals.
They start the second round, and Jahlani feels more confident. So confident that she calls the round.
But Roman has a better poker face than she thought. Her face falls when she realizes she’s lost again. She practically throws the cards in his face as he laughs.
“What truth do you want now?”
He shakes his head, leaning forward. “No truth this time. I want you to do something,” he says, eyes flashing.
Jahlani throws her head back before grinning at him. “I’m not prank calling any?—”
“Take your pants off.”
