A Place for You & Me ・Bucky Barnes

game night

As Tuesday approaches, James thinks about what he wants to wear. I can't keep wearing this jacket. He finds a long sleeve shirt to cover his arm and a nice pair of jeans. Just the thought of it gives him butterflies. 

Monday night, he goes to the coffee shop to clear his mind before walking her home. He notices the shop is a little busier than usual. He walks in and finds Zoe.

"What's going on?"

"Monday nights are game nights. People can come in and participate in a tournament." James looks around. 

"Seems pretty fun."

"Do you want to play?"

"Me? With who?"

"Anyone. There's plenty of people here."

James got nervous at the thought. 

"Uh.. maybe next time."

"Would you play with me if you could?"

He looks at her. "Well, yeah. Of course." 

"Alright. Once everyone leaves we can play a few games before we leave for the night."

"Sounds good." 

After he orders something, he tries to find a table to sit at and watch the people play around him. Eventually, they all start to leave one by one until him and Zoe are the only ones left in the shop. He sees her cleaning and approaches the bookshelf, scanning the titles to pass the time. 

"So, what game you wanna play?" Zoe asks.

He turns around. 

"Whichever you like best."

"You know how to play chess?"

"Uh, a little." 

"Okay. It's simple, we'll play that once I get finished up back here." He nods.

A few minutes pass by and Zoe sets up chess at a table. They both sit down and she explains the game. 

"Does that make sense?"

He nods slowly. "Yeah.. I think I got it."

They play a few moves and James beats Zoe the first game. 

"See? You got it."

"You're going easy on me."

Zoe smiles, "Well, I can't let you lose every game. I will play hard next game."

They reset the game. While playing, she asks "Have you made any new recipe attempts?"

"I tried making pizza from scratch but that didn't go too well." He moves a piece. 

"Yeah, fresh doughs are hard to make sometimes." Zoe moves a piece.

"How is Atlas?"

She smiles. "Cute as ever. He keeps knocking down my plants, though."

"What are you growing?"

"Trying to grow basil." James checks Zoe's king. "Well, well, well." She moves her king. James moves his and says, "Checkmate." He smiles. 

"I knew you were holding out, you already know how to play this game."

"Not necessarily. I did need a refresher." His grin gets bigger. 

"Mhm, right." Zoe puts the game away. "You ready to head out?"

"After you."

Zoe closes up shop and they make their way on their usual route.

"So, I've been thinking about tomorrow. What time did you want to go?"

"What time works for you?"

"I like to get there early to beat the crowd and to stay there as long as possible."

"Sounds good. What time do they open?"

"11 AM."

"You want me to meet you at your place?" James looks at her. 

"Uh, sure that's fine." Zoe smiles slightly. 

As they approach her place, James questions, "Could I get your number to let you know when I'm on my way?" 

Zoe hesitates a second. "Yeah, that's cool." She puts her number in his phone. 

"Alright. I will see you tomorrow morning, then." They look into each others' eyes for a few seconds before James departs. Zoe enters her apartment with a blush on her face. She smiles happily, picks Atlas up and spins him around. Meanwhile, James leaves for his place feeling lighter than a feather.