Read Online The Game Has Changed by D. L. Wu - Free Book Online Page B

slipped his
hand quickly out of his trousers.
    He straightened, his breathing labored and
nervous sweat stinging his eyes. She stood there looking at him,
curiosity and wonder written across her face. Her wet appearance
disturbed him all the more. They stared at each other for a long
moment before he disappeared into the bedroom without a backward
glance.
     
    ***
     
    Jaime stood quietly shivering in the bathroom.
Her clothes were in the bedroom, but she felt timid now, almost
embarrassed about going to fetch them. She was well aware of what
he had been doing. Though she hadn't really seen anything, there
was only one reason he would have had his hand shoved down his
trousers. It had been mentioned in sex education class and she
vividly remembered the snickering it had elicited from her
classmates. At the time, she’d had no clue. Now, she
knew.
    There was no way she could stand there in the
bathroom with only a towel on for very long. She needed to get her
clothes; the sooner, the better. After several minutes passed, she
took a deep breath, almost as if she was going to take a dunk
underwater, and walked into the bedroom.
    To her surprise, Evan wasn't there. She
approached the front window and stared out of it to find that he
was having a smoke. Unlike the night before, he was nervously
pacing and puffing on the cigarette continuously.
    Jaime knew he was embarrassed by what she had
seen, but she was amazed that she didn't want him to be. After
dressing again, she exited their motel room.
    Evan’s heart leapt as he saw her standing in
front of the door. He sighed and dropped his cigarette, stepping on
it to put it out. “I'm sorry,” he said ever so softly.
    Jaime shrugged shyly and smiled. “It's quite
alright,” she replied, then boldly took the reins of their day’s
agenda. “Shall we go have breakfast?”
    He managed a relieved smile. “Yeah, but how
‘bout something better than McDonald's?” he suggested, grasping her
upper arm to lead her back into the room.
    “But I like McDonald's!” She pouted playfully
and then giggled as she followed him inside.
    The drive that morning was a tad more
comfortable for the both of them. Something special had happened
between them, an understanding that neither could really explain.
It was just there. Though they were still really strangers, it was
as if they were now, in some way, familiar strangers.
     

CHAPTER 10

     
    Somewhere just across the Indiana border, they
stopped at a mini-mart late that afternoon. Evan needed to fill the
car with gas and Jaime wanted to make use of the
restroom.
    Before either of them got out of the car, Evan
turned toward her and said very softly, “Don't take too long, okay,
Luv?” It was his way of saying, “I'll trust you to go alone this
time,” without saying it in so many words. It was the first time he
was letting her out of his sight.
    Jaime was amazed, never-the-less. He finally
trusted her. She felt proud and was glad, too, that he put it the
way he had. His words weren’t patronizing to her, in the least. It
was respectful to her. She smiled sweetly at him and nodded her
thanks. She then climbed out of the car.
    Upon entering the market, the first thing Jaime
noticed was four teenage boys, probably close to her age, tucked
into a corner of the store and being rowdy and noisy like teenage
boys always were when they got together. Ominously, they clammed up
upon noting her arrival. This unnerved her immediately as they were
not even trying to hide the fact that all four of them were gawking
at her. It literally sent chills down her spine.
    She quickly approached the counter where she
found an older woman standing behind it, writing on a pad of paper.
“Ex – excuse me,” Jaime stuttered, causing her to look up. “Can you
tell me where the restroom is, please?” She purposefully whispered
the last part of her request, hoping that the boys had not
heard.
    Her discretion went unnoticed by the lady. The
gum-chewing woman's