Page 27 of Game Over

“Nah, I need to take a shower, but I work from home tomorrow, so I don’t have to worry about being up super early or anything, thankfully. I think things are going to be calming down soon, and I can go back to having to go into the office a couple of times a month.”

“Boo, that sucks, means less chances of seeing you when I’m there. I know it’ll be a lot easier on you, though.”

“It will, I always feel so guilty leaving Dolly home alone.” As if Dolly knew what she was saying, she threw her head back against her chest, demanding to be pet like she’s been neglected. “Oh my goodness, you’re dramatic.”

“She’s a funny dog. She has so much personality.”

“Doesn’t she? I love her so much.” Allie twisted the fur on the tips of Dolly’s ear, and she leaned into it, her tail whacking against the couch.

“Okay, so next week is the beginning of September, which means fall time. What all fall activities do you wanna do?” I asked, moving my way up to her calves and rubbing out the stiff muscles.

“Actually, the start of fall is August first in my heart, but I’ll let it slide since we met after that. Well, let’s see, pumpkin patches and apple orchards are a must, carving a pumpkin, I usually like to do some baking, and then I like watching all the fall and Halloween movies.” She ticked each item off on her fingers as she moved through her list. "It's also the perfect time for me to stock up on fresh apple butter, too. It’s my absolute favorite biscuit topping.”

“That sounds like a plan, hopefully between the weekends and some evenings we can fit it all in.”

“Yes, I’d love that! I need to look up the pet-friendly markets they’re doing this year too. I like to take my girl to do stuff so she’s included. I usually have to go earlier, so there aren’t as many people, and she’s not stressed out.”

“Well, obviously, we can even see if we can find some pet-friendly orchards and pumpkin patches too. Isn’t that right, girl? You wanna go pick apples and a pumpkin, don’t you?” I reached up and scratched her stomach, and her tail started thumping against the couch again. Allie laughed at us before yawning and rubbing her eyes.

“Alright, sweetheart. I think I’d better head home so you can take your shower and get some rest. I’ll text you when I’m home, okay?”

“I wish you could stay the night. I miss you a lot.” She got up, crawled over to me, and sat in my lap. Her body molded perfectly against mine, and that friends-only line blurred even more.

“If I had stuff with me, I would because I’ve been missing you too.”

“Well, what if we maybe took Dolly for a R-I-D-E and went and got it?”

“Did you just spell out rid⁠—”

She slapped her hands over my mouth. “No! She knows what it means, and she’ll get worked up! Look at her, her ears are already perked up like she knows what you almost said.”

I raised my brow while her hands were still over my mouth, waiting for her to realize she still had them covered.

“Shit, sorry.” She yanked her hands back and clasped them together in her lap, her face the shade of a tomato.

“It’s okay, you’re cute, ya know that? Yes, I think that sounds like a good idea, as long as you’re sure you want me to stay the night. I’m supposed to work from home tomorrow too, but I have a laptop, so it’s easy to move around. I can stay out of your way.”

“It sounds great to me! Here we can take my car so you don’t get dog hair in yours because it can be a bitch to get out. Plus her buckle and hammock are in my car.”

“Whatever you wanna do, sweetheart. Want me to still drive?”

“Oh, yes, I wanna be a passenger princess for now.”

CHAPTER 13

Sugar We’re Going Down

It was almost midnight when we decided to load up and head over to Spencer's apartment so he could grab a change of clothes and his laptop. He opened my door for me, like always, and told me to get music going while he got Dolly situated. The warmth from summer still lingered in the air. The scent of the late summer air and fresh-cut grass surrounded us as the wind whipped through the car. “Sugar We’re Going Down” by Fall Out Boy started playing, so I cranked it up. We both started to sing along, putting on a full concert for ourselves and having the best time. Spencer even pulled out the air drums. I couldn’t hold back the fit of giggles I had. His singing was off-key, but it was charming. Normally, hearing anyone sing off-key would make my ears itch and skin crawl, but hearing him made my heart warm. Everything about him made me melt if we’re being honest.

When the song finished, I turned it back down, “Okay, well it’s official, we have to go see them live together the next time they tour.” I said, beaming over at him. Knowing how Fall Out Boy was, we’d get a single dropped, a new album release date, and a tour announcement out of nowhere, all in the span of a week.

“I agree, I want to see them live so badly, and I think we’d have the best time.” His smile was equally as wide as mine as he continued drumming his fingers offbeat on the steering wheel to the next song.

“If we do go, Em will probably want to come because they're kind of our thing too.” They were our all-time favorite band and what we bonded over. One morning before class, I sat next to her and asked what she was listening to—Saturday from Take This To Your Grave,” a top-tier song—and we started listing all of our favorites. After that, we were inseparable, and well, the rest is history.

“That’s totally fine with me. Maybe Carson would wanna join us? I don’t know if you noticed that day at the gym, but there was some tension.”

“Oh, I noticed, alright, but for once she’s being tight-lipped about it. She said that she, and I quote, won’t be giving some pretty boy playboy her time.”