Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The Arcade Proposition
-LEENA-
“Oh yeah! High five!”
I jump in place with the exclamation, putting a hand out for a high five, and wince when my sister Brianna reaches out and slaps it hard, both of us pausing and hissing through our teeth to shake the sting away. The smack is lost to the sound of cheery arcade games and the rush of the ocean close by.
“Don’t be like that, Bri. We’ve been doing this since we were kids, we can’t stop now!”
“Yeah, but it used to be fun when we were kids. I used to win, Leena. Win!”
“And you still do,” I snort a laugh, “Sometimes.”
Bri sputters and whacks me on the shoulder, all bluster and no bite, and walks around the arcade to the other side, leaving me in the dust. So here we are, again. Somehow wasting thirty dollars a week each on arcade tokens and the too-sweet funnel cake we loved as kids. It doesn’t actually taste as great anymore, but the nostalgia makes it better than it truly is.
“Leena!” I hear from across the arcade, lost in thought, and perk up.
“Sorry!” I shout back, walking around the corner to see Bri saddled up against a classic Ms. Pac-Man game, hands and fingers a little too violent on the buttons and joystick as she preps for our match.
“Alright, alright,” I say with too much fake bravado as I attempt to pull my unruly, curly hair into a semblance of a bun, “Let the ol’ pro show you how it’s done.”
Bri crushes me at Ms. Pac-Man, which is fair, because the next game is the combo foosball/air hockey tables, and Bri knows she has absolutely no chance at winning that. The beat-up tables that were already old and beat up when we were kids are even more so now; a few of the ‘players’ on the sticks no longer have heads or arms, and it’s always comical when a new head comes flying off and lands in someone’s pizza.
“So...” I muse as we wait for our turn at the air hockey table, “How do you keep convincing me to come here, again?” Bri takes a sip from her brightly colored cup.
“You come with me because you secretly want to crush me in the Jurassic Park game, but can’t beat my high score for shit.” Bri grins crookedly as we laugh together, enjoying the warmth of our time together.
I continue to look around and people watch as our laughter dies down, eyes scanning each of the booths and giving a shy smile to the small children that are regulars here. Next, the foosball tables, all six lined along the walls to keep people from getting jabbed as they pass by. I give a small wave to the arcade owner who’s playing against a small girl and losing embarrassingly, and when my eyes continue their perusal, they stop on someone I’ve never seen before.
I’m not sure what it is about them, but even though I’ve never seen them before, they’re familiar. Their eyes turn and meet mine, caught staring, and they wink with a sly smile. I flush all the way down my chest, wring my hands together, and look away back to Bri, who is grinning like mad.
“Leena,” Bri chides teasingly, coming in close so no one else can hear the conversation, “You’re a badass witch who’s been protecting this town since mom and dad died. You’ve warded off magical plagues, brought commerce to the town with your honey, and made friends with a selkie on top of everything else you’ve done. You’re telling me that getting winked at by an attractive man or woman is all it takes to make you weak in the knees?”
“Oh my gosh, Bri, stop.” I try to hide my face in my hands, my blush deepening. When it doesn't work, I settle for fidgeting with the material of my yellow sundress.
“What?” she goads, “Virginal Leena afraid to have a one-night stand?”
The goad does it.
“You know what? No. You know I’m not a virgin. Just because I get easily flustered does not mean I’m virginal. I’ll prove it.” I shoot another glance at the stranger across the room, ignoring the buzz of nervousness, determined. “Tonight,” I give Bri a shove so she’s looking in his direction, “I’m hooking up with him tonight.”
I instantly regret the decision.
Among family and friends, I’m comfortable and social, but with strangers, I’m awkward at best, and Bri knows it. I pull my hair from its bun as Bri shoots me lifted, unimpressed eyebrows from halfway across the room as I walk on numb legs until I’m at his table, standing there and still fiddling with my dress. He’s smiling softly, eyes crinkling with crow's feet that somehow make him even more attractive than at a quick glance across the room.
“Hi, I’m Leena.” I manage, words still too quick and jumbled.
But he only chuckles, extending a hand out from where he’s perched next to one of the tables, his playing partner long gone.
“Hey, Leena. I’m Alec, nice to meet you.” Alec takes my hand, and where I’m expecting him to shake it, he kisses the back of it, pulling my hand and in turn, me, closer.
He’s stunning in dark denim that’s tight over muscular thighs, and the tan sweater that’s rolled to the elbow reveals dark, solid black tattoos on already dark skin; it makes me want to trace them to their ends. He looks clean and put together, and I’m here on third-day hair, salty with sweat and seawater. I feel out of place next to him, and way out of my league as he maintains eye contact.
I decide to go for broke.
“So, listen, Alec,” I try for a steadying breath which he seems far too amused with. “I’m sorry if this may be super forward of me, I’m not usually like this but—”
“First,” Alec cuts me off, I wince at his tone, “Don’t apologize if there isn’t anything to say sorry for. Second, I’m pretty sure there is nothing you could say that would surprise me.”
I pause, a little put off, by what I’m unsure of, but I continue to press forward.
“Well, I wanted to know if you’d like to come back to my place tonight. Maybe watch a movie…maybe, more?” It feels awkward coming from my lips. I cringe, waiting for the rejection and preparing an excuse for when I have to go back to Bri and explain how I blew it again.
“Leena. Leena.” Alec says my name like he’s testing it, seeing how it feels on his tongue as he folds his arms, “It’s a name I could get used to saying tonight. Would you like to join me for a few games first, get to know each other better?”
“I—I.”
