“The ass that slipped impressively through that window, by the way,” she said with a laugh.
“You doubted it’d fit, didn’t you?”
“I am simply stating a fact,” she said, feigning innocence.
“Or simply being a dick,” I replied.
“I think you can handle it, Mr. Thirst Trap,” she said with an eye roll. “That fitness tracker ad with you wearing only tiny shorts is obscene.”
“First of all, don’t pretend you don’t love my slutty little short-shorts. Also, do people still say ‘thirst trap’?”
“I don’t think so, actually.”
“We can discuss our thirst traps and ignorance of modern slang later, but maybe let’s focus on zombies right now?”
Her eyes crinkled as she gave me the biggest grin, the kind of smile that felt like we were about to do something magical together. “Okay.”
“I think—”
“Here’s the thing, though,” she said, holding up a hand. “I know how fast you are, with your four-point-four forty at the combine, but you can’t be heavy-footed. It’s better to be slow and lighter on your feet—conjure Ja’Marr Chase with a sideline catch—than to make a lot of noise and get their attention.”
“Smart,” I said, nodding. It cracked me up the way she knew things like how fast I ran my forty; she was definitely the biggestfootball fan I’d ever dated. “But also consider this. Maybe if we wait until someone stumbles out the front door and gets their attention, everyone will be making noise and—”
“Brilliant,” she interrupted with a smile. “Now you’re thinking—I’m proud of you, buddy.”
“Oh, joy,” I quipped.
“By the way,” she whispered, the teasing grin simmering into something softer. Sweeter. A little shy. “Unless I end up having to kill you or I literally die out here tonight, this might be the best date ever in the history of the world. Like, I literally can’t think of anything I’d rather do on a Friday night. You could’ve planned a normal, boring dinner date, but you threw me on a flatbed truck and gave me zombies and a paintball gun. I mean, talk about swoony.”
I felt a twinge of guilt as she said this, because she was giving me credit I didn’t fully deserve. Yes, I may have discovered the zombie activity, which was perfectly tailored to her interests, but the pumpkin patch idea had been Bethany’s.
God, I hated remembering that.
I hated remembering that any part of us started as a career favor. It had switched to something genuine almost instantly, but it still felt gross every time Bethany’s part popped into my head.
“Here,” she said, handing me a huge rock.
“Where did this come from?” I asked, taking the heavy stone from her hands.
“I brought it with me in my pack,” she said, giving me a hesitant smile that let me know she was embarrassed that she had given it forethought. “Do you think you can throw this over the cabin?”
“Are you seriously asking me if I canthrow?”
“You’re not a quarterback, so this isn’t me busting your ass,” she said. “It’s a heavy rock and it would be difficult foranyoneto throw it over a cabin. But if you can, they’ll hear it land, take off in that direction, and then we can run the other way.”
“Of course I can throw it over the cabin,” I said. “Do you want me to do it now?”
“No time like the present,” she said, tightening the straps on her backpack and gripping her weapon.
“Let’s go.” I launched the rock before grabbing my weapon from the ground, and I wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or if one of the other participants saw the rock fly, but just as I heard thethudof it hitting the ground, the front door of the cabin opened with a squeak.
And Duffy was right—the other players were absolutely unprepared for the reality that the zombies had them surrounded. They were laughing as they exited, from what I could hear, and then immediately silenced by the pops of paintballs bursting.
It was a barrage.
“Let’s go!” she whisper-yelled, then took off sprinting into the woods.
I followed, suddenly hyperaware of how heavy my footfalls were as we ran in the opposite direction of the end point. We heard laughing and yelling, which wasn’t surprising because no one else was in it for the win, so odds were high that most of the other players were already tagged.