The Blindfold Game That Ended Us Chapter 01

The Blindfold Game That Ended Us Chapter 01

The married folks at the reunion thought it would be funny to make the singles play “Mystery Match.”

All the single women stuck their hands through a red velvet curtain. The single men had to go by instinct and lead away their “destined” partner for the night.

Liam Carter and I had been together for eight years. No one knew.

We got pushed into playing.

When it was his turn, I held my arm out straight.

But when they lifted the cloth, he was holding Olivia Foster’s hand. The one everyone in our class had always thought was meant for him.

The room lost it.

“No way! I guess it was always meant to be you two. Even blindfolded, you still found each other. That’s fate.”

“Perfect couple. Soulmates.”

Olivia blushed and leaned into him with this shy little smile.

Liam laughed. He didn’t pull away.

I looked down at my hand. At the raised scar on the back of it. The one I got eight years ago, taking a bottle for him.

He’d held my hand in the ER afterward and told me he’d never mistake it for anyone else’s. The scar would be his marker. He’d know it for the rest of his life.

Turns out “the rest of his life” wasn’t as long as I thought.

***

There were more single guys than girls, so after the game, a few couples had formed and a few people got left out.

I was one of them.

“Come on, that game was just to get you singles thinking about each other. No need to take it seriously!” Ryan Mitchell said, trying to smooth things over.

A few people laughed half-heartedly.

But one of the couples that formed was the pair everyone had rooted for back in the day. So those laughs carried a certain charged satisfaction, like a long-awaited payoff.

“Hey now, for some people, that might’ve been the perfect chance to finally make up for old regrets. You can’t just wave it off.”

Ryan laughed and waved his hand. “Alright, alright, take it seriously then. But you have to down that drink. Don’t want anyone getting worked up over nothing.”

“Come on, eat up! Stop just drinking.”

He started spinning the lazy Susan.

Someone chimed in, “Ryan’s looking out for us single folks. Doesn’t want us to starve while we’re getting our hearts broken.”

More laughter.

The table was loud with it.

I took a bite of cold appetizer and chewed slowly.

Too much vinegar. It was sour enough to make my tongue prickle. It helped, though, kept whatever was rising in my throat from actually coming out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liam lean back in his seat. His gaze swept the room and paused for a second.

I knew he was looking at me.

I didn’t lift my head. Just took a sip of tea and waited until I felt his attention shift before setting the cup down quietly.

“Hey, speaking of which,” Ryan said, turning to me with a warm, eager smile. “What about you, Emma? I heard from Jake you’re still single. I couldn’t believe it.”

I smiled. “I’m not single.”

The room went quiet for a beat.

Liam’s hand froze halfway to the table. His head came up.

For a moment, his expression was blank.

Then I saw him pull out his phone. His fingers hovered over the screen for a second.

My phone buzzed.

I didn’t need to look to know who it was. Eight years, and he only ever texted that urgently when he was afraid I might “say something I shouldn’t.”

I didn’t look down. Didn’t reach for it.

“Oh yeah? Since when?” Jake Peterson leaned in. “Who is it? Wait, if you’re not single, why’d you play the match game? You’ve been hiding this one!”

“Who he is,” I said, meeting Jake’s curious look, “he’s a good guy. Stable. Treats me well.”

“How’d you meet?” Jake pressed. “How come you’ve never posted about him?”