Gaming for Love (16 page)

“I can’t wait,” I
tell him as I jump off the bed and start getting dressed.

* * *

Scott

We walk to the Art
Institute since it’s only about a half mile from the hotel. I hold
Yas’s hand and watch her as she takes in the city. We have to stop
a few times so that she can take pictures and I laugh at her a couple
of times. “
I
am a
tourist. I want to take pictures and that building is cool. If I am
embarrassing you, you can walk behind me or something,” she says in
frustration after I ask her why she is taking a picture of a random
building.

I pull her into my
arms. “You aren’t embarrassing me. I just want to make it to the
museum before it closes.” I laugh and she punches me in the
stomach. “Ow! You have a mean punch.”

“Don’t you forget
it, Griffin.” She tries for a stern look but is soon laughing too.
She takes my hand and starts down the street again.

When we get to the
museum, she asks someone to take our picture by one of the lion
statues before we go in. I have her text me the picture and I set it
as my phone background while we are walking in. Yas insists on buying
the tickets since she says that it was her idea but I get her to
promise that she will let me buy her whatever she wants in the gift
shop.

We spend a couple of
hours walking through the collections and I can tell how much she is
loving the art. I have never been a big fan of museums—that’s
Owen’s thing—but I am having a great time because I can tell
Yasmin is enjoying herself. After we’ve looked at everything that
she wanted to see, Yas excuses herself to use the restroom and I tell
her that I will meet her in the store.

I know her well enough
to anticipate what is going to happen in there and I want to be
prepared. I talk to the manager and he readily agrees to do what I
ask. When Yas joins me, she looks over everything and I see her eyes
brighten at many things. When I ask her what she wants, she tells me
that she would just like a Museum t-shirt and a Seurat poster. I’m
glad that I planned ahead as I nod at the manager and we head out to
catch a cab.

Navy Pier is really
crowded. I knew it would be because it’s summer, but I didn’t
want to say no to her. We’re hungry so we head for the food court
and get some mini pizzas. “This is really good,” Yas says around
a bite of her cheese pizza.

“Chicago pizza is the
best. It’s a known fact.”

“I think Chicago men
may be the best too, at least one of them is.” She covers her face.
“Oh my God, that was really cheesy, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was,” I
say with a laugh. “But it was really cute, too.” I pick up her
hand and kiss it, bringing a smile to her face.

After we eat, we walk
through the shops because neither of us wants to get on a ride just
yet. I insist on buying her some t-shirts and other souvenirs. I like
buying her things, especially because she doesn’t expect me to.
It’s not like she’s asking me to hit up Harry Winston like Amber
did all the time. Shit, why am I thinking about Amber? That bitch has
taken up too much of my life already. I won’t let her interfere
with Yas. I stop to clear my head.

“Are you okay,
Scott?” Yas is looking at me with concern in her eyes.

I give her a genuine
smile. “I am. How could I not be when the woman I love is holding
my hand?” And, it’s true. I feel better just thinking about
Yasmin’s love for me.

We head to the rides.
We go on the swings, the Ferris wheel—where I kiss her at the
top—and even the carousel. I stand by her horse as it goes up and
down, looking at her in awe as she laughs and smiles, having fun.

We are walking back
towards the entrance when she sees the sign for the dinner cruises.
“That would be so cool!” she exclaims, clearly excited.

“Do you want to do
that for dinner?” I ask. I’ve never been on a dinner cruise,
although I have been on a yacht on the lake before.

“Could we? I mean are
we dressed up enough?” She looks down at her t-shirt and shorts.
I’m dressed the same. “And do we really have time? I would still
like to see where you grew up.”

“Let’s do this.
I’ll get the tickets now.” I put my hand over her mouth when she
starts to protest. “I
want
to pay, Yas. I let you pay for the museum, the pizzas and the rides,
let me take care of dinner. Do I have to resort to a please or are
you going to honor our agreement and not make me beg?”

“No, you don’t have
to beg,” she grumbles.

