I brought up two hidden menus that showed some of the master commands. "Knowing how to find things like this is part of my super power," I said.
"All those years of Beta testing paying off, huh?" Her chocolate brown eyes flew over the new information.
"Don't worry, it’s not completely unfair. Stuff like this is all over the internet. A few hours of research and you could find it," I said.
"Ooo, what's a Portal Spell?" Quinn asked. Her lithe fingers were already trying out the sequence over the top of her controller buttons.
"It sends you and any chosen player into a private space. A lot of people use it during combat," I said.
"Oops," Quinn said.
She had accomplished the tricky sequence and now our avatars were alone in the great hall of an abandoned castle. Anxious messages flashed from my clan members, and I sent them all our coded message for “stick to the plan.” While Quinn's avatar shimmied across the wide-open hall, my clan was still preparing to cross the Black Fields and take the next stronghold.
"This is so cool," Quinn said. "Once you get the hang of it, it can almost move like a real person. I bet it almost feels natural to you."
"That's the whole point," I said. It was hard to take my eyes off her now-graceful avatar, but Quinn herself was irresistible. "We've gotten to the point in gaming when you can actually step into whole other worlds."
"And do things you would never dream of doing in real life," Quinn said.
Her eyes were on mine, the chocolate brown melting as I returned her look. "That's the attraction for a lot of people."
"Not for you?" she asked.
I put my controller down and took her hand. "No. I spent a lot of my life setting aside what I really wanted to do. That's over now."
Her lips were only inches from mine. I wanted to move, to kiss her, but I could not. Our eyes held as if some greater force had paused us there.
#
I took a deep breath. "We should go to Vegas."
Quinn's eyes opened wider, and I wondered what she thought I meant.
"There's a great arcade, lots of people. A lot of people there like Dark Flag. You'll get good experience," I said.
She laughed and sat back. "Sure. Sounds great. I was thinking about heading back to school, anyway. I don't want to spend another night with my parents."
"Do you need to call them?" I asked.
Quinn shrugged. "They didn't notice I was gone in the first place. I'll wait for them to call me."
We headed towards the Vegas Strip, the lights growing brighter. Neon suddenly towered up above us. Quinn smiled, her face raised to the multicolored lights.
"Do you like Vegas?" I asked. It was always a topic of discussion amongst people who had grown up in the area. Those that hated it moved away to places like Los Angeles.
"I do. When I was little, Vegas felt like something out of a fairy tale. Like you could drink a magic potion and everything would be like in Wonderland," Quinn said.
"And now?"
"It’s a good place to disappear for a while. There are so many tourists here that it is easy to pretend to be someone else."
I drove towards the Excalibur Casino. In the basement was a huge and silly arcade. Somehow, looking at Quinn's face under the neon lights, going to an arcade did not feel right.
"I know a good bar near here. More locals than tourists, but still a fun place to be someone else for a while," I said.
Quinn smiled and I parked in a ramp. We walked the long block to the bar. It was a small dive bar wedged between a large casino and a cowboy-themed restaurant. We paused for a moment to marvel at the amount of tourists that had either packed or worn their cowboy boots on the airplane.
"He even has spurs. Do they allow those in the casinos?" Quinn asked.