actually would like to have in the family. Sure, there was a bit of a hard shell to the girl, but beneath that cool veneer she sensed an intelligence and humor that would be refreshing in a friend.
If only Kris could rewind time to make sure that somehow Mike met her first.
And speaking of Mike, there was no way she was going to let him get away with playing video games all night. Kris dug into her pocket, extracted her phone, and sent him a very pointed text.
Chapter 13
“You, me, and Call of Duty,” Luke said as he took the steps to the basement three at a time. “You have no idea the withdrawals I’ve been experiencing, man.”
Mike looked at his watch, knowing he needed to be up at 5:00 a.m. for his scheduled wedding shoot. It was a morning wedding, starting with a 5:30 hair appointment for the bride and bridesmaids. Women were insane. There was no other explanation for getting up that early on your own wedding day.
But Mike wasn’t paid to judge. He was paid to document the occasion. If he crashed right then he would get six hours of sleep. But Mike was a realist. No way he was getting out of Call of Duty on Luke’s first night back. He would just have to buck up and face sleep deprivation like a man.
Plus, Luke was a gabber when he played. Whatever mental filter he may have had when focused in on a conversation was completely obliterated when he was in video game fantasy land.
It was time to get some details on Luke’s alleged fiancée.
“You kept the game saved, right?” Luke called up the stairs.
“Exactly as you left it,” Mike said, going down himself.
“Suh-weet!” Luke said, and as soon as Mike turned into the room, Luke tossed him a controller while he waited for the Xbox to fire up. “This game is crack, man. I had dreams about it while I was gone. Vivid, violent dreams.”
“Was this before or after you watched elephants paint self portraits of themselves picking flowers?”
Luke laughed, his eyes already fixated on the flatscreen TV. “Crazy, right? Rori took me there, since art is totally her thing. Couldn’t believe it when I saw those elephants painting with their trunks. Makes you wonder if other animals could paint too, you know?”
“Probably,” Mike said as he debated asking why Luke hadn’t posted any videos of him and Rori together in Thailand. He’d posted other ones, but why had he kept Rori under wraps?
When the Xbox logo flashed on the screens, Luke plopped himself down on the couch. “Thailand is, like, way different. Freakin’ awesome if you’re into architecture and nature and stuff. I got a ninety-minute massage for seven bucks and walked away feeling like Gumbi. You should totally come with me next time, Mike. At the internet cafes they have these skin-eating fish in aquariums at your feet that chomp off all your dead skin and leave your feet baby soft. It’s freakin’ weird, but cool. You gotta try it.”
“Sounds interesting,” Mike said, even though he knew Luke was only listening with one ear now. All that mattered now was the menu for Call of Duty on the screen.
“Yessss!” Luke said, retrieving their saved game. “Game on!”
Joining Luke on the couch, Mike settled in for at least an hour of play. If it just so happened that he walked away with the details on one Rori Townsend, then all the better. He waited until they were in the heat of battle before bringing her up, though.
“So marriage, huh?” Mike asked. “Was there a heat wave over there? Your brain get fried?”
Luke laughed. “Nah, man. She’s totally unbelievable. I couldn’t just let her walk away, you know?”
“But marriage?” Mike repeated. “You’ve known the girl two weeks. What are you thinking?”
Luke actually looked away from the screen for a moment to shoot Mike a look of disbelief. “Are you serious? Did you miss her utter hotness, or do I need to ask her to walk past you again?”
“No, I get that she’s hot,” Mike said, shielding himself from incoming fire on the screen. “But that’s no reason to drop to one knee, if you know what I’m saying.”
“Totally,” Luke agreed, firing away onscreen. “But she’s like perfect on top of it. She speaks six languages fluently and the basics of like six more. Did you know English isn’t even her first language?”
Okay. Impressive, but still not a reason to get married.