Narrow Paths

Chapter Eight

I was jittery the entire morning while I waited for afternoon to come. I was so excited for the midnight release of Backlash 2 that it was almost funny in a way. I spent most of my time on the phone with Jeremy talking about the sequel while I played Backlash 1.

Finally, it was a little bit after six o'clock. I showered and ate some dinner before hoping into my truck to go pick up the guys.

They were just as excited as I was. We cranked the AC and the music as we headed toward Union City.

"I can't wait! It's going to be the best game since Rebuilt To Die!" Ed said from the backseat.

Jeremy laughed and took a drink from his cola. He was the most relaxed out of all three of us, but he was still on the edge of his seat. I drove the speed limit on the speedway, wishing I could somehow go faster.

"Why can't blonds dial 911?" Jeremy asked over the radio.

"I have no idea." I told him.

"Because they can't find the eleven."

Ed and I laughed and I punched him in the arm. He grinned at me and cleared his throat.

"What do blonds and beer bottles have in common?"

"What?" Ed asked.

"They're both empty from the neck up." 

I couldn't help but laugh. His jokes weren't meant to spite me and we all knew that I could hold my own in a discussion of intelligence, even if I was blond.

"Know what I like about your face, Germ?"

"No."

"Me either," I said with a laugh.

We finally reached Union City and I remembered in the back of my mind how it had looked at two in the morning a few days ago with Darcy. The lights weren't as bright now because the sun hadn't set. I drove as fast as I could with the traffic that clogged the streets.

The game shop was on the other end of town. Jeremy fiddled with the radio until he found an alternative rock station. Ed was practically jumping up and down in his seat. I laughed at him and he gave me a dirty look.

"I can't wait to get home and play."

"I'm spending the night at your house," I informed them.

Jeremy nodded. "Gran's preparing for as much. She's got enough junk food to choke a horse."

"I hope she got some ice cream. She knows I like ice cream."

"I'm sure she did, Ed." Jeremy said teasingly.

I laughed again and tried to find a place to park close to the shop, but the street was lined with cars on both sides of the road. I finally had to keep driving in hopes of finding a parking lot.

By the time the sun had set, I'd found a place to park three blocks away from the shop. We walked casually toward the game shop, because we knew that the next four hours were going to pass unbearably slow.

There were so many people at the release that they'd been forced outside of the game shop. They stood around in large groups in front of the doors. You could hear snippets of conversations, each and every one about Backlash 2. We were all more excited than a kid in a candy store.

It was a nice summer evening, so I wasn't complaining about being outside. Ed and Jeremy weren't too happy, but then again they hated the heat. I was used to it by now after summers of working my butt off for the football team.