Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
“Let’s play Celebrity first,” Eden suggested. “Does everyone know how to play?”
“Oh, I love that game,” Analise said while Randi passed out little pieces of paper.
Everyone started writing celebrity names on the papers, folding them then throwing them into a large bowl when they finished.
“Are there any specific categories that are off limits?” Cari asked as she kept writing.
“Nope,” Randi replied. “Sports, entertainment, the arts, politics, everything goes.”
“That’s what makes it fun,” Eden said. “What might be a celebrity to me may not be to Analise.”
“Right,” Analise said. “I may know literature, but that doesn’t mean I know a lot about sports.”
They continued to write and add to the bowl until Eden declared it full.
“Okay, we can do two teams of three or we can pair up,” Randi said. “It’s your night, Gabi. How would you like to play?”
“Uh, let’s do partners,” Gabi said. “Will you be my partner, Eden?” She grinned and grabbed Eden’s hand.
“Oh, okay,” Eden said. She’d been out with Gabi twice.
The first time she’d taught Eden how to dance so there was a lot of touching.
The second time they went out for lunch and met at the restaurant.
Tonight Gabi had had her hand on Eden’s shoulders, her back, and now she’d grabbed her hand.
It felt a little too familiar and Eden wasn’t sure why it bothered her.
They’d been texting each other since the pitch event so Eden was getting to know Gabi, and liked her, but something didn’t feel right with this. Was it because her friends were here?
“Randi and I will team up and let’s see what the sisters can do,” Analise suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” Randi said. She slid a pad of paper over to Eden. “You can keep score.”
Eden took the paper and pen from Randi, letting Gabi’s hand go. When she looked into Randi’s eyes she could tell she’d noticed Gabi’s touches because her cheeks were pink. “Are you going to time us?”
“On it,” Randi said, reaching for her phone.
Each team had a minute for one partner to give clues and the other to guess what celebrity was on the piece of the paper. When time was up, the correct guesses were their score.
They played several rounds and unsurprisingly Cari and Paige were in the lead.
“We’ve still got it, sis,” Cari said with a big smile.
“Hey, we’re not far behind you,” Randi said.
“Yeah, we make a good team,” Analise added.
“Ugh, I’m not too good at this one,” Gabi said.
“You’re doing fine,” Eden said. “We haven’t known each other for long.”
“I’m sure Randi knew all the clues you gave. Sorry about that,” Gabi said.
“What? No,” Randi said. “I think it depends on your interests. There were several celebrities I’m glad we didn’t get because I was clueless.”
Eden gave Randi a grateful look. She didn’t have to say anything but was still being kind.
Gabi was right. When Eden was giving clues to Gabi, she’d noticed out of the corner of her eye that Randi obviously knew the answers.
But that worked both ways. When Randi was giving clues to Analise, Eden had known them all even though Analise missed a few.
“Okay, one more round,” Cari said. “Let’s see if you can catch us.”
“Let’s make it interesting,” Randi said. “Whoever gets the most in this round wins the game.”
“Ohhhh!” Cari exclaimed. “A gambler.”
“Are you up for it?”
“Let’s do it,” Paige said. “We’re not scared.”
Randi and Analise went first with a respectable six celebrities in a minute. Eden and Gabi went next and also scored six.
The delight on Gabi’s face made Eden chuckle. She wanted her to have a good time.
“We did it!” Gabi exclaimed. “At least we’re not last.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being last,” Analise said. “It’s just a game.”
“I know, but I don’t want Eden to think I’m a loser.”
“Uh, you’re not a loser. I know that,” Eden said. “Maybe you’d feel better if we were salsa dancing.”
“Now that I can do, but no, we’re getting better,” Gabi said. “This is fun. Let’s see if the sisters can beat us.”
Randi started the timer and Cari and Paige flew through the clues. With one second left Cari answered to give them seven correct and the win.
“That was so close!” Analise exclaimed.
“Yeah it was! But we did it!” Cari highfived Paige as they both grinned.
“Okay, new game,” Eden said. “Have you played Codenames?”
“Yes!” Gabi replied. “I love this game.”
“I’ve played it once,” Cari said. “I remember it was fun, so remind me how to play.”
Eden explained while they turned over twenty-five codename cards in five rows and five columns.
One player would give their partner a clue that related to the words on the board.
The clue could relate to one card or more depending on the codewords.
The object was to guess the codenames and clear the board before the other team, so the more codewords you could get with one clue the better.
“I can see knowing your partner could be valuable,” Analise said.
“Yes, and no,” Cari said. “As long as we have Randi and Eden on different teams it should be rather even, don’t you think?”
“Hmm, you are sisters, so I think that’s an advantage,” Gabi said.
“You’re giving us too much credit. Let’s play,” Paige said. “You never know what words you’ll get.”
“Yeah, this will be fun,” Eden agreed.
They began the game and everyone started with one-word guesses.
“Okay, Randi,” Analise said. “Let’s try two cards this time.”
“I’m ready,” Randi said.
Analise gave the clue and Randi studied the board. Eden watched her friend as she gazed at the words. She could see the wheels turning in Randi’s head. Eden glanced down and thought she knew the words Analise was referring to. She looked back up at Randi and slightly nodded her encouragement.
Randi smiled and guessed correctly. Eden didn’t know why she got such satisfaction out of her correct answer, but it was almost as if Randi could read her mind.
They played several more rounds and each team got better with their clues and guesses.
“I’ve had enough,” Paige said. “My brain is tired of thinking.”
