Casey stuck her tongue out in concentration, unwilling to take her eyes off the screen. A poke in her ribs had her recoiling from the touch, but she refused to give into Jonas’ distraction tactic. 

“Keep your hands to yourself,” she told him. 

As her character rounded a sharp corner on the race track, she found herself leaning with it. 

“You know that’s not going to help you,” Jonas said. 

“Shut up. I know that.”

“Watch out for that banana peel.”

“Hey, eyes on your own screen.”

“I was being helpful!”

“I don’t want your help. I want to beat you fair and square.”

Jonas laughed. “Sure. Good luck with that. You’re in eighth place.”

“I can still make a comeback.”

“Not with that driving.”

Casey bit her lip and resumed her laser-focus on the screen in front of her. She nudged the joysticks with her thumbs to round corners, avoid traps, and ram Princess Peach into other unsuspecting characters. Her efforts were nothing compared to Jonas’ quick movements driving Mario around the track.

By the end of the third lap, she managed to eke her way into fourth place. Considering how far behind she was, she grinned at the accomplishment. 

“Ha! Look at that. Fourth place.”

“I still beat you.”

“But I did really well for how far behind I was!”

“I guess.”

Casey gave Jonas a playful nudge on the shoulder and he pretended to fall over, laying sideways on the couch. “Jerk,” she teased.

He shrugged. “Ready for another round?”

“I’m not sure I can take this repeated humiliation.” Casey leaned forward and picked up her bottle of Blue Moon from the coffee table, taking a swig. “I need another beer.”

Jonas straightened up and stood from the couch, already walking into their small apartment kitchen. “I’ll grab you one.”

He returned holding two bottles of beer and set one in front of Casey, and one in front of his seat. He picked up the controller and set about turning the Nintendo Switch console off. “Want to watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

They scrolled through the movie options in various streaming apps before finally settling on a classic, The Godfather. Casey remembered watching this with Jonas on their third date, which felt like an odd movie choice but turned out to be perfect. Now they’d come full circle, watching it together on their third year wedding anniversary. 

Casey had never been a grand romantic type of girl, and Jonas was certainly not a grand romantic type of guy. Neither of them wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and each of them found other special ways to show each other love. Days like today, where they stayed in playing video games and watching movies, were always Casey’s favorite.

“Happy anniversary, baby,” she said, moving to snuggle up next to him. He lifted his arm, and she nestled herself perfectly against his body. When she settled, he dropped his arm around her and squeezed. 

Jonas turned his head and kissed her on the forehead. “Happy anniversary.”