by S. K. Rose
Three games, sixty bucks give or take for each, that’s nearly two hundred bucks he’s willing to throw down just to appease his girlfriend.
God, this kid is whipped.
“We have a deal.” I hold out my hand, and he gives it a firm shake. The look of relief on his face would be comical if I didn’t just agree to ditch my weekly raid. “So, where and when am I meeting this nerd chick with the great rack anyway?”
Leo stands up and stretches his back. “That one arcade over on Speedway at seven, just look for the redhead wearing ripped jeans.” He yawns and heads to his bedroom.
“Wait, what’s her name?” Just before the door slams behind him, he mumbles something that sounds oddly like “Harlot,” and although that would be hilarious, it’s likely not her name.
With a sigh, I return my attention to the game. I have to tell the guys that they’ll need to find someone to replace me for tomorrow.
The screen is red.
I pound my hand on the desk and yell out a sling of swear words that would make my mother blush.
My toon is dead, and my beloved Storm Blaster is gone. I drag the mouse to the edge of the screen and look behind me.
My gamesis stands with his hands propped on his hips. He’s in his usual black armor covered in iridescent scales, wearing a matching helmet with dragon horns protruding from the top and smoke pouring out of the eyes. He looks majestic as fuck, and I would be in serious awe if he didn’t just murder and loot me for the millionth time in a row.
I set down the controller and bash my keys across the keyboard as I message him in the local chatroom.
KarnageKing13: FUCKWAD!
RedWyrm: You were asking for it going AFK3 like that.
KarnageKing13: Why don’t you get off my nuts?
RedWyrm: Thanks for your little Storm Blaster. I’m sure somebody will buy it.
KarnageKing13: I’m going to destroy you.
RedWyrm: *Yawn* How many times have I heard that threat now?
I prepare my twitching fingers over the keyboard, searching my brain for the perfect come back. But once my fingers touch down, RedWyrm blips out of existence, and I’m alone. I stare blankly at the empty meadow for a few minutes before logging out.
No raid, no Storm Blaster, no goddamn dignity.
This chick better have the best goddamn rack I’ve ever seen.
I shove on my headset and instantly hear voices, looks like I didn’t log out of the voice chat when Leo came in. At least I was on mute, so nobody was listening to our conversation. I glance down at the mic and don’t see the little red light that indicates it’s muted.
Fuck me running.
“Ehhh, look who’s back. Ready for that date, buddy?”
“Yeah, and if you’re gonna abandon us I think we deserve pictures of this fantastic rack, whaddya say boys?”
Several voices shout, “Hell yes!”
I could kick myself for forgetting to hit the mute button. “Shut up, idiots. I guess you guys all heard I won’t make it to the raid.”
“Yeah, our little Karnage is off to lose his virginity.” Laughter comes from both sides of my headset.
“Whatever,” I scoff. “I’ll be hanging out with a hot chick while you mouth breathers are hunched over your computers. Who’s the real loser here?”
The laughter dies.
That’s what I fucking thought.
“You’re a real shit,” Haru snorts, one of my oldest online friends. He lives in Japan, so the only time we game together is late at night—which is early in the morning for him.
“Fuck off, Karnage, we all know you’re the pretty boy of the group,” someone else croaks.
I laugh. I’ve never seen what these guys look like, but I’ve heard enough stories to know their luck with the opposite sex is nonexistent. Haru is socially awkward and would rather stab himself with a chopstick (his words—not mine) than go to a party. He’s the only gamer buddy I’m close enough with that I actually know his real name; everyone else calls him by his gamertag, Koji. Zion is your stereotypical geek who talks way too much about science and has to take a puff on his inhaler when he gets excited. Slayer is self-conscious about his weight and has a habit of munching on chips without muting his mic- yes, it’s as annoying as it sounds. Last in our little ragtag group of gamers is Dax, he’s the pervert who wanted pictures, and it’s no guess as to why his creepy ass doesn’t have a girlfriend.
Dax jumps to his own defense. “Who says I don’t have a date?”
Slayer is quick to respond, “Oh, I think he’s talking about with an actual chick, not your perverted dating simulation...”
Everybody but Dax laughs. “Fuck you, guys. Naomi is way hotter than any real girl I’ve ever dated anyway,” he grumbles.
“Dude, you still live with your mom, that’s the only girl you’ve dated,” Zion points out.
“Go puff on your inhaler, dickwad,” Dax spits back.
I smile to myself as they go back and forth. Online, you have to wade through a sea of assholes, so when you find a group of gamers who you can have fun with and are actually decent people, you tend to stick with them. For all the insults that get flung around, you wouldn’t guess we’re the best of friends. When Zion’s house in Florida got flooded by a hurricane last year, we all pitched in to get him a motel and some essentials until he could move in with his brother. We may talk a lot of shit, but we’ve created a tight brotherhood.
A brotherhood of gaming geeks— hah, we should have shirts made.
I interrupt whatever insult Dax was firing up to say, “Guys, I’m gonna pass out. Catch you on the flip side.”
Everyone says good night, and I log out and power down my computer. My eyes are heavy with exhaustion when I push open the door to my room and fall into bed. I strip off my shirt and tug the blanket over my body.
