18. Charlie
I inserted a few bills into the coin machine, watching as the large gold tokens clinked to the bottom. Picking up one of the little white plastic buckets to the side, I drained the machine of my haul and brought it over to where Tara was looking into the glass of the pinball machine.
The neon lights of the arcade glowed against her skin, so similar to the first time I’d seen her at that barcade that it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Every time I looked at her I found something new to make my favorite thing about her. Something to pay attention to—to latch onto. And right now it was that vibrant glow, as if the neon wasn’t behind her, but illuminating from underneath her skin. It was beautiful, a subtle incandescence that felt almost internal.
“Got the tokens,” I said, holding them up and giving the bucket a little rattle.
Her eyes brightened as she turned to look at me, life sparkling in their dark depths. Tara had a bit of a case of resting bitch face, her expression coming off annoyed or bored. It made seeing her perk up at my presence absolutely electrifying.
It was strange, I spent so much time working on a software to match omegas to their perfect alpha, but I just ran into mine by chance… twice. I wasn’t the type to bet on fate usually, but it seemed like something was at work here.
She clapped a bit in excitement and reached for the bucket, taking one of the coins and slotting it into the machine. The sound got louder as the lights started flickering. A loud, mechanical snap came as the ball hit the bottom of the spring.
Her eyes lit up in almost the same way they did when she saw me, and I couldn’t decide if I should be offended or not.
“Wanna start it?” She asked, gesturing to the small black spring.
“I always want to start it,” I said with a smirk.
Her cheek heated a bit but her head whipped back to the game, wanting to be focused. I pulled back the small plunger all the way and released, the smack of the plastic against the metal shooting the ball forward, and began it plinking around.
Her hands found the buttons on the sides easily and started playing. I’d always thought this was more of a game of chance, but she seemed to have real skill. She knew the best angles to get the ball up and to the back, making it bounce more for a higher score. My eyes followed the ball—followed her movements. She had laser focus on it. Each press of the button calculated like I was watching her do the physics in the moment.
It was incredible.
She reached 100,000 before the first ball fell.
“Wow, you are good,” I said, pressing probably a bit too close to her.
“I know,” she said with a grin. “Here.” she stepped aside. “Your turn.”
“Oh I’m not really good at pinball,” I said. There was no reason to make a fool of myself doing this right now.
“There was no chance of you being as good as me anyway,” she said confidently with a wink.
I laughed. “Okay, fine.”
I stood in front of the worn blue buttons and let her pull the plunger this time, tracking the ball with my eyes.
I got a few good shots in, but none of them made it up and around the back. It didn’t take long for it to bounce too high against the flippers. I tried to let the ball travel down them a bit, but it was no use. When I tried to pass it back up to the top, I hit the button too late and it rolled around the edge, falling into the trough, only 50,000 points in.
“You did pretty well,” Tara said, though the teasing quality to her voice made me think she didn’t actually think so.
“I told you I’m bad,” I said.
“You’re not bad. You just need some help. Here, try again.” The ball went flying up as she shot it, and I tracked it. It fell down, and I hit it the way I normally would have.
“Try later this time,” she instructed.
“Later?” I asked.
She hummed her affirmation next to me. “It will send the ball higher up.”
I tried what she said, and realized it didn’t matter anyway. The ball shot back right between the flappers, so I couldn’t hit it at all.
“Again,” she said like she was my drill sergeant and this wasn’t just pinball in a very mid mall arcade.
The ball flew up the shooter lane and back into play. There were only two left and I was determined to make this count.
I did as she said this time. As it came down I waited, trying not to hit it until the last second. At this point my palms were sweaty, nerves getting to me.
It seemed her enthusiasm was wearing off on me.
But as the ball came down and touched the very tip of the flapper, it launched up, smacking through the little door and around the top. It pinged around, the points racking up on the screen above. When it bounced back down, it came through the little ramp on the side, making it easy to shoot right back up once more.
