The Taylor women, sans Vanessa, are eating this shit up.
I knew they would, though. They get off on feeling superior. I leveled the playing field when I stole Ace from them, but I had a feeling they’d get comfortable real quick if I deferred to them in some way.
That validation thing again.
I just wanna know that I’m pretty. That’s the extent of it for me. I don’t need other people to be uglier than me. But these two bitches need to be on top. So, okay. Have it your way.
“I appreciate your honesty,” Angela says. “And I suggest we all move past it.Allof us,” she says directly to Kamryn.
With all eyes on her, she rolls hers. “I don’t know why everybody’s looking at me.”
And then, finally, she addresses me. “As long as my brother is cool, it’s whatever.”
A nod is my only response. I just know she better keep it cute with me before I set something else of hers on fire.
With all that out of the way, we divide into teams for the games. Ace's parents and Rico and Kamryn on one side, and me and Ace plus Vanessa and Carlton on the other. This is clearlya Taylor family tradition, because everybody else immediately gets into their positions and roles without a single hiccup.
“Taboo first!” Vanessa announces.
“My favorite,” he says to me. “You ever played?”
“Of course,” I lie.
I don’t know why I didn’t tell him the truth. Maybe I’m embarrassed, I don’t know. There were no board games in my home growing up. No games of any kind, really, unless you count mind games. Mostly it was just misery. But I always wanted this kind of family. I thought it was just a tv thing.
“Who’s keeping score?” Rico asks, beer in hand.
“Me,” Kamryn says, like it should have been obvious.
I watch her grab the little notebook out of the box and flip to a new page. I don’t know if I trust her not to cheat, but I can’t say that, so I just watch and listen closely as my mother and father-in-law take the first turn.
By the time they finish, I have a good grasp on it. Good enough not to make a fool of myself, anyway.
This could be fun.
The parents’ team got six points. We can beat that.
Vanessa and Carlton go next, and we manage to get seven points. But it’s hard for me to focus. There’s something that’s bothering me about the fact that Kamryn’s taking score for both teams.
It’s so distracting, I can’t even focus when she and Rico take their turn and she passes the notebook to her raggedy mama.
I elbow Ace in his side, whispering, “Shouldn’t one ofustake the score when their team goes?”
He shrugs. “It ain’t that deep.”
“It is to me. It’s only fair.”
His gaze pierces me, and just for a moment, I feel like I’ve let my mask slip. Because there are still parts of me I hide from Ace. It’s fear, I know, but I can’t help it.
But then he nods, turning to his mother to say, “Let us get that scorecard real quick.”
“Why?” she demands.
“Because you ain’t supposed to be taking your own team’s score, Mama.”
She rolls her eyes playfully and hands it over, and just like that, I feel better. More in control. Now, I can focus.
On Rico and Kamryn. They do a great job. Eight points. Ace records the first six, then there’s a spirited argument about whether or not Kamryn mimed when she was trying to get Rico to guess the word ‘penguin.’ Ace turned the hourglass on its side to argue with everybody, and while they were busy doing that, I was busy adding three points to our side of the page.
