The Virgin Bet

6

"You're a few minutes late." Was all Cole said as she approached. Her whole posture stiffened at his comment as she gazed over at him. "I'm just teasing you, take a joke sweetheart." He said as he opened the passenger door for her.

"Don't call me that." Her eyes shot daggers at him as she hesitated to take a seat in his car. If she did this, she knew she'd be stuck with him for the next few hours with no where to go. But, she knew she had to get that Psychology book back so she could finish her paper.

Reluctantly, she sat down on the beaten up seats of his old car. He closed the door for her once she was settled in before he moved over to the driver's side to get in. Charlotte buckled her seatbelt in silence, as did he. The two college students sat in complete silence as Cole began to drive.

Cole, stop making this awkward and fūcking talk already. That was the only thing on Charlotte's mind as the two of them sat in utter silence as the radio played Dark Necessities quietly in the background. She could only hope that the rest of her evening would not be filled with the utter disappointment of being alone with Cole in silence.

"You know it's supposed to get cold tonight, right?" Cole commented as he rolled down his window, placing his left arm outside of the car as he drove along. Charlotte could only scoff as she crossed her arms.

"You told me to wear something cute, so I did. I'm so sorry if it doesn't meet your taste." She scrunched up her nose before she shook her head in disgust and averted her attention to the many buildings they began to pass by.

A brief look of panic crossed Cole's features as he realized what he said. He bit his lip as his dark hair began to whip against his forehead from the wind. "I never said you didn't look cute. I just don't want you to be chilly."

"I'm not twelve. I don't need other people telling me what to wear and what not to wear." Charlotte rested her right elbow against the door as she placed her chin in the palm of her hand. Her eyes followed the life of the city as they drove by. There were so many people on the streets today, it was amazing.

"We're here." Cole said after another ten minutes of absolute silence. Charlotte finally looked up from her dazed mindset to see where he drove them to. The orange sign that the town new all too well read "Dave and Busters" in white lettering. Charlotte cocked one of her brows as she saw the logo.

"An arcade?" She asked. Cole just shrugged his shoulders before getting out of his car. He walked over the other other side and opened the door for her before she even got the chance to. He was being such a gentleman, but why?

"I figured we'd play games then grab dinner." Cole simply spoke as he led Charlotte to the door, which he opened for her without hesitation. They both showed their IDs to the woman at the front desk, who would not stop looking at Cole, before they walked in. The gaming center was bustling with life, people scrambling around to play the multitude of games that they provided.

Cole paid for their power cards, which were like tokens, and Charlotte pleaded him to let her pay for her own. Of course, he declined her offer. "What game first?" He asked. Charlotte let her eyes scan around the arcade. There were so many games, how could she ever choose where to start? Cole became impatient and came up behind her and covered her eyes, which caused her to tense up again. "Point somewhere."

Charlotte was confused, but listened to him. She pointed somewhere off to the right. Cole removed his hands from her eyes, and she saw that she was pointing to one of the oldest games in the whole gaming center. Pac-Man. A small smirk appeared on Cole's lips.

"Do you even know how to play?" Cole teased her. Charlotte refused to let this jerk bully her on their date. It was just an arcade game, how hard could it be? The brunette stormed off towards the arcade machine with Cole following behind her, snickering the whole time.

Charlotte took the power card that they received, upon Cole loading money on them, and slid it through the card reader. The game lit up, coming to life before there very eyes. The big yellow Pac-Man popped up on the screen as stereotypical arcade music played in the background.

She felt Cole's eyes burning into the back of her skull as she loaded up the game. Five lives, that's all she had. This was such an old game, it couldn't be that hard to play, right?

Wrong.

Her fingers held the joysticks so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. She struggled to turn the little Pac-Man away from the colorful ghosts that tried to eat him. Charlotte could hear Cole laughing from behind her, and it made her cheeks heat up in embarrassment knowing how poorly she was doing.

"Well, lets not waste this money. Let me show you how to play." Cole blew a small piece of his dark hair away from his green eyes. He walked up right behind Charlotte, wrapping his arms around her from behind as he placed his head upon her shoulder so he could see the screen. He placed his rough hands overtop of her soft ones that were still gripping the joysticks.

Charlotte feared that Cole could hear the pounding of her heart in her chest. She was completely frozen. How could she let him do this so casually to her as if it was nothing? She didn't speak up and tell him to back off, but instead let him guide her hands. Her eyes left the screen for a moment to glance at Cole's face over her shoulder.

His face was lit up with the different colors that flashed across the screen. Cole's tongue poked out slightly as he focused, never letting his eyes leave the game. Charlotte diverted her attention back towards he game when it told them that he had passed the level. Her mouth gaped open a bit as she watched him continue on to the next round with ease.

He was a natural, and she hated it. She should just pull away right now and leave, demanding he give her back the book she so desperately needed. But, she didn't. She allowed this man to guide her hands over the joysticks to help her play the game. His breath was hot against her face, and he was within her personal space bubble. For some reason, she didn't mind though.

Cole cleared round after round, he had to of been the secret Pac-Man champion. His hands moved so smoothly over the controls, and every movement he made was swift and quick. Charlotte was astounded. The sound of the "Game Over" screen snapped her out of her Cole-induced trance. Her eyes travelled over until they met Cole's. A small smirk appeared on his lips as his hands interlocked with hers.

"And that's how you play the game."

So, The Virgin Bet almost has 150 reads! I hope all of you are enjoying this story as it goes along. I'll be adding a cast list soon to the chapters, I just haven't had the time to go on Wattpad on my computer yet. Please don't forget to comment and vote, I really love the feedback! Have a lovely rest of your day.