CHAPTER 8

Starting up their third race, Melody got off to a quick start, but a couple of well thrown banana peels from Mike put him back in the lead by the start of the third lap. Rounding the halfway point of the track, he got hit again with the Blue Shell, Melody zooming past him. It took every ounce of skill he had, but he was finally able to trip her up rounding the final curve and pass her at the last second for the win.

Mike pumped his fist in victory. "That's what I'm about!"

Melody flexed her sore fingers. "Wow, you're good when you go all out."

"So are you," Mike replied. "How'd you get so good at that?"

"Not sure," she said, shaking her head. "After the first race, it just seemed to come so naturally to me."

"Hmm…" Mike thought for a moment. "I wonder if it has anything to do with that 'ideal woman' thing you mentioned? I've always been really impressed by, and attracted to, girls that aren't afraid to hold their own in video games."

"That could be it," she mused. "Let's play another one! What else ya got?"

Mike hesitated for a moment, before suggesting, "Well, Call of Duty is a lot of fun, and as fast as your reaction time was in Mario Kart, I think you'd do really well at it. Only thing is, it's a pretty violent, shoot-'em-up game. That's ok with you?"

With zero hesitation, she replied, "As long as it's all make believe, that's totally cool with me."

Well alrighty then, he thought to himself. Mike switched over to his PS3 and grabbed a couple of controllers. After firing up the game, he went over the controls before they played a practice round. Mike hid his character somewhere on the map, and Melody had one minute to find and shoot him.

Upon killing him for the first time, she jumped in shock, adrenaline pumping. "Wow, this is intense!"

"Yep," Mike agreed. "The developers worked hard to try to make it as realistic as possible. Ok, I'm hiding. Let's go again."

She found him much faster this time around, quickly getting a feel for using the radar and how the maps were structured. After two more rounds of hide and seek, he had Melody hole up in a central location to practice being attacked from various directions. At first, he easily bested her each time, but she eventually got better at her aiming and reaction time. By the end of the ten-minute round, Melody was surviving around two of every three encounters. Seeing her rapid improvement, Mike felt she was ready for the next level.

"Well, this should be fun. Are you ready to go online?" Mike knew the online players would be in for a shock when they went up against her.

"Sure," she said with a smile. "You wanna use those?" She pointed to his two gaming headsets charging in the TV stand.

Mike got a wicked smile on his face. "Definitely, but let's keep the fact that you're a girl a secret until we start thrashing these losers."

He activated the Bluetooth connections on the headsets as they entered the pre-match lobby. Muting his microphone momentarily, he turned to Melody. "Just remember, some of these guys have a huge bias against girls who play video games, particularly if they're better than the guys. If they start acting like assholes, be strong, and don't take any crap. You have full permission to put them in their place."

She smirked. "Random dudes acting like jackasses who AREN'T my master? So not a problem."

Atta girl.

They spawned into their first match, taking place on a pretty large map. "Ok, stay out of the open on this one, there's lots of sniping spots," Mike cautioned.

As the match progressed, Mike got taken out more than typical, but was always in a good position to call out sniper locations to his teammates. Melody, using a stealthy setup with a silenced weapon, was able to constantly sneak around the map, taking out said snipers from behind. One particular player kept returning to the same sniping spot, allowing her to constantly ambush him with little effort.

"SON OF A BITCH!!!" He had now died five times in a row. "Who's the little pussy who keeps doing that?" Hearing his complaining through the headset, it was all Mike could do not to laugh in his face.

Anticipating that he would change his tactics, Melody was ready, planting a land mine in the spot she had been hiding in. Sure enough, he attempted charging the position, only to be blown to smithereens. Melody couldn't help but unleash her trademark laugh as he raged into the microphone, finally revealing that a girl was the one dominating the match.

"No fucking way," he seethed. "The hell is a fucking GIRL doing here?!"

Melody giggled. "Last I checked, she's kicking' ass and takin' names."

"Shut up and suck my dick, bitch. That's where you belong."

Mike had expected this kind of reaction, but that didn't make him any less enraged at this idiot's treatment. Just as he was about to unleash on him, Mike felt Melody's hand gently stroking his knee.

Melody calmly replied into the headset, "Unfortunately for you, the only blowjob you'll be getting is the land mine you just stepped on. Oh, and this frag." She tossed a grenade into his hiding spot, killing him once again.

"FUUUUUCK!!!" As his rage grew, now even the other players were laughing at him. As much as some guys had a stigma against girl gamers, this group was apparently able to recognize true skill when they saw it.

"Damn, girl," one of the others chimed in. "You good. And you sound hot. Looks like you are in the ATL with me. Wanna hook up?"

Mike rolled his eyes. Like this douchebag has a shot with you, he thought to Melody.

He's so cute. He has no clue just how out of his league he is, she thought back.

As the match ended, she replied in a sultry voice, "Sorry boys, but I have eyes for only one smoldering stud of a man. Say hi baby!"

"That would be me," Mike said with a sense of pride.

"Well that's enough fun for us today," Melody continued. "Now we've got some real work to do…" They signed off as catcalls and whistles echoed through their headsets.

"That was fun!"

"Sure was. I still can't believe that tear you went on," Mike replied. "You just annihilated them out there!"

As they basked in their post game glow, there was a knock at Mike's door. Walking over to check the peephole, Mike could see it was his upstairs neighbor, Sandra.

As he opened the door, Mike heard the now familiar greeting from the bubbly single mom of two kids. "Miike! How ya doin' son?" She immediately grabbed him in a hug before he could even think of protesting.

Sandra seemed in a particularly good mood today. Dressed in a white tank top and loose sky blue workout shorts, she had her straight, black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Mike had never been attracted to black women, merely out of personal preference, but he could definitely appreciate that she was quite a good-looking woman. Slim and athletic, her light black skin and warm eyes easily helped her appear younger than the late thirties she actually was.

Mike gently hugged her back. "I'm doing pretty well, Sandra. What's got you so excited today?"

"It's Tyler's birthday next Wednesday, so I'm throwing him a pool party today." Tyler was her twelve-year-old son, soon to be thirteen. "My brother's cooking burgers and dogs on the grill. You're welcome to stop by for some free food, Mr. Starving Musician," she said with a wink.

"That sounds awesome, though I don't have a birthday gift or anything…"

"Mike, hush," she interrupted. "After you've helped look out for him these last three years, helping with homework, being that positive male role model, just being there is a gift enough. That boy really looks up to you, ya know."

Mike knew it was true. Three years ago, he had given Tyler his first trumpet lessons. Even though he only stuck with it for two years, the two had connected very well. Mike had used those lessons to teach him not only about music, but important life lessons as well. Staying on schedule, avoiding procrastination, refusing to settle for anything less than his best effort. All of these things had helped keep the boy from straying away from a difficult path to follow.