> In the news today: Select members of the International Flat Earth Society launched themselves into space in a bid to disprove the “Globular Earth” theory.

“Mom, can Stephanie stay for supper?”

“I don’t see why not. Does she like meatloaf?”

Busy searching the pantry, Jason’s mother hadn’t noticed Stephanie following along. “I like almost everything, Mrs. Thomas. Can I help you?”

“Thank you, Stephanie, but no. You and Jason can go play Xbox or something.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Jason said and turned towards the stairs. “C’mon Steph; I’ll show you our family room.”

The family room sat a half-floor lower than the living room and a half-floor above Dad’s office. On their way, Stephanie commented how her father used the same room as an office.

“What do you want to play?” he said. They stood at Jason’s shelf of game chips.

Peering at the labels, she said, “I don’t know any of these. Pick something fun.”

Jason handed Stephanie a controller and then pushed the ottoman against the couch. He plopped down, kicked his shoes off, and put his feet up. A moment later, Stephanie followed suit. Compared with Stephanie’s smaller bare feet, his seemed huge. Her purple-painted toes attracted his attention. “Nice toes,” he said, then regretted saying something so stupid.

But Stephanie didn’t seem to mind. She smiled at the compliment. “Mom painted them for me last night. She said the purple went with my eyes.”

“They’re really pretty. Your eyes...and your toes, I mean both are.”

“Thank you.” Steph wiggled the toes in question.

From her toes, his attention shifted to her legs. She had beautiful legs, and he almost reached out to touch. Concerned he’d been quiet too long; Jason cleared his throat. “Sorry, I got off track. Now, this is a racing game. Pick a character, and we’ll do some practice laps.”

“Okay.” As Stephanie fiddled with the buttons, her actions became increasingly sure. She toggled through the characters and, of course, picked the female character with auburn hair. “I’m ready.”

“Press that,” he pointed to a button, “to start the race.”

He won the first race and the second. The third race, though, Stephanie won by a slim margin. “You’re getting better,” he said.

“This is so much fun!”

“You don’t have a Nintendo?”

“No, but when I go home tonight, I’ll ask Mom to buy one.”

“Want to make a bet on the next race?”

“Like what?”

Jason felt his face burning, but he had to try. “A kiss, the winner gets a kiss.” There, he said it. Would she get mad and leave? Would she friend-zone him?

“A kiss?” she asked.

With his heart on the line, he watched for anger or, worse, rejection, but instead, the faint flush on her cheeks signaled interest.

She nodded, “Okay, a kiss, but it has to be a good one.”

Jason felt light-headed. Not only had she accepted, but she also upped the ante. His palms began to sweat. “Deal!” he replied and waited for her to start the race.

With a kiss on the line, Jason used every bit of his skill. The three lights went red, then green. He and Stephanie accelerated off the line. Coming into the first turn, a row of texture shifting power-ups beckoned. As in the previous races, she dodged between them. Maybe she thought the boxes were a barricade? He knew how they worked and scored a green shell. Heading into the next turn, he angled for a pit maneuver. Stephanie saw him coming and cut her throttle at the last second. Unable to react in time, he overshot and spun off the track. By the time he regained control, her kart had a huge lead. At the turn where the track went vertical, she over-controlled instead of drifted and bounced off the guard rail. Jason lined up to throw the shell, then reconsidered. If she didn’t know about the power-ups, would using one on her be cheating? Did he want to win a kiss bad enough to use this advantage?

***

Robert Thomas arrived home to find his wife busy with supper preparations. He did his best to sneak up on her because surprising your wife with an inappropriate fondle is one of the better perks of marriage.

Instead of her usual pretend outrage, Shirley glanced up and said, “Since you’re sneaking around, go take a peek into the family room.”

A minute later, Robert returned, smiling. “Who’s downstairs with Jason?”

“That’s Stephanie, she’s the girl next door.”

“Hmm,” Robert mused, “something about her reminds me of your old friend, Christina.”

Memories of their shared college adventures caused Shirley's cheeks to turn pink. “Well, they both have red hair.” Shirley and Robert shared a smile over their college memories.

