Page 53 of A Play For The Heart
“You look beautiful tonight,” I say, cutting off any protest.
“Oh.”
Her lips form an ‘O’ in surprise, and I steal a kiss before I back away. Still stunned, I grab her hand, dragging her out the front door.
“Tonight’s going to be so much fun,” I say, a grin consuming my face.
“This place looks sketchy,” Sawyer says hesitantly from the passenger seat. “Are you sure you know where we are?”
I laugh at the concern in her voice.
“This is the place.” I hop out of the car, heading towards the passenger side door. I open the door for Sawyer, who’s still looking at the building like it’s a murder scene. I grab her hand to help her out of the car, but she stays glued to the seat. “Sawyer, I promise it’s nothing creepy.”
“Alright,” she says, grabbing my hand as she gets out of the car. She doesn’t seem entirely convinced, but she’s trusting me. The knowledge that she’s putting her faith in me warms me inside.
Hands interlocked, I lead her towards the gray metal door, a massive bouncer standing beside it. He nods at us as we walk through the doors and down the stairs towards the basement area.
“If this is how I’m murdered, I’m going to haunt you from the afterlife,” she says, even as she lets me drag her down the hallway.
I don’t argue the fact that if she was murdered then I would be too, and she wouldn’t be able to haunt me. Doesn’t seem like she would enjoy me pointing that plot hole out. Especially when I am leading her down a creepy hallway towards another non-descript metal door.
Pushing the door, the view of bright lights and the sound of music assaults my senses.
“An arcade?” Sawyer asks, incredulously, as she scans the open space full of different arcade games.
“An adult-only arcade,” I correct her. No way would I take her to an arcade full of screaming children on our first date. I like kids as much as the next guy, but I would prefer not to sucker punch a kid because he can beat me in Mario Kart.
“What’s the difference?”
“That,” I say, gesturing towards the bar that spans the back wall.
The whole reason I chose this place is because of the bar. They advertise these movie-themed cocktails, and once I saw one, I knew Sawyer would lose her shit. I pull her towards the bar and hand her a menu.
“The cocktails are movie-themed,” I tell her as she reads over the menu. Having read the menu online, I watch and wait as she makes her way down the list of drinks. They have a drink forJurassic ParkandStar Warsand nearly every Disney movie ever made. Her energy shifts and I can immediately tell she reached the drink I knew she would love.
Sawyer’s eyes go wide and her head swings from the menu, to me, then back to the menu. After staring down at the list of ingredients below the cocktail name for a moment longer, she finally turns back to me.
“It’s a—They have aPrincess Bridedrink.” She says with a wide smile on her face and a girlish look in her eyes.
“I know, that's why I chose the place.”
She flings herself towards me, arms wrapping around my waist as she squeezes me tight. I laugh as I wrap her up. She pulls away, nearly bouncing with energy.
“Let’s get drinks, then play some games.”
“Die. Die. Die!” Sawyer yells at the screen, while she aims the plastic rifle at the aliens attempting to attack us. She cocks and reloads the plastic gun with more energy than I ever expected. I know that she’s competitive, but I hadn't expected this sort of dedication to a game where the entire goal is to shoot blue aliens.
I can’t say I’ve ever seen Sawyer act so violently. Especially not towards a game. She can’t even kill a fly. Instead of swatting it like most people, Sawyer will leave the window cracked to let it out, which only lets in more flies. I don’t have the heart to tell her it’s a vicious cycle.
The worst part about watching her shoot at aliens and scream at the screen is that it’s turning me on. I never thought that I would want to jump Sawyer while she battles against giant blue aliens, but here I am. I’m blaming the feeling on the three ‘As You Wish’ cocktails I’ve had with Sawyer. I also blame it on the way her ass looks in those jeans.
“Shit,” she yells. I stopped shooting about a minute ago since I was too busy staring at her, but I watch as the aliens overtake her character and the screen fills with the words ‘game over.’ “I was so close to beating that level.”
“You did good,” I say, placing a kiss on top of her head as I peel the plastic gun out of her hand and place it back into the holder. “Why don’t we play something with a little less…death.”
“Drinks first,” she says, pulling me back towards the bar. She's addicted to Princess Bride cocktails, chugging them like they’re juice.
With new drinks in hand, we head towards the arcade games at the back of the room. I scan the space, looking for something that doesn’t require dancing or killing. I spot a game in the corner that I know both of us would enjoy.
