34 Chapter 34: Santos, Part 1

Applications. Essays. Transcripts. I am up to my eyeballs in paperwork.

I lean back in the chair and stretch my arms over my head, pretending not to notice Mari watching my shirt ride up showing a bit of my abs. I cover my smile by leaning my head back and stretching some more. It's a good feeling, knowing she's still attracted to me.

As the front legs of the chair land back on the ground, I start watching what the kids are doing. Really watching. I know they've been playing together, but I was so lost in the spider web of online applications that I wasn't really paying attention to their game.

"What are they actually doing?" I ask Mari. She's sitting next to me at the table on her own laptop, some of her pictures on the screen.

Without even looking up at them, she knows exactly what they're doing. "Playing the world's worst game of hide and seek."