28. Mandy

Things between us didn't feel right. Recently it had felt like we'd slotted together easily, like two puzzle pieces coming together in a perfect match with no seam, but now it felt like someone had put the wrong ends of us together. Close, but not quite. But as I got out of the car, the bright winter sun boring down on us and making me squint, I felt a little closer to that feeling we'd had before.

"I thought you might want to beat your old high score," Jack drawled as he shut the car door behind me.

The front of the arcade had definitely taken a turn for the worse. Cobwebs littered the corners of the sign, half the neon letters flickering or out completely. The area was quiet even in the middle of the day. Granted it wasn't in the center of New York City, but it used to be busy with college kids at all hours of the day.

"Come on, princess," he grinned, turning and walking backward to the front door, one hand stretched out to me. I took it.

"I doubt my old score is still on top," I chuckled, the stale, musty air hitting me as we stepped through the door.

"You got the highest score I'd ever seen. The real question, though, is if they still have your favorite machine," Jack said, planting a little kiss on my cheek before turning his attention to the quarter exchange.

Two minutes later he had a purple Crown Royal bag in his fist, filled to the brim with quarters, waymore than we needed. I doubted he was planning on staying here through the night like we had a few times in the past, but even if we did, it would still be far too many quarters.

Jack took my hand and led me toward the back, the bag of change jingling as he walked. They hadn't moved the pinball machines from where they'd been ten years ago, they were still around the corner in their same little spot, still flashing even though some of the bulbs had burst.

I lost count of the number of times I'd leaned over the Addams Family one with Jackson watching over my shoulder or leaning against the wall next to it, making me feel like he was genuinelyinterested in my constant attempt to beat my own high score. The nostalgia of it flooded in as I stood there, eyes fixed on Morticia and Gomez as they clung to each other above the now thirty-something-year-old table.

"I can't believe they still have it," Jack chuckled as he took up his usual spot beside the machine, his back against the wall. "Go on, then, princess. Are you still the highest scorer?"

I rolled my eyes as I walked up to the machine. "It's so unlikely."

He held out the bag of quarters for me, the top open. I plucked a couple out and slid them into the slot, the table lighting up immediately, two sets of initials and their high scores popping up on the screen.

MEL - 698,000,000

MEL - 696,000,000

"Holy shit," Jack laughed, his brows raised as he looked at the chunky block letters. "Ten years and no one's beat you."

"MEL is such a common set of initials," I replied, not quite believing it myself. "It's probably not mine."

"I'm pretty sure I watched you get that second score." His lips twitched up on one side, a devilish little smirk. "I guess you got the other after I left."

I tried not to allow the intrusive thoughts back in. Tried not to remember the countless hours I spent here after he'd gone, filling my time playing thismachine just to break up the monotony of tears and exams. "I had to do something to keep myself from constantly crying," I snapped, regretting the words the instant they left my mouth. I couldn't hold them back, though. Not when the memories were hitting me left and right. I pulled back the plunger, took in a deep breath, and released, sending the first ball flying.

Jack blew out a breath. "Is this where you spent most of your time?"

"Yeah," I said, pinging the ball up, around the staircase, down the metal slide. "When Amanda needed space, I'd come here. When I felt like screaming and tearing my hair out, I'd come here. When I wanted to call Wade but knew I shouldn't, I'd come here."

First ball down already. I was rusty.

"Fuck," I snapped, taking a step back from the machine.

"Don't stop."

"It's fine, I'll just sink the rest. I'll start over." I pulled the plunger again and again, sinking each of my balls until the big red letters on the screen read LOSER.

Jack handed me another two quarters.

————

NEW HIGH SCORE.

I stepped back from the machine, my eyes wide, my hands tired. "How the fuck…?"

Jack sat on the floor beside the machine, his suit wrinkling on the dirty arcade floor that likely hadn't been cleaned once in the last ten years. His eyes blinked open as he lifted his head from where it rested against the wall. "What happened?"

"I beat it," I laughed, the adrenaline starting to kick in. "I fucking beat it, Jack!"

He was on his feet in a second, wide eyes glued to the big red letters on the old screen. "Holy shit. Have you been practicing?"

"No. I haven't played this one since college," I grinned, bouncing on the soles of my feet. I had too much energy, too much excitement. All the months I'd spent grinding to beat that second-highest score, and I beat it after ten years of not touching the Addams Family.

"Put your initials in," he said, a sleepy grin spreading across his cheeks. "Don't want anyone to forget you're still on top."

I giggled as I pressed the little buttons, sorting through the letters until I got MEL back on the screen. Miranda Eleanor Littleson. I'd done it with him by my side, even if he was half asleep. Somehow, that made me feel better, made me feel closer to him.

"Mands?"

I turned, my hair whipping about my face. Blonde hair, tied up in a ponytail. A polo shirt with the arcade's logo on it. Tight black jeans, combat boots. Hayley Moretti. She'd worked at the arcade during the last two years of my degree, always cheering me on from the sidelines, waving at me when she'd pass me on campus between classes. She was a smart girl. She'd studied physics.

So what the hell was she doing still working here?

"Hayley?" Jack asked, turning on the spot. The back of his suit was wrinkled from sitting on the floor, a little bit of gum stuck to the flap of his jacket.

"Oh my God, Jack," Hayley laughed, her fingers covering her lips as she set down the broom. No wonder the carpets are so dirty. "I can't believe you guys are here. What a small world."

"We're only here for the day," Jack grinned, stepping a little closer to me. "Came into town for a networking event for Mandy."

