9. Chapter Nine #2
They wished each other good luck before going in opposite directions. Ethan was an unknown player. If he was half as good as her brother, she would be in trouble.
Jenna had barely eaten any of the wings, unlike Simon, who was devouring them like he hadn’t eaten in a month. Apparently writing worked up a big appetite.
And then she recalled what they were talking about in the parking lot. She’d asked him what sort of books he writes. She wondered if it was anything that she would be interested in reading.
But the game was about to begin, so there was no time to ask him for details. They would have to wait until later.
She glanced across the table where Simon was staring at his phone with a frown on his face. “Something wrong?”
He lowered his phone to the table. “Nothing important.”
She didn’t believe him. “If you need to go take care of something, I understand.”
He shook his head. Then he picked up his phone and let her see the screen. She didn’t see anything at first. She tilted the phone upward so she could get a better look.
“Is that your living room?”
He nodded. “I hooked up a nanny cam so I could keep an eye on Gus.”
“Aw... That’s sweet.” Her gaze scanned the screen, and then she spotted the dog on the couch, belly up. “Is he sleeping on the couch?”
“He is. I’ve told him repeatedly that he’s not supposed to sleep on the couch, but that dog has a mind of his own.”
“He’s really cute.”
“Don’t tell him that. He already thinks highly of himself.”
She laughed. It was touching the way Simon doted on his dog. She sipped her cola. “We have to figure out our team name. Any ideas?”
“Beach bums?”
She shook her head. “How about the Know-it-alls?”
He shook his head. “Couple of friends?”
She paused and thought it over. “What about the Sitting Ducks?”
He laughed. “I like it.”
She typed their name into the controller. It appeared up on the board right beneath her brother and Ethan Walker’s team: The Smarties. They were officially entered.
And none too soon. The owner of the High Tide Pub climbed up onto the stage. It was time to get this game started.
She glanced across the table. “Are you ready?”
Simon nodded as he reached for his coffee mug.
“Ladies and gentleman, thanks for joining us for trivia night. Everyone make sure your controllers are turned on. We don’t want you to miss out on answering the first question because of a technical issue and no, we can’t redo the first question.
” The man looked around. “Is everyone ready to start?”
“Yeah,” the crowd cheered.
The guy waved for everyone to calm down. “Glad to see everyone is so enthusiastic. Let’s see how many of you are experts at eighties rock.” He looked down at a card in his hand. “First question: What band can’t tune a fish?”
She looked up at the board. She didn’t have a clue. When she glanced over at Simon, he’d already grabbed the remote. There was a little smile on his handsome face.
“You know the answer, don’t you?” she asked.
He sent her a big grin.
“And the first team to answer is Sitting Ducks.” The answer flashed up on the digital board. “And they are correct. Sitting Ducks are the first to take the lead.”
Her gaze met Simon’s. “Good job, partner.”
“Glad you like that because it’s your turn to answer the next question.”
Her heart beat faster. “But what if I don’t know the answer?”
“Guess. After all, this is a game. If you get it wrong, who cares?”
Her gaze moved across the room to her brother. She knew Simon was right. She was making too much of trivia night. Even if she could best her brother at one of his favorite pastimes, it didn’t mean he’d hear her out at work.
“Next question.” The announcer’s voice drew Jenna from her thoughts. “This band was popular in the eighties and nineties. They sang about roads without names. Who are they?”
Jenna grinned as she selected the correct answer. Her gaze moved to the display screen up on the wall to make sure her answer was locked in. It was.
She glanced across the table to Simon. He smiled back and nodded. She took it to mean that he’d watched her log in the answer and that it was correct.
“And the answer is the group U2. We’ve got ten correct answers,” the man said.
“But only one of them can be our winner. And the team with the correct answer that responded the fastest is...The Smarties. And now we have two teams up on the leader board. Who will be the next to join them? Let’s find out... ”
As the evening went on, Jenna found she knew more about eighties rock than she’d ever imagined. And she learned that Simon was really good at trivia. And when he didn’t know the answer, he was a good guesser. If she came back to trivia night, she was bringing Simon with her. He was her lucky charm.
It was after nine by the time the game was over, and they were getting ready to head home.
They hadn’t won. That came as no surprise to Jenna.
She hadn’t expected to win the whole game.
She just wanted to beat her brother in a round or two, and they’d done that.
But in the end, The Smarties had a few more points than they had.
As though thinking about him had summoned him, Neil stepped up to them. “Good game.”
“Thanks,” Simon said. “You too. I didn’t have a clue on that last question.”
“Neither did I,” Neil said. “They like to throw some really tough questions in there every now and then. You’ll have to come back next week with my sister to play again. My usual partner should be back then. The mayor is really good at trivia—better than me.”
Jenna knew Tony must be really good for her brother to make that sort of admission. She arched a brow at Neil. “Did you just challenge us to another game?”
“I didn’t. But I am now. We’ll have to bet on something. Any ideas?”
Jenna’s mind was seriously tired after all of those questions. “I’ll leave that up to you.”
“Good. I’ll see you two next week.” Neil smiled, and there was a look in his eyes like he was up to something devious. “Did you get Mom’s message about dinner at her place tomorrow night?”
Jenna nodded. “Any particular reason she wants to have dinner? Did I forget someone’s birthday or something?”
“Not that I know of. I think she might be worried about the storm.”