Gamer Girl (4 page)

Sarah woke up the next morning lying on her bed, dressed only in her slip. She sat up and met her brain about halfway. The pain was intense.
She walked out to the kitchen to find a full glass of water and ibuprofen placed next to her key. Sarah vaguely remembered Eamon saying goodnight. She also vaguely remembered being an idiot. Downing the ibuprofen with a long drink of water, she headed for the shower. Sarah remained in the shower washing her hair and standing in the spray until the hot water ran out. She brushed her teeth, combed her wet hair and was on her way to the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

“Who is it?”

“Eamon, Sarah. I brought McDonalds.”

Sarah opened the door to find Eamon dressed in jeans, a dark blue
t-shirt, a very expensive leather jacket, and boots. He had two large McDonald’s bags in his hands. It occurred to Sarah that Eamon could have made a hell of a male model. She would certainly buy whatever he had to sell.

Eamon’s smile widened. “
What a pretty woman: freshly scrubbed, no make-up, and very delectable,” he observed.

Sarah
cheeks grew pink at his compliment. She stepped back to let him in. “Thanks. You have impeccable timing. I was just about to fix something to eat.”

Eamon carried the food to her table. In addition to Egg McMuffins and Oatmeal, he’d brought coffee, milk and orange juice. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want protein or carbs, so I got both.”
He pulled the food out of the bags and sat down.

Sarah
took coffee, milk, juice and an Egg McMuffin. “Thank you. This is a welcome treat.” Sarah caught his eye. “I hope I didn’t embarrass you last night. I shouldn’t have had that last drink.”

“You were fine. A little tipsy
.  Nothing to worry about.” Eamon took a bite of his McMuffin and then wiped his mouth with his napkin. “So, Sarah, when is the last time you tied one on?”

Sarah clapped a hand over her eyes
, shrugged and said, “New Year’s Eve two years ago. It was not pretty. You would think I would learn.”

Eamon laughed. “Well you did nothing to worry about last night. But that’s not why I came over unannounced. I thought you might like to go take in some Kansas City sights. Maybe the Nelson or the Steamboat Arabia, or Powell Gardens
.”

“Have you ever been to see the Vaile Mansion, the Bingham-Waggoner estate and the Independence Jail where Frank James was incarcerated?” Sarah asked.

“No, and I thought I’d seen every historic building in the greater metro area.”

Sarah put her hands on her hips and said,
“Well then, let me show you Independence, Missouri. I took a class on Kansas City History for fun and we spent an entire day in Independence.”

“Okay
.” Eamon jumped up and cleared the table. Sarah wiped everything down and went to dress. It took some time to dry her hair.

W
hen she came back out, Eamon was playing
Wickerworld
again, though he put it aside as soon as she appeared. Eamon studied Sarah admiringly. “Sarah you definitely know how to fill out a pair of jeans.”

Sarah looked down at her simple merino wool sweater, skinny jeans, and slouchy boots. With a toss of her head she did a slow pirouette.

“Wow!
” Eamon gave her a kiss and then picked up her jacket and held it out for her. In a moment, they were on their way to Independence.

Eamon and Sarah bought the discount ticket for all three historic sites. They toured the Vaile first, then the Bingham-Waggoner. The two historic houses could not be more different. The Vaile was a magnificent house, a rich house, but it was also a sad and lonely house with a sad history. The Bingham-Waggoner was large but not as grand as
the Vaile. It, however, was a home with one hundred years of family history held in its walls.

When they’d finished touring the two homes, Sarah asked, “So, which place did you like the best?”

“The Bingham-Waggoner,” Eamon said at once. “It was a home and not just a house.” Sarah’s smile told him everything he needed to know about why she’d asked. “So it is your favorite too!”

“Yes,” Sarah told him as they drove back to the square in downtown Independence. “I always feel a loss in the Vaile. So sad, so lonely. But the Bingham…say, would you prefer to eat German or upscale at Ophelia’s?”

