"Where are you taking me, Kai? We're supposed to complete our project tonight," I protested.

I really wanted to get the project out of the way. Maybe by removing what was bringing us both together, we could stop whatever was happening between us. I could then move on with my life.

Kai either heard me and didn't bother answering, or didn't hear me at all. He pulled into the big parking lot of KB Paintball. The parking lot had many customer's vehicles. Kai drove me to a corner of the parking lot, where we met Benny, Devon, Nina, and Clover.

They dressed the group in a similar color—black. Clover wore a matching leather jacket that matched Kai. Her black skater skirt and knee-high stockings fitted her perfect body nicely. She looked good—really good.

Devon tossed his cigarette when he saw us coming before standing up. Nina had a lollipop in her mouth. As soon as Kai parked, the group walked over to us. Nina pulled me into a tight hug.

"Hey, girl. I'm glad you could make it."

Kai didn't bother mentioning about the meetup. So, I'm not sure if I was glad that I could make it.

"Hey," I smiled at everyone.

When I looked at Clover, she looked me up and down before returning her attention to Kai.

"So, are we going to play the same teams as last time?" Clover asked. Obviously hinting that she's super close to everyone here but me.

"Fuck no," Benny argued. "You guys received an unfair advantage last time."

"Oh, c'mon. Don't be such a pussy, Benny boy," Clover teased.

I got off of the bike first and then handed Kai his helmet back. He took off his and hook them onto his bike before getting off himself as well.

"Now that you mention pussy, I enjoyed tasting yours last night, baby."

"Yeah, right. Keep dreaming, baby." Clover rolled her eyes.

"How about boys versus girls?" Nina asked.

"No way! That's an even bigger disadvantage!" Clover protested.

I shrugged my shoulders and stuffed my hands into my jean pockets. "I don't mind boys versus girls. Who's saying boys are better shooters than girls?"

Kai looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "You think you can beat me?"

"I say I will give you a run for your money." And Kai broke out into a smile. One corner of his lips lifted to an almost sinister smirk.

"Fine."

"I still think it's an unfair advantage," Clover said unhappily.

"Why? Cause you don't have Kai baby on your side? You need to learn to share sweet cheeks," Benny teased and wrapped his arms around Kai's left arm. Kai tried pushing him off, but he made a girly protest and held on tighter.

I smiled just as Nina pulled me toward the entrance of the building. There were a few people in front of us. We waited till our turn and paid for our session. The building had several large rooms. We could play with other teams or pay for our own private rooms. We paid to have our own private rooms.

The employee led us into a room to get dressed. We gowned up and put on our protective gear. When we were inside, we were each handed a gun.

The room had all kinds of walls and obstacles. There were tires, walls, drapes, wooden boxes, and steps. High on the center of the wall was a large countdown clock. Gaming music played in the background. I don't know why, but my heart was racing a million beats per minute. Excitement bubbled through me and my stomach did flips.

We stood together at the entrance of our end. I turned to Nina and Clover. Clover had her arms crossed and her gun tucked beneath her arm.

The game only runs for three minutes. Within those three minutes, we needed to eliminate our opponents fast. It gives us no time to think or to hide. The time limit prevents a stalemate and keeps us moving.

"We should try to go around them. Catch them from behind," Nina suggested.

"They'll know we are coming before we have time to eliminate them," Clover replied.

Honestly, I didn't know how they played. I needed to know in order to figure out how to play against them.

"Do they play aggressively?"

"Benny likes to charge in like a fucking bull," Clover said.

I nodded my head.

"Devon likes to creep his way around," Nina added. "But he tends to favor his right side. If I am correct, he'll be appearing on the left."

"And Kai?"

"Kai is... complicated."

"He catches you at the most unforeseen moment. I remember him shooting me in the boobs one time," Clover said with a smirk.

I didn't need to know. For some reason, I had the sudden urge to point my gun at her and eliminate her ass off the playing field. But I had to be a team player—by ignoring her comment.

"It sounds like we are expecting them from coming in separate directions but covering all areas," I said.

Nina nodded.

"If we take them head on, we will have a 50/50 chance of losing. However, if we gain teammates' help, we could up our percentage of winning."

"Sounds logical to me," Nina smiled.

Clover said nothing, as Nina has already agreed. When we pressed the ready up button, the clock on the wall counted down. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as the music grew louder. My hands on the gun were almost clammy with sweat. I didn't want to lose. The challenging glint in Kai's eyes earlier sparked something inside of me. I wanted to prove to him I was just as strong.

Going to our left, we made sure to stay close, but not too close to each other. When we reached about halfway, I hid behind a wall and waited. My eyes were on Nina, who was crouched low behind a tire. Clover got up on the steps to get a better aerial view.

I looked behind me to check if Kai or Benny decided to appear from behind before turning to look at Nina again. I saw a flash above me. My gaze shifted to the stairs just in time to see Devon. He lifted his gun and pointed it at Clover.

"Clover!" I shouted.

She looked at me and then at Devon. Before she could lift her gun, he took her out. Nina dropped onto her back and lifted her gun before shooting at her boyfriend. He was about to turn towards me and shoot me, but his girlfriend got him in time. She got him in the chest where the heart was. He laughed and grasped at his left chest.

"You got me, baby." Both Devon and Clover walked together out of the field and behind the cage to wait. They can still monitor the game on the TV screen that is hooked to a camera. It provided an aerial view of what was going on.

I glanced at the wall clock and saw that we went just under the two-minute mark. I pointed at the clock before we continued down the path. Lastly, I made sure to check the platforms above me in case they try to catch me off guard.

Losing to Kai was not an option for me.

