Page 29 of Rosie
“That’s different. That’s aStar Warsgame.”
“I’m glad Mia was able to help you out. At least you got to compete.”
At that, Matt choked a bit on his seltzer. He sputtered and pounded on his chest to clear his airway, then he shook his head. “Actually, Mia couldn’t help me. She said she didn’t have the background knowledge to play the game and she asked Rosie to help instead.” He watched Olivia nervously. Did she remember that time, years ago, when he asked if Rosie was single, and she told him not to go there?
His sister just smiled. “That makes more sense. I just automatically thought of Mia because she’s the best gamer in the group.”
“Hey!”
“I meant in my squad, not out of everyone. Should I have suggested he askyou?” She teased Jake.
“Well, I might have done okay …”
Matt smiled sadly to himself as he watched the two of them. He’d give anything to be able to talk to Rosie like that, to be comfortable enough around her to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth.
But he knew Olivia wouldn’t approve. And Rosie didn’t look at him like that anyway.
Except … in the car when she drove him home. She’d looked like she cared about him then. He’d even thought for a moment that she wanted him to kiss her. Then Keith had turned her head and Matt was left in the cold. He chugged most of his drink at that thought, and Jake got up to get him another.
In the end, they settled for a game ofUno, with Matt getting progressively more and more drunk. It turned out Olivia had bought a case of the hard seltzers, and while she and Jake stopped after only a couple, he kept drinking. Olivia had promised him the couch after all, and he just wanted to drown the memory of Keith flirting with Rosie.
When Jake had enough and went to bed, Olivia staggered to the closet for a blanket for Matt, obviously exhausted. The room wobbled as Matt rose to use the bathroom, and then it swayed as he fumbled to the couch. Olivia threw a pillow and a blanket at him, then sat on the coffee table across from him.
“What’s really bothering you, Matt? Losing in the second-to-last round doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to get this drunk. Talk to me.”
Matt’s brain was foggy, and his words slurred. “Keith wash hitting on Roshie. All damn night. It wash … it was sick.”
“What do you mean he was hitting on her?”
“Kishing her hand, trying to put his arm arround her … all because she’s a girl who likesStar Wars? It’s like he doesn’t get out, ever. He barely knows her.”
His sister cocked her head to the side and studied him. “You got drunk because he was hitting on her?”
“I got drunk because it pished me off.”
“Why would that piss you off? Didn’t she like it?”
Wait a minute. The cloud in Matt’s brain cleared just enough for him to realize what he was about to admit. “I – I don’t know.” She’d been giggling. Did Olivia know something he didn’t? He shook his head in an attempt to make sense, and not reveal the real reason he wanted to forget the competition. “We were there to play a game. And he was just hitting on our teammate all night.”
“Well, he sucks. I’ll see you in the morning, little Bro.”
He scowled into the darkness once she went to bed. Damn it, he’d been trying to forget. Now he’d be thinking of Keith and Rosie all night.
And the truth was, he was starting to realize this was more than just a crush.
It was Rosie’s turn to host girls’ night, and Mia, Olivia, and Nadia were due any minute. They couldn’t playDungeons and Dragonstonight because Jade had to work again, so the boys were staying home. She had wine chilling in the fridge, and a veggie tray out on the table. Olivia was bringing Chinese take-out, like they used to get at the dorm at UMD. Her stomach was growling for her lo mein noodles.
There was a knock on the door. It was Mia and Nadia. “Come on in!” Her friends sat around the dining table.
“How’ve you been, Rosie?” Nadia asked as she dipped a celery stick. “It feels like ages since I’ve seen you.”
“I’m doing great. You’ll never guess what I did last weekend.”
“What?”
“I played in a video game tournament.”
“Shut the front door!” Nadia’s jaw dropped. “What kind of tournament?”
