“I like to shop…sometimes.” I rolled my eyes at him.
“Good. I need to get a few things. We can make it quick and figure out where to go from there.”
“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?” I asked as I stood and stretched my arms.
“No isn’t a part of my vocabulary. Grab a sweater. It’s cold out today.”
I rolled my eyes as I made my way into my bedroom to find something to wear. I really could stand to go shopping for some new clothes. Nothing looked good. I pulled on a beige sweater and jeans.
“Good enough.” I tugged my sweater over my shoulder as I walked back into the living room.
We drove about fifteen minutes outside of town to the Chelsea Mall. It was virtually empty for a Wednesday morning. As we got inside, we realized why. The stores wouldn’t be opening for another half an hour.
“What are we going to do until the stores open?” I asked as I pulled my purse up onto my shoulder.
“There has to be something we can do.” Shane began walking down the long hallway. The mall was virtually empty with the exception of a few mall walkers.
“What is it you need to buy?” I asked as my eyes scanned the windows of the stores we passed by.
“That would look good on you.” Shane gestured to a floor-length white gown embellished with pearls along the bodice.
“That’s a wedding gown. Not likely.”
“I need to get a cell phone, and some clothes would be nice.”
I nodded as we turned right down another hallway. Shane stopped at a giant mall directory kiosk and looked over the map.
“There!” He pointed to a yellow square, and I squinted my eyes to read the small print.
“An arcade?”
“You scared?” he asked as he bumped his shoulder into mine.
“Of what?” I drug my eyes up and down his muscular body as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Oh, wow. You’re competitive. Good to know.” He winked as he put his arm over my shoulder and guided me toward the arcade. “So am I.” His warm breath blowing across my cheek sent a chill through my entire body.
“You are going to be disappointed.” I laughed as we walked into the dimly lit arcade and my eyes adjusted to the low lighting. I scanned the different games in hopes of finding something at witch I could actually beat Shane.
“How about air hockey?” I asked as I walked over to the table and ran my fingertips over the smooth plastic top.
“Excellent choice.” Shane pulled his wallet from his back pocket and grabbed a dollar bill. He pushed it into the machine and it rumbled to life. I grabbed my paddle and Shane grabbed his with the puck from his side. “You ready for this?” he asked. I nodded, trying to keep myself from breaking out in laughter from his serious tone.
“Bring it!” As the words left my lips, Shane hit the puck, sending it sliding across the table so fast I barely saw it. It ricocheted off the right side and bounced back to him. He hit it again as my arm shot out and I was finally able to make contact with the puck. It wobbled on the table before taking flight. Shane ducked out of the way as it flew passed his head and hit the counter behind him.
“That’s cheating.” His face was dead serious and I burst out in a fit of giggles as he shook his head and retrieved the puck.
“I’m sorry. It’s been years since I’ve played this.”
“We need mood music.” Shane slapped the puck on the table and headed for the jukebox along the wall. He stuck money in the slot and flipped through the pages of music as I tapped my foot.
“I’m not waiting all day!” I called over to him as he held up his finger to tell me to wait. I slapped my paddle down and headed over to him. He blocked the jukebox so I shoved him playfully with my hip as his first choice began to play through the speakers. “‘Live Like We’re Dying’? Really?” I laughed as I scanned over the choices of songs.
“It’s on every time I get in the car. Don’t judge. No chick music.” He pushed back against me and I slid myself in front of him, blocking him from seeing what I was picking. His body pressed against mine from behind and his hands found their way to my hips. Our playfulness soon took on a different vibe. I cleared my throat as I stood up straight and punched in a few buttons for a song. “There.” I turned around, face to face with him. Our eyes locked for a second before I looked down at the ground and slid my way out.
“We gonna play?” I asked as I picked up my paddle and leaned over the table.
“Hell yes.” Shane hit the puck and I struggled to catch it as it flew to my side of the table.
“So, you have a sister.” He called over the sound of the music, distracting me and the puck slid into the slot just behind my hands.
“Yup.” I grabbed the puck and dropped it back on the table. “We are nothing alike.” I tried to concentrate on the game.
“Makes sense. You’re one of a kind.” He hit the puck to my side, and this time it went straight into the hole.
“Stop trying to distract me,” I groaned as I grabbed the puck and laid it on the table.
“If I wanted to distract you, I would.”
“Not possible.” I was too focused on wiping that smirk off his face. I hated losing.
Shane dropped his paddle on the table and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. He pulled it up over his head and hung it over the edge of the table. My eyes refused to listen to my brain as I drank in every ounce of his exposed muscled flesh, including the scar that stretched across his pectoral muscle. I didn’t even care when he picked up his paddle again and hit the puck directly into the slot.
“Your turn.”
“I am not taking off my clothes in the middle of the mall.” Shane looked around the room. The only other person here was the arcade manager who was busy working on an old arcade game on the other side of the floor.
He slowly rounded the corner of the table and walked toward me. I struggled to keep my breathing at a normal pace as my heart thudded in my chest. When he reached me, he stared down at me as the muscles in his jaw flexed. I couldn’t form any words. He bent down and his breath blew across my lips. His hand slipped into the end of the table and he grabbed the small red disc and held it up between us with a smirk playing across his lips.
“I meant your turn to hit the puck. You suck at this game, Jenn.” He laughed and I hit him in the chest with the back of my hand.
“Stay on your side of the table!”
He laughed as he walked away and I huffed.
“And keep your clothes on!”
He shook his head as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it down over his head.
“Where’d you get that scar?” I asked as it disappeared under his shirt.
“That’s a story for another day.”
“You don’t share much.”
