Blindsided (Game On 2)

Although Hunter was kidding around, I had been careful about my weight. I couldn’t afford to get too out of shape, even off-season, so I tried to avoid fried food and take healthier options when we ate out. In spite of my efforts, going back to the gym when I got home would probably still kill me.

“You might be right,” Hunter said. “It couldn’t hurt to look around for gifts. You know where I always wanted to go? Hamley’s.”

I grinned. “Hell yeah.”

London’s most enormous toy store was probably not an obvious place for two eighteen-year-old guys to want to see, but, what can I say? We were both big kids, and the chance to return to our childhood for a couple of hours was too good to miss.

We hopped on a bus, and a short while later, we were faced with the mother of all toy stores. The entire front of the huge building was sparkling with Christmas lights. It was kind of awesome before we even stepped through the doors, and I was instantly transported back to my childhood. The look of joy on Hunter’s face made me laugh out loud as we stepped through the entrance.

“Is this actually Santa’s workshop?” Hunter asked. The store was alive with activity as shoppers bustled through the aisles. A real sense of happiness filled the air, with many friendly apologies and laughs heard when people accidentally knocked into each other as they tried to squeeze through the crowds. Boxes of toys were stacked high, and many were out on display for people to see. Staff were answering questions and directing customers to different places in the store.

“You know, I think it might just be.” I laughed.

I had honestly never seen anything like Hamley’s. Not in real life, anyway. There’s this really old movie called Big, where Tom Hanks gets to work for a toy manufacturer, and spends time in a similar store, playing with the stock. I always wanted to go there, and this was as close to it as I’d ever been.

We made our way to the boys’ toys, most importantly to the train sets and radio controlled cars where I had to talk Hunter out of buying himself a radio controlled helicopter. We did, however, pool our money together in a very childlike way to buy a small Lego set. It was an impulse. We were so high on the buzz of the store, we didn’t want to leave without giving Hamley’s some of our money.

As we wound our way through the crowds, I grabbed Hunter’s jacket to stop him. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a queue of people watching an enthusiastic store worker stuffing a teddy bear. I walked towards them, with Hunter following me and as we got closer, I noticed there was a selection of bears and rows and rows of clothes to dress them in.

“Legos were fine,” Hunter said. “But I draw the line at soft toys.”

“It’s not for me, you idiot,” I laughed. “Kayla would love one of these.”

She would too. As cool as she pretended to be, my sister still loved anything fluffy and girly. What caught my attention about these bears was that every time the staff member added stuffing to the bear, she had the customer choose a silky material heart to put inside it. It probably would have meant more to Kayla if she could pick her own heart, but since she couldn’t, I’d step up and do it for her.

“Hmm, now you mention it,” Hunter said, “I have a five-year-old cousin back home who might like one too.”

“Let’s get in line!”

Any sense of manliness left both of us as we spent forever choosing the right bear colour, heart colour and clothes for our purchases. I settled on a dark brown bear, with a pale pink heart (which you couldn’t see when the bear had been stuffed, but it still seemed important), and a pink tutu. Kayla had been doing ballet since she was six, so I knew it was a good choice.

With our shopping done, I looked at my watch and said, “Holy crap. We’ve been in here for four hours!”

“It felt like thirty minutes,” Hunter laughed. “Can we come here every day?”

“I think we’d be broke pretty quick if we did. We should think about getting back. It’s almost dinner time.”

Plus, I was dying to see Isabelle.

Hunter nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

On the way home, we made a plan to bolt to our rooms and hide our shopping before anyone could see. Unfortunately, the plan failed when we walked through the door just as Isabelle was heading out of the living room. Catching sight of the bears peeking over the tops of our bags, she burst out laughing.

“Good day?” she asked.

Under normal circumstances, I’d have been embarrassed, but the sound of her laugh distracted me from humiliation. Her smile was beautiful, and I was tempted to take out the bear I’d just bought and give it to her, like I was hypnotised into showering her with gifts.

Man the hell up!

She was making me uncool.

“Oh, come on,” Hunter said, “Is there anything sexier than guys who are in touch with their feminine side?”

“Being in touch with your feminine side is fine, but teddies? I think you might be taking it too far.”

When she smiled again, her eyes resting on me, Hunter took the hint and went upstairs, leaving us alone in the hallway.

“It’s for my sister,” I said, nodding towards the ballet bear.