“Anyway,” Robert cleared his throat. “I think Jason’s outgrown the ‘girls are icky’ stage.”

“Oh, yes,” Shirley agreed. She felt happy for her son while also dreading the problems girlfriends brought.

“Well, I’m happy to see he’s also inherited my taste for attractive women.”

His oblique compliment had the desired effect, Shirley hugged her husband and pulled him down for a kiss.

***

Ultimately, Jason decided he didn’t want to risk damaging their relationship. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the power-up and raced as hard as he could. In the end, it was awfully close. He might have won, but Stephanie got on the inside at the last turn and maintained their separation.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Jason lost the race. Maybe, if things worked out, he’d try again. Not that he’d try the same thing anytime soon. A girl this pretty had to get hit on all the time. She’d sense a creep from a mile away. The trick was to keep cool.

From upstairs, Mom called them to supper. They put down the controllers and stood. Red-faced, he didn’t want her to see his disappointment.

A hand touched his waist. Stephanie said, “Where's my kiss?”

Head still down, he turned to her. “Ah, I didn’t think you’d...” His words trailed off as she stepped close and tilted her head up. For a moment, he thought he’d die, that his heart would explode. He closed his eyes as their lips touched. A hint of some unquantifiable perfume filled his head. Her arms slipped around him and held tight. He did the same but feared he’d hurt her if he squeezed too hard. Every part of her felt warm and soft.

Mom called again.

Jason opened his eyes and watched as Stephanie did the same. Her impossibly green eyes held tiny specs of brown. They broke the kiss and stepped apart. His lips tingled.

On their way upstairs, one of Stephanie’s hands found his. Her surprisingly warm fingers tightened, and he squeezed a response. Just like that, in Jason’s mind, they became a couple. If life were a video game, he’d have unlocked an achievement. Together, they turned the corner into the dining room. Dad, wearing a huge grin, turned to greet their guest. But when Dad moved, Stephanie stepped back out of view.

Of course, Dad noticed and frowned. Mom noticed dad’s sudden concern and paused while setting the sliced meatloaf on the table. Both parents turned to Jason. Dad asked, “Is there a problem?”

Confused, Jason turned back. “C’mon, Steph, say hi to my Dad.” He stepped to the side, and with small steps, Stephanie came into view.

“Hello, Mr. Thomas,” she said.

“Hello Stephanie, is everything all right?” How many balky court-room witnesses had Dad soothed with that tone?

“I guess I’m not used to meeting new people,” she said then stepped to Jason’s side. “Thank you for having me.” At no time had she released Jason’s hand; in fact, she gripped even harder. Mom noticed the hand holding first and grinned sideways at Dad.

Dad’s eyes flicked to Mom’s then back. Jason marveled at their silent communication skills. His father shrugged and said, “Well, let's all sit and dig in.”

Eager to make a positive impression and to show off his manners, Jason held Stephanie’s chair. At first, it confused her, but she figured it out and sat.

Usually set for three, the dining room table easily accommodated a fourth. Glancing across to Stephanie, Jason realized he wanted his father to approve of his girlfriend.

“How was work today, dear,” Mom began supper with the same question nearly every weekday. His father usually replied in generalities, unable or unwilling to get specific. Tonight though…

“The partners voted to take on a new type of client.” Dad scowled. He usually didn’t display emotion about his clients.

“What type of client?” Mom asked.

“A genie peddler. The FBI ran a sting and rounded up five of those monsters and almost two dozen genies.”

Across the table, Stephanie glanced up. “Excuse me, Mr. Thomas, but what’s going to happen with the genies?”

“The usual. A combined team from Animal Welfare and Child Protection Services will evaluate them, and they'll be sent to one of the reservations.”

“I heard the government sterilizes them.”

“If they’re capable of giving birth or siring children, yes. No one wants more genies underfoot.”

Stephanie’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t like genies?” Until now, Jason had never heard a sharp tone in her voice.

“Young lady, I don’t make a habit of arguing with guests. But,” Dad raised his hands, palms out, “I understand some people are sympathetic to those…unfortunates. At best, genies are pets like a dog or a cat. But the perverts who keep them do so for the most repugnant of reasons. I trust I need not go into detail?”

