AllFreeNovel Stories worth discovering

Out of Your League

Page 64

by Portia MacIntosh

‘Are video games uncool?’ I ask with a chuckle. ‘Because I played a lot of video games when I was a kid.’

‘Thank you,’ Eddy says, clapping his hands. ‘Lauren has never been a good judge of what is cool.’

‘Although, you did tell me that she used to love dancing games,’ I point out.

Her eyes instantly brighten.

‘Oh, I did love them. There was one in the arcade near us – the money I spent on that thing,’ she recalls.

‘Because you weren’t very good,’ Eddy teases. ‘So you had to keep trying.’

‘I was better than you,’ she insists. ‘You loved it too. The great Eddy Hood – dancing to eighties pop.’

‘Did he tell you he had a go on one yesterday?’ I ask through a smile.

‘What?’ Lauren squeaks. ‘No! Did you?’

Eddy nods.

‘We went to an arcade,’ I tell her. ‘And, do you know what? He’s still good at it.’

‘First time in twenty years,’ he says proudly.

‘I’m not having that,’ Lauren says. ‘He must have been secretly practising all these years.’

‘That’s what I think,’ I agree.

‘Anyway, enough about that. What’s for dessert?’ Eddy asks his mum, changing the subject.

‘You’re making it,’ she says.

He frowns. ‘Am I?’

‘We want your cookies,’ Lauren replies.

‘You own a bakery full of cakes,’ he reminds them.

‘We want your cookies,’ Lauren repeats. ‘Mum’s been talking about them since you said Brooke was coming. Come on, the way Dad taught you to make them.’

‘The kitchen is free, we’re closing the shop soon,’ Rachel adds.

I turn towards Eddy.

‘You bake?’ I blurt.

‘A bit,’ he says.

‘A bit?’ His mum scoffs. ‘His dad taught him everything he knew. He’s a master baker.’

I turn to him, the corners of my mouth dragging into a smile I can’t seem to fight off.

‘Don’t,’ he warns me with a laugh. ‘Okay, fine, I’ll bake, but only if Brooke helps me.’

‘I’d love to,’ I reply.

We head to the kitchen, just the two of us, and I’m struggling to pick my jaw up from the floor.

‘I can’t believe you bake,’ I tell him.