Every bounce was like a hit of dopamine to my system. The screen above showed crazy animation before yelling “Combo.” Spiderman flew across the small screen as it disappeared, and the rush I felt was unreal.
I volleyed it around for much longer this time, racking up a 75,000 point score before it fell down one of the back gutters and disappeared.
I looked to Tara, and sure enough, her validating smile was waiting. “You did so good.”
Her praise made me heat all over. She bounced towards me and into my arms. I lifted her easily, my hands resting under her ass like a chair.
That’s where I normally preferred my face, but this was fine for in public.
“I had a very good teacher,” I told her.
“Told you I was good.”
“I never doubted.” I pulled her in for a brief kiss. “Why don’t you finish out the round.”
When she pulled back, the dreamy look in her eyes almost had me bending her over this table and having my way with her right there.
She slid down my body before turning and launching into the last game. She was so good it was astonishing, managing 250,000 by the end.
When the game over screen appeared ticket after ticket ran from the machine.
“Want to go earn a few more and maybe grab a prize?”
“Yes please.”
We played a ton of games. I beat her at basketball shots, and she quickly returned the favor when we played Alien Exterminator, but she always had the advantage on first person shooters.
City Fighter is where it got really intense. We were pretty evenly matched, so every hit count and every missed dodge hit harder. It was tied in overtime going into the final match.
“You’re going down, Martin,” she said, and she smashed the buttons in front of her.
“In your dreams.” I’d somewhat learned the combos in the time we’d been playing, but it was still a lot of button mashing and praying, which seemed to be both of our strategies, and working moderately well.
We were both down to a sliver when I used my special attack, hoping it would take her out. What I didn’t expect was the dodge at the exact same moment, making me totally miss. It took me so off guard that she was able to use hers. I was just barely too late to dodge, and she landed that final hit.
“GAME OVER” flashed across my half of the screen while “VICTORY” flashed across hers.
“God you got me!” I said. I wasn’t the type to smash controllers and things when upset, but the urge to bang on the machine was certainly there.
That was until I turned to a celebrating, jumping up and down Tara who seemed very satisfied with her winnings. Every time she bounced, her scent poured off of her, the smell divine, and I could feel the high she was experiencing through our bond.
How could I stay mad when I got to see my mate’s tits bounce like that?
However, I wasn’t going to resist messing with her, so I bent at the knee and grabbed her by her waist, lifting her over my shoulder so her feet dangled in front of me.
She shrieked loudly as I did, hitting my back and wiggling her legs. “Put me down!” she insisted, though there was no true malice, only laughing.
“Gonna throw you down like you did to my boy,” I said, my voice taking a deeper tone.
“Oh, no please don’t! I’ll do anything.” I had to admit, her damsel in distress voice was good.
The growl from my chest wasn’t intentional, but it vibrated us both.
I moved her down to let her legs straddle my sides. “Anything? What a bold offer.”
She leaned forward, her face pressed to mine on the side, and her lips tickling my ear. “You couldn’t handle my anything daddy.”
On instinct I ground her down on my cock, needing to relieve a bit of pressure, but I didn’t keep her there for long before sliding her down my body the rest of the way.
“We’ll see at home,” I said. “For now,” I bent and reached for the last of our tickets, “it’s time to pick a prize.”
She held my hand as we walked over to the booth. All of the big prizes were scattered across the top, from gift cards, to large stuffed animals, to a… hotdog maker? Whatever that meant.
She counted them up before reassessing the wall. “You can have anything you want babygirl,” I said. If she wanted one of the big prizes I would just buy it, because there was no way we had the tickets for it.
“I know,” she said with a smirk. And she did. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t buy her.
But instead she picked up a small dog plush and a bag of sour belts.
“That’s all you wanted?”
She nodded. “The puppy reminds me of Jesse, and I want to keep it on my desk. And sour belts are my favorite.” She cracked open the package and peeled one from the stack, taking a bite out of the first half.
“Want?” she asked, holding it out.
I shook my head, my nose scrunching. “I’m not a sour person.”