“German sounds good. They have good German beer, don’t they?”

“Yes, they do. And they make a delicious
Sauerbraten as well. The Rheinland it is then,” Sarah said.

They went to lunch.
Sarah ordered the Sauerbraten and even had a dark beer with it. After lunch, they went to see the Independence Jail and the cell Frank James inhabited during his stay there.

“You know, some of the bloodiest, most b
itter battles were fought here during the Civil War. Kansas was Union and we were Confederate for the most part,” Eamon said.

“We? I thought you were second generation Irish,” Sarah said to him as they walked back to the car.

“On my Dad’s side, sure. But my Mom’s people…well they’ve been here a long time.”

“Really? And you’d never visited the Vaile or the Bingahm?”

“You know how it is. You live somewhere your whole life and don’t bother to investigate the treasures that surround you. Besides, my folks lived north of the river.”

“And that makes a difference?”

“Some.”  Eamon helped her into the car. When he got in on the driver’s side, he turned to her. “Look, I’d really like to show you my place, let you see my game room and mess around with my stuff. But, I wanted to be sure you were okay with that. I’ve got food in the fridge, and I can cook something for dinner. What do you say?”

“
I’d like to see your video game setup,” Sarah told him.

“Let’s go then.” Eamon
drove them down to the Country Club Plaza, to one of the most luxurious condominium complexes there. Eamon parked in the locked garage underneath the building. They took the elevator up to a floor near the top of the building. When Eamon opened the door to his loft, Sarah gasped and walked forward into the space.

In front of her was a step-down into a large living area. The wall in front of her was glass. Sarah could see the entire Plaza district spread out before her. The street lights began to come on and it went from spectacular to magic.  “Oh my God,” she whispered, “this is…stunning!”

Sarah knew that Eamon was well off. After all, he owned a company. But for the first time his wealth smacked her in the face. Eamon wasn’t just well off, he was rich: Ferrari rich, Versace rich, the kind of rich that goes on holiday in the South of France. For the first time, Sarah wondered why Eamon would bother to ask her out at all.

She felt his hands on her shoulders. “Hey. What sounds good for dinner?”

Sarah turned around. “Well, I suppose that depends on what you can cook.”

“How do you feel about spaghetti? I can make a mean po
t of spaghetti. My Mom’s recipe.”

“Great. Want some help?”

“Sure. You can chop the onions.” He pointed her toward the chopping board and the block that held the knives.

“Thanks!” Sarah replied. “I just love crying over my meal!”

Eamon pulled out the garlic, onions and other vegetables and gave them to Sarah. He browned the meat with some of Sarah’s garlic and onions. When the sauce was all together and simmering, they quickly washed up and Eamon took Sarah by the hand. He led her to a door and opened it up. “Have fun!”

If the view from Eamon’s loft sent Sarah into shock, his game room nearly stopped her heart. The walls were lined with video games sorted by category and console, pc or game toy. “I download a lot of the games now, so some of the newer titles will be on the console hard drives,” Eamon told her. “You play awhile, and I will tend to supper.”

Eamon continued to get the meal ready. He set the table and put out a red wine for his own pleasure and a bottle of moscato in the refrigerator for Sarah. The sauce was done, so he made the pasta. Then he went to get her.

Sarah
was busily engaged in a massive boss fight with a dragon, a bear and a couple of bandits. It was a random encounter in an open world game. Her avatar was obviously a spell-sword for she was up on her feet, summoning creatures at the same time that she was hacking away with a bound sword. It was close, but she finally managed to take down all her opponents. As she delivered her last blow to the dragon, she yelled, “BAM! Yeah!” as she held the controller above her head and did a short victory dance.

“
I hate to interrupt this coup, but dinner is ready.”

Sarah turned around with an ear-to-ear grin of triumph
on her face. She saved the game and turned off the console. “Did you see me blast that dragon to smithereens?”

