PURCHASE

“I know who you are.” He drops casually as we walk side by side. Each of his steps is two of mine, but I manage to keep up. I side-step a little closer to get a nose full of super hot man smell. He smells like the woods, and soap, and sexiness. I’m screwed.

“Oh? And who am I?” I get a small knot in my stomach. I do occasionally get a fan in Words for Nerds, but this guy knowing me is enough to make me a little nervous.

“RaeGun. The pro gamer. I saw you win the Forever Quest tourney last year.” August keeps walking, but I stop. “What? Too much?” He turns to give me a sly smirk.

“Too much? Nah. That’s me.” I admit, still not moving from where I stopped a few feet behind him.

“What? I don’t look like a gaming enthusiast?” August gestures to himself and I drag my eyes from his shaggy brown hair to his gray Converse. Us nerds love Chuck Taylor.

“Not really. Do I?” I step back a little and hold my arms out, doing a quick spin. My shirt has an N64 controller on it, and I look every bit like the gamer I am.

“No way. I’d never guess if I hadn’t seen your win on Glitch. The shirt, the attitude, the earrings, none of that gave it away.” I reach up and touch my Triforce studs. August laughs.

“I like your sarcasm. It makes you even hotter.” I laugh with him and catch up to where he stands.

“I do what I can in that department.” He makes it to the door a beat before me and turns to face me, making me crane my neck to look up at him.

“It’s working for you. Congrats.” He takes a step toward me and I meet his gaze. “Is this the part where I give you my number?” I reach for my back pocket and pull out a pen.

“Are we going old school here? I left my phone in the car.” He extends his hand and I take it in mine.

“Your phone? Why would I need that? This has been the only way to exchange numbers since the beginning of time.” I write my number on the back of his hand and he watches intently. When I’m done, he studies the number.

“Obviously I was mistaken about needing my phone. This method of number collection is far superior.” He nods and reaches to rest his hand on the door. “Does the three day rule still apply?” He looks down at me, dead serious.

“Three day rule? This is a nineties edition number exchange, not a fifties. Are you secretly sixty? You don’t look a day over forty-five.” I try to look confused.

“Busted. You caught me and I’m far too old for you. This is a bad idea.” He laughs.

“Yeah, so we’re super lame. Anyway, call me. It was nice to meet you, August.” I lean and push the door open for him.

“Likewise. Lame is a great way to describe this entire encounter. I’m usually more smooth, but you caught me off my A game.” He steps toward the open door and I try not to shiver in the crisp night air.

“I’ll expect better lines when you call. Have a good night.”

“You too, Rae.” And with that, he steps into the night and I watch him walk to his car.    

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