Jasper and I went up against each other, and after tapping the little card to pay, I grabbed the puck from the slot and put it on the table. “Alright, cousin. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
With a smirk, Jasper grabbed his pusher, shifting his stance and preparing himself. It took two seconds for him to get the puck into my goal. I looked down in surprise, gaping at him.
“How the hell did you do that?”
Jasper’s grin was devilish when he said, “Mom taught me to play. She used to take me to the arcade all the time.”
Well, damn. I hadn’t known that. I was kind of glad I hadn’t since I probably would’ve overthought it and second guessed coming here if I had. He looked happy though, and when he scored another goal, he cackled like a villain and gave Xander a high five when he congratulated him. For the first time I think since he showed up, he looked like a kid, just having fun, no stress or anxiety. He smiled and laughed, groaning dramatically when I finally managed to get a puck in. My chest lightened more and more as we hung out together, and it felt like I could handle the next few years if things kept progressing like this.
“Last game before lunch,” I called as Jasper and Rooster stood across from each other. Rooster had won against Flash and Xander, but Jasper seemed determined to kick his ass and I was willing to wait a little longer for food if it meant Rooster gotknocked down a peg or two. Dude spent too much time at the arcade for his age to be that good at air hockey.
Xander, Flash, and I surrounded the table, watching the two of them as the puck dropped and shot across the table. It went back and forth, neither of them allowing it to get anywhere near their goals. I wondered for a minute if I made a mistake and should’ve made everyone eat first since this looked like it’d take a while when Jasper’s hand snapped out, hitting the puck sideways instead of straight on. It zigzagged across the table, slipping behind Rooster’s hand and into his goal as he reached out to hit it and missed.
“Holy crap,” I murmured, impressed. “That was awesome.”
Rooster’s eyes narrowed playfully. “Oh, so it’s gonna be like that, huh? I didn’t think trick shots were allowed.”
I was going to tell Rooster to go easy, this was supposed to be fun, but Jasper beckoned him with a chin lift. He didn’t look nervous at all.
I’d thought the game was chaotic before, but once the two of them started doing tricks, it got even more insane. Twice, the puck launched off the table and had to be put in the middle to be put back into play because they were going so hard. Jasper practically launched himself across the table once to catch Rooster off guard, somehow causing him to jerk in just the right way to make him shove the puck into his goal on his own. It was hilarious. Their score was even throughout the whole game and in the last round, Rooster was starting to look a little winded.
“Last one,” he said, eyes already darting over the table as he considered what kind of trick Jasper would make next. Since Jasper was the one with the puck, Rooster was on the defensive already.
Releasing the puck, Jasper’s hand moved to the side like he was doing another trick shot and Rooster moved with it to block, not realizing Jasper had pushed the puck forward beforemoving, sending it in a straight shot to Rooster’s goal without any tricks involved. The game buzzed, flashing to announce Jasper’s win. While me and the boys cheered, Rooster blinked down at the table in confusion, then back at Jasper, a crooked grin flashing across his face.
“That was evil,” he cackled. “I’m using that next time.”
Jasper gave him a smug grin, setting the pusher back onto the table and lacing his fingers behind his head. “Whatever, old man.”
Chuckling, I patted Jasper’s shoulder. “Good job, kid. Let’s get some food.”
We got in line at the counter to order some food, Rooster paying for him and Flash while I paid for me and the other two. I appreciated that, I wasn’t exactly rolling in cash at the moment, and he gave my shoulder an affectionate squeeze when he noticed my relief. He didn’t draw attention to it, snagging the buzzer that would go off when our food was done and tossing it into the air.
“What do you think? Can we manage another game or two while we wait?”
I shrugged. “Why not?”
We headed for the basketball shooting game since the boys asked for that next and were taking turns like usual when the buzzer went off. Xander and Jasper were supposed to be next, and I felt bad making them stop before they had the chance to go against each other. The three boys seemed to be getting along pretty well and I wanted to encourage Jasper to make friends. As far as Simone or I was aware, he didn't have any friends at school yet.
“Let’s let them finish the game,” Rooster suggested. We’ll get the food and move it to a table and they can meet us when they’re done. We won’t be far.”
Pursing my lips, I considered it. On the one hand, I didn’t want to go too far from the boys with Battle’s crew still causing trouble in town. On the other hand, I didn’t want him to get away with making us too scared to function either. Rooster was right, we wouldn’t be far. I nodded.
“Yes!” Jasper and Xander shouted together, immediately swinging around to swipe their cards for another game. Flash stuck with them, too excited to want to walk away, so Rooster and I left them to it, heading for the counter to pick up our food.
“This was a good idea,” Rooster told me as we grabbed the trays and moved them to a nearby table. “Shit’s been tense since the Hellfire Riders have come into town. I felt bad for the kids. Maybe I’ll bring some of the younger ones next time, let them have a day to relax.”
“Why didn’t Gracie come? I figured she’d demand to join too.”
“She’s got a playdate with Zoey,” he explained. “The first lady planned a baking day and she chose to do that instead of coming with us.” He gave me a big grin. “She promised me a treat if I bring her back a prize, though. I was thinking of just buying one so the boys could split the points between them. That way she still gets something.”
“And you still get your treat?” I added dryly, smirking at his sheepish look.
A sense of unease settled on my shoulders when we set up the food and the boys still hadn’t returned. Those basketball games were on timers. It shouldn’t have been more than a couple minutes. Logically, I knew there was probably an explanation, like they tied and wanted a rematch or Flash wanted one more round, but I couldn’t force myself to settle and eventually Rooster seemed to grow uneasy too.
“We should check on them,” he suggested apprehensively.
I nodded. He wasn’t going to find me arguing. I figured it was fine to leave the food alone for a minute since I sure as hell wasn’t going to stay behind. We rounded the short wall that separated the food area from the games, heading down the aisle toward where we left the boys. My footsteps faltered when I saw them.
