A Night of Play and Romance

Chapter 61

Lucia Lorenzo's POV

I can't help but laugh a little when I see an alpha who lost to ice cubes.

"Ah, Blaine! Are things going well for you? Are you in pain?"

In a voice that should sound like mine but doesn't, Blaine said.

"All right, Lucia. I slipped after unintentionally dropping this cooler, and all of the ice fell out. Thank you for asking; I'm fine."

"That's unworthy of you," I responded.

"You're unbecoming."

A few beverages from the cooler had overflowed onto the ground.

"You know I can survive without Lizzy Temples, right?"

"Oh, I've seen it, and it's not pretty."

I offer him a hand while rolling my eyes.

"This location is wonderful. I'm grateful.

"We've got the whole beach to ourselves; only residents of the beach houses can use this area."

"Where are we anyway?"

"Avila Beach."

"It's perfect."

"Go get dressed; we've got places to see."

We got to the pier after a brief drive. I'm glad there isn't a rush because it's Tuesday and we are here. People smell terrible at the beach. Sweat and drink combined with sunscreen don't make for a nice combination.

Blaine takes my hand and leads the way down the shore. The beach is damp, and our feet are occasionally brushed by waves. I didn't care that my white sundress was already dripping with water at the bottom. The sun is setting beautifully, the temperature is ideal, and Blaine and I have discussed everything from the smallest to the largest. The thought of how far we've come fills my heart. While it first seemed impossible to open up to one another, I'm confident that he now knows me better than I do.

"When do you want kids?" I inquire.

"Afterwards, I still believe we are too young to be married, but I also think we should spend more time alone together before starting a family."

"Me too; I think we should wait a bit more."

"You know that means no sex during your heat?"

"No, that means no unprotected sex during my heat."

With werewolves, condoms were less effective, but healers or oracles might manufacture remedies to reduce the likelihood of getting pregnant during the heat. Since oracles were at their strongest during full moons, they made it every time and stored it for the unfortunate woman who was having her period that month.

"How many kids do you want?" I inquire.

"I'm not certain. Undoubtedly more than one. Growing up grew so dull that I constantly wished I had siblings."

"I always wished I didn't have siblings growing up, but now I'm glad I had them."

Taking care of my mother's shenanigans on my own? Thank you, not at all.

We eventually return to the pier. The moon has emerged to replace the vanished sun. The lights from arcades, shops, and restaurants shine on the pier.

"Ah! I yell, "Let's head to the arcade," and pull Blaine toward the brightly colored structure.

I insert two dollar coins into the red token machine. As I slide the tokens into Blaine's pockets, the cool faux gold greets my hand.

"I'm going to whoop your ass in Skee-Ball!" I yell as I sprint towards the blue device that has pink lights blinking.

"Oh, you're on."

A series of white balls slide down the transparent cylinder once five tokens have been inserted into the machine. I fire one up the ramp and observe it land in slot number 150.

"Hah!"

Blaine follows suit, blowing on his ball before letting it go. It lands in the ten after skating up the ramp.

"Damn it!"

I have 750 points when the timer goes off, and Blaine has 70.

"We're going to buy that giant teddy bear with our tickets since I'm carrying this team," I declare as I make my way toward the Pac-Man machine.

I have accumulated a substantial number of tickets thus far. Blaine eventually grew tired of it and chose not to suffer the embarrassment of losing, preferring to simply support me and hold the tokens.

Just ten tokens are remaining, and I know precisely where I'm going to use them. The claw machine.

I have never effectively earned anything from that thing. It's the bane of my existence, and I'm determined to keep my winning streak going.

"Blaine, if I don't get anything from this, I need you to shoot me."

"You've gone off the deep end, woman."

After the token has been inserted, I have a minute to grab one of the prizes. Do I need a silly octopus plushie? No, of course not; I'm a grown lady. Do I need the achievement it symbolizes? Of course.

The joystick is sticky with the sweat from my palm as I glide it just over the plushie. The lovely black eyes of the octopus stare back at me, and I know I've got this in the bag. With a push of a button, the claw lowers. It grasps the purple head of the octopus, and my jaw drops wide as it floats into the air, making its way to the exit.

I can almost feel the smooth plushness in my hand when everything goes apart.

The motherfucker collapses.

For a second, I'm mute. I can feel Blaine coming out to grasp me, but I lose it.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"This game is rigged! You saw that, didn't you? It was right there!" I yelled at Blaine, who looked like he wanted to pretend he didn't recognize me.

"Stupid kick." "Fucking kick.

"Machine!"

"Lucia, there are children here! You know? Because this is an arcade."

I scowled at Blaine in response.

He throws out a sigh and grabs a token from his pocket.

"Watch and learn."

He steps up the machine and takes the joystick. The shape of his back muscles appears as he rolls out his shoulders and begins.