Chapter Twenty One Week Before Starting College
Chapter Twenty
One Week Before Starting College
I don’t go to any Rivalry nights at Roll Again all summer.
Partly because I’m avoiding Declan, partly because Amelia and I have started playing the new online version as a way to keep in touch while she’s in Europe.
It’s a lot easier for her to zoom in on the cards on the brightly lit computer screen, which makes a world of difference in how quickly we’re able to play through a game.
I’ve also been busy with doctors’ appointments, time with Peyton and Elizabeth, and a weeklong orientation session to get ready for my first college semester this fall.
Admittedly, I was wondering if I’d run into Declan while on campus, but apparently, the same coincidence isn’t likely to happen twice.
Except right now I’m on my way to see him, since the Stops Along the Way demo edition has finished production.
We’ve been on the same email chain all summer, respectfully taking turns to answer the publisher’s questions and signing off on various decisions, but now that it’s a real, polished game, we’re getting the chance to play it.
Together.
For the first time.
I get to the publisher’s office first and make small talk with the staff while waiting for Declan to show up. For a brief moment, I worry he won’t.
But he does.
He’s wearing the green hoodie today. Back to the same Declan I’ve always known. I would love nothing more than to have him wrap his arms around me in a big hug hello, letting everyone in this room know that we’re something to each other, even if we don’t know exactly what.
He stops short of approaching me. “Hey, Iris.” Hearing him say my name is enough to resurrect plenty of longing and hurt.
“Hi, Dex,” I say, his nickname feeling awkward and wrong coming out of my mouth, more like it’s creating a layer of distance between us rather than familiarity, and he squints with uncertainty at my use of it.
We chat with the staff and other winners until we’re led to our game table, a small one in the corner where we aren’t able to sit opposite but have to cozy up next to each other.
Declan runs a hand back through his hair. It’s grown longer in a way that suits him. I doubt he’s gotten a cut all summer. “Hey again,” he says when it’s just the two of us.
“Hey.” I smile, though it continues to break my heart a little seeing him, especially sitting this close.
He bites his lip. “I was sort of hoping I’d run into you at orientation.”
“Ah, I went to the last July one.”
He nods, understanding. “I went the first week of August.”
“Guess we just missed each other, then.”
“Ships in the night,” Declan says.
We stare down at the board game box, no longer a mess of glued cardboard, but a real, polished, and professional game. The artist the publisher hired did an amazing job designing a travel map for the cover, complete with aliens peeking in from opposite ends of the box.
“This looks great,” I say as I unbox it and reveal the pieces inside. “Ooh, we get to break everything out of the perforations too. I love a fresh unboxing.” I poke out a few tokens before offering the sheet to Declan. “Oh, I’m sorry. I should let you do a few if you want.”
He laughs. “You look way too thrilled about doing that; I can’t take it away from you.”
“Thanks.” I smile and pop out another token.
Declan fishes around the box for the alien meeples. They’re still cute, but a little generic in their small wooden stature. “Less heart than the ones our siblings made, got to say.”
“Ah, consumerism couldn’t handle that level of handmade charm,” I joke. “I hope I remember the rules.”
He picks up the instruction sheet, pointing to a section I rewrote over email. “This part makes a lot more sense now.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I felt like I had to figure out all the words since you managed all the math and map coordinates.”
We set up our individual boards, but Declan seems to get nervous that this might be our only chance to chat, so he asks more catching-up questions. “So, how have you been doing?”
“Good,” I say, and mostly mean it. “You?”
He nods. “My parents just signed their divorce papers, to everyone’s relief.”
“Even I’m relieved for you,” I say.
“Yeah, my mom just bought a smaller place here in town, whereas my dad’s going to go move in with his brother in Boston for a little while.”
“Guess you won’t need an invite to Thanksgiving, then,” I say, meant to be a friendly callback to one of our earlier conversations, but it does seem a little like I’m relieved to not have to make good on my offer.
Which makes me decide to share my own update, though I’m nervous, so I toy with the alien meeple in my hands.
“I, um, well, the thing with my eyes, yeah, that happened.”
“Oh,” he says, voice full of concern but not necessarily pity as he gently nudges his arm against mine. “How do you feel about that?”
“It’s ongoing,” I say, avoiding his gaze, but then I turn to face him with a smile. “Yet I’m still me.”
He returns the smile with a knowing nod. “And it’s really nice to be playing with you again.”
“It is.” I draw the first card from the stack and place it face up on the table between us, angling my own board so that we can’t see each other’s coordinates despite sitting side by side. “In a game we created, even!”
“Yeah!” He draws the next card, and our arms brush again, and this time I don’t lean away. We stay close together, huddled over our boards.
Our proximity reawakens a comfort within me.
I glance up at him out of the corner of my eye and catch his gaze, feeling the warmth of his presence send my heart racing.
I can practically feel the memory of his lips pressed against mine…
along with a wild, striking certainty that it won’t be the last occurrence.
I try to hide my blush, but when I discover him matching my smile yet again, I’m positive he’s thinking the exact same thing.
Unable to stop grinning, I refocus my attention to the table—since, once again, everyone else is playing around us while Declan and I are stuck in our own little world. I move my alien three spaces to the left and pick up the sparkling blue dice.
“I’m going to start borrowing your strategy,” I tell him.
“Oh, really?”
I shake them in my hands, ready to roll onto the table. “Let’s see what these dice can do.”