Chapter 2 #2
It’s fine. We have all night. And hopefully, many more nights after this.
“So do you have any specialty categories that I can take a backseat on?” I ask.
She shrugs, but I can tell she’s trying to be nonchalant. “I’m pretty well-rounded. Not great with sports, but I can hold my own.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got us covered on that.”
She raises her eyebrow. “Are you one of those sports guys who makes it their whole entire personality and can rattle off random stats from random days and random years that are supposed to impress women? Because I’ll give you a hint; it won’t impress me. At all.”
I laugh, knowing exactly what kind of guy she's talking about. And I know that because those guys are my best friends. “I could be, but I'm not.”
She sits back a little, trying to assess me. I let her, sitting back myself, and if she’s going to give me a onceover, why would I not use the chance to take her in?
She’s fucking stunning. I’ve always been a sucker for a woman with curves, and Kat has plenty of them in all the right spots.
She might be wearing a ridiculous sweater, but that’s not hiding what I know is underneath.
The leather skirt and knee-high boots have my mouth watering.
And that lipstick? What I wouldn’t give for it to stain my cock.
Add all of that with her quick wit? The woman is a vixen. In the best way possible.
“Okay, so let me take a stab at who Grayson is,” she says confidently.
“From Connecticut, so I’m going to guess that you went to some fancy private school and a private college.
You said that your company has offices in multiple cities, so you’re some kind of finance or business bro.
You know sports, so you probably played a sport in college. Am I doing well so far?”
I have to laugh, because she’s fucking nailing it. “Can I have a turn now? Since you absolutely clocked me.”
She makes a motion, signaling she’s an open book.
“I’m going to guess you’re something in the legal business,” I say.
“Sharp mind. Quick comebacks. Definitely some sort of litigator. You like old school hip-hop, so you’re an old soul.
You drink old fashioneds, so you aren’t a typical girly girl.
But the boots and skirt tell me you still like to be feminine. ”
She shakes her head and pats my hand for good measure. “Close on a few. So far in the others…”
I’m now wondering what I was wrong on, but with impeccable timing, the emcee announces the first question.
“Question one, and we’re going to start easy with a general Christmas theme: What was Frosty the Snowman’s pipe made of?”
Kat and I look at each other and equally roll our eyes. If this is going to be the difficulty level all night, we’re going to run away with this.
“Just so you know,” she says as she writes down our answer. “Frosty is without a doubt the best Christmas movie of them all.”
“Oh, I beg to differ. That correct answer would be Rudolph.”
She hands our slip of paper to the assistant coming around to collect them. “It’s good, but I never got the reason why he wanted to be a dentist. Seemed very out of pocket.”
“Which is the beauty of it. Don’t you appreciate the unexpected?”
She thinks about it for a second before we lock eyes. “You know what, I do.”
Our gaze holds for a few seconds, something passing between us that I know we both feel.
What the hell is going on? I’ve been instantly attracted to women before. I’ve felt a spark. But what is flowing between Kat and me now is a full-on five-alarm fire.
As the game goes along, we get every one right. Some from me, some from her. A few we’ve shared a knowing look. I know I wasn’t planning on treating this like a date tonight, but the more and more time I spend with this woman, the more I’m forgetting that work was the primary objective.
“Question number six, category, video games. What is the name of the video game that is currently the number-one game in the world due to its new Christmas variation?”
I hear Kat chuckle as she takes the answer sheet and pencil in her hand.
“You know the answer?” She nods, and the smile on her face makes me feel like I’m missing out on the inside joke. “You’re a video game girl?”
Is that what she meant when she said earlier that I was way off? I mean, I play some. Mostly sports games and a few super-popular ones, but I’m not what you’d consider a gamer. I definitely would’ve had no clue what this answer would’ve been.
“I wouldn’t say that,” she says, and as I spy over her shoulder I see she writes the name SpaceCraft. “Let’s just say that when it comes to video games, I’m not going to be wrong. Especially this game.”
“Pencils down,” the emcee announces before his assistant comes around to collect our answers. “If you answered SpaceCraft, congratulations, you’re right!”
There are more groans than cheers after that, but it’s all celebration for Kat and I.
“How the hell did you know that?” I ask as the emcee starts announcing the scores. I don’t need to listen because I know we’re in first place.
“My best friend…let’s just say he’s a video game nut.”
