"Not fair! You must have played this game a thousand times!" Ivan protested as I beat him in another round of Mortal Kombat.
"It's my go to game when I'm pissed" I put down the controller and l look at him, seriously. I start laughing when I look at him, "Aw, poor Ivan is a sore loser" I look at him and laugh. I go forward to pinch his cheeks and he jerks away. Weird.
"Oh, sorry, I just, I was surprised" he said honestly.
"Sure! Don't worry about it" I smile back, "wanna play some other game?"
"Yes" he grins, "dance battle"
"Oh no no no, I can't dance" I protest.
"Oh of course you can" he says
"How do you know?" I ask looking at him, faking an expression of suspicion. It scared him because he started to fumble on his words.
" Relax! I'm kidding" I say. "I can dance, but I need to be drunk to do that"
"Then let's get you drunk" he says and signals the waiter to get beers. "Or would you prefer something more intense?" he winks
"Whisky on the rocks, yes" I smile. He seemed impressed.
Alcohol hits me after 2-3 drinks and I feel light and happy. Ivan was great company and an even better dancer. We danced for hours at the just dance battle corner and ate like we were starving for days. Ivan didn't drink much because he insisted on dropping me back home.
"Have you ever played this game called beat saber?" I ask him seriously as if his life depended on it.
"Of course. It's my favorite" he smiles back.
"Are you kidding me right now? No way! You dance, you read, your favorite game is my favorite game" I say and laugh. "Catherine is a lucky girl" I say softly looking outside.
"She doesn't like all these things and we rarely go dancing. But she is a lucky girl, because I love her very much, isn't that everything one needs?" he says.
"Yes, it is everything." I look at him and smile back.
"Wanna play beat saber?" He gets up and smiles.
"Yess!" I say and follow him.
Beat Saber was my favorite game. I had discovered it a few months ago and I had been addicted to it ever since. We get laser swords and get to beat the blocks of beats with it. It was so satisfying and stress relieving.
Ivan cheered as I played the game and he was dancing behind me; I did the same when he was playing.
"I was a better cheerleader than you" I laugh as we were walking back to his car.
"Oh, you bet" he smiles and opened the door for me.
"You're so kind" I say with my hands on my chest near my heart.
He plays my favorite music as we drive back home and I hum it softly. I close my eyes and feel the wind on my face.
"What's the most romantic date you've ever been to? You and Catherine I mean" I ask him with my eyes still closed.
He laughs. The sound of his laugh was childlike. I open my eyes and look at him. I wanted to know what his expressions looked like. He smiles looking ahead, "What do you think?" he asks me.
"Well, okay. I think you wouldn't have taken her to an expensive restaurant, but someplace private because you seem like that kinda guy who prefers quite places over overrated, romantic restaurants.
There would have been champagne, her favorite food, oh! Maybe you might have even cooked the food yourself. Maybe the best date you've had, was in your backyard. Away from the media.
Someplace you felt you could be yourself." I say and pause to look at him.
His eyes were a different color right now, it was a beautiful grey color and I realized I was staring and
I snap out of it instantly. I laugh to cover the awkwardness and look outside.
"How did you know though?" he asks me, his voice was so soft.
"I don't know. I just thought of you as a person, imagined your preferences. I did add a bit of myself in there as well, haha" I smile, "but wow, that must have been nice huh" I say to him and look at him.
He stops the vehicle; "Indeed" he says as he comes closer to me and clicks the button of my seat belt and opens it. He was really close to my face; my heart starts to beat really fast and I get really nervous.
He moves back and looks at me.
"We're here Sofia" he says softly. The sound of my name from his mouth was so deep, I wanted to hear more of it.
"Um, of course, haha" I laugh awkwardly. "Thanks for tonight Ivan, it was fun." I say as I get out of the car.
"Hey, Sofia?" I hear Ivan call out my name and turn behind.
"You mind if I use your washroom?" he asks.
"Sure, come along." After the moment we just had, of course it wasn't a bad idea. Stupid, stupid Sofia.