Chapter Eight
Ryder
Felix and I enter the recreation room after dinner.
It’s mostly empty, since many kids don’t like to hang out here.
They’d rather go out. But I think this place is awesome.
Blake and I used to go to the arcade back home in Pennsylvania when we were younger.
As we grew up, football took up most of our time and we didn’t have the opportunity to play much.
But holy heck, an arcade on school campus?
That’s got to be one of the coolest things in the world.
Felix isn’t a fan of the rec room, so I pretty much had to beg him to come with me.
Playing arcade games by yourself is very depressing.
Besides, I challenged him to beat me at every single game we play.
Winner gets one buck per win. Being the competitive person that he is, he was down for the challenge.
Problem is, he doesn’t know I’m an expert.
I can’t wait to see all those dollar bills fall into my palms.
“Where do you want to start?” Felix asks as his eyes scan the many arcade games. Most of them are easy and I know them well. I’ll smoke him in two seconds.
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter to me because I’ll own you in all.”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Put your money where your mouth is.”
“After you.”
He laughs again before heading to one of the games and nodding to it. “Let’s start with this one.”
It’s not a two-player game, so we’ll have to compare high scores. I motion for him to go first. He does pretty well, but he’s no match for me. I end up scoring twenty more points than him.
Lifting a brow, I smile. “One buck richer.”
He scoffs. “Just you wait.”
We play a few more games and naturally, I cream him in all of them. My roommate is being a good sport, though. Other than talking smack, he doesn’t seem upset or ticked off that he keeps losing.
While he plays a racing game, I hear laughter as the door opens.
Carly, Sophie, Raven, Addie, and Caleb, walk into the rec room.
Raven plops down at one of the game consoles.
Sophie lowers herself on the couch with three books.
Addie and Caleb head to the pool table. And Carly goes to the dance game.
Before she starts playing, her head lifts, eyes flicking in my direction. They don’t harden as I expect them to, but she doesn’t seem excited to see me here.
Grinning, I wave at her. Her eyes narrow before she turns away from me.
My lips kick up into a smile as I watch her dance.
She’s just as good as she was when we were younger.
No, better. The best part, though, is that she looks like she’s having the time of her life.
Not many people find their calling in life at our age, but she’s found hers.
I’m happy for her and hope all her dreams come true.
As if she can feel me watching her, she glances my way.
Her eyes don’t narrow again and she’s not giving off the vibe that she wants me to get lost. I know I upset her today.
I don’t know why I love to ruffle her feathers.
Maybe because it at least forces us to interact?
If not for her being ticked off at me, we probably wouldn’t say anything to each other.
Despite what she says, I know a part of her doesn’t hate me. Maybe only a tiny part, but I’ll take it. And I also know her life would be a little empty if I wasn’t in it.
“You’re up.” Felix breaks me from my thoughts, gesturing to the game he just finished playing. Dang. That’s a high score.
He watches me stare at his score and laughs. “Scared?”
“Pssh. I’ll beat this easily.”
He makes a face like he doesn’t believe me, but then his jaw nearly kisses the floor when I beat him by thirty points. “How the heck did you do that?”
I grin widely. “Told you I’m the master. How about you find something more challenging?”
He rubs his chin as he scans around. “Found it.” He points to the most difficult game in here. “No one has ever gotten a high score in all the years it’s been here. Lots of brave men and women have tried, but unfortunately, they were unsuccessful in taking down this beast.”
My insides rage with a need to demolish this game. “Perfect. But let’s make it more interesting.”
“I’m listening.”
“Winner gets all the money I won tonight.”
His eyes nearly pop off his face. “You serious?”
I chuckle as I pat his chest. “It’s cute that you actually think you’ll win.”
He doesn’t respond as he follows me to the corner of the room where the game is located. No wonder it’s in the corner, since nobody likes it.
“Go ahead,” I tell him. “Though it’ll just be a waste of time because we all know I’ll win.”
He scoffs, then starts playing. As he does, voices from the dance game catch my attention. Carly has finished her solo game and is now begging Addie to challenge her. Addie doesn’t look like she wants to part from her boyfriend, but she eventually gives in to Carly.