“Really?” she asked, a bit muffled with the chew of her candy.
I nodded. “I don’t like spicy either.”
“I love spicy! And sour. Love the pain.”
I smirked. “We both know you love pain, babygirl.”
She bumped me with her shoulder. “You shut up.”
We both laughed as we made it to the food court. Neither of us had eaten yet, forgetting our purpose of coming this way, so we each grabbed a slice of pizza—her the mushroom and me the meat lovers. She sprinkled on heaps of red pepper flakes, proving her love of spice.
We sat at one of the tables, the grates of the waffled metal seats biting into my skin a bit. It made me worried that Tara in her shorts would be really uncomfortable.
Before she sat down I stopped her. “Here.” I tore my sweatshirt up and over my head, and set it on her chair.
She smiled. “Thanks. These chairs are horrible.”
“I agree.”
We ate for a few minutes, just enjoying the company. My eyes caught the diamond necklace around her neck, glimmering in the light coming down from the skylights. It looked really nice, she had great taste; I was sure Jesse would like the matching bracelets she picked.
“So, Jesse reminds you of a dog?” I asked.
“Puppy,” she corrected with a grin. “And yeah. He’s always given me that vibe. A golden retriever if you will.”
The corners of my lips turned up, matching hers. “Yeah… I always pegged him as more of a collie, cause of the shaggy hair.”
She laughs loudly. “I can see that too.”
The care in her gaze was obvious. “You really care about them don’t you?”
“Obviously,” she said. “I mean he’s…” she trailed off. “He’s amazing. But I don’t need to explain that to you, do I?”
Her gaze was pointed, and I shied away from it. “Yeah, they’re a great friend.”
“It’s more than that for you though, isn’t it?”
I took a sip of my soda, chewing on the striped plastic straw a bit. A bird that must have been let in through a loading dock shot across the top of the windowed atrium above and I tracked it with my eyes, still not interested in looking right at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I could all but hear the eye roll in her voice. “Okay. So those heart eyes you wear every time you see them are just for decoration?”
“Seems like you’re seeing things.” I glanced at her and her sharp gaze right at me was too much. I faced towards the pretzel cart quickly, looking it over as if it was the most novel thing I’d ever seen.
“Charlie,” she said, reaching her hand out across the table, drawing my attention. “It’s okay to be in love with Jesse.”
I wished then I hadn’t looked at her. Because I couldn’t lie to her. I could lie to me, I did for years, but one gaze at those chocolatey eyes and all the resolve I had—all the walls I built around that fact crumbled.
“It doesn’t matter if I did,” I tried for instead. “He hates me. I pushed into his relationship and mated with his girlfriend.”
“They will get over that,” Tara said easily.
“They’ll get over it for you,” I countered. “Me… I don’t know. I just don’t think we’re meant to be.”
“Do you love him?”
I swallowed, but didn’t say anything. If I couldn’t say it to them, I couldn’t say it to anyone.
After a few moments, a look of understanding crossed her face. “When you’re ready, I’ll help. And I know Jesse will come around.”
I gave her a light smile. “Thank you, babygirl.”
“Just call me the matchmaker,” she said with a smirk.
“Is the matchmaker ready to go home? Jesse should be done soon.”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
I wanted to believe everything would work out and Jesse would come around, but it seemed less likely with each passing day. They didn’t really warm to me, just tolerated me being there. And I couldn’t get my hopes up.
I couldn’t be crushed by Jesse, because I knew I’d never recover.
We stepped into Jesse’s apartment and shut the door behind us. Checking the clock, his sixteen-hour stream should be wrapping up. We’d stopped at his preferredThai place on the way home and grabbed him some green curry, his favorite. They were sure to be hungry and exhausted, and we were both sure he wouldn’t want to cook.
It didn’t take long for his door to open and for him to come around on shuffling feet.
“Hey sweetie pie,” he said as soon as he saw Tara. His gaze didn’t even touch me.
She ran to them, hugging them tight. “I missed you. How was stream?”
