Examine

twelve

ASHLEY

My butt is in the air, my nose somewhere near Michael's foot, and my arm is wrapped around his other side. I'm gasping for breath and trying to maintain my balance.

"Green, left foot," Michael's cousin's daughter instructs him, her eyes watching sternly as Michael moves his foot onto the little green circle. She's marshalling this game of Twister like a sergeant oversees her subordinates in a life or death operative mission.

"Oh, come on," I huff. That one was way too easy.

Michael grins evilly down at me. "Still sure you can beat me?"

"I'm going to whip your little -,"

"Ahem," Michael interrupts, his eyes flickering meaningfully to Annabelle, whose watching our exchange with interest.

"Gluteal Muscles," I finish with a super sweet smile.

"Hmm." Michael raises his eyebrows and looks meaningfully at my butt raised in the air. A shiver runs down my spine.

"Ashley," Annabelle barks my name, interrupting my musings on whether Michael should be looking at my ass like he wants to take a bite.

I snap to attention. I can feel Michael sniggering from where I'm pressed into him. I don't let him distract me from the dark-skinned girl before me; long ringlets fall down her back and she looks so adorable.

"Red, left hand." Her instruction lands on me like a death knell. I look wordlessly at Michael who is obscuring my reach of the remaining reds.

The heartless bastard doesn't even move a smidge, he just smirks back at me. I can see him preparing his speech. He is going to hold this victory over me for the rest of my life.

Annabelle's mother, Saeko, wanders over and I see her peering in puzzlement at the contortions that Michael and I have worked ourselves into. "You do realise this is a children's game," she says wryly.

"Of course," Michael replies with a grin, irreverent and undeterred by her comment. We scared all the children away ages ago with our competitiveness and they got bored of waiting for us to finish our endless game.

I use the extra time to think through a way to maneuver my body to get my left hand on the red circle under Michael's butt. I'll have to be careful to not touch any of the other colours on the way.

"Ashley's really a child at heart," Michael informs Saeko confidingly.

I glare at him. "I'm right here."

I'm craning my neck up to glare at him. I might get a crick in it later. But it's worth it. I imagine my eyes are laser beams burning into him.

"And I'm most definitely not a child." I resist the urge to wriggle my butt as evidence.

Saeko smiles as she glances down at me. "Do you want to have any children Ashley?"

My eyes narrow on Michael for a moment too quick for Saeko to read, as I wonder if Michael put her up to that loaded question to prolong this torture.

But when I see Michael's expression, I know he had no part in this. His eyes are wide, and his mouth has slackened in surprise, he's just as shocked by this line of questioning as I am.

"Someday, yes," I answer, wheezing slightly like I'm an old crone of ninety instead of a spring chicken of twenty-six. My arms are trembling with the effort to sustain my body weight for this long.

"You two would have such beautiful children," Sakeo comments wistfully, as she puts her hand on Annabelle's shoulder.

"We're not together," I gasp out, unable to stop myself from lurching into the next position. I flip back over so now I'm partially under Michael and looking like I'm trying to re-enact a crab walk. Maybe Michael is the metaphorical wave in this situation, hovering over me.