Game of Love (The Remingtons, Book One: Love in Bloom Series)

Chapter Twenty-Four, Game of Love

Chapter Twenty-Four

LASER TAG WAS nothing like Ellie thought it would be. She'd anticipated feeling stupid running around in the dark with a fake gun and trying to shoot her friends. She thought she'd feel guilty taking them down, but it turned out that she felt empowered for the first time in her life. Knowing she wasn't really killing anyone helped, of course, but she pictured each of the other players as Bruce. Her finger hovered over the trigger and her eyes narrowed as she listened for the sound of feet moving, heavy breathing, and the unique rustling of plastic guns against bodies. Ellie had spent her whole life in the background, observing people and situations, strategizing, biding her time until the ripest moment became apparent. She'd been preparing for laser tag her whole life. Who knew?

She closed her eyes and listened. In here, Dex had a certain walk, a hunkered-down sneak that she noticed the minute he put the weighty vest on. He'd bent his knees and walked with purpose, with a stealthy slant. She heard the sounds of him now, his gun knocking against his muscles, his hard and heavy breathing. She held her breath as the sounds came closer, and when she felt his presence, she opened her eyes and pressed the trigger.

"Damn." Dex watched the lights on his vest go black.

Ellie whispered, "Sorry." She took off in another direction, her heart pounding, mind soaring. This was the most fun she'd ever had. The dark arena made it easy for her to feel free, even if she couldn't forget seeing Bruce or reading his texts that claimed they weren't through. What did that mean, anyway? The asshole. Why did he have the power to make her so angry?

She rounded a corner and aimed at Mitch's vest. Just as she tagged him, Regina tagged her. "Aw!" she hollered, then laughed, a deep, hearty belly laugh that tore through her with such force that she fell back against the wall. She covered her mouth, realizing that she'd lose the game if she played like a dork. But, damn, that laugh felt good.

They played a second game and then headed back toward home. They were covered in sweat and laughing as they climbed into the taxi.

"NightCaps?" Mitch suggested.

"El?" Dex asked.

She loved that he consulted her. "Sure, but no rum and Coke for me."

"Lightweight," Regina said. She handed Ellie a Twizzler. "Power food."

Ellie took the Twizzler, and sitting between Regina and Dex, she felt...happy. Markedly happy. She wondered if the euphoria she was feeling was what normal people felt every day. People who hadn't grown up in a string of different houses, always feeling like an outsider, on the defensive, ready to bolt. That's it. I don't feel like an outsider with them. I feel like I'm part of their group. Part of their family. The idea of family warmed her soul, even if it wasn't a nuclear family. She'd take a family of friends that she could count on over no family any day of the week.

NightCaps was packed. Dex slung an arm over her shoulder as they made their way to the back of the bar, where Regina slipped into a booth just as a couple vacated it. Dex took Ellie's hand in his and said, "This is where it all began."

Ellie shook her head. "No. It all began back on Carlisle Street." Actually, even that wasn't true. It all started the day she was taken from her mother and placed in the foster system when she was just five years old.

"What are we drinking?" Regina asked.

"I can't be trusted when I drink, so whatever you order for me, please don't let me have more than one." Ellie put her hand on Dex's leg. He covered it with his own and pulled her close.

"I won't let you get too blitzed," he promised.

"Yeah, I'd trust that face." Regina rolled her eyes. "Dex said you have an idea for educational software on its own platform. Sounds really cool, and if you need help, I'd love to be part of it."