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“And you always shoot for the center?”
“The corner cups are for suckers,” I tell him. “Sure, you make it in sometimes, but overall, you do better aiming for the center.”
He shrugs. “Maybe so. But we don’t live overall, do we? We live each moment separately.”
He throws the ball. It bounces off the rim of the corner cup, then falls down all the way to the ten-point hole.“Well, it would have made my point a little better if that had gone in, but you get it.”
We move around the arcade, trying out game after game. I can definitely understand why he loved this place so much as a kid. Every time I think I’ve seen everything, there’s a new room or a new machine in a corner I didn’t notice before. Most of them I recognize from other arcades, but some are new to me, and those end up being my favorites, too.
“It all comes down to this shot,” Jaromir narrates to himself, basketball in hand. “If he sinks it, he will be the champion at this Hoop Fever basketball arcade game. But if it goes amiss, it will be a mere tie. The crowd tenses. This is what they’ve all been waiting for.”
“Am I the audience in this situation?” I ask.
“Well, obviously. And I was the audience when you were playing. Now, wait with bated breath, would you? I’m about to decide everything.”
“My breath simply couldn’t be any more bated.”
He launches the ball and it makes a perfect arc, swishing through the hoop.“Yes! Victory! Sweet, sweet victory! I knew I had a champion in me, just waiting for this moment to come out!”
I laugh. “You’re cute when you’re celebrating.”
He looks at me with a twinkle in his eye. “Well, you’re cute all the time.”
I let myself get closer to him and we kiss. This whole date has been so ridiculous, but also so wonderful. Here I am, kissing the volunteer coach, who’s wearing a disguise in case someone at this arcade happens to recognize us, and I couldn’t be happier.
“Don’t think this means I’ve forgotten that I won,” he says when we finally pull apart.
When we finally spend our last coin, Jaromir warns me that we spent our time focusing on fun rather than profit. We’re not gonna have enough tickets for any of the really good prizes.
“Don’t worry,” I tell him. “Even if all they have is those yo-yos that don’t work, I’m not gonna regret my decision.”
“See?” he says. “Sometimes it pays to shoot for the corner cup.”
Of course, I won’t pretend I’m not a little sad that we can’t afford the big stuffed animal or the hat that lights up when you press a button. But we still end up with some stretchy grabby hands, a pretty good wooden top, and most importantly, a whole bag of hard candy. Jaromir insists on getting some of the super sour stuff, and I slap him with the grabby hand as he savors his first treat.
“So what do you think?” he asks as we walk out, our wonderful prizes in tow. “Did I do a good job setting up a second date?”
I smile and lean my head on his shoulder. “You did a wonderful job.”
“But which one of us wins?”
I laugh and hit him with the grabby hand again.
19
JAROMIR
I’ve only just sat down when I see her walk in. I had expected to have at least five or six minutes before she’d get here too, but apparently, she decided to show up early too.I guess I really didn’t do so badly on the last date after all.
“Just to check, no one knows that we’re doing this, right?” she says. “I mean, you didn’t tell anyone that you were going to be meeting me here when you set this up?”
“Of course not,” I reassure her. Not that it would really be such a problem even if I did. The two of us have a connection through the hockey team. There’s nothing suspicious about meeting outside of school hours to discuss it.
“And no one saw you? None of the kids? No one else?”
“No one saw me,” I tell her again, adjusting the wool beanie on my head before doing the same with my coat. It’s not my best disguise, but even I can admit I might be taking things too far. If I was back home in the city, there’s no way Melody and I would be enjoying a couple’s night on the ice.
But she’s nervous, and that’s reason enough to take things slow. Someday, I hope we’ll be able to go public with all this, but I’m not gonna do it until she’s ready.Meanwhile, I open the doors and together we walk into the rink.
