Page 41 of Single Player

“I’m glad it helps her.” Silas seemed much more relaxed than he had been before. At least, he was relaxed until he looked up at the clock. “Geez, it’s late. It’s almost ten.” He looked at Matthew, but he didn’t ask to go home.

“You should stay over.” Matthew didn’t even have to think twice to make the offer. “I can’t introduce you to the wonderful world of gaming until all hours of the night if you’ve got to go drive home afterward.”

Silas hesitated, visibly tempted. “I don’t know. I don’t have any of my stuff.”

“Borrow my stuff. Come on.” Matthew smiled his most flirtatious smile. “I have a very comfortable bed.”

Silas tipped his head to the side, considering. “I do have a weakness for comfortable beds.”

Matthew stepped into Silas’s space, putting his hands on the other man’s hips. “Stay?”

Silas nodded, looking into his eyes. “All right.”

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Matthew dragged Silas over to the couch before he could object. “Okay, then. Game time.”

Silas tried not to roll his eyes. He had thought they might move directly to sex again, which was his main hope for the evening. “I told you, I gave Bump a try.” He normally wouldn’t even be entertaining the thought of gaming again, but Matthew was clearly set on teaching him, and he could at least play along. He sat down on the edge of the couch.

“You did it all wrong, though. No tutorial, jumping right in, not going to be fun for you.” Matthew went over to the wall and fiddled with something on the back of the television. It was a giant wall-mounted flat-screen, and the shelving units on each side were divided between different gaming consoles and shelves upon shelves of games. Silas recognized some of them: an Atari and an original Nintendo, both side by side with a black, curved box that might be the other gaming system that came out around the same time. Genesis, was it? A something Genesis. The rest were newer systems that he didn’t recognize.

Matthew selected a small gray box from the shelf and held it up so Silas could see it. “All right. You never had one of these, so we need to start you with the classics. Super Mario Brothers.” Matthew blew out the dust from the game cartridge and inserted it, then started fishing around in one of the cabinets. “I thought about going way back to Atari, but Tanks is just going to piss you off. Nintendo is a good start.”

Silas rested his forearms on his knees. “I really wanted a classic Nintendo when I was a kid.”

Matthew looked over his shoulder. “This one? The classic? But that was already outdated when you were a kid.” He pulled two gray controllers out of the cabinet. “Bingo. Found ’em.”

Silas thought back to his childhood, the scant moments where he could steal some free time away from his responsibilities. “My friend Liz had one, though. Well, it was her older sister’s. We were never allowed to play, but we used to watch her sister play. My parents told me these things were foolish.” He felt a jolt of sadness at the memory.

“And you’ve been reciting that same line all your life.” Matthew shook his head, turning on the console. The title screen came on as he joined Silas on the couch. “Here you go.” He handed him a controller. “I modded ’em so they’re wireless.”

Silas turned the controller over in his hand. It felt bulkier than he’d imagined, and the square edges pressed uncomfortably into his palms. “Okay. I’m ready. Show me how everything works.”

Matthew clicked into two-player mode and started the game. “I’m going to play through the first level or two to refresh your memory, and then die on purpose so you can give it a try.”

Silas watched, picking up the game almost immediately from watching Matthew because it wasn’t exactly difficult. Then it came time for him to try. It turned out to be much easier than he’d expected. He kept moving his hands and the controller to try to get Luigi to run faster, which Matthew found hilarious, but aside from that quirk, he thought he did quite well.

“Should I keep going?” he asked when he’d finished the level.

Matthew waved his hand in a “go on” gesture, an amused smirk on his face. “Please, have at it.”

Silas kept playing. He forgot his tiredness in the simple enjoyment of the game, the obvious goal and the tangible obstacles to be conquered, the point total in the corner increasing with each vanquished challenge. Occasionally, Matthew would offer some comments—which pipes led to a secret level, for instance—but generally he watched with amusement. Silas could feel his gaze, not watching the screen as much as watching him. Rather than feeling invasive, it felt enjoyable, like he was the center of attention, which he actually liked.

When he cleared another few levels, he was startled by Matthew’s bark of laughter. “This is just fucking bullshit.” Matthew kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and leaned back, tossing his controller down onto the couch next to him. “You’re a goddamn natural. I’m never going to get to play.”

Silas laughed back. He let his character hover at the menu screen for a while with the dancing palm trees all around, the repetitive music playing in the background. “I didn’t ask to be good at this.” Silas shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant, but feeling more chipper than he had in weeks. “It is a pleasant diversion, though, I’ll give you that.” He handed his controller to Matthew. “You want to play my guy for a while?”

“Nah, I don’t want your pity gaming.” Matthew pushed the controller back to Silas, his face all smiles. “Go on. Play until you die, and then we’ll try something else.”

Silas made it through three more levels before his character died mis-timing a jump across a lava field and falling into the lava. The screen returned to the main menu and Matthew’s character, way back a few worlds away.

“Fucking finally.” Matthew rolled his eyes, but Silas could tell it was all mock drama. “You want to keep playing this, or try something else?”

“Well, what else is there?” Silas eyed the wall of games. “I haven’t played any of these.”

Matthew let out a long exhale. “Well, whatever you want, really.” He got up off the couch and stretched. “You’re not tired yet?”

Silas looked at the clock. It was almost midnight, but he felt wide awake and more alive than in quite some time. “Not even a little bit. Why, are you tired?” He didn’t want to keep Matthew up.