Who’s the Dog Now? novel Chapter 14

An arcade!

She'd always wanted to come here!

Back in her hometown, she used to go with her friends all the time. But after moving to Tyra, Zebulon and his circle of wealthy friends looked down on such activities, deeming them childish. They preferred to organize their own private gatherings rather than frequenting loud, crowded places, so Naomi had been forced to give up her hobby.

That's why no one in Tyra knew that Naomi, the quiet girl of the Gonzalez family, was secretly a gamer at heart.

"Yeah! I wanna play!"

Ron clearly loved this place too, already waving his arms like the mascots, looking utterly adorable.

Lennon handed Naomi a face mask. "Put this on."

Naomi took it and thanked him in a low voice.

For people of their status, it was indeed better not to be seen so openly in a place like this.

After putting on her mask, Naomi followed Lennon into the arcade.

The large doors slid shut behind them, sealing off the cold, white world outside.

...

Although it was still the Christmas holiday, the residents of the community had many social obligations to attend to. So, after lunch, the gathering quickly broke up.

Mr. Hughes had intended for Zebulon to entertain Colin and the others at home for the day, but the younger generation was always restless. After a bit of clamoring, they all headed out.

"That boy!" Mr. Hughes shook his head helplessly, though a faint smile played on his lips.

His son took after him, and he hoped that when Zebulon eventually took over the family business, he would bring it to even greater heights.

As the main door closed, three figures emerged on the second floor.

It was Zebulon, Colin, and Jonathan.

While the others had gone out, Colin remembered a set of limited-edition collector's cards he'd left at Zebulon's and urged him to go get them.

Jonathan, laughing, said he'd never seen the set and wanted to check it out, so the three of them had come upstairs together.

They hadn't expected to overhear Mr. and Mrs. Hughes' conversation.

Colin immediately forgot about the cards he'd intended to use to impress a girl and shot Zebulon a teasing look. "So, what's the plan? Your parents are still dead set on pairing you up with Naomi."

A flash of pride crossed Zebulon's face, quickly replaced by disgust.

"I knew it was all Naomi's trick! She's just using my parents' affection for her as leverage, acting all high and mighty by saying she doesn't want the engagement! She's just playing hard to get!"