Page 39 of Run Game
He laughs. “Yeah, right after she smoked us both. What’s with you today? If we lose one more, I’m out.”
The next game starts and I’m already sucking as Dia sits up and grabs the controller from my hand. She shrugs the blanket off her shoulders and sits forward, her full focus on the television screen in front of us. I flip the microphone on my headset up so I’m muted. “Babe, what are you doing?” I ask. “Mav will be pissed if we lose again.” I go to take the controller back, but she twists her body so I can’t reach it. I look to the screen just in time to see her land a perfect headshot to someone, killing them immediately. My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline as I take the headset and put it over her ears so she can hear what’s around her in the game. She’s doing better than I was, so fuck it.
Dia is stone silent as she moves around the map, building walls to block the bullets when people start shooting in her direction. She picks them off one by one, only stopping when she needs to reload her weapons. She giggles when I hear Mav’s muffled voice coming from the headset, no doubt talking about my sudden improvement. I watch the number of kills go up on the screen as she continues owning every single opponent in sight. And when she shoots the last one and the victory message pops up, she turns to me with a smug look, pulling the headset off and putting it back over my ears. I’m still in a state ofshock as she kisses my cheek and wraps herself back up like a little burrito, laying her head back in my lap.
“Wow,” Maverick says into his microphone. “That was your best game ever. Bya lot.”
I unmute myself, clearing the lump in my throat that I always get before I lie through my teeth. “Uhh, yeah. Thanks,” I reply. “I have to go. I…have to wash my hair.”
He pauses. “Okayyyy,” he says, drawing out the word in confusion. But I’m already gone as I remove my headset and look down at my wife.
“What exactly happened just now?” I ask.
She yawns, closing her eyes. “I just came from a situation where I was always alone, broke enough not to be able to go out, and had a second-hand video game console at my disposal. I got good. You should try it.” A small smile tips the corner of her lips up, because she knows she’s a fucking brat.
I blow out a breath, leaning back and returning my hand to her head. I massage her scalp with enough pressure to make her sigh with satisfaction. “We have plans tonight, so I want you to take my card and go get something to wear.” She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “And before you argue with me, remember our deal. I get to treat you as my wife and buy you whatever I want while you’re here. I don’t care what you spend, I just want you to feel as beautiful as I already know you are when I take you out.”
She gives me a skeptical look. “I don’t want anybody seeing us together in public and going into a frenzy about the new woman on your arm.”
“I know,” I tell her. “I promise you that no one will see us.”
She smiles up at me. She’s so fucking gorgeous, I stillcan’t believe she’s mine. “Okay,” she relents. “Where are we going?”
I look to the TV, where the stats from her win still fill the screen. “Not to an arcade. I’ll tell you that much.”
DIA
I look out the car window, getting increasingly nervous as we get closer to the heart of Boston. It’s a busy night and there are people everywhere. Dalton promised me that nobody would see us together, so I’m trying to figure out where he’s taking me. I can’t imagine there’s anywhere in this part of the city where fans wouldn’t notice one of the Blizzard’s most popular players.
My black bodycon dress rides up my thighs as I turn toward him. I spent the afternoon shopping by myself with his credit card. It was weird not buying off the clearance rack, but I made a promise to Dalton and I want to keep it. He’s been so amazing, patiently supporting me as I work through a lifetime of baggage. He deserves this experience.
“This doesn’t look private,” I say. “Looks like you’re about to throw me out in front of every Bostonian in existence.”
He grins. “I would if you’d let me, Wifey. I’m not breaking any of your rules. We’ll be in public, but nobody will recognize me. I’ll be incognito.”
I already don’t like where this is headed. When Dalton uses words likeincognito, you know he’s got something completely fucking weird up his sleeve. I huff an annoyed breath, looking back out the window as he makes a right turn down an alley between two buildings. I’ve never beento this part of Boston, plus it’s way too dark to see where we are.
He pulls into a parking spot, turning off the car. He leans over, and instead of kissing me like I anticipate, he reaches to open the glove compartment. I can feel his warm breath ghosting along my neck right before he moves back just a few inches with something in his hand.
“Put this on,” he says, handing me a beautiful black lace masquerade mask. It’s not one of the cheap ones you get from a costume shop. It’s soft and thick, and when I slide it over my eyes, it fits like it was made for me. “Even with half of your face covered, you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he says, shaking his head as if he’s in disbelief. “How do you do it, baby?” The words are barely a whisper, but he may as well be screaming them from the top of the highest building in the city, because that’s how they make me feel.
Even though I’m forcing him to keep this thing private, Dalton finds ways to care for me so loudly. Whether it’s holding me in silence when I’m processing things, or the way he always knows how to break me away from my intrusive thoughts and memories, I never have to question that he’s here for me. It’s getting harder by the day not to just take the leap and see if we can make this marriage work for real. But unlike any of the other relationships that have been broken in my past, I don’t know if I’m strong enough to pick myself back up from this one if it ends. And I don’t want Mads to have to be put in the middle when she’s planning events and has to choose which best friend to invite because it’ll be too painful for me to see Dalton with anyone else.
All of this is why I’m going to enjoy this time we have left together. I’ll never get to experience this kind ofconnection again. And as surprised as I am about it, I’m glad he kept pushing until I agreed with what he was asking for. Because even though it’s temporary, it feels good to be treated like I’m the most important person in someone’s life.
Dalton ties his plain black mask over his eyes. It matches perfectly with his white button up shirt and black dress pants that are snug in all the right places. He steps out of the car and I wait as he rounds the back, coming up to open my door. I take his offered hand and he steals a quick kiss before intertwining our fingers and leading me to the back door of the building. The wind picks up, carrying the scent of his cologne, and my mouth waters in response. Everything about this man turns me on.
He pulls open the door, putting a hand on my lower back as he ushers me inside the dimly lit lobby. A bright blue neon sign withLiquidin bold letters stretches across the wall behind a reception desk. We step up as a petite blonde woman wearing a black dress similar to mine greets us. “Welcome to Club Liquid. How can I help you this evening?”
“I’m Dalton Davis. I’ve arranged for a private booth tonight.”
She taps on her keyboard for a few seconds before looking back up at us. “Yes, everything is ready for you. We’ve given you a corner booth at the very end of the VIP section. You’re right above the dance floor. The lights come from fixtures under the mezzanine, so as requested, you’ll be able to see everyone below, but they won’t be able to see you unless you lean over the railing. It’s Masquerade Night, which you already know,” she waves a hand between us, gesturing to our masks, “so everyone upstairswill be wearing them, too. We’ll send a server for your drink orders shortly.”
“Thank you,” Dalton says, holding my hand tightly as we walk past her desk, heading straight for a spiral staircase and making our way up to the second floor of the luxury night club. We walk past several booths, all full with groups of people dancing and laughing as they drink. Each one has a blue velvet wrap-around couch and its own private dance floor, illuminated by LED lights.
When we reach the very end of the long walkway, Dalton leads me into our private booth. Unlike the others, ours is separated from the neighbors with a floor-to-ceiling velvet curtain. We’re secluded, but as I peer over the railing that overlooks the main part of the club, I see people everywhere. There are hundreds of them on the dance floor, their bodies pressed together as they move to the beat of the music. The layout of the place makes me feel so close to everyone, but we’re also safe from being noticed by anyone that may recognize Dalton.
I’m hit with a wave of emotion as I realize what he did for me here tonight. He wanted to take me somewhere where we could enjoy each other outside of his apartment, but he still managed to respect my wishes that we stay out of the public eye. He’s always going above and beyond to make me feel special. And bringing me to a club where I get my very own dance floor?Majorbrownie points for that.
