But the hopeful look on his face as he waited for my answer made me reconsider. I gave him a small nod, and he seemed to release a long breath.
That made two of us.
Yegor went back to the chess board and then brought it to my bed. I sat cross-legged, watching as he brought the armchair closer too.
“You know how to play?”
I nodded again.
For a moment, the present drifted away as I thought of my parents and sister.
We used to be a happy family. My life was close to perfection while I pursued my passion in ballet while coming home to a loving family.
I thought of the time when I used to play chess with my father. I was a good player. Although he was better than me, he’d always let me win the first round.
My mother and sister would sit beside us and cheer us on. My mother on his side and Malory on my side. There was laughter and teasing.
I thought of our movie nights, cuddling, and pillow forts. Our Sunday dinners, sitting as a family, holding hands and saying grace—thanking God for giving us what we had.
They were good and happy times.
Until everything was ripped away from me. The day I was the happiest was the same day I felt the greatest despair and deepest agony.
Fate really had a strange way of playing us.
My chest ached. My sick feeling made my stomach tighten, and I blinked away the tears. My body felt heavy as I sniffled back and tried so hard to push the past away. My hands trembled, and I squeezed my fists over my lap.
A storm of emotions went through me, and I clenched my eyes shut, breathing in and out with each beat of my heart.
When I opened my eyes again, I turned to face Yegor. He was sitting there, waiting patiently. I opened my mouth to say something, to explain myself—an excuse, but I couldn’t find my voice. Closing my mouth silently, I sighed.
“Ready?” he eventually asked.
I wished I was normal; I wished I could speak, laugh, and play a game like any other person.
But…I wasn’t normal. Nothing in this situation was normal.
I huffed back a dry laugh and then nodded at Yegor. It was the only thing I could do. But he looked satisfied and then pushed the black pieces to my side.
We started the game, the first round. A few minutes went by, and a grin tugged up the corner of my lips. Yegor wasn’t going easy on me. In fact, he was very competitive.
There was an intense look on his face, a frown between his eyebrows as he focused on the game.
“Hey! That’s not fair!” he said, his mouth falling open. He frowned harder, staring at the chess pieces.
I crossed my arms and gave him a look that said, I don’t cheat. Ever.
He twisted his lips at me and then went back to the game. “You just sacrificed your Queen.”
Raising an eyebrow, I stifled back a laugh at his expression. He looked so petulant, it was almost comical.
I liked to win, and I was definitely not losing against Yegor. I needed a good story to tell Viktor once he came back. I couldn’t help but smile wider at the thought while wondering what he’d think about me beating his man at a chess game.
We played for some time until finally we reached the end.
I sat back and raised my chin high. Checkmate.
Yegor glowered at me, his lips pressed into a straight line.
“Another round. Now!” he ordered, shaking his head in disbelief.
I reached forward and opened my drawer, taking out my pen and notepad. Yegor paused and stared at me as I wrote down on the paper. Once I was done, I showed him.
You are a sore loser.
He gasped, affronted. “Fuck no. I. Am. Not.”
His answer only made this situation funnier. Bringing a hand to my lips, I tried to hide my laugh. He frowned, but then I saw his lips quirking up on the sides.
Yegor pointed at the chess board. “This time, I’ll win. Watch it, girl.”
Game on.
He faltered for a moment before scratching his jaw over his light stubble. “Umm…can we keep this between us? When I touched your arm before?”
Confused, I only stared at him. Who would I tell?
“Viktor might cut off my dick, and I happen to like the fellow down there a lot.”
This time, I threw my head back and laughed quietly. Poor guy looked frightened and absolutely terrorized by the thought.
“So yeah. This is our secret, okay?”
I nodded, still smiling until my cheeks were hurting. Yegor gave me a wink, and then he grinned too.
We went back to playing another round of chess.
When he won this time, I stared at him, watching the smug look on his face. He sent me a cocky smirk and then acted as if he were dusting off his shoulders. I found myself smiling once again.