Abby's Promise

by Rebekah Dodson

  Yet for some reason, I’d traded my casual jeans and a baggy shirt for one of the shortest dresses I owned, and stockings I hadn’t worn in ages. Of course, Zoey needed changing at the very last minute, and I had forgotten a sweater to cover the thin spaghetti straps of my dress. It was a silly game to dress like this, I decided, but I wanted to know for sure. This time around, was Joey really interested? Or was this just his stupid flirt-and-run shit all over again from high school?

  So, here I was with my toddler in the backseat, worried my dress didn’t quite reach my knees and trying to decide if I wanted to do this thing. My heart cried to see him again, but my head clanged with flashing alarms. Friend or not, he was still my student. I tried to convince myself it was college, professors hooked up with students all the time. The math department chair even married one last year. But I was only an associate professor, and still had another year on my contract. What would I do if they found out about Joey and didn’t renew it for that reason?

  Absurd. Everyone else does it, I’d be fine.

  Then: Why the hell am I thinking about hooking up with him in the first place?

  Get it together, Abby.

  Sighing at my own ridiculous argument fallacy, I stepped out of the car and pulled Zoey from her car seat. She was hyper this morning, pulling at my hair and swiping at my face as I struggled with the stroller.

  “Need any help?”

  I turned to see Joey, wearing a casual, light blue hoodie, hood up, unzipped, over a black t-shirt, and relaxed jeans. I felt my breath hitch at how much he reminded me of our high school days, even with his trimmed beard and shaggy hair. He was flanked by two teenage girls, heading toward me. Joey immediately fell to one knee and kissed Zoey on the forehead, distracting her, while he buckled her in.

  “Lettie?” I said, recognizing my sister quickly. “June?” I addressed Joey’s sibling, or at least that’s who I thought it was. I had only seen her in passing the last few years. She had grown up quickly. “What are you doing here?”

  “It’s my fault,” June said, looking down at her hands. “Joey was leaving this morning and I asked where, and I haven’t been to the arcade in forever.”

  “I have to work in about an hour,” Lettie said, “but Juney called me and, ya, I haven’t been here in a grip, too. Plus, who can pass up a chance to see my niece?” She took the stroller from me and pushed it toward the entrance. I shook my head with a smile and Joey strolled next to me.

  “I can’t believe how different they are,” I whispered to him. June, her eyes caked with black makeup, wearing tight, ripped black jeans and a black and white striped t-shirt, complete with zipped hoodie, looked like something from a Tim Burton movie. Then there was Lettie, looking like Sweet Home Alabama in her knee-length yellow spring dress and her blonde hair tied back in a messy bun under a wide-brimmed straw hat. I watched the girls push the stroller up to the front door, where June threw it open.

  He looked up, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Juney grew up,” was all he said.

  “So did Lettie. She’ll be off to college in a couple of years,” I mused.

  “Weren’t they just happy fourth graders a few years ago?” he chuckled.

  I frowned. “You’ve been gone a long time, Joey.”

  “I know.” He stepped in front of me and pulled the door open. “You ready?” he whispered as I walked past him.

  I shivered, and not because I was barely dressed. I had a feeling he wasn’t talking about just the arcade. I dismissed it and nodded, swallowing hard. That look again. Why does he look at me like that?

  Don’t be an idiot, I argued with myself. You know he wants you.

  Determined to have fun this morning and not worry about Joey for once, I pushed it back into the recesses of my mind.

  In this small town, the arcade doubled for several types of entertainment. The front doors opened to five different directions: to the right, bowling alley and counter, to the sharp right, bar and restaurant, and to the left, arcade, and beyond that birthday rooms and a small play center with slides and climbing equipment for younger children.

  June and Lettie already had Zoey out of her stroller and were watching her totter from machine to machine. She tried to push in the flashing quarter buttons and reached at some to pull the orange plastic guns from their holsters, but promptly dropped them, too heavy for her little hands. She ran with wild abandon as the two teens chased after her.

  “Sis!” Lettie called when they reached the far side of the room. “Can she go in the play area?”

