Emily
I dropped my stuff on the counter and sank into my comfy armchair. Visiting my parents had been rough today, my dad was complaining as usual, and my mother was wondering when I was going to settle down. I groaned in relief as my body relaxed from stress, I was about to fall asleep when my phone began to buzz. I sighed unhappily and prayed it wasn’t my mother; I picked up the phone and looked at the ID. It wasn’t my mother, thank goodness, turns out it was Liam. I smiled and answered it. “Hello, handsome.”
“Hey beautiful,” he answered and a blush stained my cheeks. I liked it when he told me I was beautiful. During our second date he’d called me that constantly and I loved it. “Emily are you listening?”
“Oh, what?” I said, embarrassed that I was caught daydreaming. “Sorry I wasn’t paying attention.”
A smile sounded in his voice “I noticed that. So do you want to hang out tomorrow?” I thought about it for a moment and then an idea popped into my head.
“What if we hang out right now?” I asked.
“Really, but isn’t it late?”
“Nah, that’s fine, but if you don’t want to…”
“No, I’ll come over. Give me some time to dress and get over there.” Then he hung up and I put down the phone with a smile. What a good way to unwind after visiting my family for a few hours.
~ ~ ~
Liam
I pulled up to her house feeling extremely nervous. We’ve only gone out twice and now we’re hanging out at her place. Not that I mind hanging out, I just feel like we’re going too fast. I looked up from gazing at the steering wheel to find her waiting on her porch. She must have heard me pull up. I got out and began my walk up to her.
When I finally reached her she seemed so excited and was nearly bouncing all over the place. She smiled at me, grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. To me her house felt homey and comfy. Lucy came barreling out of nowhere and ran into me. I smiled and knelt down to greet her. “Hey gorgeous,” I said softly,” you taking good care of Emily?”
“Oh sure she’s taking care of me,” Emily told me with an eye roll. I smiled and continued to pet the dog. When she realized that I had gotten the dog for her she was so happy she had cried. Being the good guy that I am I comforted her and convinced her to take Lucy.
“So what do you want to do?” I asked her. She thought for a moment and an idea dawned on her face. She ran down the hall to a closet and told me.
“Go sit down in the living room and I’ll show you what I want to do.” Then she began digging around in the closet. I walked into the room with Lucy following behind, I sat down on the couch with dog curled up beside me. I placed a gentle hand on her and waited for Emily.
~ ~ ~
Emily
I pulled out The Game of Life and smiled. I don’t know if he likes this game, but I will make him like this game. I walked into the room to find Lucy cuddled up against him and Liam petting her gently. I smiled at the sight and said “She sure does like you.” He looked up startled and answered.
“Yeah, so what game are we playing?”
I replied back “The Game of Life. I hope you like it.” I walked over to the coffee table and placed the box down. Liam smiled, sinking onto the floor and opening the box. I copied him, setting up the bank and laying out the cards. Suddenly he spoke.
“If I win I get something in return.” I raised an eyebrow and replied
“Hmmm, is that it? What if I win?”
“Then you get something,” he told me. “I get to be banker.”
I laughed. “Um no, I’m always the banker. You can’t take away my job.”
He smirked “Maybe it’s time you give up your reign of power and let someone else take over.”
I thought for a moment, debating the situation. I sighed and handed him the tray of money. He smiled triumphantly and began to deal out the money.
Once everything was distributed the game began. Honestly, Liam was a worthy opponent and I struggled to beat him. But in the end he won and I waited with bated breath to see what my punishment would be. He looked at me with a cunning smile and said “I think I’ll wait and claim my bet on a later date.”
“You can’t do that!” I told him, standing up in shock. He copied me and stood.
“Yes, I can. There was nothing in the rules that said we couldn’t wait for a later date.” He pointed out. I stared at him my mouth opening and closing like a fish. He was right but I didn’t want him to know that. I crossed my arms, glaring at him. All he could do was smile, he then looked at his watch saying “I should probably get going.” I nodded and we cleaned up the board. I walked him to the door and said
“This was fun. Even though you won.”
“Same here, just to let you know. You should be worried about when I’m going to collect,” he smirked. I rolled my eyes
“You may have won this time around but next time I will win.”
He nodded sarcastically.
“Okay, Emily. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He kissed my forehead and walked to his car. I watched him go, leaning against the door. He waved and got in, I waved back with a smile. He drove away and I went back into the house. Lucy wagged her tail and rushed to me.
I picked her up saying, “Time for bed little girl. You have a big day tomorrow.” She licked my face and we made our way up to bed.