Tomorrow, I have a date.
I can still hear my last girlfriend’s shrill voice in my ear. “All you care about is your childish games, you’re a fucking loser, Kane.”
Change the voice and the words just a little, and it’s almost identical to the breakup I had before that. And the one before that.
Maybe this girl will be different.
I yawn and brush away the errant thought.
She will be just like the others.
5
Scarlett
I’m running through trees made of sparkling crystals and shooting at each passing creature or player that tries to attack me. I reach a clearing in the forest and watch as a glittering chest drops from the sky. It floats down until it lands in the purple grass at my feet. It’s overflowing with gold and priceless artifacts. I reach for it and—
“Scarlett Anne Mavis, did you hear a word I said?” My mother’s shrill voice snaps me out of my daydream.
I roll my eyes and turn to face her. “Something about how I shouldn’t scare this boy away and keep my sinful gaming ways to myself?” I shoot Jules an annoyed look. Of course, she had to tell my mother about the date. Traitor.
My mother’s face remains impassive. “What I said was that it would do you well to keep the topics light and casual.”
I scoff, “Is that not what I just said?” I unwrap a strawberry sucker and stick it between my teeth. My mother’s face twitches, but she doesn’t comment on the candy. Maybe she’s finally learned to stop hounding me about my insatiable sweet tooth; it hasn’t gotten her anywhere in the last twenty years. I brush my teeth twice a day and hit the small gym by my dorm almost every morning—I burn off my sugary sweets and stay fit, so anyone who doesn’t like it can kiss my ass.
Jules gives me a stern look before turning to our mother. “Mom, honestly, she’ll be fine. They actually have a lot of the same interests.”
Our mother clicks her tongue and lays another blouse out to iron. “Look at your sister. She found a nice boy and has begun a promising career with me in marketing. Don’t you want that?”
I bite down on my tongue to prevent myself from lashing out. I
should be used to it by now and have an impenetrable force field that deflects her insults, but I’m not and I don’t. I’ve never been able to live up to my mother’s expectations, and it’s been years since I even tried. But the day I told her I was going to pursue a career in video game art and animation, rather than work at the family company, Mavis Marketing, her disappointment has become nearly unbearable.
Once again, my baby sister comes to my rescue.
“Mom, it’s not a race; plus, she’s going to college and getting awesome grades. I just barely graduated high school and that’s only because you had to hire tutors.”
I wave my sister off. “Jules, it’s fine, not everyone is going to accept my scandalous career choice of becoming a high class hooker.”
My mother gasps. “Do not even joke about such things, Scarlett.”
I throw up my hands. “Well, that’s how you’ve been acting! I just want to do something that I’ll love, that I have a passion for. What’s so damn wrong with that?”
She sniffs and grabs a pair of slacks from the stack of clothes beside her. “You don’t want to be a part of this family’s legacy, fine. But I just don’t understand anything you do anymore. First, you dumped that charming boy, Cody, and now, you want to spend the rest of your life playing with games like a child. If you can’t settle on a real major by the end of the year, you’ll need to find a way to pay for your own tuition.”
I cut her an icy look and stalk to my old bedroom without another word. The house shudders as I slam the door shut behind me.
Julie and Mom continue talking in low voices, so I press my ear against the door and listen just as I would do as a child.
“You shouldn’t have said that, Mom.”
“You’re probably right...” My mother says in such a low voice I almost don’t hear her.
“Why do you always have to attack her? I asked her to come over before her date and now she’ll probably cancel. I’ve been trying to set this up for months; you know how heartbroken she was over Cody.”
I refused to let Jules tell Mom what really happened. The last thing I needed was a condescending talk about how foolish I was and how I should have known he was a pig.
“I’m paying a fortune in tuition and textbooks for her to do what? Doodle and play games? She has to wake up sooner or later, Julie.”
Doodle? I want to use my imagination and my artistic skills to create new worlds, and this bitch calls it doodling?
“She’s getting her bachelors to pursue a real career that she can make great money in; you are being ridiculous. Don’t you want her to be happy?”
I back away from the door. I’ve heard enough. It may be a different story, but it always has the same ending.
I made straight A’s in school, but why wasn’t I captain of the cheer squad?
I won first place in the school’s science fair, but why couldn’t I wear pretty dresses like Julie?
I got into an amazing college, but why oh why would I want to take computer classes?
Always the disappointment.
With a sigh, I grab my purse off the bed and hop up onto my old dresser. Unlatching the window above it, I swing the glass open and crawl outside. It’s been a method of escape since I was fifteen and hasn’t failed me yet.
It’s only once I’ve put some good distance between me and the house that I allow a few tears to escape. I will do whatever it takes to pay for my own schooling and get out from under my mother’s thumb. I don’t want her judgement or her money; I want the freedom to be myself.
I debate passing right by the arcade and going home to my dorm, but, at the last second, I switch lanes and pull into the parking lot. Even if I have to ditch this guy, I’m going to have some goddamn fun tonight. Games and junk food are precisely what the doctor prescribed.
