Page 55 of Three Not-So-Little Words
The people ahead of us in line finish up and step out of the way, so Ronnie moves forward and pays for our game.
I’m normally one who always pays when I’m on a date. But I can tell that Ronnie wouldn’t take no for an answer.
And as she keeps reminding me, this isn’t a date.
A few minutes later, we have our laser guns in hand and light up vests strapped to our chests.
At first, they were going to put us on the same team, but Ronnie insists that we are pitted against each other. The worker gives us a confused look, but he seems too exhausted to care. I feel kind of bad for him. I’d be exhausted too. Anyone who works primarily with kids deserves a medal.
We head inside to the miniature makeshift city they built. Black lights line the ceiling and bright neon spotlights shine every which way.
A voice over the speaker announces for us to spread out. Then a timer counts down from ten.
Once the game begins, everyone starts frantically running around. The kids are all shooting at anyone who crosses their paths—even their own teammates. Meanwhile, I haven’t so much as aimed at a single kid. There’s only one player I’m after.
Ronnie.
Unfortunately, she is way better at this than I am. She keeps popping around corners, shooting me, and then disappearing again. I have no idea how she’s doing it.
You know when you play Whack-A-Mole, and that little fucker just keeps eluding you? That’s how I feel.
Just when I think I’m hot on her trail, I see her jump out once again. But this time, she doesn’t shoot me. Instead, she grabs my arm and yanks me into a small enclave behind a black curtain.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
I barely get the words out before she yanks me toward her and presses her lips to mine.
It takes me by surprise, but it doesn’t take me long to jump on board. Each of us drops our guns. If not for the cord that attaches them to our vests, they would fall to the floor.
Pushing her back against the wall, I let my hands roam all over her body. The kids screaming in the background drown out the sounds of our heavy breaths. I can hear kids running by, but none of them come too close.
Just when I’m convinced we’ve found the perfect spot, the curtain is ripped open. We jump away from each other as though lightning struck between us.
We turn to see that it’s not a kid who caught us. It’s a worker. He looks us up and down, clearly annoyed.
“Yeah, you two are going to have to leave.”
We each take off our gear and hand it to him. While walking out of the building, we both hang our heads in shame. It isn’t until we are outside that we look at each other and lose the ability to hold in our laughter any longer.
I watch as she throws her head back, giggling. As if I wasn’t already aware, it’s becoming more and more obvious that Ronnie is so very different than any woman I’ve been with.
Before we get into the truck, I pull her close, run my fingers through her hair, and press a sensual kiss to her lips. I can feel her body practically melt against mine.
When I pull back, I look at her. “You’re something else. Do you know that?”
She smiles and sinks her teeth into her bottom lip before giving me a slow nod.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say, opening her door for her.
Since I am still trying to figure out my way around town, I plug her address into the GPS.
Ronnie bops around to the song on the radio. Her elbow hits the center console, and she lets out a small shriek.
I lift it up so that it’s out of the way. “There. Now, you can dance unimpeded.”
She gets that twinkle in her eye—that one that’s becoming more and more familiar.
“If that thing lifts up, I can think of far better things to do than dance.”