He? I wasn’t expecting that answer.
She gives me a raised eyebrow. “Are you going to be one of those guys that can’t handle that my best friend is a man?”
I quickly think about it, because I’ve never been in this situation before. “No. Just wasn’t expecting it. Took me off guard.”
“I get that,” she says as she picks up her drink. “But I can assure you, we’ve never dated. Kissed once, and it was gross. But that was back in college. We were roommates when we graduated, but long ago started living our separate lives. Now I work for him and occasionally run his life.”
“Interesting,” I say. “What kind of work is it you do?”
Kat opens her mouth to answer me, but yet again, before she can say anything, the emcee announces our next question.
“Category: Movies. What famous movie had the line, ‘shitter’s full’?”
I look over to Kat, who shares a knowing smile with me. A woman who knows National Lampoon? I don’t know if she can get more perfect.
Unfortunately, the questions get a little more difficult as the night goes along.
We lose a couple, but thank God Kat is some kind of Christmas movie trivia savant.
The ones we didn’t know came in the carol category—who the hell was supposed to know the original name of “The Little Drummer Boy”—and no one in the bar knew who the political cartoonist was who coined the image of the modern-day Santa Claus.
But I can tell by the way Kat’s locking in on every answer, and how I’m matching her with most questions, that we’re not going to lose.
It’s fucking hot as hell.
“Okay, everyone, final round,” the emcee announces. “To make things interesting, pairs need to decide how many points they want to wager. And, you must lock in your wager before I read the question. Category: Movies.”
We share a look, but from the determination in her eyes, I know what she’s going to say.
“All in.”
Two words. Two words that are not supposed to be sexy, yet somehow are the hottest thing she could’ve said in that moment.
I reach out for her hand, and thank God she doesn’t move away as I lace my fingers in hers. “It’s all you. Bring it home.”
“Oh, I should’ve told you one stipulation,” the emcee says.
“This question is going to have a closest-to-the-correct-answer caveat, as it’s a specific number without multiple choice options.
Closest to the correct answer without going over wins.
But! If someone guesses it on the nose, despite how many points are wagered, they will automatically win the game. ”
“The fuck!” Kat jumps out of her chair, and sure, a few tables turn to us and give her a sideways glance, but I’m just laughing. Because even though she said it, I was thinking about it.
“Easy now,” I say, pulling her back down. “Plus, they don’t stand a chance. You got this.”
“Fuck yes, I do,” she says, which just makes me laugh more. “All right, trivia boy. Bring it!”
I don’t know if he heard her, but the emcee does just that.
“The final question of the night! In the movie “White Christmas,” how many times is the word ‘general’ said in the movie?”
A hush goes through the crowd. I look around, and a few people who looked confident thirty seconds ago suddenly look worried.
Except Kat. The smile on her face right now is downright diabolical.
Oh, we’re gonna win…
“Nineteen? That’s it?” I ask as I look over her shoulder to see what she’s writing. “I feel like a trivia question like that would be bigger.”
She shakes her head as she underlines the answer for extra emphasis. “That’s the point. There’s a whole song about the General, so people think it’s more than it really is.”
“And how do you know the number?”
“White Christmas drinking game,” she says as she folds up her answer to hand in. “Some families run 5Ks during holidays. Some families drink. Mine drinks.”
I chuckle under my breath and look in awe at Kat as she sits up a little taller, confident in her answer.
“Folks! We have an exact answer, but it didn’t matter for the automatic win because they were ahead the whole game. Your winners tonight, Claus Deep!”
“Woo!” Kat screeches, jumping up from her chair and celebrating. I join her, but I choose a fist pump. Much more manly.
I turn toward her, ready to say congratulations, when she throws her arms around my neck.
“Best partner ever!” she cries out as she hugs herself into me. I return the sentiment, bringing her in close.
Fuck, she feels good. Too good. So good I don’t want to let go.
Actually, I don’t want this night to end. Sure, I can get her number. I’m sure Hazel is sending responses to people who matched so we can connect that way. But I don’t want to wait.
“Hey,” I say as I brush my hands over her arms. “Want to keep this night going?”
Sure, I could’ve used some sort of line. Or been smoother about it. But I have a feeling Kat is a woman who appreciates the directness.
The grin on her face says that I’m right.
“What do you have in mind?”
I put my hand on the small of her back, leading her out of the bar. “I have a few ideas.”