So, That Got Weird

by Amelia Kingston

  Tainted protein shake? Where does she get this stuff?

  It’s dangerous to play house with her again. Plus, let’s face it, I’m not exactly ‘dinner party’ material. But it took a lot of courage for her to ask me. After everything we’ve shared tonight, I can’t stomach the idea of saying no to her.

  “I’ll come.” My response is curt.

  “What?” she asks, somewhat shocked. I don’t think she believes me.

  “I said I’ll come. After all, what are friends for?” I keep my voice light, giving her a little reassuring squeeze. “But I have my own favor to ask too.” I take a deep breath before I ask, wondering how much I’m going to regret this. “I’ll come to your dinner this weekend if you come to my game next weekend. It’s family night.”

  “Family night?”

  I don’t think she’s ever been to a college sports game, so I shouldn’t be surprised she doesn’t know what a family night is.

  “Yeah, it’s when the families of all the players come. We each have a reserved section. Mine’s always empty because, you know, orphan.” I’m glib, trying to downplay the whole thing in case she says no.

  I’ve had three years of empty stands. The only person who’s ever bothered to come see me play is Devin. It was the same in high school. For the most part, I’m used to it. I don’t really think about it anymore. But it wouldn’t suck having Elizabeth up in the stands cheering for me. She doesn’t answer and I get nervous.

  “Since you crashed our party last week, my teammates have been pretty fucking annoying. It would get them off my back if you were there.” This has nothing to do with the guys. The pricks haven’t said shit about my family—or lack of one—since I threatened to fuck James’ mom freshman year.

  “Okay,” is her soft reply.

  “Okay?” I’m not able to hide the excitement in my voice.

  “Yeah. I’ll come. It’s a date.” She catches herself and tries to backpedal. “I mean, not a date date. Obviously. I just mean, I’m in. It’s a deal. A plan.”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Elizabeth

  The now-familiar sound of Austin’s alarm is followed by his gruff morning voice behind me streaming a few choice obscenities. We didn’t even make it to bed this time, falling asleep huddled together on the couch. Austin moves to get up and I almost fall off.

  “Shit, sorry.” He catches me right before I faceplant on the floor. Thank God for those athletic reflexes. He manages to climb over me and gets up. He leaves me the blanket we were sharing, which means he’s now standing in my living room completely naked.

  This is a view I could get used to.

  I gawk at him, my tired brain too busy taking in the sight of his glorious body to bother telling me to keep my mouth closed.

  Austin catches my flagrant ogling and chastises me with, “My eyes are up here, Goose.”

  Way to go, Elizabeth!

  I pull the blanket up over my head to hide my complete embarrassment. Austin laughs.

  “No more sleeping on the couch. I think my neck is going to be jacked all day,” he says with a yawn and a stretch.

  “Sorry,” I call out from my sanctuary under the blanket.

  “For eye-fucking me? You’re hardly the first.”

  I shoot up on the couch and shout, “I was not.”

  Austin dips his eyes to my chest, which I exposed in my rush to confront him.

  Real smooth.

  I pull the blanket up to cover myself. “My eyes are up here, Maverick.” I use his own words against him.

  He drags his eyes up to mine with a wink and smirk.

  “I know.”

  My insides melt.

  “I meant I’m sorry your neck hurts.” I look away and try to ignore the effect his heated gaze has on me.

  “Not your fault. I should’ve figured we were going to fall asleep again. It’s getting to be a naughty habit.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me as he pulls on his boxers and jeans. I search the floor for my clothes and realize they’re on the other side of the apartment. Guess this blanket is it for now.

  “I should pack a toothbrush.”

  I hop off the couch, making sure to keep the blanket wrapped around me tightly this time.

  “Follow me,” I demand, walking toward the bathroom.

  “I’d love to, but I really don’t have the time,” he objects but follows me anyway.

  My cheeks flush at his insinuation. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” I scold him with playful smack on his chest.

  “I can take my mind out of the gutter, but good luck getting the gutter out of my mind.”

  I roll my eyes at him and skulk off into the bathroom. “Here.” I slap a brand-new toothbrush into his chest.

  “Oh, Goose. For me? You shouldn’t have,” he teases.

  “A girl tries to be hospitable,” I quip with a shrug and a nervous smile.

  Stealing his line from when I crashed his party earns me a chuckle. I push past him into my bedroom and get dressed quickly. If yesterday was anything to go by, I know he’s going to be out of the door in a few minutes and I want to be there when he leaves this time. For some reason, it seems important to say goodbye to him.

  “I’ve gotta get going,” he calls out to me as I’m leaving the bedroom. He’s already at the front door. Was he waiting for me? I want to wrap my arms around him, give him a great big goodbye kiss, but I can’t bring myself to step any closer to him.

  “Okay,” I squeak out from the doorframe of the bedroom. He doesn’t leave. We’re standing there staring at each other in some sort of awkward standoff. Austin sets down his bag and lets out a sigh.

  “Come here.”

  “Okay.” I keep my eyes locked on his as I stalk across the room to him. There’s a friskiness in the way he’s leering at me. I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling. When I reach him, he wraps me in his strong arms and pulls my body flush against his.

