Page 53 of Gemini
“You sure, princess?”
“Yes,” I said, giving him a warning glare.
It was hard not to see how his face lit up, like an excited little boy. He pulled me inside and I followed.
The first room he pulled me into was some kind of gaming room, like the kind I’d seen in my cousin’s basement with bare walls and cold cement floor. There was a faded red couch sitting in front of a large projector screen with a PlayStation hookedup underneath it. A poker table sat to one side, along with a loveseat, and numerous fold-up chairs, all facing the screen. A couple dart boards hung to one wall and a mini fridge and a small bar sat opposite.
“Nothing fancy yet, still need to work on the lights and repaint the walls,” Leslie said, still beaming. “Maybe give the room some kind of theme, get better furniture. I’ve got a few ideas written down somewhere.”
I stood in the middle of the room, peering around. “So basically, your man cave.”
He smirked. “Yeah, basically.” He walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, taking out two bottles of Dos Equis. He popped the caps off with the end of a blade from his pocket before offering me one. I took it, murmuring my thanks. As I brought the bottle to my lips, I noticed on the end table by the couch a makeshift steering wheel attached to a dash and a pair of pedals. Both were hooked up to the PlayStation.
“Don’t get enough racing in real life, huh?” I pointed to them.
He shrugged. “Can’t always practice on the streets. Gets more use in the winter.”
I nodded. My eyes drifted over to the rack of games to one wall. “It makes sense.”
“What does?”
“I kind of had a feeling you were a big gamer nerd.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“And something tells me you’re not.”
I pursed my lips. “I had a Gameboy as a kid, that’s about it. I played sports when I got older so didn’t get into a lot of video games.”
He leaned against the couch. “It wasn’t soccer, was it?”
I gave him a tight smile. “No. Softball.”
He grunted, taking a drink.
“I did try skateboarding for a summer. Stopped playing sports when I got to college. Only one game I got real good at in university was—”
“Please, don’t say beer pong.”
I laughed. “Okay. Besides drinking games, I happen to be a foosball champion. Two years in a row.”
“They had foosball championships?”
“That’s right.”
“And you call me a nerd, Jesus. And you got a medal for that and everything?”
“Sure did.”
“Hmm.” He swirled his bottle as if thinking. “I don’t believe you.”
I opened my mouth, offended. “It’s true!”
“Guess, you’ll have to prove it.”
“I’d be happy to beat your ass and prove you wrong.”
