Just For A Moment by Kate Carley

Chapter 15

Sometimes memories get blownout of proportion, but Gino’s pizza was exactly as Grace remembered it. It was amazingly cheesy and a little bit greasy and oh-so-good. And she probably ate way too much.

Being at Gino’s just felt so… comfortable. Like coming home. This entire experience of being out tonight almost made her want to cry.

Several people had stopped by their table to reintroduce themselves, and not one of them had commented on the accident that had taken Caroline’s life and the lives of the two other girls who had been in the car with her. Not one even whispered about being surprised that she was back. Instead, she’d received condolences over her granddad’s death and enthusiasm that she’d come back home to Oak Bend.

“Thank you for taking me here,” Grace said when she realized she’d gone quiet. Aaron probably figured she wasn’t having a fun time.

“Of course. I wanted to make the night special.”

“It is. Being with you. Just coming out to a place I haven’t been to in years. It’s nice.”

“So, you’re ready to let me beat you at pinball?” Aaron asked with a haughty expression on his face.

“Ha! You think.”

“I can’t believe how cocky you are, Ms. Grace Holland.”

“I can’t help it. I have such awesome memories of playing that game.”

“Then are you ready to go?”

“Yes.”

Aaron paid the bill, and together they headed to the door. Since it was just down the block, they walked, hand in hand. Stepping into The Rox didn’t have that déjà-vu feeling like entering Gino’s had. While she’d been there a couple nights prior with Madalyn, that familiar sensation hadn’t occurred then either. It had been a store of some sort when she was a kid. Now, it was a bar.

“Do you want a drink?” Aaron asked near her ear to be heard over the pulsing beat of the loud music.

“Another Leinenkugel. Summer Shandy?”

“Let’s do that.” With his hand on her back, he directed her to the large wooden bar that stood in the middle of the space. The place had a trendy appeal with a dark wood floor and a high ceiling. Even with all the people on the dance floor and scattered around inside, it didn’t feel overcrowded.

Once Aaron got them each a beer, they wandered deeper into the bar toward the back wall. There, hidden near the corner were three pinball machines, one of them a Kiss pinball.

Reverently, Grace’s fingers caressed the slightly marred surface of the glass. “It’s the same one.”

“You’re sure?”

“Right here.” She tapped the corner of the glass top by the ball release. “It has the exact same slight divot and scratch.”

“You spent way too much time standing in front of this thing, didn’t you?”

“I can’t believe they tucked it away in a dark corner of a bar where teens couldn’t enjoy it. Seems almost unfair.”

“I think they’re all too busy enjoying their electronic games these days to play a classic pinball game like this.”

“Probably true.” Grace took a draw of her beer. “You ready?”

“I am.” Aaron loaded the necessary quarters to play a two-person game and then set enough to do another round onto the glass top of the machine. “You go first.”

Grace took one more sip and moved into position, handing Aaron her beer. He stopped her, tilted her chin up with the crook of his knuckle, and kissed her until she was ready to wrap her legs around him and have him take her right there on top of the Kiss pinball machine.

“Damn. I’m totally horny.” Grace tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “If I do crappy, I’m blaming it on how good you kiss.”

“Good. I’m hoping to distract you from your game.”

“Behave, Aaron.”

Grace pulled back the plunger to the exact mark she’d used as a fourteen-year-old and let loose, sending the ball flying up the channel and into the game. She tapped at the flipper paddles on either side, trying to get a feel for it again. Gently, she took it slow when it was best to allow the ball a slight roll, and then other times, she frantically hit the paddles back and forth, hoping not to tilt and praying that she’d knock and get that extra game.

That was her trick every time. One extra ball could make all the difference in a close game.

Her skills were solid, like riding a bike. Laughter trickled out as those thoughts rolled through her mind. Not skill. Just a whole lot of practice. All her babysitting money had been spent on pinball. Her friends bought candy and pop and fingernail polish. But she’d snuck away and spent hours standing in front of the machine, dropping quarter after quarter, making each one last as long as possible.

The ball soared through the gate near The Demon’s face—worth a bunch of points—and then rolled into a kickout hole. One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three. She was ready as the ball blasted out of the hole, rolled for the left bumper, and ricocheted toward her right flipper.

She tossed the ball with a strong flipper move, and the ball rolled past The Starchild playing the bass, straight down the center. Nothing would touch it, and her turn was over.

Now it was time for Aaron to show what he was made of. “You did amazing. You are good at this,” Aaron said, handing her both bottles of beer and moving into position.

Player two flashed in the upper right corner. Before pulling the plunger, he drummed on the paddles obviously getting a feel for the game. Grace set their beers down on a small table beside the pinball machines and moved up behind him, running her hand over his ass.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He grinned over his shoulder at her.

“Just wanted you to be as distracted as I was.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” He tipped his head down and said, “My cock is so fucking hard right now, I can hardly think straight. I just spent the past ten minutes watching you rub up against this machine like you were making love to it. I want you on your back with me inside you in the worst way.”

“We’re going to need to rectify that immediately.”

“First, I’m going to take my turn.” He kissed Grace on the lips and then set to work, pulling back the plunger and letting the metal ball fly. The machine spun and hummed. It beeped and rang.

And now Grace fully understood what he’d meant by the way she moved.

Aaron’s hips jerked back and forth as he pushed the button on the left, activating the paddle and then shifting to the right. It was a serious matter, the focus and the way the muscles in his back bunched and his arms tensed. His entire body was working like he was making love to the game.

And God, was she jealous.

When the ball fell between his paddles, she handed him back his beer. They stood together sipping their beers and swaying to the beat, their free arms wrapped around the other, his hardness pressed to her stomach. It took everything she had not to rub herself against his thigh.

When she thought she might just explode, he bent toward her. “I’m taking you home.”

“Yes.”

The word had barely fallen from her lips when Aaron urged her to move with him toward the exit, his hand resting on her lower back. As they passed the bar, he stopped long enough to deposit their empty bottles and then led her out the door.