Page 32 of The Meeting
But it was a big deal. He had genuine feelings for this girl—something he hadn’t had in a very long time.
He shook his head. “I didn’t realize you were so competitive. I hadn’t noticed that during game night.” Then he winked.
She shoved him playfully.
Abi, Logan, Al, and Brian swam over to where they were standing in the shallow end of the pool.
“Kailynn is ridiculously competitive. If you value your life, don’t play Monopoly with her,” Abi said.
Chase raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze back on Kailynn. She was the second person to mention it now. “This I’ve got to see.”
Kailynn shrugged. “I like to win. So sue me.”
“If that’s what you want to call it,” Brian muttered.
Kailynn raised an eyebrow at him.
Chase clapped his hands together before gesturing back toward their apartments. “So, Monopoly tonight?”
Logan laughed loudly. “Let’s do it!”
* * *
Everyone except Aland Brian sat around Chase’s kitchen table with Monopoly laid out. Al made an excuse about not wanting to lose an eye, and Brian nodded empathically before they left to go home.
Wusses. Over-exaggerating wusses. That’s what they were.
Chase seemed eager to go to the store to buy it, but Abi already owned it. She pulled it out with what could only be described as an evil glint. Kailynn could only glare at her.
Kailynn studied the board. Everyone owned a good portion of property except for her.
Fucking Monopoly. This game was the worst.
She took a deep breath to keep her cool before she rolled the dice. It wasn’t that she was trying not to show how pissed off she was getting in fear of scaring off Chase, but she didn’t want to freak out over the fact that she was losing… and she was competitive. So. Very. Competitive.
When her thimble game piece landed on Park Place, she cursed under her breath. What a fucking shit show.
Chase owned the two blue pieces of land with a hotel on each. She was going to have to mortgage the rest of her property and give up the small amount of cash she had in order to pay him.
As calmly as she could, she flipped her pieces of land over and paid Chase the money. She was completely bankrupt. The only saving grace would be the two hundred dollars she would collect for passing Go on her next turn. She took a deep breath.
Calm down, Kailynn. It’s not over yet.
Chase stacked his money and gave her a look, one she didn’t know the meaning of. She wasn’t sure if he was gloating or concerned over the fact that he just bankrupted her.
She avoided eye contact to refrain from flying off the handle. The anger creeped up her chest, and she wanted to make sure she kept it at bay.
“Wow, Kailynn, I’m surprised you haven’t freaked out yet,” Abi said.
Kailynn glanced at her and then focused back on the board as Logan played out his turn. “It’s just a game.”
Logan passed the dice to Abi to go next.
“Just a game?” He laughed under his breath.
She narrowed her eyes but refrained from commenting. They were egging her on. She wouldn’t let them win at that, at least.
Chase played his turn, and then it was hers again. She just needed to roll at least a three, and she would be okay. She owned the meager pieces of land right after Go, so it wasn’t a big deal if she landed on them. The chances of her landing on something that would bankrupt her were slim-to-none. She rolled and closed her eyes at the numbers that popped up. A sharp inhale of breath next to her meant that someone was waiting for her reaction.