“Thank you. Now as I
was saying, I’ll get the tickets now for the latest cruise that
they have. Then I’ll take you to my neighborhoods and we can go
back to the hotel to change. We should have plenty of time to make it
back for dinner.”

“What about Zane and
Windy City Tats? Will we still be able to do that?” She looks so
anxious that I can’t help but to lean forward and kiss her.

“You really want to
meet the man behind the tats don’t you?” When she nods
vigorously, I put her out of her misery. “Zane works late so he
will be there until at least 1.”

Her smile lights up her
face. “Okay, go buy me dinner so we can get out of here.” She
smacks me on the butt and then walks past me.”

“Hey,” I protest
weakly. “I thought that there was no spanking allowed in this
relationship!”

“That was a slap and
not a spank. Plus, I told you playful was acceptable.”

“I think that I am
more a fan of groping,” I say as I grab her ass. She turns and
kisses me. I want to push her against the wall and make out with her
right there but I don’t want to get us kicked out. So, I settle for
holding her hand while we walk over to the cruise desk.

* * *

Yasmin

We walk out of Navy
Pier, but instead of heading for the cab line, Scott turns toward the
self-parking area. I decide that he must know a shortcut or something
when he lets go of my hand to embrace an older man standing next to
an idling electric blue Mustang.

“John. It’s good to
see you. Thanks for bringing my car.”

“Of course, Scott.
It’s good to see you, too. I just wish it was under better
circumstances.” The man turns to me holding out his hand. “You
must be Yasmin. It is truly an honor to meet you. I have heard so
much about you and how you have been helping Alex
and
Scott.”

I shake his hand,
having no idea who he is. “It’s nice to meet you too. I love Alex
and
Scott, so it has
been my pleasure to help them.” Seeing my confusion, Scott steps
in.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I
should be the one doing the introductions. Yas, this is John. He has
worked for my family since we had enough money to hire people to work
for us. He’s like another member of the family to us, but he didn’t
want to leave Chicago since his daughters live here. He lives at my
parents’ place and checks in on my place, too. John, this is my
girlfriend, Yasmin. But you know that already.”

“How does John know
about me, Scott?” I quirk an eyebrow at him.

“I might have told
him about you,” he mumbles, biting down on his lip ring.

“When did you tell
him about me?”

“About a month ago.”

“A month ago? Before
your family found out?” I ask, not even trying to hide my surprise.

“Yeah, I couldn’t
tell my family yet but I had to tell someone and John has always been
the one I confided in. He knows all of my secrets.” Scott gives him
a sheepish grin. “He’s like a vault.”

“I am. You know that
your secrets are safe with me, Scott. All of them.” He winks at me.

I don’t know what to
say. It was so hard for me during that time. When I thought Scott
might be ashamed of me, even though he insisted that he wasn’t. But
he did tell someone, the person that he trusts more than anyone. My
eyes tear up and I turn away.

“Yas? What’s wrong?
Are you mad that I didn’t tell you about John?” Scott asks,
frantically. I shake my head no but can’t get any words out.

John seems to
understand, though. “I think Yasmin is overcome by the fact that
you told me about her during the time when you were telling her that
no one could know. Correct me if I am wrong my dear, but I think that
despite Scott telling you that he wasn’t ashamed of you, you
thought that he was because he wanted to hide his relationship with
you.”

“You’re not wrong.”
I choke it out on a sob.

“Fuck, no. You really
thought that? How could you think that?” Scott tries to pull my
chin up but he sounds angry so I turn away and wrap my arms around
myself.

“I think you now
realize the importance of Scott telling me. Especially knowing that I
keep all of his secrets. Knowing how close we are. That is why you
started crying. You know now that he was never ashamed of you. He
just couldn’t tell his family. But, he told me.”

“Yes,” I whisper.

“Why won’t you look
at me then, if you aren’t mad?” Scott demands.

“Because you are
acting like an ass and yelling at her instead of trying to
understand,” John tells Scott and I am so startled that I turn back
around and look up with wide eyes.

