"What do you mean? I ate mine already," Jack says. He's so dumb.
"What if I wanted it back for winning?!"
"Tough luck," Jack says. I open my mouth in fake outrage and stick out my tongue at him. Ethan rolls his eyes and starts steering us toward the showers.
In the bathroom, we all strip down. We're used to it by now, and most guys play it cool and don't stare.
But Garrett is there. He's left me mostly alone since I punched him the first week, but he likes to stare at me in the showers. Dude is a creep. His hair is so long it goes past his shoulders, and he always has this predatory smile. I wouldn't be surprised to learn he got locked up for public indecency.
"Nice job, cutie," he says, taking the shower head next to mine. I roll my eyes. I'm not looking for a fight, but if he gets too close, I can't promise anything. Luckily, Ethan is on my other side. He gives Garrett a death stare so cold even I feel a chill.
Garrett doesn't mess with Ethan. Nobody does. Well, Reed did, but Ethan started that one.
Garrett looks at Ethan, then at me, shrugs, and backs off to his friends. I look at Ethan with a big smile. I wish I could touch him in public. Some couples here definitely do, but Ethan's too worried about his reputation as the perfect student.
After dinner, Jack, Harry, and I head toward the rec room.Ethan usually doesn't hang with us, but this time I really want him there.
"Hey, you don't want me getting into trouble without you, right?" I tease. We're in the hallway where he usually splits off toward our room. Jack and Harry exchange a look and keep walking, giving us space. I love them for that.
He raises an eyebrow. I love when he looks at me like that.
"You wouldn't," he says.
"I don't know, Daddy. Feeling pretty bold today."
He gives me a once-over, eyebrow still raised, and I think he's about to lecture me about responsibility and all that boring stuff. Not going to lie, it turns me on when he scolds me even without sex involved. But this time, he sighs.
"Oh, you little punk. Do I really need to tail you everywhere? I thought you said you didn't want a babysitter."
"Well, my babysitter is pretty hot, so I might have changed my mind."
He laughs. Making people laugh is my favorite thing. Making him laugh is a whole other level.
"Brat."
"I'm just saying, I might not be able to keep myself out of trouble."
"Fine. I'll come. You could've just asked," he says.
The rec room is, hands down, the best part of this place. I think they do it on purpose. Step out of line and you lose rec room privileges, which is a fate worse than forced labor or cold showers. It's set up in an old gym with a basketball hoop on one side, ping-pong, pool, a foosball table, two retro arcade machines, one Mortal Kombat, one pinball, some bean bags, tables, and a beat-up trampoline. With all that freedom, they double down on guards, and if anyone causes trouble, everyone gets sent back. So there's this unspoken pact to keep it cool.
Usually, every station is swamped, and the lines are insane.But by some miracle, the pinball machine is free. I go for it, and Ethan follows.
"Wanna play?" I ask, bouncing on my feet. The machine is old. I don't think they make these anymore. But every light works, it buzzes, everything's in place. The panel has an old-school drawing of Godzilla destroying Tokyo buildings.
"Nah, I'm good," he says.
"Scared? I mean, I beat you at MMA today. I can definitely take you at pinball. I'd be scared too."
He sizes me up with that look I love.
"In your dreams," he says, rolls his eyes, but steps up to the machine. I'm practically vibrating.
We take turns going for the high score. But I have no idea he'd be this good. It's like he shuts out every distraction. He aims with perfect precision, hitting every high-score spot, racking up extra lives. Meanwhile, I'm losing balls left and right, hitting all the wrong targets, stuck with three lives and counting.
"How are you so good at this?" I ask after he destroys me for the third time. "You're a pinball wizard."
That cracks a rare laugh out of him.
