A retort is on the tip of my tongue, but I bite it and nod. I’ve learned it’s better to do what’s asked instead of arguing. If I complain about helping, she could reconsider. But this is bullshit that I have to help Bree take the posters down when she’s the one who made and hung them.
We get our passes, and Bree follows me out of the office. “I’ll take A hall and B hall. You can do the PE hall, lunchroom and C hall. Do you want the posters, or can I throw them away?”
Bree shoves my back. “You’re such a jerk. What happened to you? You used to be fun.”
I spin around. “I’m the jerk? You’re a bully, Bree. You humiliate and hurt people to elevate your status and make yourself feel better. What happened to me is that I found my better half. And I’m a riot, ask anyone. I’ll leave your posters in the office.”
After I finish A and B hall, I do a sweep of the lunchroom to make sure Bree took all the posters down. She conveniently left two.
The bell rings as I’m dumping the posters in the office. I’m ready for this day to be over. I just want to hang out and play Xbox with my girl.
“Tomorrow is the powderpuff game.” I glance over at Hannah, hoping I can convince her to play. Her tongue’s sticking out of her mouth, and she has her Xbox controller in front of her, vigorously pushing several buttons as fast as she can.
“Die, you stupid aliens, die. Dang it!” She huffs, dropping the remote in her lap, and looks at me, pointing to the tv. “I just died.”
I clear my throat, trying not to laugh. “I’m sorry.”
She flings herself back against the sofa. “That won’t bring me back to life. Let’s play Madden. I’m tired of watching my guts get splattered everywhere by ugly extraterrestrial monsters.”
I stare at her. “I think that’s the sexiest thing you have ever said to me. Minus the splattered gut’s part.” I pull out my phone. “Will you repeat it so I can record it and replay it when I’m alone in bed?” I laugh. I don’t mean it, but I want to get a reaction out of her.
“Ugh—Ford. No, stop being that weird video game, kid I knowyou’re not.”
“This is a proud moment.”
Hannah raises her eyebrows. “I’m going to regret this, but why?”
“Because you’re so well-versed in the Xbox world. Four months ago, you didn’t even know what a Xbox was. I’ve taught you well.”
Hannah drops her remote on the sofa. She gets up and stands in front of me. “I’m done playing your silly video games.” And she crawls onto my lap, straddling me. She wraps her arms around my neck and leans in, whispering, “I pick sex.”
I groan into the crook of her neck. I should’ve never taken her on. “Okay, you win. Now, I’m the one who’s dead.”
“Thank you,” she says with a sassy smile. She tries to climb off me, but I grip her hips, holding her in place.
She glances at the stairs. I brought the Xbox downstairs to my dad’s theater room. The tv screen is a little too big for playing video games, but there are no windows in this room. “Your mom’s here.”
I quirk a smile. “You climbed on me.” I rub her thighs and slide my hands back, gripping her bottom.
“You’re playing with fire, Cross,” Hannah warns, scooting closer and resting her thighs against mine.
“Let’s make a bet.” It’s Hannah’s turn to groan, and the sound vibrates down her legs and straight to my groin. I take a deep breath to steady myself. “Is that a yes?”
“I thought we agreed, no more bets.
“Let’s make a concession just this once.” I lean in, nipping and sucking her bottom lip. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Okay, fine. What’s the bet?”
“Earlier, I mentioned the powderpuff game is tomorrow, but you didn’t hear me because you were too busy being killed by aliens.”
“I heard. I just chose not to acknowledge the comment,” Hannah says, crossing her arms.
“You mean you ignored me?”
“Pff—that’s one way of looking at it. I mean, me personally, I wouldn’t say it that way. I would—” I cut her off mid-sentence with a kiss. I push at the seam of her lips, but she doesn’t open for me. “You’re playing dirty,” she mutters against my lips.
“Oh, I’m the dirty bird? Again—who crawled on who?” I raise a questioning eyebrow.