“Yep, smith
ereens covers it, but your spaghetti grows cold.” Eamon gave her a whatcha gonna do, look.

Sarah heaved
a theatrical sigh but she was already at the door. Eamon had set the table with some candles and cloth napkins in napkin holders. “I’m impressed. You won’t see napkin holders at my table until Thanksgiving!”

Eamon pulled out her chair.
“Have a seat and we’ll eat dinner.”

Sarah took her place at the table
and Eamon dished out the spaghetti and sauce. The aroma was rich and wonderfully Italian, and Sarah was hungry. She took a bite. “Wow, I pride myself on a good sauce, but this is really fantastic!”

Eamon took a bite.
“It’s my Mom’s recipe. I helped out in the kitchen and got pretty good at making her food, though I’ve yet to get her macaroni salad right.”

“
We ate out a lot. Both my parents worked full-time. I taught myself to cook. I do okay, but I don’t have many special
mom
recipes. But, if you want to know the best places to eat in Bonita, I am your woman!” Sarah lay her napkin aside, rose from the table and began to gather the dirty dishes.

“Leave those,” Eamon said, “I’ll get them later.”

“No, please, let me help you.” Sarah carried more of the dishes to the kitchen and came back again.”It is the least I can do.”

E
amon stood. “I pay people good money to clean up after me, Sarah. Come on, let’s go play.”

Sarah looked out the enormous window at the fabulous view and it hit her again. Eamon wasn’t just a guy who liked a lot of the same things she did. He was a man who counted his net worth in multi-millions of dollars. He was a man who owned large portions of some of the most lucrative tech companies and game shops in the world.
His condo was fabulous. But she didn’t understand how it fit him. The game room was real enough. It was used, lived in, but the rest?

“Well, if we aren’t going to clean up, then maybe it’s time I went home,” Sarah told him softly.

Eamon
was walking down the hall toward the game room. But her words brought him back to where she stood. “What is it, Sarah?”

“Nothing, I—“

“Uh, uh. I have two sisters. You aren’t pulling that one on me. Something’s bothering you. I’m a guy. Unless you tell me, I’ll never figure it out.” Eamon held out his hand. “Come on, let’s go sit down and you can tell me.”

Sarah slipped her hand into Eamon’s and they went into the living room and sat down on the sofa. “Spill it!” Eamon said.

Sarah looked around the room. “It’s stupid. I know it sounds stupid, but this place doesn’t fit. It’s gorgeous and the game room is right somehow, but the rest? Or maybe it is right for you, and I’m the one who doesn’t get it. ”

Eamon leaned his head back against the sofa and laughed. “That’s the first time I’ve ever had someone tell me my apartment is too cool.” He turned his head so that he could see her. “Look, I’m a working class kid who made good. When the first company went ballistic and the money star
ted rolling in, I went wild. I bought every damn toy, gadget, boat, car, bike, bicycle…you name it, and I bought it. I mean, if you’re nouveau riche you gotta do it right, right? When I bought this place, I had someone find me the best decorator, the best furniture, the best china.” Eamon gestured toward the room. “This is what I got. It’s like living in a hotel, but it’s an easy commute to work and it’s quiet. So, yeah, it’s a little impersonal, but it’s okay. Except for the game room. I love that room.”

He looked her way once more. “
Sarah, I love having money. Nothing in the world felt better than paying off my parents’ mortgage and sending my siblings to college. Between rich and poor, I’ll take rich every time. I worked damn hard for it, and I plan to work damn hard to keep it.”

Eamon sat b
ack up and gently drew Sarah close. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her lips softly, teasingly for a long time. Then he pulled back a little. “But it still bothers you.”

The color that stained Sarah’s cheeks told him everything he needed to know.

“I get it, I do, Sarah. You need time. Not a problem. You need to get to know me better. We can manage that.” Eamon pulled Sarah to her feet. “Come on, let’s go play.”