Bored Games

My toes curled into the soft caramel carpet, my fingers dancing along the ends of my freshly cut hair. My tongue rolled over teeth, attempting to clean out the popcorn kernel that had been stuck there since yesterday. My eyes traced a string of light reaching into the empty room. My breath rumbled through my lungs as it left my body.

             “What?”

My gaze drifted over to Jordan. He sat beside me on the ground; not touching me, but close enough that his body heat tickled the tips of my skin.

I leaned my head against my knees, my bangs falling across my face. “Hm?”

“That was a heavy breath.” Jordan was looking down at his phone, his eyes skimming over the images of bikini-clad women.

“Was it?” I bit my lip. Jordan released his own breath but said nothing else as he liked the image of another girl. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. Sitting back quickly, I barely stopped my head from banging into the wall and reached for his phone. He lifted his hand slightly and continued to scroll.

My lower lip dropped slightly, my eyes falling together. This time, I pulled both of my arms back and thrust them forward into his body. Jordan fell onto his side, his phone tumbling across the floor.

“What, Skylar?” Jordan’s head lay on the ground, his hair flung back in a floppy swoop.   

“I’m bored.”

“And that’s my fault? None of your things here yet.”

“Pay attention to me.” My body flopped down on the ground with my feet in the air, kicking out at the tops of Jordan’s knees. Jordan lifted his own feet and they collided with mine. His foot pushed forward, thrusting my own over my head.

“What do you want to do then?” Jordan’s voice came out in a wheeze.

“L-let’s go outside,” I forced my foot back to the center.

“Last time, you complained the entire time. It’s too hot to be outside.” My foot pushed harder and got nowhere.

“But I’m bored.” I wasn’t proud of the whine in my voice.

“Again. Not my fault.” Jordan pushed both of my feet back.

“You’re just sitting on your phone.” Jordan pushed again and this time my feet went beyond my head, flinging me over onto my hands and knees. Before he had a chance, I crawled forward and flung my body on top of his. Our hands latched onto one another in a crushing grip. With just his arms, he kept my body from collapsing onto his. He pulled his knee underneath me and used it to propel me onto my side before he quickly climbed on top of me. I tried to push him off, but he just grabbed my hands and held them in front of me. After struggling for a few more seconds I gave.

“Fucking testosterone.” Jordan’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “You hardly work out, while I train almost every day. It’s so unfair.”

“Yeah… It sucks.” He released my wrists and sat up before he rolled off of me. I stayed on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. My eyes followed the lines etched into the ceiling. They crisscrossed several times, zig-zagging across the room.

“Well?” Jordan asked.

My eyes bounced down to him. From that angle, it looked like he had a double chin though I knew he definitely didn’t. “Well, what?”

Jordan rolled his eyes. They were bright green. Not the type of green that caught a person’s attention, but the kind that could draw you in if you looked for a little too long. “You’re bored. What do you want to do?” My eyes jumped to the door. I didn’t see it, but I knew he was rolling his eyes again. “Then get up.”

I lifted my hands into the air and waited. A minute later, I was being propelled into the air, my dark brown hair fanning out behind me. I smiled up at Jordan just before I collided with his body. Of course, since I was already there, I went ahead and wrapped my hands around his back. His arms came down around my arms and squeezed before he released me back into the world.

I took a step back and spun toward the door. Thrusting my hand into the air, I said, “Onward!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I stomped toward the door and yanked it open. My barefoot collided with stone, it was warm, but there wasn’t any direct sunlight on it so it wasn’t burning. Jordan stepped out behind me and shut the door, closing off the AC that was attempting to escape. I took a step off the front porch, gently landing on the graveled path and glanced around. I didn’t find anyone else standing outside their homes for the first time of the day. I didn’t see any kids running around in sprinklers, though I’d be concerned if I did since I was told there weren’t any kids on this block. I didn’t see the mail officer nor did I see UPS or FedEx. However, I did see the trees swaying slightly in the breeze. I saw a squirrel scurrying away when we stepped out. I saw the bright green grass glowing in the sunlight. My feet slid off the rocky terrain, loose stones tumbling with my step, and glided onto the soft yet pointy grass. When I took another step, I left the protection of the trees. The sun hit with all of its blazing glory and scorched the ends of my hair. I could already feel the sweat trickling down my ribs.

“You sure about this?” Jordan asked as he stepped up next to me.

I looked up at him and was immediately blinded. The sun wasn’t even directly behind him, but just trying to look up hurt so much. I squinted and tried to see him around the burning. “I won’t let the heat stop me from enjoying this beautiful day. Look. There’s not a cloud in sight!” I gestured up to the sky, though I didn’t care to look myself.

“Uh-huh… You sure?” Jordan’s voice lifted slightly.

“You doubt me?”

“Never.”

Sweat tickled the edges of my eyes. I could already feel the sun burning my skin. “Well, you should.” I spun on my heel and marched back toward the AC.

“Giving in already?” Jordan called from behind me.

I turned to face him and placed my hands on my hips. “Do you want to stay out here?”

“I didn’t want to come out here in the first place.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?”

“I wanted to see how long you’d last.” Jordan’s lips curled up at the corner, though I knew he was trying to hold it back.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “How’d I do?”

“I didn’t think you’d make it past the door.” I raised my hand up in front of me and lifted up my middle finger before I turned back around. I heard Jordan release a little laugh as I opened the door and was smacked in the face with cool air. Jordan walked in behind me, this time trapping us in with the AC.

“Well?” Jordan looked down at me, a smile played along his lips.

“We should play a board game.”

“You don’t have any.”

I glared at him. “Stop ruining my plans.”

He shrugged, “I have to try sometimes.”

Was it possible to glare harder? “I don’t like you.”

“I know.” My eyebrows raised slightly. “You love me.”

I resisted my smile by sticking my tongue out. “Fine then. If I don’t have any games then let’s make one.”

“How?” Jordan gestured around the empty room.

“I don’t know. Why do I have to think of everything?” I started to tap my foot.

“You want to go back outside.”

“Yes,” I swung around on my heel and flung the door open once again.