Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 75983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Amazingly, my alliance with Rudy worked, and we handily defeated Raymond and then Troy.
“We won!” I made a triumphant gesture with my hand, smacking my cards against the table.
“Well, technically, you guys are supposed to battle each other to see who wins the whole game, but if you wanna celebrate now, go for it.” Troy shrugged, evidently none too concerned about the rules.
“Alexander needs the victory to sleep well tonight.” Rudy chuckled, gesturing at me. “Your move.”
I studied the current state of the game. In working together, Rudy’s life count had dwindled along with his resources. If I attacked now, he’d likely be unable to defend. I’d win, but suddenly, victory tasted more bitter.
“It doesn’t seem fair…” I demurred, hand hovering over my row of shark cards.
“It’s a game. Remember?” Rudy stuck his tongue out at me. The gesture was intended to be comical, but my stirring of arousal was anything but. “Do me in. I’ll make dying noises and everything.”
“Fine. I attack.” I made the move so I didn’t have to think about his tongue anymore.
“I perish.” Rudy gripped his throat, dramatic noises escaping his mouth as he writhed in his chair. After he was done carrying on, he glanced around the room where the other tables were also finishing as players put away their decks and dice. “And now we help clean up.”
I joined in the effort to put away the food, resisting the impulse to swipe another cookie. Rudy packed up his many decks into colorful boxes with neat labels while chatting with Raymond and Irma.
“So Alexander won?” Irma asked as she put the lid on a casserole dish.
“Yes. He’s a natural,” Rudy bragged.
One would never guess he’d lost, and indeed, he seemed as happy as if he’d been the one to win. I’d heard my parents and various teachers rave about my ballet skills, but Rudy’s praise felt unfamiliar, like a new pair of shoes I had yet to break in.
In fact, my dancing hadn’t come up in conversation all evening, affording a layer of anonymity I hadn’t realized I needed. Here, I didn’t have to be Alexander Dasher with all the associated expectations. I could be Alexander, the surprisingly competent newbie card player. Not needing to be the best was another novel sensation. I was satisfied with the rounds I had won and able to let go of the loss to Troy.
As Rudy and I headed out into the night, my steps felt lighter. An almost giddy good mood settled over me as the chilly November wind whipped around us.
“It got cold.” Rudy tugged his coat closer.
“It did.” I had the strangest urge to put an arm around him. My brain happily supplied a list of other ways I could keep him warm. Not wanting to give in to either desire, I sped up. “And it’s late. I can’t believe how long we played.”
“Come on.” Rudy kept up with my longer strides so he could bump my shoulder. “Say it. You had fun.”
“I didn’t hate it,” I allowed, using a disinterested tone simply to earn a groan from Rudy and another playful shove.
“You. Had. Fun.”
“Perhaps.” I sniffed like a bored prince.
“Never change, Alexander. Never change.” Rudy shook his head at me before pulling up short in front of a small stationary store with a lit Christmas tree in the window. “Look! Holiday decorations are starting to go up. Thanksgiving is almost here. Isn’t this the best time of year?”
“Not usually.” Where Rudy saw magic, I saw work and more work. “It’s the annual sludge of rehearsals, tech week, promo, crowded performances, and rushed holiday celebrations.”
Rudy responded by humming the theme song from The Grinch at me.
“I’m not a Grinch.” I held up my hands. “I’m a realist.”
“If the costume fits…” Rudy taunted in a singsong voice.
“Take that back.” I stomped on toward the ballet school. I wasn’t sure why I was letting Rudy rile me up. The holidays meant The Nutcracker, and The Nutcracker meant work, and if my inability to appreciate the season made me a Grinch, so be it. I needed to drop the argument. I made a frustrated noise as Rudy hummed that much louder.
“The image of you dressed as a Grinch is stuck in my brain.”
“Unstick it.” I got in his face as we reached the back of the school.
“Make me.” Laughing with his dimples on full display, he stuck his tongue out at me again.
Like earlier, arousal slammed into me. However, now there was no game to distract me. Instead, I did the only thing that seemed to make sense and closed the distance between us, backing him against the brick building and stepping so close our coats brushed.
“Make me,” he repeated in a husky whisper.
“Gladly.” And with that, I lost the last of my brain cells and kissed Rudy.
Ten
Relevé: to rise up onto demi-pointe (balls of the feet) or en pointe (to the tips of the toes in pointe shoes).