Football and Ballet - Jason Collins Page 0,41

seems like you’re only half-happy with it, whenever you bring it up.”

Hunter shot right back. “Have you ever considered doing something other than ballet?”

“Touché.” I shrugged before looking back over at the arcade. “So, are we going to go in? Or are we just going to keep standing outside until the place closes down?”

“We’re going to go in,” Hunter instructed as he pushed open the arcade’s front door.

Whoa.

As soon as I stepped into the arcade, it reminded me of one of my tour stops in Vegas, the way the walls were painted red and the carpeting on the floor a royal blue. There were also arcade games from one side of the building to the other, with lights twinkling and electronic music blasting from every machine.

“Drink?” A young woman in a pair of orange shorts with a matching top was suddenly holding out a tray of shot glasses toward us both.

“No, thanks.” I turned down her offer and watched as Hunter did the same with a wave of his hand.

“All good!” the young woman chirped before she walked away from the conversation.

“I thought you said you used to come here with your sister?” I glanced around the room again, taking in its attractive sheen. “Did you two have fake IDs or something?”

“This place has changed a lot over the years,” Hunter answered. “It used to be a smaller operation, run by a local mom and pop. They were struggling a few years ago, until they received an anonymous donation—”

“Don’t tell me,” I interrupted. “You gave the owners a bunch of money and they turned a small arcade into party central?”

“I just gave them enough money to get by for the next few years, maybe pay off a business loan or two. But it looks like they were able to reinvest it into something bigger for the place, and I couldn’t be happier for them,” Hunter explained. “Plus, I don’t know. Even though I don’t come here anymore, I still wanted it to be here. I guess I just wasn’t ready to see this place get closed down. I just…” Hunter’s words trailed off, his gaze seeming to focus on something in the distance.

“…You just what?” I softly pressed, curious about what he had to say next.

“This is going to sound insane.” Hunter sighed before he went on. “But… it’s like I just wanted to hang onto something from the way things used to be? I wanted to preserve this place so I could always come back. And even though it’s nothing like it was when I was growing up, it still feels like… home.” Hunter then nodded toward a machine near the front of the arcade, one that looked like it’d been well-worn throughout the years. “See that? That was the first game I’d ever had a high score on.”

“Maybe you still have it?” I suggested, starting to walk toward the machine. “It looks kind of old, and I don’t know if the younger generation of kids are super into the older games, to be honest.”

As I pressed a button on the machine, its screen came to life, showing a bright green snake in what looked like an animated garden patch. The screen then transformed into the inside the snake’s mouth, its fangs playfully opening and closing, as a long list of names trailed across its tongue.

“Okay, the only names I’m seeing are Frank G., Brandy V. and someone named… Amanda, Will You Go To Prom With Me?” I tilted my head at the strangeness of the name. “But it looks like you’re not in the running anymore—”

“No. That’s me.”

“Frank G.?” I asked. “You were using a pseudonym before you were even famous?”

“No.” Hunter chuckled. “I’m the Amanda one.”

“You asked a girl to go to prom with you via an arcade high score board?” My eyes widened in disbelief. “But I thought you were the high school jock.”

“I was.”

“And the other kids at your high school just let you act like a total nerd?”

“Why couldn’t I have been both?” Hunter chuckled again. “Sure, I was on the football team, but I also had some of the highest math scores in the state.”

“What the hell? You were good at math, too?”

“Patrick, I’m starting to think that you’re just as bad at giving out compliments as you are at receiving them.”

“Sorry. It’s just—sorry.” I stopped and started my apology. “I just can’t get a handle on you, Hunter Perry. Whenever I think I know who you are, you just pivot into something