Stephanie shook her head, and Jason let out his breath. He did not want his father and Stephanie to fight. Not when things were going along so well. “Hey, Dad?” Jason interrupted, “Did you see the football news today? The Steelers' new quarterback looks great. The coach says he’s got an arm like Roethlisberger.”

Perhaps welcoming the distraction, Dad shook his head. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

No one spoke for a moment, then Jason’s mother addressed Stephanie. “What does your father do?”

Stephanie glanced at Dad, then answered. “He sells things. Some months, he’s only here for a day or two. Mom stays busy scheduling his appointments and taking his calls.”

“Do you think your mother might want to go out for lunch someday?”

“I’ll ask, but she’s always busy.”

Even though she lived right next door, Jason walked Stephanie home. The disagreement between her and his father worried him. “I’m sorry about my dad.”

They’d reached the foot of the stairs leading up to her small back porch. This is what his house had before Dad upgraded to a wooden deck. Like most houses this time of year, the porch light remained off. Even this early in the summer, porch lights attracted swarms of bugs.

“It’s fine. I watch the news. Lots of people have similar opinions.”

“Still, I know it’s important to you.” Jason tried to make eye contact.

Stephanie turned away. “Genies never asked to be born. Humans made them. Humans, not the genies, are the bad guys.”

As much as he wanted to ask for another kiss, Stephanie’s dark mood made him wary. “I agree. Thinking that people are property is bad.” When she didn’t reply, he frantically tried to come up with an exit strategy. “Look, I don’t know anything about genies. They’re just stories on the news. But it’s important to you, and that makes it important to me.”

“Just like that?” she asked. “Why?”

“’Cause I like you, and I think you like me too.”

“And you like me because I’m pretty?” she challenged.

“Yeah, you’re hot, but there’s more. You have a great sense of humor and you stand up for yourself, but most of all, it’s how sweet you are that keeps me chasing after you.”

“Not my boobs?” It wasn’t too dark to see her smile.

Jason dared to push a stray lock of her hair back into place. “To tell the truth,” he said, “I’m more of a butt guy. Your boobs are great, but your butt is awesome. I can’t wait to see you in jeans.”

She closed the distance between them, and her eyes flicked down then back up to his. “I don’t have any jeans.”

“Really?” he moved closer.

“Uh, uh, just skirts and dresses.”

They were an inch or two apart, and it only seemed a little odd they still discussed clothing. “Skirts are cool. I like your legs too.”

“You keep surprising me, and you make me laugh.” Her fingers traced up his arms. “Do I get a goodnight kiss?”

He almost replied but tipped his head down and kissed her instead. The kiss started chastely enough, but—and he didn’t know who went first—the tip of his tongue touched hers. It felt like an electric current jolted up his spine.

Each of them shifted position, as they searched for more body-to-body contact.

Inside of her house, a door slammed and they both jumped apart. “Wow,” he and Stephanie said at almost the same instant. Then they both laughed.

Jason took her hands. He said, “I really, really liked that.”

“Me too,” she said.

“And...I really like you.”

“I can tell,” she said. There was enough light to see her smile.

“I don’t want to let you go.”

“Text me when you get up, and I’ll come over.”

“’Kay. Another kiss?” Instead of waiting for a reply, he reached to pull her close, but she was already there.

Later, he lay on his bed, trying and failing to read. His thoughts kept revolving around red hair and green eyes.

“Master Jason?” Alfred’s voice came from the overhead speaker.

“Yes, Alfred?”

“Miss Stephanie sent you a text.”

Surprised, Jason sat up. “What is it?”

“She said, ‘Goodnight and thank you for the goodnight kisses.’”

“Alfred, please tell Stephanie, ‘It was my pleasure, and I can’t wait to see you again.’”

***

While Robert and Shirley prepared for bed, Robert said, “Jason’s a chip off the old block, isn’t he?”

“Oh? How so?” Shirley reached into the dresser for a clean nightgown.

“Because he also found a cute girl and managed to sweep her off her feet.”

Shirley’s eyes found her husband’s reflection in the mirror. His eyes, she noticed, followed her butt as she bent over the drawer. Maybe she wouldn’t need a nightgown?