Chapter 67: A Different Kind of Win

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: A Different Kind of Win

The drive started out pretty normally. Nicole and I talked about whatever came to mind, and it wasn’t long before we ended up talking about cars. That was probably inevitable. Give either of us half a chance, and we’d find something automotive to talk about.

I was having a perfectly good time arguing with her about a point neither of us seemed willing to concede when she took a turn onto a road that definitely wasn’t leading to either of our houses.

I glanced out the window, before looking at her.

"Let me guess. This is the part where you reveal you’re actually a cult member and you’re kidnapping me."

Nicole smiled without taking her eyes off the road. "Not gonna lie, that sounded kinda hot."

I looked at her, narrowing my eyes.

She kept her attention on the road, looking entirely too pleased with herself. "The kidnapping part, I mean. Having you all to myself."

I stared at her for a moment before turning back toward the window. "And here I was, trying to make a joke."

Nicole giggled, apparently pleased with herself.

I couldn’t help smiling as I faced forward again. "But seriously, where’re we going?"

"The mall."

I blinked, trying to figure out if I’d missed something. "You wanna get something?"

She nodded. "A console." She gave me a quick glance before returning her eyes to the road. "Which do you think is better? PlayStation or Xbox?"

"Whoa. Hold on." I looked at her. "You’re actually buying a console just so we can play?"

She nodded, keeping her eyes on the road.

"You know we could just play at my place, right?" I continued.

"Hm, but think about it." Nicole turned into the mall’s parking lot, steering toward an available space. "I want to cook you dinner, so we’re going to my place. I want to play FC with you, but I don’t have a console. If I get one, we can play whenever you come over. It’s a win-win-win situation."

I thought about it for a moment, trying to find a flaw in her logic. I couldn’t, which was annoying, because buying an entire console on a whim still seemed ridiculous.

"It’s expensive," I said, settling for the most obvious objection I had left.

Nicole brought the car to a stop and switched off the engine. She unfastened her seat belt, then turned toward me with the saddest pair of puppy eyes I’d ever seen.

"Please?" she said. "I just really want to play a game with you."

I stared at her, particularly at those eyes she was deliberately using against me. Nicole had somehow found a weapon my brain hadn’t figured out how to defend against, and the worst part was knowing she was using them because she wanted to spend more time with me.

How was I supposed to argue against that? Especially when it was her money and she could easily afford it?

"I won’t do anything naughty for a whole week if you let me," she added. "Promise."

I raised an eyebrow. "A week?"

"Okay, maybe not a week." She thought about it for a moment. "A day?"

I huffed a laugh.

"You laughed." Her face brightened immediately.

I stopped laughing and stared at her. She tilted her head slightly, still looking ridiculously cute.

I held her gaze for another moment before sighing. "Fine. Let’s get a console."

Nicole’s face lit up so brightly that I immediately regretted how long I’d made her wait for my answer. She reached into her bag as I unbuckled my seat belt, then pulled out a credit card and held it toward me.

"Here." She smiled. "The PIN is 4826."

I looked at the card, then at her. She was actually handing me her credit card.

"It looks better when the man pays," she added, as if that explained everything.

I looked down at the card again before meeting her eyes. Her smile faltered into a small pout, and she held the card out a little closer.

I should probably have questioned why she was so determined to make me the one paying for something she was buying. Instead, I found myself staring at the pout, as though the card alone hadn’t been enough.

Nicole was playing dirty.

I took it anyway.

"You’re lucky you’re cute," I told her, slipping the card into my pocket.

Nicole’s expression brightened, and she looked so pleased with herself that I couldn’t help smiling.

"Come on," she said, already reaching for the door handle.

I shook my head, then opened the door and climbed out.

It didn’t take long for us to find what we wanted. After looking through the available options, we settled on a PS5 Pro. Nicole seemed particularly pleased with the choice, although I suspected she would’ve been happy with almost any console as long as it meant she could play with me.

We picked up EA Sports FC and Call of Duty as well. We’d have to download both games once we got to her place, but that seemed like a small price to pay for having everything ready for our first match.

When it was time to pay, I handed over Nicole’s card and entered the PIN she’d given me. The whole thing felt a little strange, mostly because I was standing at a checkout counter buying an expensive console with someone else’s money while the owner of said money clung happily to my arm.

Nicole, meanwhile, looked like she couldn’t be happier with the arrangement.

Before long, we were at her house.

Nicole unlocked the door, and we stepped inside with the shopping bags.

"I’ll go take a quick shower," she said, turning to face me. "You can set everything up before I get back."

I nodded. "Sure."

She smiled at me, then reached for my backpack hanging from my shoulder and slipped it off.

"I’ll keep this in the room for you," she said sweetly.

I knew exactly which room she meant, but I decided to play along. "How thoughtful of you."

Nicole smiled a little wider before heading upstairs with my backpack.

I shook my head, then set the console up beside the TV and started downloading the games. Once everything was running, I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and settled onto the couch to wait.

With nothing else to do, I pulled out my phone and opened the school group chat to catch up on the latest conversations.

