The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel

Author:Sajni Patel [Patel, Sajni]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: None
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2020-12-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Liya

When Jay somehow convinced me to go out with him, I anticipated some fancy restaurant where he’d ask me to wear those stupid shoes he bought. Except those stupid shoes were at his apartment. And he advised that I wear sneakers.

He took me out on a date, not to a romantic location, but to…laser tag. Glow-in-the-dark laser tag.

I made a face as he fastened the heavy pink-and-white vest around me, playfully jerking me toward him with each snap. Then he laughed as he helped with my helmet, which was much too big for me. It kept drooping over my eyes, he kept readjusting and chuckling, and I managed not to laugh at this entire situation. What were we? Middle school crushes? For the first time in a very long time, I felt like a kid. In a good way. Not weak or vulnerable or the bane of some adult’s existence, but carefree.

I watched Jay as he fixed my gear one last time. In this moment, there was absolutely no stress, no wondering what he was really after. If only we could be this way all the time.

He knocked on my helmet. “Are you all right in there?”

“Are you kidding me?”

He flashed that infamously dashing smile. “It’ll be fun. Don’t get shot.”

“Don’t get shot,” I mouthed when he turned away.

The woman at the front instructed us on how the point system worked, the rules, and other safety information. I followed Jay through double doors, and my eyes adjusted to the dark room, lit with lines and patterns of neon colors.

An alarm sounded after the two teams split and everyone darted away. I stood alone, wondering where to go.

Then my vest buzzed. It lit pink and buzzed again. I searched around and saw a young girl pointing her laser gun at me. Oh! No she wasn’t getting any points off this newbie!

“Come on!” Jay said, grabbing my waist and pulling me behind a large box. “The point is not to get shot!” He laughed so hard that his arms shook my shoulder.

“I’ve some business to take care of…” I muttered and went after the girl in pigtails.

“I got you covered,” he called after me.

But going after this little girl was literally walking into an ambush. A group of teenagers stole my points in a matter of seconds until Jay and another girl came through and wiped them out. He came out Rambo style, without the yelling, and even took fake laser bullets for me.

We stood back-to-back for a minute, taking all the hits and making just as many. I couldn’t help myself now. There was no controlling my laughter.

I hunched over and wheezed, my hand on my chest, his arm around me to protect me from a demolishing spray of laser lights.

“We need to go!” he said, cutting through my giggles.

He took my hand and we zigged and zagged through, over, and around obstacles. He held onto my waist at some points, pulling me back or helping me maneuver around tight corners or climb short ladders.

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