I'm Gonna Miss You

Chapter 38: My Knight Tonight

The music blared from the speakers, the bass mixing with the alarms going off as numerous people played games and earned prizes. The lights flickered, strobe lights hitting each crevice of the room as their colors burned through the darkness. The herd of laughter and chatter surrounded us, yet seemed distant at the same time. Dylan and I were in our own world, and we had no concept of anything around us in the moment. Among the bright lights, the only thing that seemed to catch my attention was Dylan's even brighter smile as he picked up the rubber hammer from the game master.

We had been in the arcade for half the day, and I was not at all tired from running around, giggling and standing in the crowded room. As we were walking past a few games that we had grown bored with, Dylan jumped at the sight of the 'High Striker' game standing before us. His luminescent eyes twinkled as I watched him swing the toy behind his back, his childish smile just as wide as mine. He brought it down with such force that the bell rang, signaling his attempt was a winning one.

I clapped my hands together as I feigned infatuation. "My hero!" Dylan stood in his spot, proceeding to pose with flexed muscles.

"Congratulations, sir!" The game master signaled us over. "You've won! Choose any prize!" He motioned behind him, to the wall of items.

"What do you want?" Dylan yelled over the music.

"Hmm." I pretended to be deep in thought, running my finger in the air before letting it land on my date. "You."

A foolish smile ran on his lips, pulling me closer. "You already have me." I laughed heartily, as he placed a quick peck on my cheek. "What about a teddy bear?" I nodded enthusiastically. "That one please." He pointed to the brown bear hanging in the corner.

The stuffed toy was passed to Dylan, who then passed it to me. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, babe."

We started walking once more, looking for other things to peak our interest. Every so often we would get totally side tracked and start messing around with the activities. I knew I was having a great time with him-- there was never a time where hanging out with Dylan wasn't great, but now I absolutely knew it. From the blush on my face to the pain in my cheeks from smiling too frequently. My stomach would knot and kick whenever Dylan would reach for my hand. I would guess that after holding his hand just as much as I saw him, I would be used to it. But no. That minuscule act of affection always got my mind flustered and my heart racing. Which I hoped was a good sign about my feelings for him.

"What next?" Dylan asked as our laughter died down.

I raised my shoulders only to let them drop. "We've played almost everything in here."

"Oh, I know!" Dylan caught my hand and dragged me to a corner of the room.

It was difficult to push past people as Dylan made his own path. "Where are we going?"

Just as I said this our movement came to a halt, causing me to run into his chest. I let out a yelp, gripping his hand tighter. The moment I caught my footing, I looked up to see what had gotten my date so intrigued. Before me stood a photo booth, bright neon letters glowing from atop it. Dylan was smiling like a 10 year old, as he looked from me to the machine. He held his hand out, letting go of mine as I entered the booth.

"Ladies first." He cooed.

I sat down on the white bench, the screen in front of me and a tiny camera slightly above it. I turned to observe Dylan ducking in and taking the seat beside me. I fixed my hair in the reflection as Dylan watched on amused at what I was doing. I gave him a look that said 'what?' and he chuckled in return. I leaned forward to tap the shutter icon, the countdown from three beginning on the screen. There was zero distance between us as we tried to fit in the tiny frame.