39 Video Games

After dropping Lily off at the pool, Justin debated on whether or not to go back to rescue Emily from his family. The practice was two hours long and the pool was twenty minutes from Aunt Rhonda's house so it would be more convenient to sit and wait for it to be over than drive back and forth but…

He shot her a quick text. 'I might be here a while. Are you holding up okay or do you need to me to come back for a bit?'

She responded immediately. 'We're having the time of our lives here and don't need you!'

Justin was taken aback. That didn't sound like Emily. That sounded like…Sam. So she stole Emily's phone, huh? 'Sam, seriously, is she okay?'

'Yeah, we've been gossiping about you the whole time you've been gone. She's in the bathroom now' the phone thief replied.

'What have you been telling her?!' Justin panicked. Sam knew way too much about his situation with Emily and could easily ruin everything he had worked for.

'Relax! I've been helping you out!' Another message followed before Justin could respond. 'She's coming back, I have to delete these messages byeee'

He dragged a hand down his face in exasperation. What did that girl think she was doing? If she said the wrong thing he could be either exposed or too embarrassed to ever show his face again. Possibly both at the same time.

This entire weekend was a minefield of potential mortification. He never should have invited her but how could he bear to leave her alone on a holiday when she was already upset?

Emily replied to his original message so Sam must have set that one to unread after deleting the others. 'Don't worry about it, I'm hanging out with Sam. She said when you get back that we're all going to play video games so I'll see you then'

Video games? Sam didn't like video games except for group games. Oh no. She wouldn't. She wasn't going to embarrass him by having them all play that horrible dance game, was she? That would make Emily's impression of him even worse!

'Did she happen to say what game?'

'Dance Party Fusion or Mushroom Mash'

Mushroom Mash wasn't nearly as bad as Dance Party Fusion. At least he didn't have to move his feet, just his arms. The console remote even had a wrist strap for klutzes like him so it didn't go flying as people waved their arms around.

'If you have any mercy in your heart at all, please pick Mushroom Mash'

'But Sam says Dance Party Fusion is more fun'

Justin decided to be dramatic. Maybe that would divert the topic; it had worked before on Blogr.

'I'd rather not die today'

'Death by Dance Party Fusion…that's a pretty sad way to go'

'Exactly. If I must die in a ridiculous way I'd rather it be anything else'

He successfully distracted her because she started coming up with other ridiculous deaths. 'Choking on a lollipop? Falling off a chair? A radioactive bug bite? Ooh, what about getting trapped in a freezer in the grocery store?'

'How would you even get into the freezer in the first place?'

The conversation went on through the remainder of the swim practice. When Justin and Lily arrived home Sam shot him an approving wink and thumbs up behind Emily's back. She had seen how animated Emily had been texting him while he was gone.

"We're  not playing Dance Party Fusion," he whispered furiously as Sam started setting up the game console. "I have a high enough chance of injury tomorrow during the Turkey Games. Do you want me to look like a complete idiot?"

Sam's eyes lit up deviously. "I complete forgot about the Turkey Games."

It was a family tradition they had done each Thanksgiving for as long as they could remember. Both their moms would come up with really cheesy games for the cousins that they would play after Thanksgiving dinner and bought boxes of candy to offer as prizes for the winners. Justin almost never won so his mom would save him a box of candy as a consolation prize at the very end after his cousins had won about two apiece.

"Yeah, so can you please go easy for now?" he pleaded. "We're trying to get her to like me, remember?"

"Don't worry, I told a lot of funny stories about you while you were gone. It'll help her realize you're not a block of wood."

He buried his face in his hands. His worst fear came true.

"I hate you."

Sam batted her eyelashes innocently. "I thought you looooooved me!"

"Remind me to kill you tomorrow if I haven't already died of embarrassment."

"What are you guys talking about?" Emily asked curiously.

"Nothing!" they responded together before Justin cleared his throat. "Let's just play the game."

Mushroom Mash was easy enough but Justin's minigame skills were far inferior to Lily's. She practically wiped the floor with all of them, winning the overall game by a landslide. At least Justin hadn't come in dead last. That honor had gone to Emily.

"I'm awful at video games," she moaned.

"You can't be worse than Justin is at Dance Party Fusion," Lily chimed in helpfully.

"Please don't bring that up," he said with a hand over his eyes in shame. He had already steered Sam off that subject so why was it getting brought up again?!

"I'm actually pretty good at dance games," Emily said. "Could we give it a try?"

Cursing his cousin's descendants, Justin flatly refused to play. "You guys can but I'm going to watch from safely over here."

"Spoilsport," Lily said and stuck out her tongue.

He didn't care if Lily wasn't happy with him. He was  not going to play. The last time they forced him, he broke a lamp that his parents made him pay for. Not that it really cost him anything other than his pride but it was the principle of the thing. Never again.

Kaitlyn, who had been playing dolls in her room, ventured out and took Justin's spot so the others stopped complaining about how lame he was for not playing. He was happier watching anyway.

It was fun seeing the increasing desperation on Sam's face as Emily's score surpassed hers right before her eyes. Emily didn't even notice she was winning. Her face was screwed up in concentration the whole time so an expression of delighted surprise appeared after the song ended and the scores were revealed.

Sam immediately challenged her to a rematch and lost again. And again. And again. Six songs later Sam was fuming and Emily was completely nonplussed.

"How are you doing so well?!"

Emily wiped the sweat off her forehead and smiled. "My mom was a dancer. She bought a different version of this for us years ago and I've played it so many times with my sister that I've memorized all of those songs' moves. These ones are a little different but the concept is the same."

"Not fair," his cousin grumbled, causing Justin to shoot her a triumphant grin.

That was what she deserved for messing with him earlier. He leaned back on the couch with his hands behind his head, the picture of ease. It was about time someone showed Sam up at something and it was especially satisfying that it was the girl he loved.