She began to pull away from him, embarrassed again, by her tears. He brushed the hair from her face and held it in his strong hands. He pulled her close and softly kissed her forehead.
“Come. Fix face. We go have fun now,” he said and smiled slightly.
She returned his smile and hurried off to the other room to wash her face. Alex moved around to the back of the couch and laid his large hands on the soft chenille. He squeezed until his fingers started to turn white. He struggled to remain composed as he tried to keep his anger in check. He would not let her see him angry again. He would not ever let on how much he wanted beat that man with a belt. Forget belt, get bat.
She reappeared from the back of the house looking as fresh as if it had never happened. She smiled at him and came close to him. She raised herself up on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“So, where are we going?”
“Someplace to make you smile, maybe laugh. You see.”
Twenty minutes later, Alex pulled the Benz into the lot at Lasernation. She raised her eyebrows at him and his grin widened. She shook her head in dismay. How could he look like such a little boy sometimes and so much of a strong man at others? She found each to be equally charming.
“Come on. Will be fun!”
She sighed and followed him inside. They were outfitted with their gear along with ten other people. The lights went dark and their gear lit up. Alex had insisted that they could not be on the same team. They must compete and whoever won would decide what they would do next time. Sophie felt her competitive nature waken. She wasn’t sure what he would have in store for her next, so she better try to win. A buzzer sounded and everyone took off in different directions. She was surprised at how dark it was, but soon her eyes adjusted and she could pick him out across the room. Not that it would be hard anyway. Most of the people who came in with them were skinny teenage kids, not 6’2 and 235 lbs. Alex was a massive man, a bear, but he had shown her his soft side. She was quickly discovering that she really enjoyed his company. Her vest suddenly vibrated and the lights lit up. She’d been shot! She could hear him laughing in the distance. This was war. She was on the hunt now. She hid behind a pylon, glancing around, she spotted him about 25 feet away. He didn’t seem to know where she was. She got on her knees and reached around the pylon and shot. His vest lit up like Christmas and he jumped.
“Hey! You shot me!”
“Isn’t that the point?” she called out. That was a mistake. He zeroed in on her position in seconds and her vest lit up again.
“Hey!”
“Is point, you say so yourself!” The sound of his laughter faded off to the left of the room. They traded shots back and forth for the next few minutes. In the end, Alex had won by a wide margin. He was laughing at her, teasing her.
“You not really think you can beat me. I win. That is what I do. Win.” He reached around her and lay his arm across her shoulders. She looked up into his big blue eyes. His smile was contagious. He pulled her close and kissed her forehead again. She swallowed hard. Being so close to him was making her skin hum. Maybe it was him. Maybe he was just electric.
“I have game tomorrow. You want to come?” he asked on the way home. He looked over at her. “You can bring friend. Katerina. I leave tickets for you. You both have fun.”
He’d walked her to the door. He took her hand and kissed it. She waved as he drove away and closed the door. The house was dim, quiet and empty somehow. For a moment, she wished he hadn’t gone. How long had her life lacked the sunshine? she wondered. Maybe you only recognize it when it’s gone.
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