They start dancing and I focus on Carly. She’s wearing a determined expression on her face, but I can see how much fun she’s having as well. She’s competitive, but she’s making sure to have a good time.
I wish I had enjoyed football more. Most times, it was stressful and I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have. Now I’ll never play again.
I hope Carly never forgets to have fun and not be stressed out like I was.
“Nice,” Felix says once he’s finished playing. “Decent score.”
He only got fifty-six points, and I snicker. “Easy peasy.”
As I’m playing, Carly and Addie laugh and shout as they compete.
Carly’s got a very cute laugh and my eyes dart in her direction without my permission.
Her feet are moving like crazy as she tries to keep up with the game.
Addie’s feet look like they’re on fire, too.
Both girls giggle and cry out and it’s not long before Addie gives up and Carly is left standing.
“I win!” she shouts, doing a victory dance. I can’t help the smile that takes over my mouth.
A sound comes from my machine, indicating that I lost.
“Dude.” Felix blinks at the score. I only got twenty-seven points. How the heck…? “I won?” Felix asks with wide eyes. Then he smiles and raises his fists over his head. “I won!”
I just stare at my score like I have no idea what just happened.
I was watching Carly have fun with her friend and I loved seeing how happy she was that I totally forgot that I was playing.
Not that I blame her one bit. This was entirely my fault.
Felix claps me on the back. “Better luck next time, dude.”
I just stare at him, not willing to accept that I lost. I want to say something, but I don’t know what. Logically, I know he won fair and square, but….I can’t believe I lost.
Felix scans my eyes and holds up his hands. “Forget the money, man. You can keep it.”
I shake my head. “Of course not. We made a deal and I lost.”
“Don’t worry about it, Ryder. It’s cool. All I need are the bragging rights and I’m good.”
“No way. A deal is a deal.”
He looks like he wants to argue, but I give him a face to drop it. I know he has more money than I’ll ever see in my life, but I’ll never be someone’s charity case. I messed up by not paying attention and I’ll need to live with the consequences.
“I just feel bad,” Felix says. “You won all the games and I only won one. Doesn’t seem fair for me to get all the money.”
I place my hands on his shoulders. “It’s okay, Felix. I really don’t mind, but if it’ll make you feel better, donate the money to charity.”
His eyes light up. “That’s a good idea. My mom’s on the board of many charity organizations and I know she’ll be happy to see the money. I mean, it’s only a tiny bit, but I’m sure it’ll help.”
I nod. Yeah, a tiny bit for him means dinner for many others. Sometimes I wonder how we have so much in common and get along great when we come from different worlds.
Carly and her friends pass us on their way out. Carly’s eyes meet mine and there’s a bit of annoyance in them. Only a bit. Maybe she’s finally warming up to me. Even though it hasn’t been confirmed yet, I’m confident I made the dance team, so she’ll need to get used to me being around her.
“Hey, good job,” I tell her as she walks by me.
She freezes and turns around, eyebrows raised. “What?”
“On the dance competition with Addie. You did great.”
She stares at me, then runs her fingers through her slightly damp hair. “Oh, um. Thanks. I didn’t know you were watching.”
“You looked like you were having an amazing time.”
She gives me a face like she doesn’t know how to respond to that. Should she be snarky? Kind? It’s like she’s not sure what I’m getting at.
I smile. “I’m glad you’re doing something you enjoy.”
Now her eyes narrow in confusion. “Um…okay. Thanks, I guess.”
As she turns around and leaves with her friends, I hear her mutter, “What’s his deal?” The door closes before I can hear more.
Felix comes over to me. “You know those girls?”
I shrug. “Carly’s my best buddy’s sister. We grew up together.”
He thinks for a second. “The blonde one?”
“No. The redhead.”
“Ah, I see. So you and her are like…?”
“What? No way. She’s my best friend’s little sister. That’s off-limits. Besides, she’d want commitment.”
He nods. “Yeah. You should be focusing on girls who just want to have fun. Like the Parker twins.” He stabs me in the ribs with his elbow. “We’re going to a party this Friday. They’ll be there.”
“Cool, sounds great.” Hanging out with my friends and girls and forgetting about life is exactly what I need.
As Felix and I return to our room, there is only one thought in my head. Will Carly be at the party?