Page 33 of The Meeting
She rolled a two. Fucking snake eyes. Two. Mother fucking two. She landed on Boardwalk. She didn’t even make it to Go.
Fuck. Me.
She stood up and took a step back from the table, half worried she’d flip the whole fucking thing over.
Fucking Monopoly.
“You okay?” Abi asked.
Abi knew Kailynn and knew her rage. Abi may have been competitive too, but Kailynn knew she could run circles around Abi in competitiveness.
Kailynn could hear it. She could hear the slight amusement in Abi’s voice over Kailynn’s outright anger over a board game. It was one reason she didn’t play the game. Abi enjoyed poking the bear. And Kailynn was the bear.
Kailynn took a deep breath to calm herself before looking over at Abi.
“I’m great,” she gritted out.
Chase raised an eyebrow but wisely didn’t comment.
Kailynn walked over to the living room couch and dropped onto it to avoid watching the rest of the game. They continued to play and once in a while, one of them would ask her to come join them at the table, but she declined. She was far too pissed off to sit and watch them play. While thinking about it, her hands balled into fists in her lap and her nails bit into her skin.
She considered getting up and leaving to go back to her apartment, but then they would know she was angry. And she was better than that. She needed to show them she could play that godforsaken game without getting angry.
But shewasangry.
Fucking Monopoly.
They finally finished the game, declaring Logan the winner. Kailynn continued to sit on the couch as they put the game away. Then Abi and Logan said ‘bye’ and left. Kailynn got up to follow them, but Chase caught her around the waist.
The sparks that shot through her from his touch didn’t go unnoticed. He seemed just as surprised as she was, but he didn’t let go.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes. It’s just a game.” She shrugged to play off that she didn’t care. But she cared. A whole hell of a lot.
He cracked a smile. “Do you hate me for eliminating you?”
Yes.
“No.” She averted her gaze.Lies!
He ducked his head to catch her eyes.
She met his, and her anger immediately passed. Suddenly, all she saw were those blue depths that looked so much like the ocean.
“You hate me a little,” he stated.
A small smile came to her lips. “I hate that game so much.”
“I see that.”
His arms still circled her waist, holding her close to him. She glanced down at his arms and a flutter beat through her chest. He had told her only a week before that he couldn’t be with her due to him possibly losing his license over it. Yet, here they were.
He licked his lips, and his head dipped slightly, but stopped just in front of her lips. Even though he had already turned her down once, she wanted badly to lean forward and close the gap. But she didn’t want to make him say it again. She needed to respect the boundaries until he was no longer her lawyer.
His grip loosened, and he dropped his hands before taking a step back. “I’m sorry.”
Disappointment engulfed her. She wanted it badly. She needed him to initiate it, no matter how ‘wrong’ it would be in the state of California’s eyes.
