Chapter 2

“Mom, can Stephanie stay for supper?”

“I don’t see why not. Does she like meatloaf?”

Busy at the counter, Mom hadn’t noticed Stephanie following behind Jason. “I like almost everything, Mrs. Thomas. Can I help you?”

“Thank you, Stephanie, but no. You and Jason can go play Xbox or something.”

“Thanks, Mom.” He half-turned away. “C’mon Steph. I’ll show you our family room.

The family room sat a half-floor lower than the living room and a half-floor above Dad’s office. On their way, Stephanie commented how the reversed floorplan made everything look odd.

“What do you want to play?” he asked. They stood at Jason’s shelf of game chips.

Peering at the labels, she said, “I don’t know any of these. Pick something fun.”

Jason handed Stephanie a controller then pushed the ottoman against the couch. He plopped down, kicked his shoes off, and put his feet up. A moment later, Stephanie followed suit. Compared with Stephanie’s smaller bare feet, his seemed huge. Her purple-painted toes attracted his attention. “Nice toes,” he said, then regretted saying something so stupid.

But Stephanie didn’t seem to mind. She smiled at the compliment. “Mom painted them for me last night. She said the purple went with my eyes.”

“They’re really pretty. Your eyes ... and your toes, I mean both are.”

“Thank you.” Steph wiggled the toes in question.

From her toes, his attention shifted to her legs. She had beautiful legs, and he almost reached out to touch. Thinking he’d been quiet too long; he cleared his throat. “Sorry, I got off track. Now, this is a racing game. Pick a character, and we’ll do some practice laps.”

“Okay.” As Stephanie fiddled with the buttons, her actions became increasingly sure. She toggled through the characters and, of course, picked the female character with auburn hair. “I’m ready.”

“Press that,” he pointed to a button, “to start the race.”

He won the first race and the second. The third race, though, Stephanie won by a slim margin. “You’re getting better,” he said.

“This is so much fun!”

“You don’t have a Nintendo?”

“No, but when I go home tonight, I’ll ask Mom to buy one.”

“Want to make a bet on the next race?”

“Like what?”

Jason felt his face burning, but he had to try. “A kiss, the winner gets a kiss.” There, he said it. Would she get mad and leave? Would she friend-zone him?

“A kiss?” she asked.

With his heart on the line, he watched for anger or, worse, rejection, but instead, the faint flush on her cheeks signaled interest.

She nodded, “Okay, a kiss, but it has to be a good one.”

Jason felt light-headed. Not only had she accepted, but she also upped the ante. His palms began to sweat. “Deal!” he replied and waited for her to start the race.

With a kiss on the line, Jason used every bit of his skill. The three lights went red, then green. He and Stephanie accelerated off the line. Coming into the first turn, a row of texture shifting power-ups beckoned. As in the previous races, Steffi dodged between them. Maybe she thought the boxes were a barricade? He knew how they worked and scored a green shell. Heading into the next turn, he angled for a pit maneuver. Steffi saw him coming and cut her throttle at the last second. Unable to react in time, he overshot and spun out of control. By the time he regained control, her kart had a huge lead. At the turn where the track went vertical, she over-controlled instead of drifted and bounced off the guard rail. Jason lined up to throw the shell, then reconsidered. If she didn’t know about the power-ups, would using one on her be cheating? Did he want to win a kiss bad enough to use this advantage?

Robert Thomas arrived home to find his wife busy with supper preparations. He did his best to sneak up on her because surprising your wife with an inappropriate fondle is one of the better perks of marriage.

Instead of her usual pretend outrage, Shirley glanced up and said, “Since you’re sneaking around, go take a peek into the family room.”

A minute later, Robert returned, smiling. “Who’s downstairs with Jason?”

“That’s Stephanie, the girl from next door.”

“Hmm, something about her reminds me of your old friend, Christina.”

Memories of their shared college adventures caused Shirley’s cheeks to turn pink. “Well, they both have red hair.” Shirley and Robert shared a smile over their college memories.

“Anyway,” Robert cleared his throat. “I think Jason has outgrown the ‘girls are icky’ stage.”

“Oh, yes.” Shirley agreed. She felt happy for her son while also dreading the problems girlfriends brought.

“Well, I’m happy to see he’s also inherited my taste for attractive women.”

His oblique compliment had the desired effect, Shirley hugged her husband and pulled his head down for a kiss.

Ultimately, Jason decided he didn’t want to risk damaging their relationship. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the power-up and raced as hard as he could. In the end, it was awfully close. He might have won, but she got on the inside at the last turn and maintained their separation.

Jason lost the race. Maybe, if things worked out, he’d try again. Not that he’d try the same thing anytime soon. A girl, this pretty had to get hit on all the time. She’d sense a creep from a mile away. The trick was to keep cool.

From upstairs, Mom called them to supper. They put down the controllers and stood. Red-faced, he didn’t want her to see his disappointment.

A hand touched his waist. “Where’s my kiss?” Stephanie asked.

Head down, he turned to her. “Ah, I didn’t think you’d...” His words trailed off as she stepped close and tilted her head up. For a moment, he thought he’d die, that his heart would explode. He closed his eyes as their lips touched. A hint of some unquantifiable perfume filled his head. Her arms slipped around him and held tight. He did the same but feared he’d hurt her if he squeezed too hard. Every part of her felt warm and soft.

Mom called again.

Jason opened his eyes and watched as Stephanie did the same. Her impossibly green eyes held tiny specs of brown. They broke the kiss and stepped apart. His lips tingled.

On their way upstairs, one of Stephanie’s hands found his. Her surprisingly warm fingers tightened, and he squeezed a response. Just like that, in Jason’s mind, they became a couple. If life were a video game, he’d have unlocked an achievement. Together, they turned the corner into the dining room. Dad, wearing a huge grin, turned to greet their guest. But when Dad moved, Stephanie stepped back out of view.

Of course, Dad noticed and frowned. Mom noticed dad’s sudden concern and paused while setting the sliced meatloaf on the table. Both parents turned to Jason. Dad asked, “Is there a problem?”