“Always.” She smiled.
She laid on the sofa, her body relaxed. Courtney was always relaxed, though, even if she wasn’t on anything. It was her nature to be chill.
“You still looking for a job, fool?” she asked.
“Not really,” I laughed, “but both Sterling and my mom are on my ass, so I don’t think I’ve got a choice.”
“You’re a scalawag.”
I laughed. “You’re a nerd.”
“I know this already, you rapscallion.”
I laughed harder. “Shut up.”
Her chest shook with silent laughter in answer.
“I’m gonna find my man,” she said, standing up, “see if I can get him to dance with his girl.”
We bumped fists again.
“Later.”
I slid into her old place and laid my head back, trying to hear Salinger’s conversation.
“I started last Monday,” Salinger told the group.
“Where are you working?” my friend Craig asked.
“Bottle Co. Market?”
Bottle County Market was the only grocery store in our very tiny town.
Craig laughed. “Yeah, everyone’s worked there.” Not me, I thought. “It’s like a rite of passage or something,” he continued.
“Well, it’s the only place hiring, so,” Salinger said, letting it hang.
“Not much around here,” Lyric said. “Not that you have to worry,” she added, then laughed a little.
“I don’t know,” Salinger answered her.
The group got quiet, waiting for more of the story.
Lyric put Craig and, to be honest, myself out of our misery when she said, “Salinger’s in chess tournaments. The pots can be pretty big. It’s how he pays for school and stuff.”
I sat up a little.
“Dude, seriously?” Craig asked. “That’s fresh as shit.”
I took the liberty of glancing back at Lyric. She looked pleased with herself, like it was her accomplishment or something, and I snorted.
All four of them looked my direction. “What?” I asked.
“You’ve got something to say?” Noah asked.
I shook my head. “No, nothing to say.”
Salinger turned toward me, making my heart race. “No, really. What was that about?”
I sighed. “Chess competition? Come on, man,” I needled.
“Chess is an intelligent game,” Salinger said, defending himself.
“I know that.”
“Whatever,” he said, rolling his eyes, and their group turned back to themselves.
“I could mop the floor with you. No offense,” I told him.
It was Salinger’s turn to disregard me, and that pissed me off.
“Let’s go,” I said.
He laughed. “What? Here? I’m not doing that.”
“You scared?” I asked like a five-year-old. I was starting to embarrass myself, but I couldn’t stop.
“He’s on some national-level shit, dude. You don’t scare him,” Lyric spit out.
I stood, my heart racing. “Then let’s go.” I looked around me, found Ashleigh. “Ash! You gotta chessboard around here?”
She laughed and everyone around me looked at me like I’d grown five heads. My neck felt hot. Commit.
“My dad’s got an old set in his office closet, I think. Why? Does my party suck that bad?” she asked, and everyone around us laughed, including me.
“Bring it to me,” I told her.
She left down her hall to her dad’s office and returned with a wooden folding chess set. “Have at it, playa.”
“Shut up,” I laughed.
I laid out the set on her coffee table and started placing the pieces. When I was done, I sat back on the sofa and stared up at them. Lyric looked at Salinger, who shrugged his shoulders. He brought up a small stool on the other side of the coffee table and sat down.
“Oooh!” Craig bellowed. “Give them some room! It’s about to go down in this motherfucka!” Everyone laughed and I rolled my eyes. “Get Lily one of your dad’s cigars and a glass of whiskey, Ash!”
“Sit down, Craig!” I yelled, and he playfully nudged my shoulder.
“I’m black,” I told Salinger.
“To match your charcoal heart,” Court chimed in.
I pointed at her and she laughed.
Salinger moved a pawn and I followed suit. He moved a second pawn and, again, I followed up swiftly. Knight, knight. Queen, pawn. Queen, bishop. Knight, knight. We were switching moves quickly, and as the game progressed, Salinger’s cocky smile started to dissipate.
What he didn’t know, what many didn’t know, actually, was I was only good at one thing in this world and for some reason, it was chess. Translucent lines seemed to appear on the board for me, moves came naturally, tactics seemed to emerge out of nowhere. I didn’t know how or why, but I enjoyed the game, so I never questioned it. I’d never played a person, though, as strange as that seemed. I played online all the time and got better and better until the computer games started to prove a non-challenge. It was fun, but not as thrilling as the adrenaline I felt knowing this guy I didn’t know was giving me his attention and I was going to beat him. My blood pumped harder with every single move.
To be fair, he was incredible.
On the forty-eighth move, though, Salinger made a fatal mistake, and I knew I’d have him in exactly twelve additional moves, if my calculations had been correct from play seven.
Eleven. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. He was playing exactly as I’d anticipated. Six. Five. Four. His face fell slack when he realized what he’d done. His king, my knight. My king, his pawn. His knight, my king. My king, his knight.
It was done.
He fell his queen and my senses became aware of the room again, having fallen into my own thoughts during the game. Much to my own shock, the room had turned quiet. Salinger’s queen rocked back and forth on the board, the only sound in the room. His hand came into view and I looked up, straight into his face. Everyone’s faces spelled disbelief.
“Holy shit,” Courtney whispered. “Lily’s like a savant or some shit.”
“Maybe you’re not that dumb after all,” Ansen threw out.
I laughed, could feel it vibrate in my chest.
Everyone went back to the party and left me alone with Salinger and my racing heart.
“You’re good,” he said, his eyes narrowed.
I swallowed. “I like the game.”
He shook his head. “No, Lily, you are, like, incredible.”
“Thanks.” I swallowed.
Lyric moved closer, sitting on the sofa’s arm. Her stare burned into my skin.
“Ever thought of competing?” Salinger asked.
“No,” I said, leaning back, “that’s a little too stale for me.”
“I guess,” he said and placed his hands on his knees. His eyes narrowed even further. “How’d you learn the game?”
My fingers found strands of my light lilac hair near my waist and twirled it absently around my index finger. “Played online.”
“Bullshit,” he whispered.
I laughed again. “Why is that bull?”
“You’re lying. No one can play like that unless they’ve been trained by a master.”
I shook my head slowly. He studied me. “Apparently not,” I whispered.
Lyric stood up. “Come on, Salinger.”
His eyes locked with mine, but he stood anyway. He held his hand out toward me again, and I slid my palm over his. That tingling, drugging sensation flooded my fingers and arm. It sent a thrill down my spine. We stood, our hands resting on top of one another’s. We stared down at them.
Lyric cleared her throat and we both startled. He pulled his hand away, his cheeks red.
I watched as he meandered through the crowd behind Lyric. Just as he reached the door, he turned, and we held eyes for countless seconds until Lyric yanked on the sleeve of his T-shirt. Then he was gone.
CHAPTER TWO