My mouth goes dry.
The tips of my ears go hot.
And I feel a wave of sweat crest my upper lip.
Good job, Lia. Really good job.
“Uh, yeah . . . I didn’t really mean—”
“No, no. Don’t take it back.” He holds up his hand. “I like your brutal and brash honesty. Made me feel alive.” He winks.
“Oh, okay. In that case.” I clear my throat. “Although your room seems like a dream to explore, you could have tucked the corners of your bed better, not quite ‘nurse’s corner’ tight, your framed picture of Rory Gilmore is crooked, and you have to get rid of the mustache. It’s atrocious.”
He chuckles and nods while moving his fingers over the bush beneath his nose. “Still trying to perfect the nurse’s corner. If you have expertise in this endeavor, then, by all means, present a tutorial. The room I share a wall with plays music loud enough that they force Rory to dance, making her crooked. I’ve given up. And the mustache, well, I thought it looked good. Seems to me everyone’s been lying to me.”
“They have been.”
“But you don’t seem to have that ability . . . to lie to someone to forsake their feelings.”
“Depends on the moment and the person.” I look him up and down. “You seemed sturdy enough to handle the truth, and also, stressful situations—i.e. not knowing where the room was—snatching any social decorum I might have stored away.”
“Well, that can only mean one thing.”
Confused, I ask, “What’s that?”
“That there is no other choice than to become the greatest friends of all time.”
I smirk. “Only if you shave.”
“Ehhh, that’s something we might have to work out.” He rocks on his feet and continues, “Given that you are the only new recruit to the Secret Scrabble Society, you must be Ophelia Fairweather-Fern.”
“That would be me. But just call me Lia. My entire name is far too many syllables for anyone to carry around, let alone my first name.”
He chuckles. “Your name was a check in the plus column during tryouts. But your brutal use of words we’ve never even heard of was the real reason you were chosen, especially since we play on a timer.”
“That was an added challenge I appreciated. Although the timer startled me at first and took a second for me to get used to. That and not being able to see your new letters or the gameboard until your turn started. I had a lot of fun. I’m glad I was chosen.”
“It was an easy choice.” He sets his Slurpee cup down. “Everyone, this is Lia. Lia, that’s Harley, Jarome, Christine, and Imani.” From where they’re seated at the coffee table, they all raise their hands for a brief hello and then return to the gameboard. “Yeah, they’re not really social.”
“Well, good thing I didn’t come here to socialize.” I rub my hands together. “I came to play.”
Breaker chuckles and then reaches for his Slurpee again. “Then what are we waiting for? Game on.”