“Triple kill baby! Suck that you bastards,” yelled Theo into the microphone dangling in front of his mouth. The sound of gun fire and recorded voices spilled out from the headset and into the rest of the room. Kaylee was pouring over some calculus homework at the kitchen table, her books and papers spread out and covering 90% of the available surface area. She looked up with an apprehensive look at the coach where Theo was sitting.
“Boom, got another one!”
Kaylee’s face crinkled, the anger lines forming at the center of her forehead as she listened to the sound of button presses and explosions. She looked up at the television, the full view filled with a digital scope as Theo was aiming his sniper rifle down a dusty road in the middle of who knows where. She played games herself sometimes, but none of these first person shooters or whatever it was Theo called them. The pace was too rushed for her; she enjoyed games that gave her a little more time to act. She shook her head and looked down again at her notebook, attempting to concentrate on the complex proof filling the page.
“Frack! Screw you man; lucky shot! I’ll find you, don’t you worry.”
Theo was oblivious to the sound of pencil and hand smashing hard against the table, and unaware as Kaylee stormed out of the room and disappeared into the bedroom. She was gone for a few minutes before reentering the room and strolling out into the direct line of sight between Theo and the television.
Theo inhaled deeply and was about to contest until his mind finally processed what he was seeing. There was his girlfriend Kaylee, standing in front of him in just her underwear. Instead of her regular cotton ensemble, it was an outfit he had not seen since Valentine’s Day, thigh high stockings included. He froze like a deer in headlights, oblivious to the sights and sounds escaping from the television and headset. He slowly slid the headset off and tossed it to the floor.
“Oh, do I have your attention now,” Kaylee said in a slightly bitter tone. “Good. I’m trying to study.” She pulled her hand from her hip and motioned toward the kitchen table. Theo followed the invisible line and looked at the pile of papers and books on the table for a second before turning back towards her. He wanted to look her up and down, but he was transfixed on her face as she was talking. “And your hollering is not doing me any good, so here’s the deal. I’m going to go back to studying, and you’re going to keep it down.”
Theo wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, but he spoke up anyway. “Are you going to study in,” he scanned up and down her body with the motion of his arm, “that outfit?”
She smiled at him. “Yes, and depending on how well you handle this little compromise, you might see it up close.” Her smile had stretched across the full width of her face, her white teeth peeking out from between her painted lips. “Enjoy your game.”
Kaylee went back to the table and as promised, did not change her attire. Theo’s eyes were fixed on her for a full minute before he turned back around at the game in progress. He powered off the headset and tried to concentrate on the game in silence, but over the next hour, he managed very little progress knowing the state of things behind him.
This is part of a 30 day series of 2-3 minute short stories written for the 30 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, 2011. You can view all the stories in the Short Story A Day category.