Page 43 of Chasing After You

Josh made a face. “That sounds both relaxing and wildly creepy.”

“You liked it when I watched you.”

He let out a strangled noise and buried his face in his hands again. “Dorian,please.”

I laughed. “Okay, okay. Sorry.”

A beat passed, and Josh peeked through his fingers, sighing softly. “Do you want another drink?” I was tempted to tell him yes, if only to get him to drink another. He was surprisingly lightweight, already acting a little tipsy after just one measly glass. But no, I would be good.

“I’m fine,” I said. “But I’ll walk with you back to your apartment, if you’ll let me.”

Josh looked torn. His lips parted, then closed, then parted again. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek for a long moment before nodding. “Okay. But only if you promise to be normal.”

“Define normal,” I teased.

“Nevermind,” he muttered.

I smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

Josh gave me a very skeptical look, but grabbed his wallet, tossed some bills on the table, and stood.

I rose to my feet too, adjusting my jacket, savoring the closeness as we walked down the stairs together and out into the warm night air.

He kept a small but not impassable distance between us.

That was fine.

For now.

We passed a small, late-night arcade bar on the walk back to Josh’s apartment building. I couldn’t help but notice the interest in his eyes as he looked inside at the bright neon lights and rows of games.

I nudged his side with my elbow, getting his attention. “Do you want to go in? Could be fun.”

He looked at me almost nervously, like he was trying to gauge whether I was teasing him or not. “Do you want to?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun. Seems like something we missed out on doing together as kids,” I said, giving him a soft smile.

He studied my eyes for a few seconds longer before beaming. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

God, he was so fucking cute.

We entered through the open doorway, taking in the bright atmosphere. I snuck a peek at Josh as he stood beside me. He was practically shaking in excitement.

I walked a few steps forward until I was standing at the host station. The young woman manning it was seated on a tall stool, focused intently on her phone. To her credit, she quickly noticed our presence, lowering her phone and greeting us with enthusiasm.

“Hey, guys! Welcome in. Have you been here before?”

“No,” I answered, smiling at the bubblegum pink hair framing her face.

“Cool, so as you can see, we’re an arcade bar. We’re open earlier in the day for teens, but go strictly twenty-one-plus after 9 p.m. There’s a cover fee of $30 per person, which grants access to all games for two hours. You can get drinks and some snacks at the bar, but those cost extra, of course. If you want to extend your time, you’ll just come back here and let me know. It’s only $10 per hour after the original two hours,” the girl explained.

Josh reached for the wallet in his pocket, stilling when I lightly touched his arm. Handing over my card to the worker, I paid for both of us.

“You didn’t need to do that,” he whispered as we walked further in. “But, thank you.”

I smiled, slipping my wallet back into my jacket as we entered the glowing heartbeat of the arcade. “Iwantedto.Besides, you already paid for drinks earlier. I’m just returning the favor.”

Josh gave me a shy, grateful look, but he didn’t argue again. That was a small victory. I’d keep tally.