Page 30 of Battered Moves

“I really enjoy it too,” she says with a smile, and I peck her lips again.

They’re so soft, just like the skin on her thigh that I’m stroking. I don’t avoid her scar and just stroke over it too. She looks away from my gaze to take in the room. She’s been here once before, but she was exhausted, so I don’t think her curiosity was satisfied.

“Wanna snoop around?” I ask her, and she blushes.

“Am I that obvious?” she asks, and I reassure her by squeezing her knee.

“No, I just know my girl,” I say with a smile, kissing her cheek before she gets up and walks over to the TV and gaming systems I’ve got set up.My games are lined up in a bookshelf under the TV, and she browses through them.

“You like shooters?” she asks me, and I nod.

“I do, but I also like strategy games and platformers. I just playedTomb Raiderthrough again and enjoyed it,” I say. She pulls outNeed for Speedand stands up from her crouched position, smiling at me.

“I played this a lot with Theodore. He loved cars and racing games,” she says, stroking the cover, and I can see sadness moving into her eyes. “I miss him,” she tells me, her voice weak, and I pull her into an embrace.

“Tell me about him,” I say, and she takes in a deep breath.

“He would tackle me the moment I got through the door and demand I play with him,” she says with a chuckle. “He was done playing with our father because he never let him win, and I wasn’t good enough to be a competition.”

“You weren’t good at it?” I ask, and she pushes away a tear that slipped out before laughing.

“God no. I enjoy playing video games, but I suck big time. That was what Theo liked so much—he could play for hours with me and never lose,” she says, and that makes me laugh.

“I’d love to give it a try. Do you want to play a round or two?” I ask with a smirk.

“Sure, but let’s play a different game,” she says as she crouches down to choose one.

“Are you searching for a game you’re better at?” I tease.

“Don’t worry, there isn’t one,” she replies, standing back up and handing meMario Kart.

I insert the game into my Switch before grabbing two controllers and sitting down in my cozy beanbag chair, the TV remote within reach.

“Come here,” I tell her, and she smiles before lowering herself onto my lap.

I hand her a controller and start the game, wrapping my arms around her waist to hold the controller in front of her. She holds hers just above mine as she chooses Yoshi as her character, then she steals my controller and chooses Peach for me, making me laugh. We start the race, and it’s a blast. Liv is so bad at it, but we’re having so much fun. She tries to launch turtle shells at me and laughs her ass off when one of them gets me just before the finish line, costing me the win. I can’t stop laughing either, and I love every second of it.

“You know, these games need a girlfriend option,” she says as I pull her hair away from her neck and plant a kiss on it. I love the way she refers to herself as my girlfriend.

“They do?” I ask.

“Yeah, like an option that you can choose when you play with your girlfriend, so the game automatically becomes much harder for the guy and easier for the girl, making it fairer,” she replies, and I chuckle into her neck.

“I don’t think ‘fair’ is the right word here, beautiful.” I say teasingly. “You’re right, though. I think I’m going to build a girlfriend button into my game,” I say, andLiv turns in my lap, surprised.

“You’re making a game?” she asks.

“I didn’t tell you? I’m working on one. It’s still nowhere near finished and more of a side project, but I enjoy doing it, and maybe I can use it as my final project.”

“Wow, River, that’s so cool. What’s it about?” she asks, intrigued.

“It’s a time traveling adventure game where players must solve puzzles and complete quests while traveling through different eras of history,” I explain.

“That’s right up my alley,” she says excitedly, beaming at me. “Can I play it when it’s done?”

“I’ll need you to be a beta player so I can assess how easy the girlfriend level has to be,” I tease, and she falls backwards into my chest, laughing loudly.

“You jerk!” she exclaims, playfully punching me in the arm. Liv winces in pain and shakes out her fist. “Ouch. Not fair,” she complains, and I chuckle.

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