Page 86 of Escape

“Kiss?”

“Well, I wasn’t referring to that, but I guess now that you mention it, I should get some clarification on that as well,” she joked.

“What are you talking about?” I asked her.

The smile she wore lit up her face, her eyes just as expressive. “I was talking about Pac-Man.”

“You want to play again?”

She shrugged. “I thought it was fun. Plus, maybe if we advance to a higher level than last time, we can have another celebration.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulled her closer than she already was, and promised, “Whether we do well at the game or not, I’m certain we’ll still be celebrating again multiple times before the day is over.”

“That works for me. But could we try to get to the next level?”

I tipped my head to the side and assessed her. “I thought you said you knew me. Do you think I’m not going to give this all I’ve got?”

“Fair point.”

“Kiss me one more time, Josie,” I urged her. “Then we’ll play another game.”

Josie didn’t hesitate.

She tipped her chin up, lifted slightly on her toes, and touched her lips to mine. It was soft and sweet. It was perfect, just like her.

And although I’d asked her to kiss me, it didn’t take long for me to take over the kiss and go deeper. I couldn’t help myself.

I was kissing Josie Day for the second time in my life. I wanted to make it count.

Once we managed to tear ourselves away from one another, we turned our attention back to the game and started another round.

The only downside was that we wound up losing all our lives two levels before we had the first time we played.

But I couldn’t say I was upset.

The truth was, we’d gotten easily distracted.

Because every time we completed a level, we didn’t celebrate with high-fives, smiles, or a hug. We celebrated with kisses. And if I was honest, it took me some time each round to get my head back in the game. I just wasn’t as focused as I’d been before, but on the bright side, Josie didn’t seem to mind. In fact, I was willing to bet that she was struggling for the very same reason as me.

Afterward, we decided to head home.

No sooner had we gotten into the truck and started making our way there, Josie broke the silence.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Always. What’s up?”

I had expected her to respond immediately with whatever was on her mind. Since I was driving and not thinking much about it, I hadn’t anticipated a deep conversation. I assumed she was going to ask me about our plans for the rest of the night or what we were going to have for dinner.

She didn’t.

Instead, she remained silent for quite some time. I grew concerned and glanced over to see her looking at me with an intense look in her eyes.

“Josie, honey, what is it?” I asked, worried that something was wrong.

“Are we… I mean, are you… should I consider myself off the market?” she stammered.

I was glad I’d come to a stop behind another car at a light at that point, because I needed the time to look at her. “Do you want to be on the market?”