Page 34 of Mixed Signals
“How did I know, what?”
“My deep love and appreciation for a good escape room.”
“Well.” Best to come clean, I guess. “Stella did text me a comprehensive list of your favorite things.”
Layla turns to look at me, confused. She’s wearing another scarf twisted through her hair today, a bright cherry red with little strawberries printed on the fabric. It matches the apron she was wearing the other day and I smile thinking of her wearing them together.
I want to feel it slip through my fingers. I want to twist it around and around my fist until I can tilt her head back and guide her mouth to mine. I wonder if she’d taste like strawberries or that sugar sweet glaze she uses on everything.
I veer sharply away from that thought.
“Stella did what?”
“To be fair, I knew most of the things on that list already.”
“Like what?” It’s a challenge, that question. I watch as an ambling summer wind catches the end of her scarf and lifts it. I give in to temptation and slip my palm along the material, feel it between my thumb and forefinger. I rub it once and tug her half an inch closer.
I’ll settle for having her in increments, if that’s what it takes to make it through this arrangement. Probably better for my sanity that way, too.
She sways into me with a smile.
“Lavender,” I say. She has it planted all over her front yard, a big bundle of it right below the little window in her kitchen that always seems to be open. “Scarves.” I let the length of the silky material slip against my hand, my knuckles brushing against her neck. She sucks in a sharp breath and I drop my hand to my side. “Expensive champagne and cheap crab chips.”
She grins at the last two. “I can’t tell if I’m offended or impressed. I don’t think any of my dates have received inside information before. She must like you.”
I shrug. “I think it just proves how much she likesyou.”
Layla’s smile is quiet this time, thoughtful. But her eyes shine bright as she slips her hand in mine. I like how easily she reaches for me, how well we fit together. I like how she threads her fingers through mine and squeezes. I’m starting to see that she relies on touch to communicate, and I rely on it to understand.
“Enough of that.” She swings our linked hands between us. “Let’s get inside so I can kick your ass.”
I trail after her, confused. “Isn’t this a team activity?”
My confusion quickly settles into a low sense of foreboding. The lobby ofQuest For Escapeis painted almost entirely in black, a single desk against the back wall. Above the desk are what I hope are props, rows and rows of various weapons and masks and leather bound books painted gold. I stare hard at what looks like a machete. It’s the first indication that I am wholly unprepared for what I signed us up for.
Layla has an entire list of questions she rattles through with the teenager behind the desk. Things I would have never thought to ask, like:
Is the game linear?
Are there any secret rooms?
Will anyone jump out at us?
I startle at the last question and glance down at Layla. “Is that a thing that happens?”
She shrugs. “It can.”
The kid behind the desk shakes his head, swiping through a checklist on the iPad in front of him. He has an earpiece, too, and what looks like three cell phones on the desk in front of him. This is a more complex set-up than most spy movies. I vaguely recognize him from the school. Eric, his nametag tells me. “Not here. We haven’t had characters in the room since Gus punched the last one in the face.”
Layla and I snort in unison.
“There’s an intercom in the room,” he says. “I’ll be able to talk to you and you can shout if you need me.” He taps at a line of monitors on the other side of the desk. “I’ll keep an eye on things too, just to make sure.”
“What are you making sure of?”
Eric stares hard at me from the other side of the desk. It’s a battle-weary stare, that look. The look of a man who has seen too many things. “Just to make sure.”
Alright, then. I’m starting to get the feeling that this might be another date disaster. Not as bad as the last one, I hope. I’m not sure anything can top the compilation video of my roller skating falls, set to some ridiculous song with a heavy beat. The kids have been sharing them back and forth all week. I got two in my work email. Alex sent me one that had over twenty thousand views with a string of crying, laughing face emojis.
