Long Away (Queen Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Scrabble war is intense.

We have our board set up on the wooden coffee table in front of the couch. We are situated on the floor, facing each other. A jokingly competitive glare is displayed in both of our pairs of eyes, which are narrowed and gleaming.

I go through my tiles after Brian takes his turn.

"Hey, can I use slang from the future?" I ask, possibilities for words filling my brain.

"That's not fair," he complains. "How do I know you're not tricking me to think it's slang from the future?"

"Just trust me, okay?"

At that, I slide a few tiles onto the board to spell out "selfie."

"What the hell does that mean?" he nearly shouts at me.

I laugh. "I can't tell you exactly what it means, but I can tell you that you kind of obsess over selfies when you get older."

"Ugh, okay."

I half-smile, feeling the wood tiles against my fingertips when I finish placing them.

"That got me more points than if I just put 'self.' See, I'm smart."

"I know you are. You're very smart."

His expression softens a little. He relaxes his eyes and cheekbones. He offers me a faint little smile, his cheeks flushing with a hint of pink.

"You're smart too," I say.

I push my thick brown hair out of my eyes and allow the corners of my lips to rise to give him an honest grin.

Brian is such a sweet guy. And not only that, but he's also smart and talented. I enjoy being in his company. He makes me feel like I have someone who understands me, and everything about me. I know it's only been a while since we met, but I think we really connect.

I'm snapped back into reality when he starts to make really good moves with words I haven't even imagined using.

"Damn," I say, "you're beating me!" I'm stumped stumped when I get to my turn.

"I can let you win if you'd like. I just really like this game," he tells me.

"Nope! I'm not a sore loser, don't worry about it."

By the end of the game, it's already around 5:00 and we took a break a couple hours ago to eat. Our eyes are now filled with determination. We've gotten so competitive. One last move could make or break me.

In a nutshell, it breaks me.

"You win," I grunt. "But, regardless, good game."

"Indeed."

My hand grasps his and we shake. His hands are soft and his palms are clammy. Mine are too. Probably because the game was so intense.

Our attention is taken to the sound of quick feet jogging into the room.

"Jane! Jane!" It's Roxanne's voice.

"What?" I ask, releasing my hand from Brian's.

"I got a call from my manager. You got the job!"

Adrenaline rushes through my veins. My heart pounds loudly in my chest. "I DID?!" I squeal.

We hug each other and jump around in circles. I feel slender arms wrap around us and jump along with us. It's Brian, teasingly mocking us.

"Brian, stop it," whines Rox.

He chuckles before he hugs me. "Congratulations, Jane," he whispers.

His hug is warm and gentle. I don't want it to end. But I won't tell him that. We pull away, his hands sliding across me as we do so.

Roxanne hurries away to call the boys down. Brian and I shyly stare at each other for a couple seconds, then he says, "I'm sorry our first date wasn't romantic. I hope our next one will be."

"It wasn't your fault anyway," I assure him. "We didn't know it was supposed to rain."

"I have big plans for our next date, trust me."

"That's great. When will this next date be?"

He looks at the ground and his dark curls shield his eyes. "I don't know. When do you want it to be?"

"This weekend, maybe?" I suggest unsurely.

"How does Saturday work for you?"

"Just fine."

Freddie, John, and Roger parade downstairs after their long rest. The stairs creak under their loud feet.

"Congratulations on your new job at the Kensington Market!" says Freddie. John and Roger give me a quick hug as a congratulations.

"You'll be working alongside Roxanne now," Roger reminds me.

"How about a drink or two to celebrate, darling?" He shifts over to the refrigerator and pulls out a brand new bottle of expensive champagne.

When we all get our glasses filled with the yellow bubbly substance, we raise them and drink.

Maybe this rainy day wasn't so bad after all.