Chapter 11 Lucy
LUCY
It was pitch black in the laser tag theater.
Our vests were illuminated in certain spots—the shoulders, chest, and small notches along the sides.
The first round showed me well enough that the vests had sound effects that exploded next to my ear whenever someone shot me in the vest with invisible bullets.
Once I got shot three times, my entire vest deactivated, and I was led back to the big door at the entrance until my timer went off again and my vest reactivated.
Needless to say, I was pretty useless at laser tag. I’d never played it before. Hell, I hadn’t been to an arcade since our nanny took Cordelia and me to one when I was eight. Dad had been furious when he found out, and that nanny never came back after that.
“Dead again, Lucy?” Kaiden laughed as he settled on the ground beside me, his plastic gun coming to rest across his knee.
I smiled. “You’re here, too.”
“I am,” Kaiden agreed, “I think Maisie will get Duke out any second. Then we can try to convince Duke to buy us some nachos to apologize for sucking so bad as team leader.”
I laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
Kaiden winked. “Not a chance. He’s going to be whiny about it, but he’ll buy us pity nachos if we give him good enough puppy dog eyes.”
“He doesn’t have to buy nachos.” I frowned, feeling guilty again for my family’s money.
It was always a sore spot when I’d tried to make friends over the years.
It was why I’d just accepted that I should only spend time with children from families my dad approved of.
Then they’d be as rich as my family, and they would feel good when they had more money than I did, not the other way around.
And after Knox had snapped at me last week about being upset about such a good opportunity with the exhibit, I knew that this wasn’t the crowd to flaunt my money around. They’d hate me for it.
Kaiden shrugged. “He can still do it. He always tries to sell Knox off to the kitchens to pay for it anyway. It’s funny as hell.”
I smiled weakly. “Does he actually? Has it ever worked?”
Kaiden chuckled. “Once, almost. It was a lady who I guess had a daughter around our age in the kitchen, so she was willing to break any rule there was to get Knox back there to make the moves on her daughter.”
I gasped. “No!”
Kaiden nodded. “Oh, yes. That was quite the day. But somehow, I don’t think you have to worry about that this time.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
Kaiden raised his eyebrow at me, looking amused. “Because you’re here.”
The butterflies returned with a vengeance.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You do.” Kaiden chuckled. “He’s interested in you, and looks to me like you’re interested in him. You two keep looking at each other all lovey-dovey, standing too close to be platonic.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I admitted, biting the inside of my cheek.
“Just promise that you’ll take care of him.
He’s had a rough go of things with his nana and his degree.
There’s more happening with his dad that he doesn’t want us to know about, but I know Duke knows.
” Kaiden turned to face me fully. “Promise that you’ll still be there when the dust settles.
He needs to have someone who will stay.”
Just then, the lights flicked back on with a loud sound, and the hollering from the other players grew louder until Knox and Duke emerged, arms slung around each other’s shoulders.
Knox was smiling with Duke, and it wasn’t just a normal smile. It was a wide grin that stretched across his face, making his eyes shine with happiness.
I smiled, despite knowing how dangerous it would be to be caught with a smile like that on my face by Knox’s friends.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Kaiden chuckled before he stood and offered me a hand.
My smile turned guilty, and I accepted his help to my feet. “Yeah. I think you can.”
Kaiden grinned, matching Knox and Duke’s perfectly. He tightened his grip on my hand and dragged me back to the group.
“Last round, then nacho break?” Kaiden asked the group as Tucker slammed into him with their own chaotic embrace.
“Oh, so eager to go back out after you and Lucy went and got yourselves killed?” Duke jabbed his finger in Kaiden’s chest. “You two cost us the round!”
Knox stepped to my side and nudged me, affection lacing his words. “How are you holding up?”
I laced my fingers into his, grateful when I felt him squeeze my hand. “I’m good.” This time, it sounded as honest as it felt. “Really good, actually. Your friends are great.”
The smile Knox sent me was enough to melt me from the inside out. I leaned into his side.
“They are. That’s how I knew you would get along.”