Analise chuckled. “I agree, but I want to see what Randi and Eden can do.”
“What?” Eden asked.
“Y’all are supposed to be good at this. Let’s set up the board again.”
“I don’t know,” Randi said.
“Come on, we want to see this badass team in action,” Analise said.
Eden looked at Randi and shrugged.
“Okay, set it up,” Randi said.
Eden watched as they spread out the cards and tried to find connections between the words.
She glanced up at Randi and could see her staring in concentration.
Her brows were knit together showing the little crease that appeared when she was uber focused.
Eden was tempted to reach over and smooth the wrinkle away.
Randi looked up at Eden and smiled. “I’ll give the clue.”
Eden widened her eyes and could feel her heart start to beat a little faster.
“Ready?” Randi smiled at Eden.
Eden took a deep breath and nodded.
“I can give a one-word clue and you’ll get five cards.”
“Five!” Cari exclaimed. “Three is the best anyone’s done all night.”
“What’s the clue?” Analise asked.
“Vacation,” Randi said casually.
Eden studied the relaxed look on Randi’s face.
There was no worry or anxiety, just confidence.
She took a deep breath and looked down at the cards.
They had never gotten five cards at one time.
Her mind roamed as she read each one and then she smiled as several easily went together.
She counted four cards and wasn’t sure about the last one, so she started naming the ones she knew.
There was only one city in the group. “Tokyo,” Eden said. “We want to have ramen there.”
Randi nodded.
“Uh, train, beach, horse.” Eden listed them by raising a finger for each word.
“What?” Cari asked.
“A vacation riding a horse on the beach would be nice,” Eden said. “And riding a train across the country is another vacation we’ve talked about.”
“That’s four,” Analise said.
“One more,” Gabi said. “Are you making these up?”
“I promise I’m not,” Eden said, staring at the cards. “What’s number five?” she muttered. “Oh! There it is!” She pointed to the card that said telescope.
“That’s right!” Randi exclaimed. “We talked about going to Big Bend and looking at the stars through the big telescopes at the McDonald observatory.”
“Huh,” Analise said, sitting back in her chair. “I believe them. I’ve even heard Eden mention a couple of them.”
“Well done,” Cari said. “I don’t know that I would’ve put all those cards together for vacations until you said them.”
Eden smiled at Randi and winked. “We’ve been talking about vacations for a long time, haven’t we?”
Randi chuckled and returned her smile. “We could probably make some of the other cards count because we’ve talked about vacations over and over, but haven’t taken one together in years.”
Eden nodded. They had gone on weekend trips from time to time or gone to see each other’s families together, but hadn’t been on a real vacation together in years. Eden decided right then that they would have to do something about it.
“Are there any cards that go together for y’all?” Analise asked Cari and Paige.
They both studied the cards for several minutes.
“Uh, what about…nope,” Cari said.
“Oh there’s…hmm, that’s only three,” Paige said.
“Three is good. What are they?” Eden asked.
“Okay, Cari,” Paige said, eyeing her sister. “The clue is: You.”
Cari stared at the cards. “Duh, got it. Novel, Plot, and…let me see,” she paused. “Oh, Twist!”
“Way to go!” Randi exclaimed.
Cari laughed. “It’s a good thing I saw novel first because there are a couple of other cards that could’ve been me. Like, dummy or India.”
“India? How is it you?” Eden asked.
“I’ve always wanted to go there and Paige knows it,” Cari explained.
“You’re not a dummy,” Randi said.
“We are sisters though and words have been exchanged from time to time.” Paige laughed.
“This was fun,” Gabi said. “I think as we got to know each other we got better at the game.”
“It was fun,” Analise said. “We’ll have to do it again, but we have a big day tomorrow so it’s time for me to go.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Cari said.
“What’s going on tomorrow?” Gabi asked.
“It’s Cari’s author event at The Plot Twist,” Eden replied. “I told you about it.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Gabi said. “I hope to come by.”
“Ah, that would be nice,” Cari said. “I’ll give you a book.”
“Hold up,” Randi said. “You sign them, your team takes care of the marketing and sales.”
Analise chuckled. “We’ll have a few complementary copies at the event.”
Eden saw Randi shrug and wondered if maybe she didn’t like Gabi.
“You don’t have to do that,” Gabi said. “Of course I’ll buy your book. I want to support you.”
Cari smiled. “Thank you, Gabi.”
They all pitched in to clear the table and put the game back in the box. As Cari started to take things to the kitchen Eden said, “Let me get that. I’m staying to help Randi clean up.”
“Oh, okay,” Cari smiled and handed Eden the bowl.
“I can stay and help,” Gabi said as Analise, Cari, and Paige walked with Randi to the front door.
“It’s okay,” Eden said. “We always help each other like this.”
Gabi smiled and reached for Eden’s hand. “Thank you again for getting this together. It was fun to meet your friends and play games.” She glanced over at the others talking at the front door then back at Eden. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the book store.”
Gabi leaned in and kissed Eden on the cheek then smiled.
Eden looked into Gabi’s eyes and tried to feel some kind of connection with her. She led her to the door as Randi walked away to give them space.
“We’ll hold the elevator for you, Gabi!” Cari called from the hallway.
“Thanks again, Randi,” Gabi said. “It was nice seeing you again.”
“You, too.” Randi smiled and walked to the kitchen.
“See you tomorrow,” Gabi said.
“Bye,” Eden replied and waved to the others then closed the front door.