“Long,” he said. “But good. I hit my subscriber goal.”
“That’s amazing!” she yelled, pulling back to hold both of his hands.
“Thanks. Is that curry I smell?”
“Only your favorite,” she said happily. “Charlie thought it would be a good idea on our way home.”
Jesse looked at me for the first time then. Some of that irritation was still apparent in his gaze, but at least it seemed bogged down by his exhaustion.
“Thank you,” they said with a smile that didn’t reach their eyes.
“Yeah. Of course.” My voice was lighter than I intended it to be.
“Well, I do need to go do my stream,” Tara cut in. “Work and all. And I have a new necklace to show off.”
She held the band of diamonds off of her neck.
“That’s beautiful,” Jesse said. “Your whale?”
She bit her lip and nodded. “And it wasn’t just for me.”
He took the bag she held out from her hands. The thick fancy paper on the inside crinkles as he pulled the small, royal blue, velvet box out and popped the lid.
The gasp that came from him was cute. “A matching tennis bracelet?”
“Actually two,” she said, gesturing to the box. “They’re not just bracelets, but handcuffs.”
They went red all over as she said that. “Those are… really expensive handcuffs.”
She shrugs. “It’s what he wanted. I told him it didn’t mean you’d come on stream, but he didn’t care. Seemed to just want you to have them.”
They nodded. “Well, be sure to thank them for me tonight.”
“Oh I will. You should come watch to see just how much.”
They shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
I wish Tara wasn’t facing away from me because that pause seemed to make her do the same, but I had no idea why.
“I can still come over tomorrow?” she asked Jesse.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” they said, dropping a kiss to her lips. I could tell it was meant to be chaste, but it was anything but.
She wrapped her arms around their neck, pulling them in close. Both of their scents filled the air in the most delicious way. They hugged around her middle, squeezing her as they kissed hard. I again wished I was standing more to the side so I could get a better view, but that probably wouldn’t help my already raging boner. Not to mention all the emotion I was feeling from Tara.
I could hear him gasp as the two pulled away. “I love you.”
“I love you too. And I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that she turned, her eyes landing on me. “And I’ll see you soon too?”
“Of course,” I said, and I meant it.
She got up on her tiptoes and gave me an intense, please fuck me kiss that made me want to throw her to the couch. It was probably a good way to prep for her SLCK’D stream though.
“See you guys later,” she called as she stepped around me and went out the door.
Leaving Jesse and I alone.
“Glad your stream went well,” I tried.
“She’s gone, you don’t need to pretend anymore,” they said, walking past me and throwing themselves on the couch. They picked up the remote to turn the TV on, blatantly ignoring me.
My anger at the way they brushed me off, the way they acted like I didn’t give a shit about them, was really beginning to rub the wrong way. “I’m not pretending anything. We’re friends, Jesse. Family. Or at least I thought we were.”
“Yeah, I did too.”
Hurt panged my chest. I couldn’t stand there and look at him seeming so… indifferent about me. Hating me would have been fine, but the pure lack of care there was… too much.
“Will you just talk to me?”
They began ripping into the brown paper the food was in. It crinkled loudly as he pulled the black plastic container out, putting it on the counter along with the rice.
“There’s nothing to talk about. You and Tara are mated. I’m dating Tara. What more is to say?”
My anger was starting to rise. I didn’t think I’d ever been mad at Jesse, but right now, I didn’t appreciate his tone.
“So that’s all you want. The two of us dating each other and never speaking.”
“We’re speaking right now,” they said, grabbing the spoon and eating, acting casually as if they weren’t hurting me right now.
“I get that you’re mad, and you have every right to be. I fucked things up. But you’ve always meant everything to me. Always will. And you can hate me, throw things at me, yell at me, I don’t care. But this utter… indifference is killing me.”
The last part came out broken, but it couldn’t be helped. I felt broken.
I didn’t even glance back at him, couldn’t as I stepped out the door and shut it harder than needed.