Obscure

fifteen

TWO HOURS PASSED and Sophie hardly noticed. She moved with Eli from game to game, exploring the virtual worlds that he'd spent his childhood playing in. The excitement that radiated from Eli made her smile. He reminded her of a little kid trapped in Disneyland overnight. 

"Next we've got to play this one," Eli said, as he dragged her toward another machine. A tail of red paper tickets trailed behind him. 

Sophie laughed. "We don't have to play all of them all at once," she said with a cheeky grin, before she could even realize what she was saying. "We can always come back." 

His eyes flashed. "We can, can't we?" He teased. 

She rolled her eyes. 

When that game finished, Eli gathered their mass of tickets and lead her toward the prize counter. It was a shabby thing near the back of the store, with plastic dollar toys scattered about a display tray behind a counter of glass. Several larger, more expensive items sat on shelves behind it. 

"How many tickets do we have?" Sophie asked, her gaze scanning over the prizes. 

Eli dumped the tickets onto the counter, and gestured toward the speckled teen behind it. Said teen stepped up and shoved a lock of straightened brown hair behind his ear. He tallied up the tickets and, in the voice of an excruciatingly bored tone, said, "You have five hundred twenty tickets total."

Sophie looked over the prizes again. Eli stroked an imaginary beard, and squinted at the prizes. "We can either get one of the big prizes, or split it up into a bunch of little ones." He turned to Sophie, an eyebrow arched. "Do you see anything that you want in particular?"

"I'm not sure," Sophie hummed in response. Her eyes caught a small weasel shaped stuffed animal, and she hesitated. She felt weird about using up all the tickets like that, especially since he'd won most of them. 

But Eli immediately caught her gaze. "Tell me which one you want," he pressured. His pointer finger jabbed her lightly in the side. "I'll pay the difference if I have to." 

She scowled at him. "No! That's not fair. You've paid for everything else so far."

Eli flashed her his boyish grin. "This is a date, Soph. I want to pay." 

Sophie shifted around on her feet, uncertain. Eli squinted at her carefully and leaned closer. Her eyes shot open wide as his nose came to a stop a few inches away from her face. "Tell me what you want, Sophie," he said softly, his gaze smoldering. 

The teenager behind the counter let out an unimpressed sigh, and Sophie almost squeaked with surprise. 

Something warm rushed through her, and it vanished almost as soon as it appeared. Eli leaned back, his hands shoved into his pockets. His eyebrow was arched. Sophie swallowed thickly and glanced back at the assortment of prizes. "Let's just sort it out between the smaller prizes," Sophie suggested. Her voice almost cracked. 

Eli's eyes narrowed slightly, but he relented nonetheless. 

The duo walked out of the arcade, two small plastic bags hanging from Eli's hands, filled with plastic knickknacks and temporary tattoos. Eli ushered her toward a small Starbucks at the end of the street and held the door open for her. "They have plenty of pastries too," Eli assured her when she mentioned she wasn't a huge fan of coffee. "And they serve more than just coffee beverages." 

Sophie inhaled the unfamiliar smell of coffee grounds as she entered the shop, and glanced around. Eli stepped up to the counter and immediately a woman behind the counter stepped up to assist. Well, after she almost fainted. 

"How can I help you?" she swooned. She had long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, and flawless skin. Her deep blue eyes focused on Eli.

Sophie wrinkled her lips into a firm line. Her gaze flickered back and forth between the menu behind her, and the woman herself. She wasn't sure whether or not the irritation that nipped at her stomach was justified. 

Eli hastily ordered. Sophie had to work to not laugh at the bored, almost monotone voice that he used. The woman seemed to deflate almost instantly at the complete disinterest he emitted. Eli turned toward Sophie, and smiled warmly at her. "What would you like, beautiful? Pick anything."

Sophie rolled her eyes. She snagged one of the pastries and a bottled water, not tempted enough to really try anything from the menu. The woman begrudgingly rang them up; she refused to acknowledge Sophie's presence, which Sophie found pretty hilarious. They stepped aside while the woman prepared Eli's drink. 

"Do you want to eat here?" Eli asked. 

Sophie shrugged. "I'm game for whatever you want to do."

Eli glanced at her, and his lips slowly stretched into a wicked grin. He closed one eye in a wink and Sophie lashed out, smacking him in the arm. "You pervert," she growled. 

His laughter floated through the air like the chimes of a bell. 

Eli gathered his drink, and then lead her toward one of the tables set up near the back of the cafe. They slid into their chairs. Sophie nibbled on her pastry. An explosion of sweetness rocked her mouth. She tried hard not to spit it out. 

"Do you like it?" Eli asked.

Sophie shrugged. "It's alright."

His eyes flashed, and she knew that he knew she was lying. But he engaged her in an effortless conversation. Another hour or so passed, and Sophie fiddled with her prize back. She'd already emptied the temporary tattoos out; the small slips of paper laid flat out in front of her, design up. "I've always wanted a tattoo," she remarked as she scanned over the design. "I want something on my rib-cage. I just don't know what, yet." 

Eli looked over his own designs. "I tried to get a tattoo once. Then the machine broke," he remarked, absently. 

Sophie's gaze shot up. "The machine broke?"

Eli's eyes snapped open wide. He stared at her, his eyes popping out of his head and his lips parted. He looked like a fish out of water. "Uh," he hesitated. "Yeah. The needle wouldn't stay in. I ended up walking away with a sore, tattoo-free arm." 

Sophie pursed her lips. And then asked, "So what were you trying to get a tattoo of?"

Eli singled out a small fake tattoo of a serpent like dragon. "Ironically enough," he muttered, "A dragon. Back then I was a little full of it, and it was a nickname that my friends called me." He placed the dragon tattoo down onto his wrist, and dunked a napkin into the small glass of water that he'd gathered. 

Snickering, Sophie singled out a wicked looking skull design and pressed it against her own wrist. Eli drenched his tattoo, and then repeated his actions on hers. 

"If anybody asks, these are permanent, and a testament to our love," Eli remarked. 

Sophie kicked him lightly under the table. His lips stretched back into a cheeky grin. They removed the soaked paper back to the tattoo, revealing the pressed on design. They held their wrists together. "Maybe I'll get a skull tattoo," Sophie mused as she stared at their arms. 

Eli snorted. "Alright. Let's get you back home, before the tattoo fever consumes you."

Sophie stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up," she mumbled as he gathered their trash and cleared the table. Eli returned to her side and his arm slid through hers. She allowed the action, but was still a bit reluctant. 

It was just a one-time date, she had to remind herself.