We slid into the dim booth that housed the game Dark Escape. Donning 3-D glasses and grasping our mounted rifles, we began our war against the zombies—and each other. After almost forty-five minutes, she finally emerged victorious. Because of the headache and the medicine I’d taken, my accuracy was off. However, another way to get points was to maintain a low heart rate, because the game measured fear. And mine stayed much lower than hers as we wasted zombies left and right. Only when I yanked off my 3-D glasses did I realize that it had been a big mistake for me to play the game. My head was pounding again.

“You okay?” she asked, tucking her 3-D glasses where they belonged. She sat, pressed closely to me inside the small, dark game booth. I could smell her hair, her skin, and I was reminded of the fact that I hadn’t had her in over a week.

“Headache,” I said, downplaying it.

“I’m sorry.” She reached up and touched my forehead. I turned and looked at her; her face was very close to mine. I tipped my head forward and landed a kiss on her mouth. She kissed me back for about ten seconds before pulling away. In the dim booth in close quarters, a strange sort of tension grew between us. Of unspoken declarations, of unrealized actions. I wanted to pull her to me, hold her close forever. Instead, I drew back.

“Let’s go eat. I’m starving,” I said.

We sat in a booth in the bar section to get seats faster. It was actually quieter except for the television, which we were far enough away from to comfortably ignore. We ordered drinks and our food—she ordered her usual tuna melt and I loaded up on a bleu cheese bacon burger. She gasped when it showed up, at least three times as tall as her sandwich.

“I’m so betting you can’t get that in your mouth.”

“Sure I can.”

She snorted. “So you can unhinge your jaw like a snake? Why didn’t you tell me? That’s a useful skill.”

I looked at her like she was a Martian. “In what way? That would be a more useful skill for you to have, if you know what I mean.” I leered at her suggestively.

“In your dreams.”

Apparently that would be the case for now. I wanted to ask her, actually. What about sex? Would we be sleeping together again soon? Because I sure wouldn’t mind that. It seemed blunt to ask her now. I planned to save it for a heated make-out session later. I could touch her in all the right places, get her all riled up and pop the question on her. A week and a half was a pretty long drought these days, when we’d been going at it so regularly. Maybe I’d gotten spoiled.

She was halfway through her sandwich when she paused to wipe her mouth, watching me devour my burger with open amusement. She lowered her voice for a moment and laughed in the deepest baritone she could manage. “Solo bantha poodoo!”

I swallowed my bite, laughing. “That’s my line. You’re just supposed to suit up in a gold bikini with a chain around your neck looking gorgeous, slave girl.”

She grinned. “Have you been indulging in your Princess Leia fantasies again?”

Thanks to the dry spell, I’d probably have to resort to fantasies soon. Going without sex sucked and she looked so damn mouthwatering in that tight T-shirt. I wanted to suck her nipples right through the cloth. Damn it. Everything went hard just with that one thought. It was like the goddamned tenth grade all over again.

“Speaking of gold bikinis, have you got your costume for the employee party at the Con put together?” I asked

“I’m going as a bright fairy.”

I grinned. “In the skimpiest costume possible, I hope.” I licked my lips like a perv.

“And you? What are you going to dress up as?”

I gloated. “Top secret.”

“Because of course it is,” she huffed. “You love keeping your secrets, don’t you?”

“It’s what I’m known for…”

“And what bloggers love to rant about.”

I smiled at her allusion to the now-infamous hidden quest chain in Dragon Epoch. “All in good time, young padawan.”

“What time will that be? 2023? I think people will have moved on to a new game by then.”

I shrugged. “I have a good feeling it may happen sometime next year.”

She snorted. “Come on…give me another hint. ‘Yellow’ isn’t going to cut it. I don’t even know if that’s a real clue, anyway!”

I sent her a look of mock hurt. “I didn’t lie to you.”

“Yellow is a totally lame clue.”

I gave her the once-over. “Hmm; maybe I can think up a way for you to earn another clue.”