Check & Mate

by Ali Hazelwood

Easton lets out an exaggerated gasp. “Harry Styles?” “What? No.” “Malala?” “No.” “Oh my God, Michelle Obama? Do you think she’ll sign my pocket constitution?” “No—Rudra Lal. Maxim Alexeyev. Andreas Antonov. Yang Zhang. Famous chess people.” “Ah.” She nods. “So regular, not-at-all-famous people?”

The stupid, useless, good-for-nothing king. Can barely move one square, scurries into hiding behind the rook, and he’s so, so easy to corner. A fraction of the queen’s power, that’s what he has. He is nothing, absolutely nothing, without his kingdom. My heart squeezes. At least he’s relatable.

“Mostly that. Only secondarily because he doesn’t seem to be able to look away from my most oblivious daughter.”

“It should have been you, yesterday. It was…I had you there. In front of me, across the board.” His lips press together. “It should have been you.”

“Nolan?” “Hmm?” “Why did you come to Vegas?” His fingers tighten around mine. My heart cartwheels. “Mallory. I came because you did.”

“I’ve got you, Mallory. Nothing bad is going to happen. You can let yourself want this, because you already have it. You have me.”

“Because when I’m with you, Mallory, everything is different. When I’m with you, I want to play more than I want to win.”