“Not much to share.” He shrugged and we began to play again as the song switched and my selection began. I hit the puck and it slid right into his side of the table as he made a face at me. “This is your plan? Drive me crazy with weird music? They don’t even use these tactics at war anymore. It’s inhumane.”
“It’s ‘Fireflies.’ I love this song.” I stuck out my lower lip to pout as Shane laughed.
“Let’s go get some shopping done.”
I turned around to look out the door and watched as shoppers filed by.
“Fine. You quit, so I win.”
“Not a chance. We can play again some other time.” Shane’s fingers looped around my arm and stopped me from walking. “Wait.”
“What?” I laughed as I turned back to him and followed his eyes to a small photo booth on the left side of the arcade. “Oh, no. I take horrible pictures.”
“You’re serious? You want me to believe you are not photogenic?”
“I do this weird thing,” I sighed, as I thought of how my sister always looked better in all of our photos.
“Now we have to do this. I need to see the weird thing you do.” He laughed as he pulled me to the booth. He slid inside and sat on the tiny bench, his large six-foot frame taking up the entire space.
“Where am I supposed to sit?”
Shane winked as he patted his leg with his hand.
“I am not sitting on your lap in an enclosed space.” I held up my hands and took a step back.
Shane reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward him as I shook my head.
“I won’t bite. Not unless you ask me to.” He laughed as he slid a five-dollar bill into the money slot on the machine. I reluctantly sat on his leg, and he grabbed my shoulders and pulled my back against his chest. As we waited for the first picture to snap, I ran my hands through my hair and tried my best to smile without looking like I was crazy. All I could focus on was Shane’s muscular body against me.
The first picture snapped and I was certain my eyes had closed from the flash.
“I told you. Horrible.”
“You just need to relax. Look at me.” I turned my head to the right and locked eyes with Shane, whose face was only an inch from mine. The picture snapped but I couldn’t look away from him. His right hand brushed across my cheek as we both took a deep breath. His thumb ran over my lower lip and another picture snapped.
“Shane…” My voice was barely a whisper as my eyes searched his.
“Jenn…” He said as his lips lightly brushed against mine. My eyes fell closed as my fingers felt on his chest. The picture snapped and my eyes slowly opened to see Shane smiling.
“You have to pay extra to use my booth for alone time.” A voice called from outside of the machine. My forehead fell against Shane’s as I laughed and stood from his lap.
Waiting for our pictures to develop could easily be described as awkward. I couldn’t get the stupid grin off my face and Shane’s eyes stayed trained on me. As two strips of pictures fell into the picture catcher, I sneaked a glance at him. He pulled them from the slot and his eyes danced over the photos before he handed me my copy.
“You take beautiful pictures,” he said as he stuck his into his back pocket.
“Thanks,” I stuck my pictures in my purse as I nervously chewed on my lip. “Let’s go get some shopping done.”
We found several kiosks in the center of the mall for every cell phone company you could think of. Shane picked one and I people-watched as he and the man behind the counter went over the terms of the contract. Exhaustion began to set in as I listened to them, so I yawned and pointed to the Starbucks across hall.
“Need more coffee.”
Shane laughed and shook his head as he continued to go over the deal.
I took off across the mall to the little Starbucks tucked between two clothing stores. The smell alone instantly woke me. I stood in line waiting my turn, occasionally glancing over my shoulder every to look at Shane. One minute he was leaning over the counter, the next he was gone. I scanned the area but was unable to locate him.
“Can I help you?” the barista asked from behind the counter.
“Two plain coffees, please. Venti.”
He looked at me as though he didn’t understand.
“The Verona one.” I glanced up at the menu behind him. I grabbed a twenty from my wallet. I tapped my fingers on the counter as I waited for my change. A man with dirty blond hair rested his elbows on the counter next to me. He looked around my age. He smiled at me and I returned the favor as the barista sat my drinks on the counter.
“One of those for me?” he asked as an arm slid around my waist and Shane pulled me into his side.
“That’s mine. Gonna have to find your own pretty lady to buy your coffee,” Shane responded and took one of the cups from my hand.
“Where were you?” I asked as we made our way to the sugar and creamers.
“I went in that music store over there to buy something.” He held up the small plastic bag for me to see.
“Oh…” I poured the sugar into my cup until Shane placed his finger on the bottom and tilted it back down so I couldn’t add anymore. “Are you always such a control freak?” I stirred my coffee and pushed the lid back on it.
“You’re either a leader or a follower,” he said as he sipped at his coffee.
“No gray areas, huh?” I smirked as I breathed in the scent of my beverage.
His eyes raked over me before locking back on to mine.
“Nope,” he replied as we stepped out into the open mall and began walking down the corridor.
“You’re a control freak.” I turned to walk into J.C. Penney.
“I’m not a control freak. I just prefer to be the one calling the shots.”
“Uh, huh…” I ran my hand through a rack of men’s T-shirts.
“In my job it could mean the difference between winning a mission and losing everything,” he said as he pulled a green shirt from the rack and held it up to his chest. I crinkled my nose and he placed it back on the rack.
“At my job it is life at the top or rotting away in a small cubical.” I rolled my eyes and pulled a baby blue shirt from the rack, holding it out for him.
He took it and looked it over.
“I’ll talk to Jake.”
“No!” I spun around and took the shirt from his hands. “I don’t need anyone to fight my battles for me, so to speak.”
He smirked and took the shirt back from my hands.
“I like this one.” He began walking toward another rack. “Jake just needs things put into perspective. He’s having a hard time and doesn’t see that others are too.”
“Shane, I know you feel like it is your place because Jake is your cousin, but I don’t want to get ahead by taking the back way. I need to do this on my own.”