Understanding dawns on
Scott’s face. “I’m sorry, Yas. And I’m sorry again for making
you think I was ashamed of you. I could
never
be ashamed of you. You know that I love you. Don’t you?”

“Yes. Yes, I do and
you know that I love you, too. You don’t need to apologize, though.
If you haven’t figured it out already by now, I am pretty
emotional. Sometimes I just need to cry a little. It doesn’t always
mean that I’m sad.” I walk over to him, put my arms around his
neck and kiss him. He wraps his arms around me, too, and we stay
together, kissing and hugging for several minutes.

“I hate to break this
up, but I need to catch a cab back to the house,” John says,
laughing.

“A cab? Why aren’t
you riding back with us? We
are
going to see where you grew up, aren’t we?” I look up at Scott.

“We
are
.
But I was planning to start with the neighborhood that I lived in
before my family had a lot of money.” He sees my stern look and
adds, “But we can go backward so that John can catch a ride with
us.”

I turn to John who is
silently laughing at our exchange. “You can have the front seat so
that you two can catch up and I can take pictures without Scott
teasing me about it.” I turn back to Scott as he opens the car door
and pushes the seat up so I can climb in.

“Thanks, Yas,” he
whispers as I get in.

* * *

Scott

My parents’ house
isn’t too far away but I take the scenic route. Partly so that Yas
can play tourist and partly so that I can talk with John. We talk on
the phone at least once a week, but I am really happy to see him in
person.

“Are you ready for
tomorrow?” John doesn’t pull any punches.

“I think so. I had
some Skype sessions with the prosecutors. They said that I was as
ready as I can be. We have no idea what Amber’s lawyer is going to
bring up or ask me.”

“That woman is going
to try to use her lawyer to hurt you. You know that, don’t you?”
I nod and he continues, lowering his voice. “Are you sure that you
want Yasmin in the courtroom? When Amber sees her and realizes that
she really has no hold over you anymore, she is going to lose it.”

“She won’t know how
much Yas means to me.”

“Yes, she will.
Anyone can tell that you two are in love. The way you look at each
other is a dead giveaway. By the way, I like her Scott. I like her a
lot.”

“I’m glad you like
her. It means a lot to me to have your approval. You never gave it to
me with Amber and you were right. I don’t know what will happen in
court, but I do know that I can’t do it without having Yas with me.
Just having her next to me gives me strength.”

“I can take whatever
she wants to dish out,” Yasmin says from the backseat. I meet her
eyes in the rearview mirror briefly before looking back at the road.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I am right here in the backseat.
Oh, and I like you too, John. Thanks for your approval.”

I pull into the
driveway of my parents’ house and park near the front door,
ignoring the six car garage. This house is more traditional looking
than the Vegas house, but they are about the same size. John gets out
and then helps Yas out. “Your house is beautiful,” she says.

“It’s not my house.
It’s my parents’ house.”

She rolls her eyes.
“Okay, your parents’ house is beautiful.”

John chuckles as he
walks to the front door. “I’ll unlock the door for you and then
head up to my apartment. Just set the alarm when you go. It really
has been great to meet you, Yasmin. Scott needs someone to keep him
in his place.” She reaches out and hugs him tightly and my heart
feels like it will burst. After he unlocks the door and shuts off the
alarm, John turns to me and we hug each other, too. “That girl is a
keeper, Scott. Don’t fuck this up,” he whispers in my ear.

“I’ll do my best. I
want
to keep her,”
I whisper back. He walks toward the garages and his apartment above
them with a wave.

Scott

“Come on in,” I
tell Yas, stepping through the door. “Do you want the grand tour or
do you want to just take a quick look around before we go to my old
neighborhood?”

“Umm…” She looks
everywhere except for at me.

“Umm? I don’t think
that was one of the choices I gave you.” I try to catch her eye.

“I can’t ask for
what I want to see.” I am confused for a few seconds and then it
hits me.

“You want to see my
room?” She finally looks at me and nods. “Well, I always did want
to get a hot girl in my room when I lived here. It never worked out
for me back then, but I guess today is my lucky day.” I grab her
hand and lead her to the stairs.