Hard Mode

       It was late in the year, but the arcade down on the boardwalk and a few other attractions managed to draw enough of a crowd to warrant staying open. Heather’s boyfriend, Drew, was just crazy for the old school hangout so; any chance he got, she’d find herself being led down to the shore.
      Heather had grown up in Blackthorn, but Drew had moved there later on. To him, the games were all new and exciting, despite their actual age. To, her, they were reminders of good times and days gone by. She liked playing them, to be sure, but she’d beaten every one at least a dozen times…
      
      Drew looked on as his girlfriend blazed her way through game after game. He’d already spent a pocket full of change and didn’t feel much like loosing any more in one day. He was content, for the moment, just to watch.
      Stopping to check the time, he noticed that she wasn’t wearing any shoes.
      “Hey, Heather…”
      She didn’t look away for even a moment, but her ears twitched in his direction letting him know she was listening.
      “What happened to your sneakers?”
      “They’re over there. My paws were bugging me, so I took them off.”
      The red wolf’s tail began to wag excitedly as an idea formed in his head.
      “You’re really good at this one…” he began.
      Heather rolled her eyes.
      “Yeah, I’ve only played it, like, a million times!”
      “Well, maybe you should try it on a harder difficulty…”
      She rolled her eyes, again. Sure, home consoles let you pick, but arcade games came with just one setting: quarter sucking hard!
      “Here, let’s see how easy it is with me distracting you!”
      She was forced to bend her knee as he lifted her right paw off the floor.
      “Hey, what are you doing?”
      “I’m going to tickle your paw while you try and beat the rest of the game. If, you loose a life; off comes the sock. Loose again and I’ll bring out the feathers!”
      “And what if I don’t loose?” Heather asked.
      “Then I’ll cover today’s expenses…”
      “Alright,” Heather said with a smile, “but you’d better be nice and let me switch paws between levels!”

Image by CaseyDecker