  “Yeah, go ahead!” I yelled back. I could hear June laugh as Zoey squealed when they pushed open the glass door to the toddler area.

  Joey was pushing a small white card at me. “The machines don’t take coins any more, can you believe it?”

  I took it and turned it over. I’d been in here once or twice since Joey had been gone, because it was one of few places in town that Lettie could have birthday parties. She’d grown out of that a few years ago, though.

  “So, you just swipe it?” I asked.

  “I guess.” He yanked on my hand then. “The guy said the dinosaur one was the best. Wanna try it?”

  I bit my lip and stared at the black monstrosity taking up the center of the floor. Thick, black curtains on either side meant we’d be hidden from everyone else in the small confines of an arcade machine built for two. My heart raced, and my palms started to sweat. I didn’t know if I was comfortable with this. Not because it meant sitting that close to Joey, but also because I wasn’t sure if I’d fit. As a big girl, there were things we avoided at all costs—diner booths, stools at counters, movie theater seats, and tight-fitting arcade games.

  Not to mention I was in a much-too-short dress.

  I groaned inwardly. Why had I agreed to this?

  Joey didn’t give me much of a choice, however, as he still pulled me toward it. He snatched the curtain to the side and I climbed in with him scrambling behind me. I pulled my dress around me in an effort to stay modest, regretting wearing it for the twentieth time today.

  I relaxed to find the seats were wider than normal and I fit comfortably. This shooting game was strange, however, with the screen set down and almost underneath us. As he swiped his card, the entire booth lit up with swirls of light above, below, and behind us. We were lit up in a magnificent star show, as the intro screamed as us to arm ourselves.

  We both pulled the plastic guns on each side, although Joey held his more rigidly with his arm perfectly crooked, and mine lay loose in my hand.

  “And go!” he yelled as an army of velociraptors rushed toward us on the screen.

  With targeted proficiency, Joey ‘took out’ almost every single one of them. My shots were wild, most making the red ‘missed!’ warning spray across my side of the screen. It swung to the side and we had to take down a T-Rex. Then we boarded a helicopter and had to shoot down the swooping winged reptiles from the air.

  My health bar ticked down quickly, and Joey started shooting his own side as well as mine. Click, click, and then he’d shove my shoulder and point to mine. Click.

  “Hey! Don’t snag my kill!” I yelled at him and pointed at his screen. I hit something!

  “You’re so awful at this,” Joey laughed.

  “I know!”

  Click, click, click.

  “Boss round!” The screen screamed at us.

  Five T-Rexes lumbered toward us, and the swinging camera angle made it hard to hit them. Both of us missed, and Joey ended up swiping his card once, then twice. I didn’t know how much money we were wasting, but I didn’t care. Then the booth began to vibrate and rock, an extra feature that startled me at first, but I went with it.

  “Move!” I yelled, leaning over Joey’s lap to snag a little dinosaur running across the bottom of the screen.

  “On your right!” Joey’s arm brushed my chest as he pointed to my right.

  Click, click. Boom!

  The screen exploded in a shower of confetti, so cheesy
, I thought, congratulating us on surviving the first level.

  I groaned. “That was level one? Holy crap.”

  “Bet you I get more kills level two.” He nudged my shoulder.

  I swiped my card this time. “You’re on!”

  Click, click. Swipe. Scoot. We fought hard for level two, barely making it out alive. I stole two of his kills. He stole seven of mine.

  “You’re good at this,” I said, as level three popped on the screen.

  “Beats shooting real people,” he said with the shrug.

  His nonchalance shocked me. I stared at him, lowering my gun. “Seriously?”

  He glanced at me out of the side of his eye. “You’re going to die if you don’t aim,” he said.

  Frowning, I focused on the game, but the intense competitiveness we had a minute ago disappeared. Disappointed, I half-heartedly finished the level with three points left on my life.

  “I’ll die next round,” I said softly.

  He reached across my lap and swiped his card on my side. “I give you life!” he announced, pulling his arm back slowly across my thighs.

  My breath caught in my throat, and not for the army of dinosaurs that swarmed in on us. His touch sent a bolt of electricity through me and suddenly it was hot in here, smothering me. My skin and my cheeks heated.

