Page 43 of Slow Burn

With his hand on her lower back, he guided her to Pop-A-Shot, an arcade favorite.

“I’m on edge here,” she told him as she practiced taking shots with no ball in her hand. “What am I up against here?”

Elijah put the coins into the machine so they could play. “I played when I was younger.”

She stopped practicing and put her hands on her hips. “Me too. That doesn’t explain the sinister smile.”

“I always wanted to be a fireman.”

“Story time. I love this.” Georgia rubbed her hands together in excitement.

His left lip lifted up, unable to stop his smile. Her personality was contagious and shined bright on him. “In high school, I played on our team, and I was scouted to play in college.”

Her hands dropped. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope.” He said with a pop. “I turned it down because I wanted to go to school for fire science. After my two-year degree, I got a paramedic license. Then I went to the fire academy. Basketball came easy to me, but it wasn’t a passion.”

“Is this when you tell me I still have a chance because you haven’t picked up a basketball since high school?”

He picked up a ball and handed it to her. Then he grabbed one for himself. “No way in hell. I play in the rec area at the station, probably once a week. Just admit I won the bet.”

The game started, and she took her first shot and in swooshed it. “Something you should know about me is that I never give up.”

Fuck, he loved that about her. But it didn’t matter because he still won by ten points.

Elijah was happy as fuck that he was winning.

Another step closer to being the one who took her home.

BASKETBALL WASN’T A win for Georgia. Turned out, Elijah wasn’t just great at playing basketball. He was the team's leading three-point shooter. He was winning 2-0 for game night, and Georgia was not having it. They needed a game with an equal playing field.

She wanted to know why he called her Peach, but if his reason was only because of a Georgia Peach, she would demand another prize.

But she needed to win first.

“Want to play Dance Dance Revolution?” She asked him with confidence. There was no way Elijah was moonlighting as a hip-hop dancer in his spare time. Though the curl of his lips made her question herself.

His hand slipped into hers as they walked over to the flashing neon platform. He paid for the game, and before he hit start, he glanced at her. “Do you want to hear now or after I win why I’m good at this game?”

Not again. This was getting ridiculous!

Apparently, she didn’t answer fast enough for him, so he hit the start button and the game began before she was ready.

“Hey!” she shouted at him, pushing him while they hopped on the glowing blocks to the sound of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. “You cheated!”

Even with the distraction, Elijah kicked her butt.

This was unbelievable.

They walked off the game, and Elijah grabbed her hand and led her over to a quieter place in the arcade. “It’s really unfair you keep picking my best games.”

“Let me guess. In your spare time, you enter Dance Dance Revolution contests?” she prodded him for fun.

“Everyone at the station volunteers at a different community event. I spend time as a mentor for teens in need. One of my mentees loved this game, so for the past year, I’ve played this game at least twenty times with him.”

“Of course you have,” Georgia said with a hair flip. Her phone vibrated in her purse, and when she took it out, she saw a text.

Dane: Thanks for coming to dinner with me! I tried to find you in the arcade but couldn't. Sloane wasn’t feeling good, so I took her home. She said your brother wouldn’t mind taking you back. Hope that’s okay!