Junior entered the shuttered neighborhood arcade he had secured from Gino, the owner’s son, and prepared the space by cleaning a photo booth and finding working fairy lights. He reflected on his violent recent past and his desire to impress Lauren despite the decayed setting. Lauren texted that she was outside with two friends poised to intervene if needed, and then entered, small and wary without heels, immediately revealing a taser and asking if she would need it. Junior joked, confirmed he was NT95, and said he had brought her diary to return; Lauren deduced he had taken it from Kelly, rejected keeping it, and told him to burn it.

To deflect the heavier conversation, they explored the arcade, and Lauren gravitated to her old favorite game, Powder Mountain. Junior remembered, powered it up, and fed it quarters, watching her play. Standing close behind her to “help,” Junior and Lauren’s banter turned flirtatious; she admitted he was distracting her. Their physical chemistry escalated as Junior lifted Lauren onto the machine, confirmed consent, and carried her to the photo booth.

Inside, Lauren first reached for Junior’s belt, but Junior redirected the encounter to focus on her, citing an “orgasm imbalance.” He undressed her partially, kissed her, and teased her breasts. When Lauren explicitly asked to feel his mouth on her, Junior knelt and pleasured her, timing the photo booth’s flashes by feeding quarters to capture the moment as a keepsake.

Junior found her rhythm, using his tongue and fingers to stimulate her, and Lauren climaxed intensely, gripping him and calling his name. Afterward, he teased her lightly and savored the moment but declined her request to reciprocate on him, deciding to wait for a time when she could be louder and more private. He helped her dress again, and Lauren questioned why he was being so nice, recalling his former grumpiness and recent behavior in church.

Junior proposed “erasing” old bad memories by making new ones and suggested picking up where they left off. Lauren said she was not looking for something serious; Junior agreed he could not do serious either. After a moment of consideration, Lauren invited Junior to Velvet on Friday to show him more of what the club offered, and if he was still interested, they would discuss their situation further. Junior accepted.