  “I need to go,” he murmurs into my neck as he peppers me with wet kisses.

  “Okay.” I tilt my head to the side, giving him better access. I wrap my hands around his hard biceps, not letting him pull away.

  “Elizabeth, you’re not making this very easy. In fact, you’re making this very hard.” His voice is sizzling and his touch scorching.

  Burn, baby, burn.

  “Okay,” I whimper as his lips claim mine. Our kiss is more than passionate. It’s intimate. Austin kisses me like he knows every part of me. Every dirty secret. Every insecurity. Every bad memory. Every embarrassing mistake. And it’s all okay. When he finally pulls away, I feel safe and accepted.

  “I’ll see you tonight?” It comes out a question, like he’s unsure.

  “Okay,” is my original response.

  I’m Shakespeare.

  Austin gives me a quick kiss on the forehead, grabs his bag and heads out of the door. Even after he leaves, I can’t stop the fluttering in my stomach.

  Austin didn’t exactly agree to be my friend, but he answered my questions. He opened up to me and that has to mean something. Plus, he agreed to come to my father’s this weekend. We may not be together, but we’re friends. Or at least on our way to being friends.

  I think.

  I hope.

  * * * *

  I can’t get Austin out of my head. I’m obsessing over every single second we’ve spent together, searching for hidden meaning. Looking for proof of something deeper growing between us.

  Stop it. You’re going to make a fool of yourself.

  I need to stop thinking about Austin. I need to keep myself busy.

  I jump onto Rule Them All to distract myself, admonishing myself when I see how much Uforia has suffered in my absence. I let a couple of key trade deals lapse, my gross domestic product shrank by ten percent and my populace are growing discontented. Not good. If I’m not careful, I could end up ruining what took seven years’ worth of time and energy to build. I make a mental note to be better at logging in regularly. I need
to play at least an hour a day just for upkeep. I know that sounds excessive, but I swear I enjoy it. Most days. Some days. Okay, so sometimes it feels like a giant chore that I wish I didn’t have to deal with. But this game is the only thing that’s mine, that I built. It’s my only real accomplishment in life.

  Wow. That’s pathetic.

  I’m online for a little over an hour before Jackie signs on. As per usual, she’s pinging me for details about Austin within five minutes.

  “What’s new with you and Man Meat?”

  I hate her nickname for him. It’s so demeaning. Sure, I’ll be the first person to raise my hand and say Austin Jacobs is the sexiest man alive. But he’s more than that. So much more. He’s smart and sweet and gentle and kind and maybe a little tortured.

  Thing number six I love about Austin—he’s complex.

  “Nothing really.”

  “Boo. That’s boring. I need gossip. What did you do last night? Or should I say what did he do to you?” Jackie asks, leaning into the camera and giving a mockingly torrid tinge to her voice.

  “Nothing. Really. We talked. And watched a movie.” Last night was much more than a movie night.

  “You’re kidding? What a waste. What are you even paying him for, Lizzy? I think you might be getting taken advantage of. And not in a kinky fun way.” Jackie’s dismissive and flippant. She may mean well, knowing I’m too shy to stand up for myself most of the time, but her comments piss me off something fierce.

  “I’m not being taken advantage of in any way. I know what I’m doing, Jackie! You have no idea what’s going on between me and Austin. So, just shut up about it.” I’m not yelling exactly, but I’m sure as hell not gentle. I’ve never spoken to Jackie this way before.

  “Wow. Okay. Sorry.” We’re quiet for a while and I know she’s waiting for me to apologize too. I’m not going to. She had it coming and we both know it. “Good for you, Lizbit. Nice to see you’ve got a little bossy bitch in there!”

  I can’t help but laugh. “I learned from the best.” I give her a little nod.

  “Yes, you did, little Padawan! Let the hate flow through you,” she mocks with her sinister emperor voice. We both crack up laughing.

  “So, you conquer any good countries lately?” I try to shift the conversation back to the game.

  “I’ve had to put a couple people in their place. This new league is forming, Law of Superiority. Bunch of dipshits and punks who think they can bully The Federation just based on sheer numbers. Bunch of noobs. They’ve been trolling the shit out of me. So, I think I’m going to have to own a couple of their asses.”

  Jackie and I are both part of the same league, The Federation, a group of people who work together in the game. It’s an online version of NATO. There are a bunch of different leagues with different levels of strength or prestige, but The Federation is one of the largest and most influential. So, naturally we get targeted a lot by the new leagues or players trying to make a name for themselves quickly.

  “I’ve never heard of them,” I answer as I click around, seeing if I can find any Law of Superiority players near my country.

  “Well, you haven’t been around much.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that.”

  “Look, I don’t care. But you should watch your ass. These guys are out to pick a fight. You get caught with your pants down and they’ll make you regret it. And if The Federation drops you for inactivity, you’re proper fucked.”

  “I know. I’m going to make more time to play.” I mean it. As stupid as it may seem to some people, this game is important to me. It’s a big part of who I am. “Shit, I’m going to be late for class. I’ll be back on tonight, okay?”

