I hold out my hand for the controller. “Don’t take it so hard. Any kid with a name like Rhett Roger Rauthruss would be good at video games.”
Rauthruss grunts a laugh. “He’s not wrong. Kids are assholes. At least until I got big enough they were scared to mock me.”
“That’s awful,” Jordan says. “Why would your parents name you that?”
Rauthruss stares blankly at him and doesn’t answer.
“Move over, freshman, let me show you how it’s done.”
An hour or two must pass while I refuse to give up my seat, waving off anyone else who wants a turn. “This is personal,” I tell them. “From one weird kid to another.”
The girl sitting next to me drapes her hand on my thigh. I have no idea how long she’s been there or how long she’s been touching me. I guess now I understand why Rauthruss was oblivious to the two hanging next to him earlier.
“You were a nerd?” she asks. “I don’t believe it.”
“Not a nerd just weird.” She looks at me unbelievingly, so I add, “Dead dad, non-functioning mom.”
The words have barely left my mouth before I regret them. I don’t talk about my family shit ever, but drunk Heath is a very sharing Heath. I don’t usually drink so much, but I ran out of beer several games ago and instead of getting up to get another, I switched to sharing gulps of the Mad Dog bottle Maverick is passing around.
I glance around and notice the party is starting to die down. Inside it’s me, Mav, Rauthruss, and the girls between us. Voices still carry from the deck outside.
“I’m gonna get some air.” Standing, I’m much more aware of how drunk I am. My legs feel a little too light and kind of wobbly.
The group outside is almost as small as the one inside. Adam and the girl he’s been seeing, Taryn, a few guys from the team, plus Reagan, Dakota, and Ginny.
Adam spots me first and his loud laughter barks into the night. “Gumby legs is back! Heath’s druuuunk.”
I lean against the railing beside Ginny. Her sweet smile hits me in the gut.
“Hi, Genevieve.”
“Hi, Heath,” she says, still smiling at me. “You look happy.”
“I feel pretty happy.”
“We should play sardines tonight,” Dakota says. “Is Maverick still inside?”
I nod. “Yep.”
“You guys in?” She looks around to everyone.
“What’s sardines?” Taryn asks.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Adam says, arms wrapped around Taryn’s waist, but his gaze is on Ginny.
“It’s kind of like hide and seek,” Dakota answers Taryn.
Ginny looks uncomfortable under her brother’s scrutiny, but her words are enthusiastic. “Yeah, let’s do it!”
The walk to campus in the dark with the fresh air sobers me up a little. Ginny’s still smiling like something’s funny as I walk beside her.
“What?”
“You’re lifting your knees so high. It’s adorable.”
“You’re adorable,” I fire back.
She giggles, links her arm through mine, and leans in. Her boob presses into my forearm and all I can think about is reaching over and squeezing it like a stress ball. I completely understand that this is not acceptable behavior for friends—drunk or not, so I don’t, but I think about it anyway.
At the edge of campus, Adam turns so he’s walking backward. “Ginny, you good?”
“I’m fine.” Her tone is playfully annoyed. “Seriously, Adam.”
He waits a beat as if he expects her to change her mind. When she doesn’t, he nods and says, “All right. We split into pairs. One couple hides and the rest of us try to find you. When you find them, you have to hide with them. The tighter the space, the better. No going inside buildings, no going on roofs.” He looks at Maverick, who busts out laughing.
“Took you guys fucking forever to find us.”
“So, wait,” Taryn speaks up. “We’re hiding on campus in the middle of the night? Campus is huge.”
“There are some boundaries. You’re with me. I’ll show you.” He winks and then looks to Ginny and me. “Heath, stay with Ginny. You can show her the boundaries.”
“I’ll be your guard, guardian, I mean guide, I think.”
She smirks.
Adam points to Mav and Dakota. “It’s your turn to hide and you get to make up a rule.”
“We got this,” Dakota says beside him. “Tonight’s rule is that one partner has to carry the other by piggyback.”
Everyone laughs.
Adam holds up his phone. “Five minutes and go.”
While Dakota and Mav head off to hide, I lead Ginny over to the bottom of the economics building stairs and sit.
“You guys play this often, I take it?” she asks as she takes a seat next to me.
“It’s fun. You’ll see.”
“I’m not really a fan of games where you have to hide in small, dark spaces.”
It’s then I notice she’s staring down at her fingers and rubbing her thumb along the inside of the palm on her opposite hand.
I slide my hand in between hers and link our fingers. Shit, of course. Adam’s words make sense now. “Do you want to go back? We can tell them we’re going to go make out instead.”
“Like they’d believe that.” She huffs. “No, it’ll be fine. Just don’t leave me.”
“I won’t.”
She pulls her hands away and glides them up and down her thighs. I don’t really want to stop touching her, so I reach up and touch the end of her braid, rubbing the blonde ends between my fingers. “Adorable.”
“You’re a flirty drunk.”
“I’m an honest drunk. Too honest. Don’t ask me anything embarrassing.”
“How’d you get so drunk?”
“Alcohol.”
She giggles and then falls quiet. All around us, our friends are chatting and laughing, but we’re in our own little bubble, which is nice. A Genevieve and Heath bubble that I kind of dig.
“Hmmm. What kind of dirt can I get on you while you’re drunk?” She narrows her gaze and smirks. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Pink.” I get the reaction I hoped for and then chuckle. “Kidding, it’s green. What’s yours?”
“Mine actually is pink, but not pink pink. Like a really dark pink. Cerise.”
“That’s cute.”
“What is?”
“That you think I
