The lights were blinking in different colours and the floor was covered with little machines spitting out coins and dinging bells in response to someone winning.
The food was greasy and the crowd of families taking their kids to play laser tags was incredible.
You entered the arcade hand in hand with Matt after meeting outside. It was his idea and you hadn't been at an arcade in the longest time. Your smile let Matt know you were excited to see how everything went and he mentally patted himself on the back for choosing a different kind of first date.
"I'll race you on the NASCAR one" you said, walking up to it. It was a start.
"Game on" Matt sat himself in the red car, trying to fit his legs in. Matt put the coins into the machine and selected the versus mode.
"I hope you're not a sore loser" you said, revving your engine.
"The fact that you think you're going to win is crazy"
The green light popped up and with a quick pop, your cars shot out of the start line in their high speed chase.
~
You tried your luck at those rigged machines and lost some tickets, so you were ready to try and stack up on them at whatever game was easy enough for you to get a ring. Maybe you could try whack a mole again or buy more coins to play another round of basketball.
"I'll tell you what..." Matt said, stopping in his tracks. He pointed at the line for the laser tag, which was a long line. "Let's get into this line"
"You're so dead"
"Okay, okay" he said, when you made your way to the back of the line. "If you win, I'll give you all my tickets"
"Fair"
"If I beat you here"
"A dream, really" Matt mocked and put his hand on his chest and used his other hand to ruffle your hair.
"Stop!" You said, laughing and trying to get his hand off.
"If I win.." he continued, grabbing your hands in his. You blushed and hoped he wouldn't notice, but he did. Matt cleared his throat and intertwined his fingers with yours.
"What if you win?" You said, your stomach full of butterflies.
"I get.." he looked around, faking wonder like he didn't already know what he wanted. With a cheeky smile, he leaned his head down to yours, making your breath hitch. "I get a kiss"
"Deal" you bit back a smile, moving a little in the line after the next group is let in.
As you wait, Matt went to get you both a snack and you took the time to ask random questions while you waited.
"Ready?" Matt asked after you'd been prepped with the necessary gear to play the game. Your mind was calculating where you could hide to tag people without them seeing you.
"I'm ready to get that ring, Matt" your words came out in a teasing tone.
"I was thinking about adding something else to the bet. If I win.." the countdown started and the worker called out a fair game, preparing the room to go into darkness. "I get a second date"
~
You didn't know how many points you had and you hadn't seen Matt's figure in a while, or maybe you did, but you weren't focused on just getting him. That was a bad plan. The hiding tactic gave you five points and then you started moving, remembering moves that only seemed to work in movies.
You went behind a short barrier to disappear from directions, but someone beat you to it and before you reacted, you fell on top of them. The groan of the other person was familiar enough for you to grab your gun and pointed it at Matt. But he was too quick and he disabled your gun for ten seconds, leaving you there with your knee between his legs.
"Shit"
"Hey, there's kids around" he joked, pushing you. "Go, this is my spot"
"No way. I was going to hide here first" you laughed, pushing him back. Matt pointed his gun behind you, shooting a boy that came up.
"Saved you from death, didn't I?" Matt smirked.
"My superhero" you said sarcastically, rolling your eyes.
"It's unfair how pretty you are, even in the dark" he reached up to stroke your cheek. You doubted you could hide your blushing cheeks. You saw Matt move closer, making your hands sweaty. There was enough light to spot his eyes lane on your lips. There was enough light in the room for Matt to close his eyes and press his lips against yours.
~
"It's one thing to beat me by two points, but beating today's high score?" Matt said, with fake jealousy. You won the round of laser tag, coming on top by two points, but you took the price for beating today's high score.
"Believe it. You're looking at the laser tag queen" Matt let out a laugh as he walked with you to the counter to exchange your tickets for whatever you wanted.
"Your tickets then, my Queen" Matt bowed jokingly and handed you all of his tickets as promised. "Time to get a ring fit for royalty"