  “Whatever.” Jackie tries to sound detached, but I know she cares. She’s a big sister to me, both in and out of the game.

  * * * *

  As soon as I get back from class, I toss my bag down and get logged in. It’s good to be back in my element. I’ve lost track of time when Austin strolls in.

  He heads straight to the kitchen, but calls out a quick, “Hey.”

  “Hey,” I call back.

  I don’t log out. I don’t get up. I don’t even look at him. Austin’s the reason I’ve been so distracted lately. I need to finish before I let myself get lost in him. I’m ignoring him, something I know he hates, so he makes his way over to me. I tense with every step closer.

  “What are you working on?” he asks from behind me. I desperately want to turn off my screen, to push him away, hide this part of myself. Would it change the way he sees me to know I’ve spent the past three hours reworking an imaginary tax plan for my imaginary country to make my imaginary citizens happy? Austin already thinks I’m pathetic. I don’t need to add the final nail in the nerd coffin.

  “Nothing. Just a game.”

  Just a game.

  Yep, just a game that’s an embarrassingly important part of my life. A game that someone like you would never understand because you’ve never had to hide behind a computer screen to feel powerful.

  “A game? You seem pretty intense to just be playing a game,” Austin challenges. “What’s it called?”

  “Rule Them All. It’s something I’ve been playing for a while.”

  “How long is a while?”

  “Seven years.”

  “Holy shit! That’s a long time.”

  There it is. The judgment.

  My cheeks flush with anger and a little bit of shame. I push back from my desk, stand as tall as I can, cross my arms and prepare to fight.

  “I don’t expect you to understand, but I need to finish this tonight. I didn’t realize how late it’d gotten. You should probably go.” My words are terse and it catches him off guard. I see a flash of something resembling pain in his eyes and my resolve is shaken. I don’t want to quit my game, but I don’t want him to leave either. I want to have my cake and eat it too.

  “You don’t want to watch me play a stupid game all night anyway…” I trail off in a pitiful pout.

  He glances back and forth between me and the front door, as if debating if he wants to leave. My heart stops as I wait for him to decide this evening’s fate.

  “How about we make a deal?” he asks.

  “A deal?”

  “I’ll make dinner. Even gamers eat, right?”

  I blush at being called a gamer. I mean, I totally am, but I don’t want Austin to think of me that way. I want him to think I’m normal. I swallow the lump in my throat and nod.

  “And after dinner, you teach me how to play.”

  I can’t control my scoff. “You want me to teach you how to play?”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s boring.” It’s true. Parts of Rule Them All are painfully boring. Did I mention spending the past three hours rewriting a tax plan?

  “You seem to enjoy it just fine.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m weird, remember?” My self-deprecation earns me a laugh.

  “Weird, but not masochistic. Teach me how to play, you sexy little nerd.” Austin steps into my personal space, kissing along my collarbone and up to the sweet spot on my neck, below my ear.

  “Fine,” I practically moan. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  After dinner, Austin pulls a chair up next to mine and I walk him through the details of Uforia, including our new tax plan. He brings up a few points he’s learned in his business classes, helping me tweak both the tax plan and a few trade agreements.

  He’s paying attention.

  He’s engaged.

  He’s driving me wild.

  I thought naked Austin was the sexiest thing in the world. I was wrong. Nerdy Austin is way hotter. He takes out a notepad and writes down the details of the game. When I describe a complex part of the game that makes him think, he makes this adorable little face where he furrows his forehead and purses his lips.

  Thing number seven I love about Austin—his concentration face.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Austin
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br />   I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time sitting in front of my laptop, trying to think of something clever to say to Elizabeth. Or, should I say, to Lizbit31415. I wrote down her username last night when she was giving me a crash course on the game and her country.

  It took longer than I thought it would to install the game and an aggravatingly long time to set up a country of my own. But I’ve got the time to waste tonight. The team has to be on the bus at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow for an away game, so Coach gave us all a curfew.

  My roommates are whiny little bitches, crying about being locked up on a Friday night, unable to add one more notch to their belt. I’ve decided the next thing I’m sticking my dick in is Elizabeth, which isn’t on the sex-abus until the week after next. So, I don’t mind the night in.

  After about twenty minutes of debating between a few of my best pickup lines I go with…

  ManMeat4Sale: Do you know how to bake? Because I’d love to taste your cherry 3.14

  Lizbit31415: Austin?

  ManMeat4Sale: What gave me away, the username or the epic pickup line?

  Lizbit31415: Username. You have no idea how many cheesy/bad/disgusting/inappropriate pickup lines I get…

  ManMeat4Sale: ur breaking my heart… i thought i was special

  I’m teasing her, but with how long it’s taking her to respond, I wonder if she’s taking me seriously. I know I’m special to her. At least I know whatever the weird thing we’ve got going on between us is unique. I don’t know what we are to each other, but I know it’s got to be different from what she has with anyone else.

  Lizbit31415: You’re “special” all right

  ManMeat4Sale: Ouch…my little goose has claws

  Lizbit31415: What are you doing on here?

  ManMeat4Sale: Is that a trick question? Attempting to Rule Them All…duh