look like you played. Lots of guys I know don’t. I barely do. I mean, I’m not horrible, but I don’t exactly practice….” She’s talking fast, rambling because I’ve made her feel bad. Not how I pictured this going.
“No. My bad. I get defensive sometimes,” I tell her. “You wanna play?”
She raises her eyebrows. “Sure.”
I get the board and start setting out the pieces. “So I guess you want to be white?” I ask, taunting her now.
“Oh, whatever,” she says, grabbing the black chess pieces from me and setting up her side. I laugh and she looks up, pretends to glare, but the smile tugging at her lips gives her away.
I make the first move. She takes a bite of her doughnut and makes a move of her own right away. It’s bold. I’m not sure if she’s just playing recklessly or if she’s really good. I focus on the board.
“So you were really at the robbery yesterday?” I make my next move.
She looks up at me, startled, and I mentally curse myself for not being smooth.
Her eyes get a faraway look. “Yes. I still can’t believe one of them ran into me.” She countermoves. I try to determine what her strategy is, but so far, I’m not seeing it.
It’s weird to hear her talking about me
to me
without her knowing that’s what she’s doing. Weird and kind of fascinating. I move my rook.
“He was coming out of the bank and I was about to go in and we just…crashed into each other.” She moves.
“Were you scared?” I ask, really wanting to know. “Check,” I say.
She studies the board and moves her king. “No. I was just taken off guard, that’s all. She takes a bite of her doughnut, a surprisingly enthusiastic one. A bit of icing is stuck to her cheek. Without thinking, I reach out and brush it away. Her eyes jump to mine, and I freeze. I pull my hand away and quickly move again, taking one of her pawns this time. Lexi taps her finger on the bishop and considers the board.
“So what happened after? Did you have to hang out and talk to the police?” I feel like I’m balancing on a dangerous tightrope between seeming curious and nosy. I talked to her yesterday. Not a lot, but I did speak. If she’s thinking about the robbery when she hears me talk, will something click inside her head? I watch her take my knight, and I consider my options. I move. She moves. The game feels like a dance.
“Yeah. They didn’t keep me long, though. I didn’t see much. Well, except the van they took off in. That I could describe pretty well.” She rubs the back of her head. “I hit my head, and things got pretty scrambled. Like, for example, I couldn’t remember exactly how many of them there were, but I know that I saw them all run past and pile into the van. See? I’ve got a lump back here the size of an egg, I hit the ground so hard.” She grabs my hand and puts it to the back of her head.
All at once I’m leaning over the table, my face right up close to hers. I don’t think she meant for us to be this close, so close that to anyone else, it must look like we’re about to kiss. Suddenly this dawns on her, too.
“Um, TMI. Sorry,” she says, surprising me by not giggling or blushing. How is she this chill when I’m about to go crazy being this close to her? The temptation to try to unsettle her the way she has me is just too much. I lean a little closer, tilting my head sideways like I’m making a move. She hesitates, her eyes going wide…until I move my queen and scoop up a pawn. I grin.
She laughs a little and looks at the chessboard, shaking her head. “Coward,” she says. After a moment, she declares, “Checkmate.” She moves her knight, and suddenly I see it. My king is trapped. She winks at me and I laugh out loud. This girl surprises me in the best way. If we’d met under any other circumstances, I’d ask her out for real, but I can’t take this any further. Going for doughnuts was risky enough.
“Good game. So why come back to the bank this morning? I mean, Bank
“No. My bad. I get defensive sometimes,” I tell her. “You wanna play?”
She raises her eyebrows. “Sure.”
I get the board and start setting out the pieces. “So I guess you want to be white?” I ask, taunting her now.
“Oh, whatever,” she says, grabbing the black chess pieces from me and setting up her side. I laugh and she looks up, pretends to glare, but the smile tugging at her lips gives her away.
I make the first move. She takes a bite of her doughnut and makes a move of her own right away. It’s bold. I’m not sure if she’s just playing recklessly or if she’s really good. I focus on the board.
“So you were really at the robbery yesterday?” I make my next move.
She looks up at me, startled, and I mentally curse myself for not being smooth.
Her eyes get a faraway look. “Yes. I still can’t believe one of them ran into me.” She countermoves. I try to determine what her strategy is, but so far, I’m not seeing it.
It’s weird to hear her talking about me
to me
without her knowing that’s what she’s doing. Weird and kind of fascinating. I move my rook.
“He was coming out of the bank and I was about to go in and we just…crashed into each other.” She moves.
“Were you scared?” I ask, really wanting to know. “Check,” I say.
She studies the board and moves her king. “No. I was just taken off guard, that’s all. She takes a bite of her doughnut, a surprisingly enthusiastic one. A bit of icing is stuck to her cheek. Without thinking, I reach out and brush it away. Her eyes jump to mine, and I freeze. I pull my hand away and quickly move again, taking one of her pawns this time. Lexi taps her finger on the bishop and considers the board.
“So what happened after? Did you have to hang out and talk to the police?” I feel like I’m balancing on a dangerous tightrope between seeming curious and nosy. I talked to her yesterday. Not a lot, but I did speak. If she’s thinking about the robbery when she hears me talk, will something click inside her head? I watch her take my knight, and I consider my options. I move. She moves. The game feels like a dance.
“Yeah. They didn’t keep me long, though. I didn’t see much. Well, except the van they took off in. That I could describe pretty well.” She rubs the back of her head. “I hit my head, and things got pretty scrambled. Like, for example, I couldn’t remember exactly how many of them there were, but I know that I saw them all run past and pile into the van. See? I’ve got a lump back here the size of an egg, I hit the ground so hard.” She grabs my hand and puts it to the back of her head.
All at once I’m leaning over the table, my face right up close to hers. I don’t think she meant for us to be this close, so close that to anyone else, it must look like we’re about to kiss. Suddenly this dawns on her, too.
“Um, TMI. Sorry,” she says, surprising me by not giggling or blushing. How is she this chill when I’m about to go crazy being this close to her? The temptation to try to unsettle her the way she has me is just too much. I lean a little closer, tilting my head sideways like I’m making a move. She hesitates, her eyes going wide…until I move my queen and scoop up a pawn. I grin.
She laughs a little and looks at the chessboard, shaking her head. “Coward,” she says. After a moment, she declares, “Checkmate.” She moves her knight, and suddenly I see it. My king is trapped. She winks at me and I laugh out loud. This girl surprises me in the best way. If we’d met under any other circumstances, I’d ask her out for real, but I can’t take this any further. Going for doughnuts was risky enough.
“Good game. So why come back to the bank this morning? I mean, Bank
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