"Oh. You guys living out in Boulder?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Jack just recently moved out there."

"Nice. Congrats, by the way," she chirped, taking a step toward me. Her hand met my left one, lifting it gently to inspect the ring. "I saw the announcement in the papers. Always knew you two would end up back together."

Why did everyone else seem to know or hope for this except for me?

Jack placed a kiss against my temple as he struck up conversation, filling in the gap I'd left behind so easily. Hearing that from her was bittersweet. I'd been hurt by him. Destroyed, really, if I was being honest with myself. But I knew damn well that he was what I wanted now, even with his erratic behavior lately. Had I known all along? And if everyone was right and we were meant to be together again, then why the hell did it feel like he was pulling away?

————

Jack's lips against mine nearly stole the breath from my lungs.

He pressed me down against the back seat in the rented Escalade, his jacket gone, his hands on my bare thighs. He slotted himself between them, pushing them up toward my chest as his mouth moved ferociously against my own.

The adrenaline peaked when we left the arcade. Hayley's words had echoed in my head over and over until we left and paired with the sheer excitement of beating my old high score, I couldn't help but celebrate in the one way I knew how with Jack.

I kissed him. And he'd kissed me back harder.

I grabbed him by the tie, holding him close to me, forcing him to stay against my lips as I dragged my fingers down his chest. I could feel every ripple of muscle beneath the cotton, could feel his heartbeat against my hand. He was tired, but this was more important.

He wanted this more than sleep. I could feel it in the way he touched me, in the way his lips hungrily tasted my own, in the way he unbuckled his belt with one hand, freeing the hardening length of him beneath. I could feel it in the way his fingers raked against my flesh as he pulled my underwear down my legs, in the way he sighed a breath of relief as he sank himself inside of me, filling me so fully I wished he'd never leave.

"Godammit, Mandy," he breathed, tugging his tie loose as he came up for air. "You're too tempting. I can't seem to stay away."

I chuckled and wrapped my hand around the loose scrap of fabric, pulling him back down. "Then don't."

He hummed his approval against my lips. Slowly, painfully slowly, he pulled himself out to the tip, hesitated, then plunged back in. It made my head swim, made every drop of adrenaline in my system kick into overdrive. Damn that felt so fucking good.

His fingers wrapped around my throat gently, flesh against flesh, and that was too much. I loved it. I fucking loved it, could feel the way my muscles down below clenched around him at just the hint of something darker. I wanted to breathe, but the thrill of knowing he could squeeze at any point was enough to set my skin on fire.

"Touch yourself for me, princess," he grunted. He pulled back out, plunged back in. Back out, back in. Slowly building up his pace. "Touch yourself so I can keep my hand like this, since you like it so much."

I nodded and slid my hand between our bodies, over clothes and buttons, over the flap of my skirt, down where our skin met. I touched myself in just the way I liked, alternating pressure, little circles. "Fuck," I breathed, pleasure blooming, spreading. "Don't you dare pull out again."

"Not going to," he laughed. His fingers flexed against my neck, keeping the pressure off as he placed a kiss on the tip of my chin. "I'm never fucking leaving."

I laughed out a moan and tugged his tie harder. "You can't say things like that," I breathed, my smile too wide to contain. "It's not fair."

"Does it turn you on?" He asked, his shit-eating grin too wide, too evil. "Do you like when I threaten to never take my cock out of you?"

I bit my lip as I felt myself dampen further, the slickness spreading to my fingertips. I quickened my circles, nodding a tiny, defeated yes to him.

"So dirty for me," he drawled. His finger inched its way up my neck, hooked my lip, and forced it from the clasp of my teeth. "Don't hide those. I want to see that smile when I make you come, princess."

He adjusted his angle, hitting that sweet spot inside of me. I could feel myself building already, too soon, too quick. I didn't want this to end. I never wanted it to end, especially not now. "You're clenching for me," he grunted, his voice breaking with pleasure halfway through. "Fuck, that feels so good. You're close."

"Yeah," I squeaked. I struggled to breathe, struggled to focus on anythingother than him and the growing ecstasy in my body. I was rapidly approaching the cliff's edge, seconds from hurtling myself off it willingly.

"Come for me," he commanded, his eyes wide. "Let me see you come, princess. Let me watch how easily I make you come undone."

My fingers spasmed as my orgasm wrenched its way through me, a barely contained scream tearing from my throat. He fucked me through it, every hit an extra beat of pleasure, every groan he made sending shivers down my spine. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

"Breathe," Jack whispered, his hips stuttering. "Breathe for me, princess."

I gasped in air as my fingers found their way to the back of his neck, keeping him close. Each little wave from my dwindling orgasm was like heaven with his cock twitching inside of me, so close, about to break?—

He moaned out his release as his hips collided with mine harshly, burying every drop inside of me. I could feel its warmth, could feel it spreading around his length. "Thank you," he sighed, pressing a kiss to my lips, my cheeks, my temples, anywhere he could reach. "I needed this."

"Of course," I giggled. My high was fading, my hips were aching. As much as I didn't want to call it quits, we had a plane waiting on the tarmac for us, and we were still in the Escalade outside the arcade. "I'm not ready to be empty."

He chuckled, his hips slowly pulling backward, leaving me leaking on the rental car's leather seats. "I'm sorry, Mands. We gotta get going."

"I know." I pulled his lips to mine briefly, a quick little peck. "Thank you, too. I love you."

"You're welcome," he said.

And nothing else.