Page 34 of Maxwell

Her soft giggling was his reward.

As promised, she provided the directions as he drove. Finally, they arrived at a strip mall, where a neon sign proclaimed Uptown Arcade in bright red lights.

“You brought me to an arcade?” Maxwell asked, shifting into park.

“I brought you to an arcade,” Jasmine confirmed. “Much better than a restaurant where people will be staring into each other’s eyes over candlelit dinners. You’re welcome.”

He almost asked if that’s what she’d be doing if Nicholas was in town but changed his mind. He didn’t want to shift the mood in the car.

“I won’t say thank you since I’m not sure about this yet,” Maxwell said, side-eyeing her smugness.

He climbed out of the vehicle, and they both walked toward the entrance. She seemed very pleased with her choice, and he experienced a sense of contentment because she was happy.

Inside the arcade was loud, with the sound of games, the occasional cheers from customers, and rock music pouring out of invisible speakers. The smell of fried food and old carpet hit his nostrils as he stood just inside the entrance, taking it all in.

“Have you ever been to an arcade before?” Jasmine asked.

“No.”

“My friends and I used to come here all the time. It was our high school hangout, where we spent an hour or two before we had to go home. Come on, let’s get our tokens.”

Maxwell followed her and watched as she pushed a twenty into the machine. In return, it spat out paper tokens for them to use.

“How good are you with racing games?” Jasmine asked.

“Prepare to get your pretty little ass spanked,” Maxwell said, shrugging off his leather jacket.

She let out a big, overly done laugh. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy whooping your ass.”

With extra swagger in her steps, Jasmine led the way to a couple of unoccupied motorcycle racing games. Swinging one leg over the bike with exaggerated confidence, she settled onto the seat and wrapped her fingers around the rubber grips. Watching her straddle the machine reminded him of how she had ridden him like a pro. It made his dick a little hard, but Maxwell focused on the task at hand and climbed onto the machine beside her.

After choosing their riders, they waited for the game to countdown before the competition started.

“Try not to cry when I leave you in my dust,” Jasmine said, revving the handlebars.

Maxwell chuckled. “You’re delusional. How cute.”

The countdown continued. Three... Two... One...

They took off, and the bikes between their thighs lurched with convincing force. They leaned into the curves, their bodies instinctively tilting to shift their weight.

Jasmine groaned when her bike clipped a guardrail and sparks flew across the screen. Maxwell took advantage and shot ahead, weaving through the traffic with precision while she muttered under her breath at the widening gap between them. The race ended when he crossed the finish line eleven seconds ahead of her.

“You got lucky,” Jasmine declared. “Let’s go again.”

Maxwell smirked. “You sure you can handle my dust?” he asked in a mocking tone.

“Less talk. More action.”

The second race was more competitive, with Jasmine taking riskier moves as she banked the corners and whizzed between the vehicles on the screen. But Maxwell stayed consistent, never oversteering or missing the opportunity to slide through an opening. When the second race finished, he beat her by thirteen seconds.

“Woo!” Maxwell pumped his fist in the air and was feeling pretty good until he saw Jasmine’s face. He didn’t see defeat, as expected. More like determination.

Jasmine stared at the screen in disbelief before narrowing her eyes at him. “This game is rigged.”

Maxwell burst out laughing. “A sore loser. What a surprise.”

“One more game,” she said, holding up a finger.