Page 47 of Fake It Till You Break It
JAKE
WE FINISHED DINNER EARLY,mainly because Mia and I didn’t really feel like eating much after the whole tomato incident. That was the first time I’d ever seen Mia turn down dessert.
She was usually such a chatterbox. I mean, to be honest, getting her to be quiet was usually the problem. But she barely said a single word all night. The most she did was giggle and brush her hair over her shoulder. A lot. Except her hair was pulled up so she was really just tossing air over her shoulder, which pretty much made her look crazy.
All because ofBen.
God, I really hated that guy. From his polite smile to his shoes. Okay, I might have been a little biased. Especially because I wished that I was the one who was by her side. And he was nice. He actually paid for dinner even though I triedto pay half. Snuck and did it without any of us knowing. He wasn’t a cheapskate.
He seemed pretty cool and all, but he just wasn’t Mia’s type. She needed someone who understood her. Who knew that something was up if she was quiet. And someone who knew how to make her happy.
Okay,maybeshe looked pretty happy so far, but still.
“Do you want to go to the arcade?” I suggested when we got to the theater. “Since we’re early. Movie won’t start for another twenty minutes.”
“Sounds like fun.” Aly linked arms with Mia and tugged her ahead of us. Ben and I fell in step behind them.
The arcade entrance had all the action games that everyone usually crowded around. There was a group by the dancing game near the front. A group of jocks surrounded the basketball hoops and air-hockey table. Some smaller kids were playing Skee-Ball. One of the older ones was even cheating as he stood on the side and lobbed it into the fifty-point hole.
But down the hallway were the older games. Racing tracks, shooting games (deer and zombies), and Space Invaders. And in the far-right corner were the oldest—and coolest—video games. I mean, really ancient. Frogger. Asteroids. Donkey Kong (the original). All the classics.
“What do you guys want to play?” Ben asked, glancing around the arcade.
“Time Crisis 5,” Mia and I both said at the same time.
“She spends more money on that game than she does on clothes,” I explained with a snicker.
“Jake doesn’t bother playing that game with me because he knows how awesome I am.”
“She’s a beast.” No use denying it. There was a tinge of pride in my voice, but I couldn’t help it. I was proud of her skills. And if we ever went to war or were under attack, then I wanted Mia on my side.
Unfortunately, there were a bunch of kids crowding around the game. We had to settle for some air hockey instead. I picked up the black puck and tossed it into the air at Ben. “What do you say? First one to seven points?”
He caught it with one hand and grinned. “Sure.”
It was hard to keep the smirk off my face. Especially when Mia threw me a warning look. I gave her an innocent one in return. Don’t know what she was so worried about. We were just two guys playing an innocent game. And if I happened to wipe the floor with him, then so be it.
There was just one thing I didn’t count on. Ben was good at air hockey. He was really good. And in no time, he was kicking my ass.
The puck slid into my goal, and I cursed.
“Six to two,” Aly called out. She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Game point.”
Mia peered over at me with a wrinkled brow. Her face was like the emoticon with question marks around its head. My face flushed with embarrassment, but I refused to look away. It took every ounce of willpower and pride—what little I had left—to meet her gaze.
A slight sparkle was back in her eye as she pushed past me toward the Time Crisis game. “Actually, I want to play Time Crisis before the movie starts. Ben, want to be my partner?”
“Uh, okay.”
There was still one kid playing, but one look at the fierce expression on Mia’s face and he accidentally let himself get shot. After that, he ran off so quickly, it was as if he teleported.
At first, I was worried that she was going to go easy on Ben. Let him get all the points. But her competitive side overrode whatever feelings she had for the guy. Before long, she was her old self again as she played, getting through each level with ease.
Mia was so focused that she didn’t even notice that Ben stopped playing to watch her. Her eyes were glued to the screen, and she gripped the plastic gun and shot with such accuracy that I would be pretty worried if we weren’t in the arcade. Her foot tapped on the pedal to duck every time someone popped out, barely a second before she would have gotten shot.
You know, I’d never admit this out loud and especially notto Mia, but there was something really hot about a girl playing video games. Forget the high heels and push-up bras.Thiswas what guys really wanted.
“Come on, Mia!” As she neared her high score, I got so excited that I put both hands on her shoulders, massaging them before the next mission started. They were both tense at first, but as soon as I touched her, she seemed to relax and soften. My thumbs rubbed against the tender spot beneath the nape of her neck and unintentionally touched her warm skin above the neckline of her shirt.
