Friday Romance: Care to Play?
Jason picked a movie off the shelf and added it to the growing stack in his basket. The family-owned video rental store remained open, even after so many similar stores shut their doors over the years
Jason picked a movie off the shelf and added it to the growing stack in his basket. The family-owned video rental store remained open, even after so many similar stores shut their doors over the years.
As he walked the aisles, he thought back on how as a child he’d get excited to visit the store every weekend with his parents, sometimes even seeing the same children going about the weekly routine. He remembered a young girl he enjoyed playing hide-n-seek with among the aisles. The video store was not only filled to the brim with movies, but also plenty of fun and adventure.
The movies had changed over the years, and the variety greater than ever, but the smell and the atmosphere remained the same, even down to the red and purple carpet decorated with optical illusions.
So far in his basket, he had four movies to watch over the weekend. Come the Summer, he might drop that number down to two or three, but the cool Spring air and the continued rainy days prompted him to prepare for staying in over the course of the two days. Sure, there were plenty of movies he could watch on a streaming service, but the video store always managed to have some gems, and the aspect of walking up and down the aisles as he searched for the perfect movie suited him better than scrolling through a menu on a screen.
“Need help finding anything?”
Jason turned around. It wasn’t often, or ever really, that the store had employees walking around offering to help customers. A young woman stood before him, she looked to be similar in age to himself, early twenties, with long blonde hair. She wore the typical uniform, which consisted of a purple collared shirt and a pair of khaki pants.
“I think I’m okay,” replied Jason. He thought for a moment what other genre he could pick from. “On second thought, do you have any sci-fi recommendations?”
“You’re talking my language,” she replied. “Are you familiar with the Jupiter saga?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t believe I’ve heard of it. Could you point me in the right direction?”
“I’ll do you one better. Follow me.”
He followed along as she strutted forward. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn’t quite place it.
“Sorry,” said Jason, “but do I know you? You seem so familiar. I come here all the time and haven’t seen you before, though.”
“It’s funny you say that,” she replied, “because I had the same feeling about you. I started working here only a couple days ago, but I used to come here so often as a child that it feels like I’ve been working here for years.”
“Did you ever play hide-n-seek with a little boy when you were younger?”
“Jason?”
“Amanda?”
“This is too funny,” she replied. “My family stopped coming here every week when I started middle school. After school sports took up most of my time during the week and on the weekends. How’ve you been?”
“Same here. We fell away from our routine around then. I’ve been great. Are you working here full-time now?”
“Part-time. I finished my degree and am officially on the hunt for the perfect job, but in the meantime, I figured I’d get a job here and do some reminiscing of the good old days. We used to run up and down these aisles and have so much fun. I’m surprised the owner never tried to stop us. He didn’t recognize me at first when I applied, but when I told him about how I’d play and run around he fell into a fit of laughter. He said it’d brought him joy to have families enjoying themselves in the store.”
“That’s gives me an idea.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“Care to play?”
Thank you for reading this week’s entry of Friday Romance. I hope you enjoyed! Do you know anyone who would enjoy romance stories in their inbox? Please share with friends and family if you wish, this helps my newsletter grow and reach more readers.
Thank you to all who have checked out The Centennial Courtship on Nook and Kindle! Would you want to live in the small town of Brooks Landing? Please consider leaving a review on Amazon.
You can find my romance novel here - The Centennial Courtship
Or you can find it using this QR Code:
If you haven’t visited my Amazon Author Page lately, it’s been updated with my Kindle Vella series!
If you’re looking for more reading options, I have a book available on Kindle and Nook as well as various serials on Kindle Vella.
The Centennial Courtship on Kindle. Please leave a review on Amazon if you’ve read it. You can either write a review or just rate it out of 5 stars.
The Centennial Courtship is now available for Nook readers!
Check out the first 3 chapters for FREE on Kindle Vella. (Easy to read on your phone)
Abigail Bloom's life is thrown into a sweeping romance when a new deputy rolls into the small town of Brooks Landing, but when her ex-husband enters back into her life, she's unsure if she can hold onto her new chance at true love. A break-in in the small town causes Abigail's ex to suspect the new deputy - Can she trust her new love interest or is he using her as an alibi?
How about some serial fiction? “One Town Over” on Kindle Vella offers up another small town romance, this time set in Peek Creak (which may sound familiar if you’ve read “The Centennial Courtship”). Follow along as a new romance blooms! You can read on your phone/tablet/computer. (contemporary romance, office romance, romantic comedy)
(First 3 episodes FREE) John Prince's life in Peak Creek seems perfect. He's been seeing Cassandra Queen for six months and hopes to move in together. However, Cassandra resists the change, putting John's romantic future into question. When an opportunity to advance at work opens up, John feels his luck turning around. Katie Young, a recent transfer at the firm, has other plans. Their rivalry collides when they have to co-present during a company retreat.
Romance story collections (available on Kindle Vella) First 3 episodes are FREE in each collection (9 FREE stories). Perfect for quick reading sessions on your phone:
The Fantasy of Love: A Romance Story Collection
The Mystery of Love: A Romance Story Collection
The Science of Love: A Romance Story Collection
My Link Tree (Where to find me)
Connect with me on Instagram @danleicht
Wondering what to read next? Discover more on danleicht.com
You can use this QR Code to subscribe and share with friends: