Page 97 of The Fallen Ones

“Come on, we better go to Racers. I only have an hour before I have to go to Ray’s.” I pushed away from the table, feeling full but sleepy. I hated I had to go into work tonight. I could use a good nap. I’d get my second wind by the time I got to work. I always did. Dealing with old drunks and bikers meant I had to be on my toes, especially in that part of town.

“Oh. I forgot you had to work tonight.” The disappointment in her voice was clear.

“I’m sorry, Lil. It sucks. But you can always come hang out at the bar. It’s never too busy on Wednesday night.”

“Yeah, I like hanging out with you there. Sounds like a plan.”

I smiled, excited at having her around a little longer tonight.

It was shaping up to be a really good night.

We were soonin Racers killing aliens with our laser guns. I’d missed hanging out with Lily like this. It was cute how she always thought she could beat me. Truth was, I’d always let her win.

It made me happy to see her excited and collecting tokens from the machines to trade in for some cheap arcade prize. She didn’t care about the value of stuff. That’s one thing I loved about her. She wasn’t materialistic at all.

We moved over to the claw machine and I managed to grab hold of a giant stuffed panda bear.

“Damn it,” I muttered as it tumbled back into the machine.

“It’s OK. I have the monkey you won for me last time.” She squeezed my arm.

“Well, the monkey needs a friend, and that dude in there looks like he needs an escape,” I replied and slammed my hand down on the button.

The machine grabbed the stuffed panda and brought it to the edge of the prize box. It soon tumbled down and the machine’s lights lit up as I was declared a winner.

“Told you I’d win it for you.” I grinned and handed her the panda bear.

“You’re the best.” She threw her arms around me and we held each other in an embrace longer than what was considered normal.

I slowly pulled away, but the desire to kiss her without my mask was stronger than ever.

I couldn’t fuck things up so I pulled away and cleared my throat.

“Good thing I managed that because we need to leave. I have to be in work in fifteen minutes.” I glanced at my watch.

“I’ve had so much tonight, Caleb. I’m sure we can have a singalong in the bar, too.”

“We sure can.” I agreed. I wasn’t so sure about my singing voice but whenever I was with Lily I’d do anything she wanted me to do.

Ray’s was busierthan usual for a Wednesday night. I hadn’t expected it, but was grateful Jake was working to help out. I’d only been offered the overtime because Ray had other stuff he needed to take care of. I never questioned it since I needed the money and I was more than happy to cover and take extra shifts.

“Want a drink, Lil bit?” I asked Lily as she perched herself on a stool at the bar.

“Just a lemonade, please,” she replied as she bobbed her head along to the music blaring out from the jukebox.

I turned to make her lemonade. She always liked the crushed ice but we didn’t seem to have any behind the bar so I headed to the back to get some. Stefan, one of the line cooks, was staring down at something on the counter.

“Peanuts or chips?” he asked me.

“What?” I asked, confused by my coworkers question.

“I’m hungry. I’m not sure which to snack on.”

“Whatever you want. You can just make a burger if you’re hungry. You are the cook,” I replied to him. He was a strange dude, but he was pretty harmless.

“Hm. That’s a good idea,” he said, going to the walk-in freeze to get hamburger.

I chuckled at him and retrieved the crushed ice from the freezer and made my way back out to the bar. I became quite busy with a bunch of people waiting to be served while Jake worked the other end of the bar, talking with some of the regulars. Tonight, there were a lot of young people in, which was surprising for mid-week. We tended to see this crowd more on the weekend, but I wasn’t mad. Tips were tips.

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