“Wait, will we have a chance to get in there and get a feel for it before it starts?” she asks.
“Get a feel for it? What do you think this is?”
“I’m just saying, I don’t want you right on my ass when I walk through the door. I want time to get away from you before it starts.”
“Yes, you’ll get fifteen seconds once the door shuts before the timer starts.”
“Okay, good. Got it.” She rotates her shoulders before she widens her legs, crouching down to stretch.
I just stand and stare at her, taking in the way her leg muscles flex with each move. I don’t doubt the teenage fucker behind the counter is doing the same, but I don’t bother to tell him to keep his eyes off her.
I’ll let him get a show, give him an idea of the kind of woman he has to look forward to when he’s older. Ivy’s body is a fucking ten.
“Baby, you want to turn around and do that for me?” I whisper, quiet enough for only her to hear.
“Not gonna happen, Ward.”
“We haven’t even started yet. Can’t you give me a little taste?”
“Nope.” She glares at me. The moment the vest went on, she turned serious.
“Alright, you’re ready to go.”
Ivy nods, leading the way through the door and into the laser tag course. It’s dark. Green lights pepper the walls pointing toward the floor.
“Don’t follow me, Ward!” Ivy shouts over her shoulder, jogging away from me. I take off, deciding to head in the opposite direction.
A robotic voice plays through the speakers, counting down from five until it announces “BEGIN,” as all the lights flash.
Pressing my back against the wall, I hold my gun out in front of me, quiet with every step I make, surveying my surroundings, searching for any sign of my red medallions or Ivy.
A flicker of movement catches the corner of my eye. Ivy jogs past me, and I cut across toward her. Leaning my shoulder against the wall, I hold the gun up near my face, careful as I turn the corner.
I am met by Ivy’s smiling face with her gun pointed right at my chest, firing.
“Gotcha.” She giggles, taking off running again. It takes a few seconds before my gun unlocks, so I take off behind her.
“You’re gonna pay for that!” I shout, as I hear the signal ring out, alerting she found one of her medallions.
“Fuck,” I gripe. I stop in my tracks, pulling back in search of mine. I need to catch up to her, and she’s already ahead of me.
The next fifteen minutes is spent running through the course as I quickly track down two of my medallions before I run into Ivy again. This time, I’m the victor and shoot her first.
“Damn you, Ward.” She laughs before she takes off running again.
I love how into this she is. Ivy’s the kind of girl who will chill with you watching college football on a Saturday, but then be down to go out with you and a few of your buddies at night.
It’s what I love about her.
I hear the signal announcing Ivy found her second medallion. Now we’re tied, and whoever finds their last one is the winner.
I dash toward the last corner. It’s the only corner of the room I haven’t staked out yet, so I’m willing to bet it’s there. Carefully keeping an eye out for any sign of Ivy, I push my back against the wall and sidestep along the exterior of the room.
I spot my medallion in the far corner and quickly take off toward it, thwarted when I come face-to-face with Ivy when I do. Pointing her laser at me, she shoots and earns her second kill before heading off to snatch her last medallion.
“Hell yeah,” she cheers, jumping up and down. Dropping the gun at my side, I stalk her down, pushing her against the wall. She shrieks in surprise.
Sweat dots her brow; hair pulled back in a ponytail.