Free Mutual Hatred - Love Game by Ruth Houston Page A

look too happy about the arrangements, and neither did Shelley. This meant they'd actually have to work together. And talk to each other!
    Shelley glanced at Brandon, who nodded. She clapped her hands together and said, "Okay, we'll play. First team to get to five touchdowns wins."
    "What do we get if we win?" asked David.
    "Brandon will buy all of you ice cream if you win," Shelley said quickly.
    Brandon scowled at her as the kids cheered. They separated to have their group huddle before beginning the game. "I hope you're not planning on letting them win," Brandon growled.
    "Not feeling confident about your game?" Shelley said, feigning concern.
    "I got more game then a playstation!" he scoffed, "We're gonna cream these kids."
    "They're kids! Go easy on them!"
    "A game is a game. Show no mercy to anyone."
    "No tackling, Miller. Seriously. You're big enough to crush one of them!"
    "Fine, Mom . I'll play nice."
    Shelley fondly patted him on the head and said, "Good boy! You deserve a cookie!"
    Brandon only glared at her and yelled to the kids, "Come on, let's play!"
    It was the most interesting game of football Shelley had ever played. Of course, she hadn't expected it to be a real football game; the kids playing changed all the rules. There were actually only two rules: no tackling and anything goes. So that meant they could do whatever it took to win, and to the kids, that meant jumping on Brandon and Shelley if either of them had the ball. It took the combined effort of Brandon and Shelley to score two touchdowns, while the kids already had four. Timothy was throwing the ball to Lily, but Brandon intercepted it and promptly tossed it to Shelley. The two played keep-away from the kids as they sprinted down the patch of grass, alternately tossing the ball to each other.
    "TOUCHDOWN!" yelled Brandon.
    The kids didn't care. Martin had already scooped up the ball and was running towards his goal line. Brandon took off after him and effortlessly stole the ball. Shelley was still standing on the other side, so Brandon threw it to her. She caught it and took several steps.
    "Touchdown again!" she said happily.
    The kids groaned. No way were they going to miss out on ice cream! This meant playing dirty. And playing dirty meant tackling.
    When Brandon got the ball back again, Cameron led his team as they charged at Brandon. He fell down and Lily managed to grab the ball. She ran as fast as her short legs could take her and scored the final, winning touchdown.
    "We won! We won! We won! We won!" the kids screamed.
    "And that means you owe them ice cream, Brandon!" Shelley reminded him.
    "Yeah, whatever. You know, we kind of make a good team, Sinclair."
    Shelley gave him a dirty look. "You're shitting me."
    "I shit you not."
    They laughed together as the kids looked at them expectantly.
    "When do we get our ice cream?" Luke asked impatiently.
    "I'll go buy it now and come back, okay?" asked Brandon. He grabbed Shelley's hand. "Come with me," he ordered.
    This sudden change in his behavior made Shelley suspicious. First, they had actually laughed about something, together. Second, he had grabbed her hand. And now he wanted her to go with him?
    Oh, definitely up to something.
    After learning what flavors the kids wanted, they waved goodbye and set out for the parking lot.
    "We're going in my car," he told Shelley when she walked in the direction of her car.
    "Hmph, whatever."
    She liked his car. It was a shiny black BMW. The front seats were clean, but when Shelley looked behind her, there was junk all over the backseat.
    "Don't mind that. The guys always trash my car. I'm too lazy to clean it," he explained as he backed out.
    "Uh huh," she nodded, "Well I hope you know you're buying ME ice cream too, since you forced me to come with you."
    "I didn't force you! We both know you want to spend some alone time with me."
    "Up yours."
    Brandon hit the accelerator. "Yeah, I would like to make 7-Up mine."
    "Do you normally drive this fast?" she