  “Come on, grab your gun!” Joey nudged me again.

  My skin was on fire every time he touched me. I wasn’t claustrophobic, but was it getting hot in here? Or just the company?

  Click, click, brrr…brrr…brrrr. I picked up the enhancement for the spray and pray, and decimated the army on both sides.

  We beat the game.

  “Yes!” Joey screamed and turned to high five me.

  I looked at his upheld hands. My heart thrummed in my chest hard and the light from the screen highlighted his blue eyes.

  I’d played games with Joey a hundred times in high school. A thousand. On the edge of my bed, corner of his, in the living room late at night with his parents asleep down the hall. A few times I’d wanted him to kiss me, but I’d been terrified, awkward, and afraid he’d turn me down. I never knew if he wanted me to do it or not back then.

  Now everything was different.

  Oh, screw it.

  I dropped my plastic game gun and pulled his face to mine in a kiss. Surprised for a brief second, he returned the kiss.

  I half expected him to pull away like he had at my house last week. That wasn’t what I wanted, but what happened next shocked me—in a good way.

  He kissed me again and again, his tongue playing against my lips as I allowed him entrance. God, he tasted smooth and sweet and faintly like coffee. There wasn’t enough room in that little arcade booth, but somehow, he found it. I scooted between the seats, my butt painfully pressing against the seat ridge, but I didn’t care. He squeezed between the holsters and straddled me. Our kisses deepened, and he trailed his lips down my cheek and to my neck. My hands found his hair and the back of his neck as I pulled him closer while one of his hands twined with my hair, ripping my ponytail out and letting my hair fall to my shoulders. I felt the fingertips of his other hand at the edge of my dress, playing with the hem, and then before I knew it, he’d slipped over my belly to cup my…

  “Hey, Zoey’s thirsty. Can we grab a soda?”

  The blinding lights of the arcade caught us both off-guard as Lettie lifted the curtain.

  “Oh, shit!” I exclaimed, startled.

  Joey nearly fell against her as he scrambled back into his place to the left of me. “Lettie, we were just, um, uh…” he tried to say. He trailed off. He was panting as hard as I was.

  I recovered quicker, but still struggled to breathe. “Hey, sis.” I was blushed, hard. “Yeah. Um. Let me just get my purse.”

  My sister was laughing now. “Jesus Christ, ya’ll need a hotel room or what?”

  I glared at her and swiped my purse from the floor of the booth and fished out a couple of dollars. “Here, go get Zoey juice from the machine.”

  She took the money. “Want me to lower the curtain so you can continue, or what?”

  I pushed out of the booth and stood next to her. “Just go, Lettie.”

  Still chuckling, my sister jogged back to the toddler area to get June and Zoey.

  Joey was standing next to me, and in the low light of the arcade, he had my lipstick smeared on his face. I rummaged in my purse and handed him a tissue, motioning to the marks.

  “What was that?” he whispered, wiping at his face and tossing the tissue in a nearby garbage can.

  I just stared at him. I wanted to be mad, mad at myself, but I couldn’t lie. That was the most fun I’d had, well, since before Joey left. “I don’t even know,” I said, “I guess there’s something about video games that, uh, turns me on.”

  “So, dinosaurs turn you on, eh? I have a dozen games in my room back home, if you ever want to play,” he said while wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Stop that.” I punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Can you imagine if your sister had caught us? She’d tell your parents!”

  “Nah, I don’t think so,” He shrugged. “Also, ow.” He rubbed his arm mockingly. “Also, can’t a grown man make out in an arcade with a grown woman without worrying about their parents?”

  “I will punch you again,” I warned, but couldn’t help smiling. I also had to resist the urge to touch my lips. God, he tasted so good, and my skin was heating up, even now. What was he doing to me?

  “Why are you so violent?” he laughed. “Come on, maybe we should choose a safer game this time.”

  “I’m not sure I like safe,” I said, biting my lip. Oh my God, Abby, we got a rebel over here!

