“OK, so, all the characters have their own strengths and weaknesses but for now just pick whichever one you like best and we’ll take it from there.”
I sit back on the couch beside her, and I notice too late that I’m a little closer than I was before. It would be weirder if I moved away now, though, so I’d better just stay put. I almost regret not sitting a little closer, since this is going to be my only chance to do so.
“I’m going to be this little green dragon guy,” she says, picking Yoshi. “I feel like he’s lucky.”
“He’s who I usually play with, so I have to agree with you that he’s lucky. Of course, you won’t beat me, no matter how lucky he is. I’ve played this game more than is healthy in the last thirty-odd years, so I’m pretty much a professional.” I pretend like I’m bragging about myself seriously; hopefully she can tell it’s just a joke.
“Oh, is that right?” she asks, with a hint of a laugh in her voice. “We’ll just see about that. Me and my dragon guy are taking you down.”
I shake my head and laugh. She can try to beat me, but I doubt it will happen. I haven’t lost since I was a kid. I wasn’t entirely kidding when I said I’m a pro. I’ve played far too many video games in my life. It’s always been my escape, starting when my dad was alive. It was the only time I felt good in this house when he was around. I could just lock myself in my room and play whatever cute game took me away from the rage he directed at me whenever he felt like it.
We play a few races before she gets into her stride, and she’s actually good. She’s beating all the other racers, aside from me, in the highest class, and she’s not all that far behind me when I win.
“So, did you not have any video games when you were a kid?” I ask, my curiosity finally getting the better of me. It’s weird that she didn’t even know what Mario Kart was before tonight. “None of your friends had any?”
Her tongue pokes out of her mouth while she concentrates on racing. She sways side to side a little when she makes her turns and it’s kind of adorable. Without taking her eyes off the screen, she answers.
“Well, we didn’t have extra money for that kind of stuff when I was still with my mom. She had, uh, other stuff she’d rather spend money on. And then the foster homes I was in didn’t have any either, because the good stuff always got destroyed. I was a big reader, anyway. I spent a lot of time at the public library. Not a lot of time left over for friends.”
That comes as a surprise to me. A woman as gorgeous as she is should have been really popular in school. If I’d known her when I was a teenager, I’m sure I would have been crushing on her hard. I wouldn’t have pegged her for much of a reader, either. Most cops I’ve had the displeasure of dealing with didn’t seem smart enough for recreational reading. I can’t really reconcile that with this woman deciding to become a cop.
“What made you become a cop?” I ask, unable to resist the urge to find out more about her.
“Um, well. My home life when I was a kid wasn’t that great. A female cop was the first person who took me seriously and got me out of my house. She’s the reason I went into foster care, and she’s the reason I became a cop. I wanted the chance to help kids the way she helped me, I guess.”
I see her shrug from the corner of my eye, like it’s not a huge deal to tell me a cop rescued her. She seems well adjusted for someone who needed that kind of intervention. I see kids from tough backgrounds at the shelter all the time. Hopefully, they can become as settled as she seems to be.
It might be way too late for me now, but I still want the best for those kids.
“Haha! Suck it, loser!” She yells, as she jumps off the couch, dropping the controller beside me. “And you said my dragon wasn’t lucky enough to beat you.”
My eyes snap back to the screen where sure enough, her Yoshi is doing a little victory lap, pumping his arms in the air. Meanwhile, the Donkey Kong that I chose is ramming himself against a wall, facing the wrong direction. I guess I spent more time looking at Rhea than I thought.
I look up at her again, and she’s doing a little victory dance, complete with hip thrusts and booty shakes. The shock of lust feels like a punch right in the gut, it hits me so fast.
I need to get out of here. I can’t let her see me excited like this. She’d be so uncomfortable.
“OK, that was fun. Goodnight.” I force out while switching off the Nintendo and the TV. “I’ll take you to get your keys in the morning.”
I run up the stairs two at a time, ignoring how difficult my now raging hard-on makes it. Who knew my kink was being beaten at a video game?
It’s probably good that Devon wasn’t able to accomplish that earlier today, then. Of course, I doubt a hip-thrusting, booty-shaking victory dance from him would affect me quite the same way Rhea’s has.
Chapter 11
Rhea - Video Games and Voyeurism
Well, that was fucking weird. Not to mention rude. I beat him in a race and he gets pissed off and runs away? Talk about acting like a child. It makes sense, I suppose, when I look around and see just how many video games he has around here. He may be as old as his old as fuck car, but he has the mentality of a child.
He’s still insanely attractive, though.
I put the controllers and video game machine back on the shelf, in the only empty space, assuming that’s where they go. If not, then Aiden can fix it himself. If he wanted it done perfectly, he should have stayed and done it himself instead of running away like a baby. Honestly, a grown man being that upset over losing a game is ridiculous. I snicker, thinking about how silly he looked running up the stairs like that.
I turn off the lights as I make my way to the stairs, into the room that Aiden said would be mine. I hadn’t noticed when I got out of the shower, but at some point he must’ve come in here and brought me water and painkillers. He even left the lamp on and turned down the blankets for me. That was actually pretty thoughtful.
I wonder if he regrets it now that I’ve beaten him at his silly video game?
A yawn escapes me without warning, reminding me it’s probably very late now. Without a phone or a watch, I have no idea what time it is, just that it’s late. I slide under the covers into a bed that is more comfortable than I expected. I swallow the painkillers that Aiden left for me and in no time I’m comfortably snuggled up in bed, my mind drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
