I score first and he goes still for a second.
“Oh,” I say sweetly. “Look at that.”
He narrows his eyes. “Don’t start.”
“What?” I ask innocently. “I’m just saying. Maybe you should stick to the pitch. Wait…”
“Now you’re chatting rubbish.”
I lean forward. “You’re sweating.”
He scoffs. “The air is warm.”
“It’s warm because you’re losing.”
He smashes the puck so hard it flies off the table and skids across the floor.
A guy nearby turns. “Yo!”
Jabari lifts his hand. “My bad.”
“Hey, are you Jabari McKingsley?” he asks.
“Uh… no?”
I burst out laughing. I can’t stop it. It slips out of me like relief.
He looks at me like he’s been waiting for that laugh.
I let him win the first game. I won the second out of spite.
The third gets cut short because he starts accusing me of cheating and I start accusing him of being a dick and someone behind the bar tells us to calm down.
We leave the arcade with me still laughing under my breath and him looking pleased with himself.
We walk again.We grab food. Nothing fancy. Just something hot and quick that we can eat while standing because neither of us is pretending this is romantic.
It’s normal.
It’s easy.
We talk about the game build. About how Kai’s a stress head. About Tasha’s mouth. About how my staff keep emailing me like I’m their mum. About how his teammates are idiots in public and angels on the pitch.
We talk like we haven’t been ripping each other apart for days.
Like the worst thing between us is a petty argument about who liked the other first.
At one point, I forget myself and call him “Baby” without thinking.
He hears it. His eyes flick to mine but he doesn’t tease me.
He just keeps walking beside me like he’s storing it away. He waves away his fans and lets them know he’s on a date. And I don’t correct him. I let him know it’s okay, and he even takes photos with them. Which honestly shocks me.
This day feels natural.
Then we pass by a tattoo studio.
I clock the sign and stop instantly. Jabari stops with me.