  He threw me that hungry look again. “If we weren’t in an arcade, the things I would do.”

  “What would you do?” This conversation was dangerous.

  Exciting.

  Much to my dismay, he ignored me and trotted to the row of machines behind the dinosaur booth. Pushing away thoughts of seeing that incredibly, finely toned Marine body without a shirt on, I strode past him to the one with two plastic guitars resting against the side.

  “Guitar Hero! I’ll shred you.”

  “Seriously? In high school, you got kicked out of band for being exceptionally bad, remember?”

  “Shut up, Joey.” I snatched the guitar up and threw the strap over my head, sliding my card into the machine. “Are you scared a girl can beat you at guitar?”

  He groaned and picked up his guitar. “I’m awful at this. Can’t we go back to a shooting game?”

  “No,” I said firmly, “This is easier to beat you.”

  The first pop song was an easy win, as I clicked through the multi-colored buttons with ease. Joey barely made it, failing three times, but I saved him. I kicked up the difficulty and chose a heavy metal song.

  “Oh, God!” he whined.

  “Ha!” I said, clicking through the song with ease.

  Joey made it three notes in before he threw his guitar down. “I’m done,” he announced.

  I thought he was kidding, but I saw how annoyed he was. “You give up too easily.”

  “Screw you,” he said, and walked away.

  I chased after him. “Okay, I’m gonna go check on Zoey. You pick the next one.”

  He said nothing as he wandered to Fruit Ninja.

  I left the arcade to find Lettie, June, and Zoey sitting at the counter of the restaurant that faced the bowling alley. A tired teenaged boy in a plain white t-shirt and wearing a black apron was busy wiping down the counters and cleaning the soda machine.

  “Hey, guys,” I called to them, waving. “Are you having fun?” I kissed Zoey on her head. She was busy piling large bites of salted pretzel in her mouth.

  “Fun,” she squeaked.

  June and Lettie were pouring over something on June’s phone as they looked up at me. “I bet Zoey will nap like crazy now,” Lettie said. “She’s so full of energy.”

  I nodded. “You hav
e no idea.”

  An exhausted mother with five children under five bustled into the bowling alley, and the teen in the apron sauntered to the alley counter to take their money. Behind them, two teenagers and two elderly women joined the line.

  “I’ve gotta get to work,” Lettie said. “I’m gonna drop June off at her house on my way, but did you get Mom’s text?”

  “What? No.” I’d set my phone to vibrate earlier and fished it out of my purse. I had four unopened texts, three from my mother, and one from Joey. Joey? Why would he text me when he was in the same building? Weird. I opened my mother’s first.

  Where are you?

  Bring Zoey over later today?

  Do you want to grab lunch?

  I looked at Lettie, who rolled her eyes. She knew our mother.

  At the arcade. I can send Zoey over with Lettie, she’s headed that way.

  My mother was likely sitting at the kitchen table staring at her phone. Sure enough, it dinged right away: Sounds good! Can you bring some clothes over for her later? We want to keep her overnight.

  I smiled. My mother had been busy with her accounting business, and tax time was in full swing. It would be nice to get Zoey off my hands for one night. The idea of a bubble bath alone and a chick-flick sounded amazing after this week.

  Alright. Lettie’s leaving now and should be there shortly.

  I looked at Lettie. “She wants Zoey tonight.” I tossed her my keys. Can you guys get the car seat okay?”

  June caught them. “No problem, Abby.” She half smiled at me as Lettie picked up Zoey. “So, you and my bro, huh?”

  “June.” I glared at Lettie, behind her, who only shrugged. I looked at both of them. “I trust you are both adult enough to know not to share things that aren’t your business, right?”

  Suddenly somber, they both nodded.

  “Good,” I told them. “Text me when you drop off Zoey, okay?”

  I kissed Zoey on the head. “You ready for grandma’s?”

  “G’ma!” Zoey shouted. She clapped. I smiled at her and then watched the girls leave.

  As I wandered back to the arcade to find Joey, I scrolled through my emails briefly. Two from students, not urgent, one from my boss about a meeting change on Monday. I flipped open Joey’s text.