I do it again just before I hand the notebook back to Angela, and what do you know, in the end, our team won.
There’s no prize unless you can’t the utter satisfaction I feel from besting Kamryn the cunt. Ace is happy, too.
Mission accomplished.
They break out Monopoly next, and I wonder if we’re ever gonna eat.
“Thimble,” I say to Ace as they lay out the board and hand out the money, then I pick up my phone to text him.
Later on, if it’s not too late when we get home, I’m gonna suck your dick from the back
His phone vibrates loudly. He’s arranging his money with one hand and reaching into his back pocket with the other, but as soon as his eyes hit his screen, he goes still.
I smile as he shakes his head, knowing he loves it, and knowing I just ensured we won’t be in this motherfucker for the rest of the night.
15
Raya
We’re just twenty minutes or so into the game when the elder Orca Taylor woman says, “Raya, do you own any property?”
My eyes go straight to hers.
“In real life, not the game,” she clarifies oh so bitchily.
“My childhood home, yes. For a little while. Then I sold it.”
“I see.” Angela’s eyes sparkle. “So you inherited. Have you ever purchased?”
“No.” I glance over at Ace. “Why do you ask?”
“Monopoly got me to wondering, that’s all.”
“Haveyouever purchased?” I fire back. I’m not rude when I say it, just Monopolying her ass right back.
And she has the nerve to look surprised. “Of course. I’ve always thought it was very important for a young woman to live on her own before getting married.” She gestures toward Kam and Vanessa. “I taught my daughters the same thing.”
I nod at that like I give a fuck, then something prickles in the back of my mind. Two things, actually.
One, I could have sworn old money types prefer inheriting over buying. I’m no expert, of course, but that’s what I’ve always observed.
And two, well…from what I know about her, the story ain’t adding up.
But I just smile as I take my turn. I land on Boardwalk, which Vanessa owns, and I wind up broke.
"That tracks," Angela says under her breath, but I catch it.
"Did you say something?" I ask, prompting everyone to look at me.
"Not toyou," Angela fires back.
"It wasaboutme, though."
She smiles that mean girl smile I've seen all my life. "It's not personal. We joke during games."
"So it's funny to insinuate that I'm broke?"
"You said yourself you don't come from much, so…" she trails off, shrugging her little shoulders. And that's my cue.