“Come on,” Alec stands, just about my height but somehow so much more, “I’m not a bad guy,” he steps into my space, pulling my hand he somehow still has until I’m pressed in close, his lips just brushing against my ear as he whispers over the rush of arcade games, “Unless you want me to be.”
With a scandalous wink, still staying in my space, he turns his head and motions back to the other side of the arcade where Bri is waving to me, making cheering motions and fist pumps with her hands in triumph.
“Looks like someone is hoping you get lucky tonight.”
I swallow thickly, pulling my free hand up to give a small wave to Bri, who simply gives a thumbs up and turns, heading for the exit. I want to reach out to her and bring her back, tell her I changed my mind and I’m a virginal chicken who can’t flirt to save her life. But she’s gone, and Alec still has my hand. He also hasn’t left yet.
“So what do you say, Leena? Give me a chance to show you a good time and we’ll see where it leads, huh?” Alec’s grin is lewd at best, but if a stud like him finds me desirable enough for a one-night stand, I’m not going to complain. It’s been a dry spell.
“Alright, Alec,” I say in a flash of confidence I don’t really feel, “I’ll kick your ass in a few arcade games as some light foreplay.”
Alec suddenly barks a laugh, genuine and open, and everything I want to hear every day for the rest of my life.
“Oh, you’re on, Leena. But I’ve played my share of arcade games in the past, be ready to eat your words.”
We make our way over to a quiet section of the arcade, the sun getting a little lower on the early Spring horizon, young kids already gone home and only a few straggling teens fighting over the music box and a single, self-set-up bowling lane.
“So—” I murmur as we saddle up on either side of classic Pac-Man. My nerves getting the best of me.
Alec chuckles, amused, “So?”
“What brings you to Driftwood Cove?”
Alec’s face goes cold for a moment, barely noticeable if I hadn’t been looking directly at him, but it softens a bit as he speaks, “I’m—a nomad of sorts. Been traveling for a few years. Finally made it back to the coast.” It’s vague, and I narrow my eyes.
“Nomad? Meaning you’ve been wandering around the wilderness for years with no money or job?”
Again, Alec laughs, “Hah, no, nothing so mundane. Think more poetically. A lone wolf, traveling the world in search of a new life.” His eyes catch mine, searching for something. “A new family.”
I miss a button and get eaten by a ghost, swearing and turning my attention back to Alec, “I’m sorry… for your loss?”
“So heartfelt. I can feel the genuine emotions welling up inside me at your words,” he snorts, bumping our hips and almost dislodging me from the game before his voice turns serious, “Lost the family in a tragedy years ago. Not great gaming conversation, I’m afraid. So, maybe a story for another time.”
He doesn’t pose it as a question, so I don’t take it as one. Respecting his privacy, after all, he is a stranger to me.
A really attractive one I plan on sleeping with.
“Alright, so, note to self, don’t ask the guy you wanna hook up with about his dead family. Noted.” I try to diffuse, “So, do you like the beach?”
“Nice redirection, Leena,” Alec rolls his eyes again, and when I bump him with my own hip this time he barely moves, but misses a button entirely, winning me the game. I only gloat for a few seconds, an elaborate victory dance Bri and I made up as kids, before I stop, feeling Alec’s eyes on me.
“You’re something else,” Alec says, almost wistfully, before redirecting, “The tables are empty now, wanna try your luck winning in air hockey?”
“Psh,” I grin, the buzzing normally associated with my magic flares up in excitement, “It’s on. But don’t walk off crying if you lose, Alec. I’m already in the lead by one.”
“Oh ho,” Alec puts his hands up in a placating gesture, “I didn’t know we were keeping score here.”
Alec grins then, salacious, “Okay, you wanna wrastle, huh? Let’s do it. Two out of three, the winner controls the pace tonight.”
My confidence flags, “Pace tonight, you mean—”
“Woah, hey,” Alec must sense my hesitation, halting the conversation, “Nothing like that, Leena. As much as I want to take you to bed and ravish you, consent is sexy. We won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. Scouts honor.”
“We’re you even a Boy Scout?” I try, the joke landing softly.
“Well, I was a scout.”
“I guess that’s good enough for me.” I smile shyly, my face and chest heating again, and Alec’s smile is blinding when he turns it on me, coming around to my side of the table and taking my hands in his, my heart like bees under my ribs.
“Still have that competitive spirit?” He quips, running the backs of his fingers along my cheek and neck, shivers chasing the nervous bees away. Somehow, in such a short amount of time, Alec has managed to get under my skin in the best way; making my heart race and my palms sweat. I feel like my face hasn’t come down from the blush that started when I first laid eyes on him.
“I—” I clear my throat, gathering my courage in both hands and laying them on Alec, “I think I’d rather play a different kind of game.”
Where I expect some suave words or sarcastic humor in return, I get none. Instead, Alec growls, a sound I feel more than hear as it rattles my hands on his shoulder and side. For the first time since we met, I feel a flicker of magic from him, something primal and old that I don’t recognize, but want to.
“Meet me on the boardwalk steps at nine, I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
Alec leans in, placing the gentlest of kisses on my forehead before smiling and pulling away, turning and heading towards the door until he’s out of sight. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Alec is like my sister and I, because the spot where he kissed my forehead buzzes with magic.
“Anything you can tell me, Bumble? Magic?” I ask my familiar, a large bee crawling out from the curls of my hair and onto my shoulder. It buzzes with intent, flitting around until it settles on my nose.
“Wolf, huh?” I toss my hair over my shoulder and Bumble disappears into the curls again, “Well, at least it will be an interesting night.”
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone