The Long Game Read Online Free PDF

it, gulping the bitter liquid
greedily.
    “Easy, tiger,” Jimmy Boy said. “Pace
yourself, or you might end up like that one over there.” He pointed
to someone behind me.
    I turned around just in time to see Judd
Sheedy stumble over to a keg. Pop’s youngest son had a habit of
strutting around the Village like a self-important peacock, which
had earned him the nickname “Prince,” but he also had a habit of
drinking himself into a stupor any chance he got. He pulled a
plastic cup from a stack on a nearby table but fumbled it clumsily.
It hit the floor and slid several feet away from him, and rather
than going after it, he angrily pulled another cup from the stack,
which tipped over and scattered across the tabletop. Judd ignored
the mess and helped himself to the keg, then emptied the entire cup
at once, crushing it and tossing it aside. He swayed, clearly
unsteady on his feet. I wondered if one of his older brothers would
appear to help him find a seat before he ended up on the floor, but
no one seemed forthcoming. Eventually, he found a support beam to
lean against.
    “That boy’s a menace.” I shook my head.
“Where’s he been all night anyway?”
    “The last I saw him was this morning when we
passed by the pavilion, but who knows where he got off to after
that? You’re lucky he didn’t notice all that stuff between you and
Rosie over there.”
    “All what stuff?” I said.
    “I saw the looks she was giving you while you
were standing up there,” Jimmy Boy said. “And you saw it, too.”
    I fought a smile. “I didn’t see nothing, and
neither did you. Drop it, Jimmy.”
    “Well, I would, except the girl is still
gawking at you, which makes it a little hard to let go.”
    I looked up and met Rosie’s eyes. She’d
joined three other girls standing a few feet from the line of
guests still waiting to present their gifts. When we made eye
contact, Rosie turned her back to me, and the group of girls
erupted into chittering laughter.
    “I’m going to ask her to dance,” I said.
“There are plenty of people around. What’s the harm?”
    “What’s the harm?” Jimmy Boy caught my arm
and yanked me to a stop. He lowered his voice to a loud whisper.
“Those Sheedy boys have whooped better men than you for looking at
her funny. You think they’re going to sit by while you dance with
her?”
    I knew he was right, but the alcohol and my
wounded pride urged me on. I pulled my arm away from Jimmy Boy and
handed him my empty glass. I scratched at the tip of his nose as I
moved across the floor, vaguely recalling something Maggie had once
told me about an itchy nose heralding an argument. It was enough to
slow my feet for half a second, but the sight of Rosie ahead of me
pushed it from my mind just as quickly. As I approached her from
behind, I cleared my throat to get her attention. Her friends wore
matching grins, but they faded into the background as Rosie turned
around.
    I didn’t give her a chance to speak. “Dance
with me.”
    She looked surprised by my abrupt demand, but
her smile broadened when she nodded. Her eyes seemed even bluer
than usual as I took her hand and led her to the floor.
    Rosie laid her hands on my shoulders, and I
wrapped mine around the sides of her waist. I had to bend forward a
little so my legs were far enough back to avoid treading on her
huge gown.
    “In a million years, I never thought Buffer
Reilly would ask me for a dance,” Rosie said, giggling again. “If
someone had told me that an hour ago, I’d have called him a
liar.”
    I lifted the corner of my mouth, pretending
not to care about her use of the nickname. I knew she didn’t mean
any offense by it, but it never stung any less when I heard it.
“The Buffer” had been the insult of choice for the boys in the clan
who were less forgiving of Maggie’s decision to keep me in school.
A “buffer” was a country person, a non-Traveler, someone who didn’t
belong. In their minds, it was the worst thing a person