Carmen Jenson is the kind of girl who loves to read books in bed, watch movies at home, and play board games on the weekends. Her girlfriend Patty, however, claims she's not exciting enough, and dumps her. Carmen decides she’s had enough of failed relationships and decides to stay single for a while, though in her heart she wants something more.<br><br>Nel Patrick is the bus driver on Carmen's daily route to work. She always teases Carmen about chasing down the bus because she’s late. Carmen thinks nothing of the friendly banter between them until a chance meeting on the bus. While talking about Carmen's desire for a meaningful relationship, Nel reacts in a way that’s totally unexpected, leaving Carmen at a loss to understand her strange behavior.<br><br>A few days later, Nel shows up at Carmen’s workplace. When Nel's attraction to Carmen comes out into the open, they go out on a date. A hot night of loving leads Carmen to wonder if she’s finally found the game girl she's always wanted.

A Bored Game Girl

“Thanks,” she replied. “I wanted to impress someone.”


Nel pulled out a chair and seated me at the table, then lit the candles. She moved over to the oven to remove the lasagna that had been warming there, and placed it on a wooden board beside the garlic bread. Grabbing a knife from one of the drawers, she cut the lasagna into squares then used a spatula to serve us. She poured our wine and then sat down.


Raising her glass, Nel proposed a toast. “To friendships, and the possibility for more.” I clinked my glass against hers and took a sip. Not bad.


We focused on our meal after that. She was a great cook, and I complimented her culinary skills. Nel kept ribbing me about beating my ass in Scrabble. I gave as good as I got.


I helped her clean up the table when we were done, loading the dishwasher and putting away the food. Once finished, she excused herself and left the kitchen briefly to return with the Scrabble box. I was ready to take her on.


Chapter 8