Suicide Note by Teresa Mummert

“So am I.” His warm breath blowing across my cheek sent a chill through my entire body.
    “You are going to be disappointed.” I laughed as we walked into the dimly lit arcade and my eyes adjusted to the low lighting. I scanned the different games in hopes of finding something at witch I could actually beat Shane.
    “How about air hockey?” I asked as I walked over to the table and ran my fingertips over the smooth plastic top.
    “Excellent choice.” Shane pulled his wallet from his back pocket and grabbed a dollar bill. He pushed it into the machine and it rumbled to life. I grabbed my paddle and Shane grabbed his with the puck from his side. “You ready for this?” he asked. I nodded, trying to keep myself from breaking out in laughter from his serious tone.
    “Bring it!” As the words left my lips, Shane hit the puck, sending it sliding across the table so fast I barely saw it. It ricocheted off the right side and bounced back to him. He hit it again as my arm shot out and I was finally able to make contact with the puck. It wobbled on the table before taking flight. Shane ducked out of the way as it flew passed his head and hit the counter behind him.
    “That’s cheating.” His face was dead serious and I burst out in a fit of giggles as he shook his head and retrieved the puck.
    “I’m sorry. It’s been years since I’ve played this.”
    “We need mood music.” Shane slapped the puck on the table and headed for the jukebox along the wall. He stuck money in the slot and flipped through the pages of music as I tapped my foot.
    “I’m not waiting all day!” I called over to him as he held up his finger to tell me to wait. I slapped my paddle down and headed over to him. He blocked the jukebox so I shoved him playfully with my hip as his first choice began to play through the speakers. “‘Live Like We’re Dying’? Really?” I laughed as I scanned over the choices of songs.
    “It’s on every time I get in the car. Don’t judge. No chick music.” He pushed back against me and I slid myself in front of him, blocking him from seeing what I was picking. His body pressed against mine from behind and his hands found their way to my hips. Our playfulness soon took on a different vibe. I cleared my throat as I stood up straight and punched in a few buttons for a song. “There.” I turned around, face to face with him. Our eyes locked for a second before I looked down at the ground and slid my way out.
    “We gonna play?” I asked as I picked up my paddle and leaned over the table.
    “Hell yes.” Shane hit the puck and I struggled to catch it as it flew to my side of the table.
    “So, you have a sister.” He called over the sound of the music, distracting me and the puck slid into the slot just behind my hands.
    “Yup.” I grabbed the puck and dropped it back on the table. “We are nothing alike.” I tried to concentrate on the game.
    “Makes sense. You’re one of a kind.” He hit the puck to my side, and this time it went straight into the hole.
    “Stop trying to distract me,” I groaned as I grabbed the puck and laid it on the table.
    “If I wanted to distract you, I would.”
    “Not possible.” I was too focused on wiping that smirk off his face. I hated losing.
    Shane dropped his paddle on the table and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. He pulled it up over his head and hung it over the edge of the table. My eyes refused to listen to my brain as I drank in every ounce of his exposed muscled flesh, including the scar that stretched across his pectoral muscle. I didn’t even care when he picked up his paddle again and hit the puck directly into the slot.
    “Your turn.”
    “I am not taking off my clothes in the middle of the mall.” Shane looked around the room. The only other person here was the arcade manager who was busy working on an old arcade game on the other side of the floor.
    He slowly rounded the corner of the table and walked toward me. I struggled to keep my