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As one they faced him, their matching expressions priceless. Looks like they just expected him to go along with it, and he didn’t really mind.
“Come, let’s get going,” he ordered, opening his door. They quickly piled out behind him, Alisha waiting at the hood of the car for Adam to catch up.
Unfortunately, Adam had no such compunction. His excitable nature had him dashing to the front entrance to the huge paintball arena.
Even more unfortunately, at that moment a large white sedan chose to come barreling down the parking lot headed for the exit. Adam was right in his way, and it didn’t look like the driver had any plans to slow down at all.
Rueben felt like time had stopped and his world had been turned on its axis. In what felt like hours but what could only be split seconds Rueben could picture Adam’s body flying through the air like a rag doll and hitting the ground with a huge thump.
Alisha’s panicked cry rang through the air and Adam stopped in his tracks, his eyes going huge as he saw the car heading his way.
Rueben finally gained control of his body and reacted without thought. He dove forward and used his momentum to throw himself and Adam out of the oncoming car’s way. The two of them landed in a tangle of limbs. The unmistakable squeal of brakes and the smell of burned rubber surrounded them as Rueben jumped up and kneeled next to Adam.
“Are you okay?” Rueben ran his hands up and down the younger man’s body, checking him over for any obvious injuries. When Adam made no outward signs of discomfort or pain, Rueben took the first easy breath in what felt like years, and when his boy finally nodded his head in response to Rueben’s question, he finally relaxed.
“I-I’m fine. Fuck. That car came out of nowhere.” Adam sat up and rubbed his face with both of his hands.
“You also didn’t look, Addy,” Rueben warned, his tone deep and growly as he contemplated a different outcome. Adam could so easily have been hurt or worse… killed. “I should take you home and tan your hide for taking ten years off my life like that.”
“Holy shit, dude! Are you like… okay?” a very low voice called out, drawing Rueben’s ire away from his boyfriend.
“What the fuck do you mean, is he okay?” Rueben shouted. “Of course he isn’t okay. He was nearly run over by an asshole with no regard for human life! Do you just go around racing through parking lots?”
The man connected to the low voice visibly shrunk at the tirade thrown his way. He had long, lank oily hair and large, dark sunglasses covering half his face. The outfit he had on had to be a couple of days old if the terrible odor coming from him was anything to go by.
Rueben was about to jump up and throttle the driver when Alisha stepped up and placed her hand on Rueben’s shoulder. Instantly he felt better, calmer. She placed a quick kiss on his cheek before turning back to the stranger.
“Are you okay, sir?” she asked in her “officer” voice.
The man nodded his response, his eyes frantically swinging between Rueben and Alisha, clearly unable to decide if it was worth removing his attention from the obvious threat.
“Shit, dude. I’m sorry. He, like, came out of nowhere… for real!”
Rueben opened his mouth to ream the driver again but Alisha stepped forward. “Everyone’s okay. No harm no foul. I think though, you need to be a bit more careful in parking lots. No need to break any speeding records, right?”
The man looked suitably chastised and nodded his agreement. “For sure. Uh… if everyone is fine, I’m, like, going to hit the road… I mean get going now,” he said, but he looked at Rueben in question as if expecting him to argue. Rueben’s response was to grunt and turn back to his boy instead.
“Come, let’s get you up and back in the car.”
“What?” Adam shouted out. “No! We are not stopping our fun. I’m fine!” To prove it he jumped up in one quick swoop and hopped up and down as if trying to show how fine he was. An exasperated Rueben scoffed and placed his hands on the younger man’s shoulders, urging him to stand still.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Adam nodded his eager response and grabbed Rueben’s hand, intertwining their fingers. That was when Alisha finished seeing off the other man and joined them.
“I’m fine. Got a fright, nothing more. I promise,” Adam said, smiling large. “Unless you’re too scared Alisha and I will kick your ass.”
“Oh, you cheeky boy. I’ll show you. Now let’s get going so I can show you both who’s really in charge.”
The three of them made their way inside the reception area and had a fun time getting themselves kitted up and choosing which course they would play on. The acne-covered teenager behind the counter rolled his eyes at their antics but helped them out when they asked for extra ammunition. They were on a mission, and that mission was to have as much fun as possible.
The room wasquiet save for the sound of Rueben’s breathing. He was crouched low behind a half wall that was littered in brightly colored paint splotches. He knew Alisha and Adam were around here somewhere, but the two of them had proven surprisingly difficult to beat. In four rounds he’d taken them twice, and only by sheer luck. Which meant that this was his last chance. At first it was best two out of three, but when they had come to another draw, Alisha called it best three out of five, and now his pride was on the line.
He took a deep breath and lifted himself a bit higher so he could look over the wall. And found himself to be one lucky son of a gun. There, right there, was the unmistakable blue overall Adam had chosen to wear this morning. A victorious smile split Rueben’s face as he moved forward a bit more, slowly making his way closer. He wanted to be close enough to see Adam’s expression when he took him down.
He snuck up, proud of himself for keeping the smug smile off his face. Rueben only needed to take down Adam then he could go on the hunt for Alisha. He was under no illusion that taking her down wouldn’t be hard, but one on one were far better odds.
And then... he was being pelted from two different directions. Neither of those the one he had been heading toward.