I was still going through the messages when Nicole walked back into the living room, now wearing a black long-sleeved T-shirt, blue bum shorts, and white memory foam scuffs. The necklace I’d given her rested against the black fabric, and my eyes lingered on it for a moment before drifting down to her thighs. The shorts weren’t exactly doing much to keep them out of sight, and I was only human.

Nicole caught me staring, and her lips curved into a smile. She didn’t even pretend to be surprised. Instead, she walked over and sat right next to me, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

She glanced at the TV, then turned back to me with a smile that immediately made me suspicious.

"Let’s make some rules before we start."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Rules?"

"Mhm." She nodded, looking far too pleased with the idea. "The loser doesn’t not get to decide what the winner has to do, which means the winner doesn’t get to not do what the loser says."

I blinked. "Huh?"

Nicole smiled at me innocently. "It’s the rules, Nate."

I stared at her for a moment, trying to make sense of what she’d just said.

"So, the loser.... doesn’t get to decide what the—" I stopped. "Yeah, no. We’re not doing that. Whatever it is."

Nicole burst out laughing, and I could only shake my head at her. She was ridiculous sometimes. Genuinely, impressively ridiculous. Still, that little rule was a good reminder that Nicole’s brain could be a terrifying thing when she wanted it to be. Luckily for me, she seemed content to use her intelligence to come up with increasingly creative reasons for us to hang out, rather than plotting my downfall.

Just then, the download finished, and the game’s menu appeared on the TV.

"Ooh. Finally." Nicole got up, retrieved the controllers, and returned to the couch, handing one to me as she sat down beside me again.

"Randoms?" she asked.

I looked at her, a smirk tugging at my lips. "You’re sure?"

She nodded confidently. "Unless you’re scared to lose to a girl."

I laughed. "Bring it on."

I beat her 4–2 in the first game.

The second ended 3–1, the third 2–0, and the fourth was a closer 3–2.

Nicole was actually really good. Like, really good. She was making smart plays and keeping me on my toes, and I had to admit that if I hadn’t taken the games seriously, she probably would have won at least one of the first four.

We were halfway through our fifth game when I glanced at Nicole and noticed the pout on her face. She looked genuinely unhappy with how things were going, which was honestly pretty adorable. I almost felt bad for her.

I still wasn’t going to let her win just because she was cute.

A few minutes later, I scored another goal, making it 2–1. Nicole made a tiny, wounded sound beside me.

I glanced over at her. She was still staring at the screen, her lips pushed into a pout, and then she sniffed.

That got me to turn toward her properly. Her eyes were watery now, and her lower lip was sticking out so far that she genuinely looked like she was trying not to cry.

"Nicole."

She sniffed again, still refusing to look at me.

I looked between her and the screen, wondering how a game we’d started playing for fun had turned into this.

"Nicole, come on."

She sniffed again.

I set my controller down. "Are you seriously about to cry?"

That finally got her to turn toward me, and the look on her face made me regret asking. Her eyes were watery, her lips still pushed into that miserable little pout, and she looked at me like I’d personally betrayed her.

Oh, I’m in trouble.

The goal replay came on, and I took the opportunity to gently ease the controller out of her hands. She let me have it without a word, which somehow made me feel even worse.

I set both controllers on the coffee table before turning back to her. Then I reached for her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze, rubbing my thumbs over her knuckles.

"Okay, I’m sorry," I said. "I didn’t think you’d take it this badly."

Nicole sniffed and looked away.

"Come on, Nicole. Look at me."

She didn’t.

I rubbed her hands a little more, trying to get her attention, but she seemed determined to pretend I wasn’t sitting right beside her.

"Nicole," I tried again.

She sniffed.

I watched her for a moment, still holding her hands, before deciding there was one thing I hadn’t tried yet. Something I probably should have done a while ago.

"Nicky."

Nicole went still.

I watched her face, waiting for another sniff, but she didn’t make a sound. Instead, she turned her eyes toward me and gave me an almost-glare, like she was still trying very hard to be upset. I couldn’t help smiling a little.

"Nicky," I repeated, tilting my head. "Ni...cky."

The corners of her mouth twitched before she could stop them. She tried to hold on to her pout, but a small smile eventually broke through.

"You smiled," I said.

"Did not."

"That was definitely a smile."

She tried to keep glaring at me, but the corners of her mouth were still giving her away. "Not fair. You choose now to call me that?"

I laughed. "Call you what?"

She gave me a look that made it clear she wasn’t going to dignify that question with an answer.

"Do you like the name?" I asked, still smiling.

Nicole lifted her chin, stubbornly holding my gaze for a moment before opening her mouth. "Let me win."

I burst out laughing. Nicole stared at me flatly, apparently deciding that if I wasn’t going to give her what she wanted, there was no point pretending to be cute about it anymore.

"Fine. Sure," I said, still laughing a little.

I handed her controller back and picked up mine. The pout was gone now, replaced by a small smile as she settled back into the game.

I turned my attention back to the screen, only for Nicole to lean over and press a kiss to my cheek.

"Thank you for the nickname," she said softly.

I smiled, glancing at her before looking back at the game. "You’re welcome, Nicky."

Her smile widened, and we went back to playing.