I turned a corner without checking, and what I saw from a distance freaked me out. I screamed and jumped back just in time. It was Benny. Paint splatter against the wooden wall in front of me.

"Fuck. Focus, Tamsin," I muttered while taking several breaths. I slapped my forehead a couple of times as if to bring myself back to reality.

I retreated a few corners back. It would be stupid of me to advance since my loud screech has given my location. Grumbling under my breath, I had to take the middle lane. It was a risk, but I had no choice.

I stepped over a fallen tire and leaned up against the wall. My gun pointed up and finger on the trigger. I waited for some noise. A second later, I heard Nina yelp and shouted in anger.

"Fuck yes. Two against one! We're going to win," Devon shouted from behind the lines.

"You can do it, Tamsin!" I heard Nina shout.

Sweaty.

My palms were sweaty. My heart was racing a million miles a minute. I could feel the blood roaring in my eardrums. I could even hear my breathing.

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes.

"You can do it even if you don't win... it's only a game. Don't be petty." I checked around the corner quickly and saw it was empty.

"Even if they won, you can ignore Kai's smug look. He'll definitely be smug," I mumbled, all my thoughts out loud.

I jotted down the narrow lane. Judging from my location, I am almost three quarters from their starting position. I stopped at the end of the lane. It split into a 'T' intersection. I peeped my head out to look to my left and then to my right. To my utter delight, I caught Benny walking ahead with his back to me.

But if I step out, my backside will be exposed. From my current position, I could try to shoot him. I just need to lean forward and put one of my arms out. I tried that position but it felt awkward and I was afraid I'd miss the shot.

Biting my lips, I thought about the ways I could do this. Time was ticking down. I didn't really have the time to carefully plan and map out everything.

Choosing to step out and exposing my back, I pointed the gun at Benny's back and held the gun steady. Squinting one eye, I took my shot. I didn't realize I closed both of my eyes until I opened to see Benny leaning against the wall.

"Damn it!" Benny kicked the opposite wall.

"You're done, Benny!" Clover yelled.

"C'mon and join us, Benny boy," Devon laughed.

Previously, I thought my heart was beating fast. But it was nothing compared to what I was feeling at the moment. The realization that I could win this game got me excited. Getting a hit on a target was thrilling. I never felt so good.

"Run, Tamsin!" Clover shouted a warning.

My eyes widened, and I looked up just in time to see Kai appear where Benny was shot. Surprised, I screamed in fear and ran back in the direction I came from. I didn't think twice. I ran for my life. The possibility of winning went out of the window. He looked scary and dangerous or it might be me imagining things out of fear that I'll lose. Either way, I didn't wait for him to kill me. Running was the best option.

When I finally stopped, I pressed myself up against a corner. However, my moment of peace was short-lived. A second later, Kai appeared in the direction I came from. I groaned and jumped to hide behind a wall. Taking a quick glance at the clock, I realized I only had thirty seconds left.

I had no more time. Taking a risk, I looked down the lane he came from and noticed he had disappeared. I ran down the lane and when I reached the intersection, Kai jumped around the corner. He attempted to grab me, but I ducked under his arm before shoving him in the stomach.

Kai fell backwards, but he pulled me with him. This was when gravity wasn't in my favor. I couldn't control my footing. He was a lot bigger and weighed a lot more than me. I stumbled and fell right on top of his body. His body broke my fall and his arms wrapped around my body to keep me from hurting myself. I could feel every inch of him.

Both of us looked at each other with wide eyes and in those few seconds, time stopped. Our faces were so close to each other. His breath was fanning my face as he exhaled. He was breathing heavily against my body. I could feel every rise of his chest. I never looked so deep into his eyes until this moment and never realized how stunning and captivating they were.

My heart skipped several beats, and his eyes drifted lower to my lips. Was he going to kiss me again? A quick memory flash of our last kiss zipped through my mind and I unconsciously wetted my lips. Damn, his lips were soft, though.

A siren went off. It was warning us of the last few seconds we had. I blinked first and looked for my gun. Both guns were a yard away from us. I pushed off him and rushed for my gun. At the same time, he jumped to his feet and ran towards his gun.

We both grabbed the gun at the same time. I turned to see him fire his shot. I rolled to my left in hopes of evading the paint from hitting me. Turning onto my back, I raised my gun and took my shot. It hit him in the stomach and the bell went off.

Realizing we had won, I screamed in joy while still on the ground. Clover and Nina came running out of the sidelines. They were also screaming in joy. Devon and Benny trudging behind them with disgruntled looks. I couldn't believe it. Jumping up onto my feet, I rushed towards my teammate and hugged them both. I didn't give a crap at this point that I didn't like Clover as much. All that mattered was that we won.

"We won! We won!" I chanted while jumping in their arms.

"Oh my god! That was intense. I thought we were going to lose. I thought Kai would for sure get you. I can't believe you got him!" Nina said happily.

I stopped jumping before rushing over to the boys. Devon and Benny slapping Kai on the back. I stopped in front of Kai with a huge grin on my face.

"I shot you!" I said happily.

To my delight, Kai was also grinning. He looked breathtakingly handsome with that smile. I couldn't resist but threw my arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight. He wrapped his arms around my waist while I jumped up and down on my tiptoes. It felt good and exhilarating.

When I leaned back, my excitement had died down a little. But the smile on my face remained.

"You have a fast response. I'm impressed."

Did he just compliment me? I could feel my cheeks heat and I unwrapped my arms from around his neck.

I took a step back, but he tightened his arms around my waist. My eyes fluttered to meet his and again my heart skipped another beat.

What was this feeling in my chest?