He had no idea how much she liked fancy shoes, but she continued to the next level. He was right, the graphics were amazing, and the story characters looked just like her, him, Asher and Emily. She’d started out alone, added Emily to her tribe, and then Deek and Asher joined in to help her battle the creatures at the end of each scene to win more shoes for her, special weapons for Deek, and the kids won slices of pizza.
And there was even a bad witch who looked like Annie. Lori especially loved capturing her and throwing her in a dungeon. “You can’t ever let Asher play this, Deek.” She held up a hand for a high five. “But good job so far.”
He returned her hand slap. “No one will ever play this game but you, because of the special part at the end. The grand prize.”
She hoped that they could celebrate that upstairs, so she hurried to finish and make that happen. By the time she got to the final level, Deek had depicted a story of the four of them, battling dragons, bad witches, and finally heading up a steep trail to a castle that looked suspiciously like his house, but with turrets added and a moat. But in the front yard was a sign on a post with the words “For Sale” hanging off it like the kind Realtors used. Behind it was a big heart with a keyhole in the middle. The instructions above it said, “Congratulations, Princess Lori. With the help of your loyal tribe, you have won. All of this kingdom belongs to you. Place the magic key you’ve earned into the lock. When it opens, you will activate the magic spell that can never be broken.”
Lori glanced over her shoulder at Deek. “This is incredibly cheesy, but I’m loving it so much.” Lori placed her key into the lock, and the heart opened.
Glitter and fairy dust filled the screen and swirled to reveal words that flew by too fast until they settled down to say, “You now own Deek’s heart for a hundred years, until the unbreakable spell wears off. After that, it’s up to you whether you keep him or trade up for a better geeky wizard. And because you’ve completed the game in record time, you have earned a timed bonus.”
The screen zoomed into the castle, then into a fabulous bedroom, and then to a closet filled with designer shoes and gowns fit for a princess. There was even a shelf filled with glittering tiaras. Lori laid a hand over her heart, which wanted to burst with love for Deek.
She turned around and hugged him. “As geeks go, I think I hit the jackpot. I’ll keep you at the end of the spell if it’s all the same to you.”
His head had stopped bleeding, so he tossed the tissues in the trash and then grabbed her hand, placing it over his heart. “You told me that all this had to belong to you, Lori. And it does. No one else will ever own any of it. And to think it all happened because of a broken science fair project seems like it was fated to this nerd’s heart.”
Lori blinked at him for a moment. That was something Joe would have said. It couldn’t be Joe’s spirit… No, that was impossible. “So what do you say, nerd? Want to go upstairs and lock the door?”
“Yes. Because I need to show you Plan B.”
She shook her head. “Plan A worked just fine.”
“So indulge me, then. Please? And promise you’ll accept it because I really would like you to have it.” He leaned down and laid his lips on hers, and using his magic moves, shortly had her yearning for more as a warm heat settled into her belly.
She would’ve said yes to anything at that moment. And she’d love it no matter what it was.
He slowly leaned away and whispered, “So that felt like a yes?”
“Yes. I promise to accept whatever it is. As long as you come with it.”
He took her hand and led the way to the stairs. “You don’t have any choice. I studied ancient voodoo too. That was a real love spell I used on both of us. Can’t you feel it?”
She laughed. “Actually, I can.”
She followed him up the stairs as a thought occurred to her. “What if I couldn’t have passed a level? Would that mean I wouldn’t have won your heart?”
He turned and smiled. “I had complete faith in you.”
“Well, thanks. But I suppose since you wrote it, you’d know the override.”
“And there’s that. But I’m super proud that you didn’t have to use it. We need to have that real Pac-Man contest very soon. I think you might be the first one who can legitimately beat me. Maybe.”
She smacked the fine rear end that she was following behind. “You can count on it.”
When they got to the bedroom, Deek locked the door behind them. Then he opened his nightstand drawer and pulled out a blindfold. “Do you trust me?”