She gives me a fake, cocky smile as we set up.
And I lose this one.
But we play again. And again. And again.
“What the actual fuck?”
My sister’s voice breaks my concentration, and my tower falls. She stands behind Sofia, clutching the neck of her robe as sunlight streams against her face.
Sunlight?
My attention shifts to Sofia, who is now sporting dark circles beneath her eyes that I’m sure I have as well. There was a manic energy to us all night, obsessing over this game. I realize that I’m grinning as Elena continues staring at me with a mixture of annoyance and fascination. We didn’t just play this game all night. We connected in a way that I didn’t think was possible. There’s a warmth in my chest that appeared around two in the morning and hasn’t gone away. In our sleep-deprived state, we developed a language of our own, making jokes that no one elsewould understand. I laughed so hard I don’t even remember what was funny. All I knew was that I didn’t want the night to end. But the damn sun forced that upon us.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Seven.” She raises her eyebrows. “Did you two wake up early to play more or did you…”
“We stayed up all night,” Sofia answers for me as she gathers up the pieces in the middle.
Elena shakes her head and chuckles as she leaves the dining room.
“One more?” Sofia asks, and my impulse is to say yes. But it’s as if Elena snapped me out of a spell, and suddenly, I’m exhausted.
“I can’t.”
“So, I win then?”
“You’re still keeping score?” I laugh at her ridiculousness.
“I’m up twenty-six to twenty-four.”
“Sofia, I physically cannot keep my eyes open enough anymore to win three times. Even if you clamped my eyes open, I think I’d collapse right here on the table.”
She has an arrogant smile on her face as she cleans up this game. A smile that I want to kiss off of her face despite how tired I am.Sofia doesn’t seem like the type to cheat, but I want to fuck with her, anyway.
“That score is made up, isn’t it?”
“No,” she barks, her brow furrowed. And I’m shocked when she goes into an explanation detailing how the past handful of games went down.
How the fuck does she remember all of that? If I let her recap the entire night, then we’ll be at this table all morning as well.
I hold up my hand to stop her. “Please. I was just messing with you. I couldn’t care less about who won.”
“Oh.” She deflates as if I said something offensive.
“Did I say something to anger you?”
“No.” She doesn’t make eye-contact as she drops the last bit of the game into the box.
“Sofia? That was the best night of my life, and I will not have it end on a sour note. Now, tell me why you are looking cross suddenly?”
The words that come out of my mouth surprise me. Was that really the best night of my life? Playing a board game all night.
Yes.
But now she’s angry, and I’m worried that will spoil everything.
“I’m sorry I got so carried away. I know it’s obnoxious that I kept score to that degree.”