Flipping off the engine, I pull my phone out and look at the recent notifications in my messaging app.
Wren: So, did you bail on your blind date?
I chuckle, bastard knows me so well.
Me: Almost, but decided I needed a little fun after tonight’s shitshow.
Wren: Uh oh. What happened?
Me: Momster attack—nothing I couldn’t handle.
Wren: Get your brains screwed out—that always makes me feel better.
Me: Maybe I will!
Wren: Have fun. I want pictures if he’s hot.
I snort and throw my phone back into my purse. Pulling down the sun shade, I flip open the small mirror and check to make sure my mascara didn’t run. Once I’m satisfied that I look presentable, I grab my purse and head into the arcade.
Sliding my sunglasses up on my head, I look around and let fond memories play out around me. My sister kicking my ass at air hockey, drinking root beer floats with my dad.
God, I miss him, he would know exactly how to deal with Mom right now.
I let my fingertips brush across the machines as I make my way through the rows and decide what to play first. Out of the corner of my eye, a flashing screen on an old machine catches my attention; it’s one of my favorite arcade games, Gauntlet, and it’s calling out to be played. I do a quick sweep of the large room but don’t see any guys my age who might be looking for a date.
Rather than waiting around, I put a dollar in the machine and grip the controller with a smile.
Game on.
6
Kane
I’m running ten minutes late; she probably thinks I stood her up. There was a huge accident on the freeway, and traffic was a bitch.
Please let her still be there; otherwise, Leo is going to murder me in my sleep, or worse, he won’t buy me any video games.
I burst into the dimly lit building and begin searching for a girl with red hair and ripped jeans. Because it’s the weekend, there are packs of kids in every direction, and the air is filled with the aroma of pizza. I didn’t live around here as a kid, or I would have hung out here all the time: it’s got every arcade game under the sun and has to be every nerd kid’s favorite spot. Who am I kidding—I’m feeling stoked about this place, and I’m a grown ass man.
After a lap around the arcade, I’m ready to give up until I hear a shout from my left.
“Die already, you cocksucking troll!”
Peeking around the row of machines, I find that there’s one game I overlooked. It’s tucked behind a large photo booth. A girl my age with scorching red hair is bent over an old Gauntlet machine. Her tight blue jeans are ripped, and a black studded purse hangs over her shoulder. Cheap plastic looking sunglasses that are an obnoxious bright blue are nestled in her hair, and there’s a small white stick poking out between her lips. With one hand, she grips the controller, and with the other, she flips off the screen.
Leo said Julie’s sister had a “nice rack,” but he failed to mention that she was drop dead gorgeous. Julie is pretty enough—if you’re into girls who look like they’re just a hop, skip, and a jump away from being a Stepford wife—but her sister? Hot damn, this girl is on a whole other level. When she raises her arm to pump a fist in excitement, I catch a glimpse of a tattoo that wraps around her side.
Hot, inked, and vulgar. Leo could have saved himself a lot of money had he led with that.
When I stride over to the game, she stiffens, but her eyes don’t leave the screen.
“Wait your turn, Matt, and don’t hover,” she snaps.
I can’t help but laugh, quite territorial over a game that hit its stride in the eighties. I am rather curious as to who this Matt fellow is.
“Alright, but I’ve got next.”
“Yeah, whatever.” She waves me away, and I take a step back and continue to watch her play. She’s not half bad; it’s obvious she’s played it a lot. After about ten more minutes of her bashing the controls and cursing up a storm, she dies and lets out a groan.
Parting her lips, she flips toward me, but the words die on her tongue when her gaze meets mine. Her hazel eyes widen as she bites down on her bottom lip.
“Oh. I thou
ght you were that obnoxious kid, Matt, again,” she squeaks, her ears turning the same shade of red as her hair. That’s when I notice the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, almost invisible to the eye. My God, that’s cute.
“I’m going to take a wild guess and say you’re Julie’s sister?”
She nods slowly, her large eyes still locked with mine. “And... you’re the roommate?”
I do a little bow. “In the flesh. Sorry I’m late, there was some crazy accident that held up traffic. I’m glad you stuck around.”
The corners of her mouth turn up, and my heart does a flip in my chest.
Sweet mother of dragons she has a beautiful smile.
“Nah, it’s actually pretty hard to drag me out of this place.” She fiddles with her purse strap. “So uh, this is kinda weird, actually this whole blind date situation is archaic, but that’s neither here nor there. Just, what I’m trying to say is, and it’s freaking ridiculous, but—nobody would tell me your name.” She throws up her hands with a shrug.
She’s babbling, maybe I make her nervous. Taking a step closer, I hold out my hand and breathe in her flowery perfume.
“I’m Kane.”
Her eyes dart to my lips then to my outstretched hand. Ignoring it, she reaches up to twist the sucker in her mouth. I catch a flash of her pink tongue as it wraps around the candy.
“I’m Scarlett.”
Oh, this girl is gonna be trouble.
I let my hand fall back to my side with a chuckle. “Scarlett.” I like the way her name rolls off my tongue. “Want to play a game?”
Her eyes sparkle with excitement. “I thought you’d never ask.”
