Page 51 of Running Play (Gods of Campus #1)
Dani walks gingerly into the kitchen. She’s made some effort—her hair is brushed, though still a bit messy, and her eyes are bloodshot.
Even so, she still manages to look pretty.
She settles beside Georgina, who rubs her arm in slow, comforting strokes.
Georgina seems right at home here, and from the way Seth hovers protectively nearby, I get the feeling she’s a regular presence.
Seth enters, placing a plated pile of sausages on the kitchen table and dropping down beside Georgina.
Randy passes Dani two pills and a glass of juice. “Hey, spewy. Feel better?”
“I don’t have the energy to quarrel with you right now, Randy. So, I’m just going to say—yes. Yes, I feel better after fertilizing your front garden.”
More footsteps come from upstairs as a pretty blonde enters the kitchen. Randy stands and greets her with a kiss on the cheek. “Codie, this is Shelby, Shelby, Codie. I think you know everyone else.”
“Hey,” she greets me .
Seth grabs Georgina from around the waist and slides her onto his lap as Codie takes her seat next to Randy. It’s a full house.
“Hey,” I reply back. “There is Advil there if you need some?”
“Oh, thank you, but I’m okay. I didn’t drink much since I have practice today.”
“What do you do?” Letti asks.
“Figure skating.”
“Oh, wow, that looks crazy coordinated. I can’t even dance on solid ground, let alone on ice with skates,” I add.
“You look familiar,” Letti adds.
“You date a hockey player, don’t you?”
“Travis Chapman.”
“Yeah, I’m an ice crew girl for the games. I clear the ice in between periods.” She shrugs. “It helps pay the bills, and I get to be on the ice, so I’m happy.”
Letti clicks her fingers. “Yup, that’s where I know you from.”
Christian enters with two platefuls of bacon. I add the roasted tomatoes, eggs, hash browns, and toast to the table and take a seat on Christian’s lap.
Walsh enters as soon as the plates hit the table, grabbing a stool from the island and sliding it over. “Thanks for the breakfast.”
Randy starts stabbing his fork into the bacon. “We need a bigger dining table. Six chairs just aren’t cutting it lately.”
“Have to keep an eye out on Marketplace,” Walsh adds .
We fall into silence as we all start to eat, even Letti and Dani manage to have a few bites of toast.
“So,” Christian says from behind me. “Who is going to tell me about last night?”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Dani says, rubbing her temples and staring down at her plate, the one piece of bacon untouched as she pokes it with her fork.
“The girls were fine,” Randy assures Christian.
“Hey, we won!” Letti tries to smile, then it falls as I place some bacon in front of her. “But at what cost?”
“The cost of my liver,” Dani states.
“What did you win?” Christian asks.
His question is answered by everyone at the table. “Beer pong,” we say in unison.
“Undefeated champions!” Letti slowly lets out a half-hearted fist pump in the air. “Yaaaay,” she croaks.
“Were you guys watching them at all?” Christian asks the boys.
“Yeah, man, we were watching them! You should have seen them; they owned that table and destroyed everyone!” Randy boasts.
“Hey, we don’t need babysitting,” Dani breathes out, insulted by that comment as her face starts to drop. “Nope, nope,” she says, her hand covering her mouth. “Not again,” she jumps to her feet and rushes outside.
“I’ll go this time,” Georgina says, standing and walking out of the room .
“This time?” Christian asks.
“She was sick just before,” I say back.
Christian looks to the guys. “How many games did they play?”
“Not sure,” Seth replies. “I was with Georgina, but I was keeping an eye on them for the most part.”
Randy shoves some toast in his mouth, a proud grin on his face. “Man, you should have seen them, they were on a roll. They won so many games; they were at the table for hours.”
“Great, just great!” Christian says. “Why didn’t you stop them?”
“Nah, man, they were on fire—winning game after game. They even destroyed Mitch and Jason…it was hilarious; everyone was cheering them on.”
The food gets devoured before my eyes, and the banter continues around the table. When Dani and Georgina return, she looks paler than before.
“I’m going to go back to the living room to die,” Letti says as she slides her plate away from her.
“I’m going to join you, once I brush my teeth…again,” Dani says, turning in the direction of the stairs.
“Well, I think it’s a Netflix and chill day,” Randy says, chucking the last of the bacon into his mouth. He stands and clears the plates from the table. I finish off the last of my plate as Christian drinks his coffee.
Randy and Codie disappear into the living room, and we hear Letti yelling at him as he steps all over the air mattress, making her bounce around .
“Want to stay and watch a movie?” Seth asks Georgina.
Georgina looks up to Seth and you can see how taken she is in him. “Sure,” she smiles back.
We clean up the last of breakfast and follow everyone into the living room, and that’s where we all stay for the rest of the day. Watching movies, reminiscing, relaxing, sobering up, and laughing.