The Perfect Escape (The Perfect Escape #1) - Suzanne Park Page 0,17

100 percent of my brain capacity.

Fifteen customer service reps from Amazon, there for a management team-building exercise, witnessed me struggling with my lines and immediately jumped in to bombard me with ideas. So helpful, these guys.

“How about you take it from the top, Nate? Start over and get the flow going again.”

“Do you have a handbook or instructions? Maybe you can reference that?”

“Is there a problem? If so, maybe we report the problem to management?”

As the Amazonians brainstormed solutions to solve my brain fart on my behalf, a loud, unsubtle “PSSSST!” came from inside the escape room. I opened the door and popped my head inside.

“Um, yeah?”

Kate whispered from the closet, “Your line is ‘Can I get a show of hands of anyone who has been to an escape room before?’”

“You…heard that?” Please just kill me now.

“Yeah, my hearing’s pretty good.”

Shit. “How did you know my lines? You remembered them from last week?”

She giggled. “I want to be an actress. To do that, you memorize a lot. It’s the only thing I’m good at. Now go back to your group before they ruin all the fun.”

Frustrated, I pressed my forehead on the door frame. This was the most embarrassing situation ever. The only positive thing about it was that I got to chat with Kate again. “Thanks!” I shut the door and jogged back to the group to try the game’s preamble one more time. What was wrong with me? I was completely out of my zone, like someone let go of a full balloon before tying the neck, sending it sputtering and spitting saliva in all directions.

No more mistakes this time. I couldn’t let Kate overhear me screw up twice, and then help me with my lines, even if that would mean visiting her again. I’d rather shrivel up and die in beta dude hell for all eternity than let that happen.

I took a deep breath and took it from the top.

* * *

The rest of the night passed pretty seamlessly. I still couldn’t tell if Kate was mad at me or even remotely interested. So the next night, when my phone buzzed, I did a double take.

Holy. Shit.

Hey. It’s Kate. This is my number

YES. She texted me. She actually did it.

“Nate, you fucking cocksucker, we just lost because of you!” Jaxon screamed so loudly my ears rang. A midbattle text distraction wasn’t the best game strategy. Sorry, team.

“Guys, I gotta go. Something came up.” I tore off my headset and stared at my phone. Multitasking wasn’t my forte. And girls trumped this multiplayer shooter. Every time. Especially zombie-loving, funny, cute ones.

My heartbeat raced as I replied to Kate. Hey. Thanks What’s your last name? So I can put it in my contacts. You never told me

Anderson. Immediate response. Yes! Can you hop on a quick video call? I have a question.

Was there any downside to this? Couldn’t think of anything. The best-case scenario was her asking me out on a seafood pasta plus dessert plus movie date. No, actually, best-case scenario was her wanting to come over, no fancy date stuff.

Fingers crossed.

Sure, I’m around

Only a few seconds to decide the best backdrop for our video call. Preteen Nate had plastered the bedroom walls with Marvel and Star Wars paraphernalia, shark drawings, and glow-in-the-dark space decals, decor that I hadn’t thought twice about until now. The nautical-themed sheets and comforter on my too-small twin bed were impossible to remove in time. I’d have to avoid them in my video call cinematography.

My parents’ room wasn’t an option, with their long, Korean-countryside vertical wall hangings, multicolored decorative tassels hanging from their bedposts, and a twenty-four-by-thirty-six-inch framed oil painting of Jesus’s crucifixion above the headboard. My sister was downstairs watching PAW Patrol and banging on the piano, so the living room was out. The bathroom? Um, no. No more associations between me and toilets.

I had no choice but to position myself on my bed in front of my “Rebel Scum!” poster, a birthday gift from