Rayston Point Road || Editing

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"So why Dave & Busters?" I asked, glancing up at Isaac, a small, white skee ball in the palm of my hand. Isaac tossed his up the ramp, landing it in the 4,000 ring before glancing over at me as he grabbed another ball. Beside him, Andie yelped as her ball came ricocheting back down the ramp towards her, Connor laughing by her side.

"It's a tradition, I guess," He shrugged, tossing the ball in his hand before he ran it up the ramp, dropping it into the same value. "We all used to come here a lot as kids, and we swore that this was the best place for birthdays We were somewhere around eleven years old, I think, and we made this ridiculous pack that at least once a year on somebody's birthday."

"And you were the lucky winner this year?" I teased, tossing my last ball, landing a measly 1,000 points. I frowned at the game, my score considerably lower than Isaacs, and he still had two balls left to throw.

"I guess so."

"Why not go tomorrow though? I mean, it's your 21st. You could be out bar hopping right now like any normal twenty-one-year-old." I turned and leaned back against the wall the last skee ball machine was pushed up against, watching as Isaac tossed another ball up the ramp, scoring much lower this time, to my pleasure.

"Not all of my friends are twenty-one," Isaac responded, throwing his last ball haphazardly, but still managing to make 5,000 points off of it. He grinned at the screen at the end of the machine that told him how many tickets were being added to his card, than nodded back in the direction of the seating area. We hadn't eaten yet, ordering a round of drinks before venturing off to the arcade before we ordered, and everyone had started to make their way back to the table we had reserved. I fell into step beside Isaac, Andie and Connor just ahead of us, glancing up at him, curiously. The only one of our friends who didn't seem to be of age, based off of what I knew about them and who had ordered a drink, seemed to be Izzy, and she was noticeably, and thankfully, absent tonight. The thought started to cross through my mind that I was the one Isaac had built his plans around, until my attention was drawn by a machine we were walking past, just before we reentered the seating area.

"Oh, wait!" I called, reaching forward to grab Isaac's arm and pull him backwards. He stumbled slightly, bumping into to me as I turned towards the crane machine, the glass box filled with various colored and patterned rubber ducks.

"I want one," I grinned at him, swiping my card through the reader as Isaac walked closer to me, crossing his arms loosely over his chest as he watched me start to navigate the crane over the rubber toys.

"Are you serious?" He laughed, giving me a disbelieving look as I dropped the crane down over a blue duck with white clouds painted on it. "With the rubber ducks and the melty ice cream. Are you really sure you're not five?"

"They're cute," I frowned at him, pushing him away slightly before I turned back to the game, watching as the metal claw enclosed around the duck, lifting it through the machine before dropping it into the shoot, sending the duck tumbling down. "Look!" I held it in my flat palm up towards Isaac's face, watching a he leaned back, shaking his head, even though his eyes were shining, and when they landed back on me, they were intense. I lowered my hand and my gaze.

"Whatever makes you happy, Lor," Isaac said gently, taking a step back. "But everyone's waiting on us to order."

"Wait, wait. One more?" I pleaded as I grabbed for his arm again to pull him back, raising my eyes at him slightly, jutting out my lower lip, satisfaction running through me and threatening to turn my pout into a smile as I watched Isaac reach up and run a hand through his hair, knowing he was giving in.