Game Changer

by Rene Folsom

  No, I needed to play it cool.

  Approaching the café, my eyes roamed the side of the building, as if searching for something—and then I saw her. The vision of her through the large window seemed to suck the oxygen right from my lungs. There was no reason a woman should ever have this sort of effect on me, yet there she was, stealing my air and shit.

  For the love of Pete, I needed to get control of myself.

  Her presence disarmed me—her image reflecting off the glass and making the colors of her hair even more vibrant. Like a creeper, I stood staring a moment too long.

  What was it about this chick that had me acting like such a n00b?

  My hand rubbed at the back of my head, as if that would give me some answers. I had to keep remembering how standoffish she seemed to be at the end of the night on Saturday. She obviously wanted to keep her distance—just another mystery with the beautiful and enigmatic Maci Layne.

  Chapter Nine

  Maci: Keep Him in the Dark

  Staring at my reflection in the blank screen of my laptop, my mind went wild with thought.

  His sudden need to see me had hope bubbling in my veins. Did it finally click in that geeky brain of his? Did he finally remember who I was? The Phantom of the Opera character I did the nasty with, all decked out black and white that New Year’s Eve, would’ve figured it out. Hell, I bet his memory would click into place if I squeezed myself into that Black Cat dress again, mask and all.

  Maybe keeping him in the dark was the way to go. It would give me a chance to start over. It was probably for the best that he didn’t remember what a slut I was that night. I definitely didn’t regret what we did—it was the best sex I’d had in a long time. But regardless of the connection I thought we shared together, it was probably nothing more than a decent lay to him. So, why not start fresh?

  Before my wishy-washy brain could think any further on the subject, a tall, thin man sat in front of me, two iced lattes in his hands, with a t-shirt that said, I’m not insane… my mother had me tested. I smiled at the Sheldon Cooper reference as I closed my laptop to give him my full attention. One thing I thoroughly enjoyed about seeing Liam was his choice of geeky apparel.

  “Nice shirt,” I said, pointing to his chest as I reached for my new latte.

  “Thanks. You too,” he replied with a laugh, making that sexy Adam’s apple bob in his throat again. I looked down at the Atari emblem scrawled across my chest and a knowing grin caressed my face. I totally forgot I was wearing this shirt, but I was now glad my subconscious chose it. Bonus points.

  An awkward silence settled between us, the noise from the other patrons in the café seeming to roar louder in my ears. He just sat there, studying me, and making me feel a bit uncomfortable in my own skin.

  “So, did you need something?” I asked in an attempt to brew some sort of conversation.

  “Not really,” he responded with a shrug. “I’ve just been wondering why you bugged out on me Saturday night.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “Don’t say you didn’t, because you clearly got spooked for some reason.”

  “Liam, I told you several times, it wasn’t supposed to be a date. I wanted to go and try to make some connections… get my name out there. I wasn’t going to meet any new people by sucking face with you in the hall.” The lie came out like it was second nature, and I suddenly hated myself for it. I wanted so badly to tell him what a dumbass he was for not noticing me—not recognizing he had kissed me before well over a year ago. The fucker made love to me and still couldn’t get it through his thick skull.

  He nodded, his cockiness suddenly deflated as he dropped his gaze to the table. One of his long fingers traced through the condensation his drink left on the surface, hypnotic circles entrancing me. “Hopefully you got what you wanted out of the evening?”

  I shrugged. “Not really. I only met a few people. If anything, it was at least nice to get out for once.”

  “Seems you knew one of my employees, Sky,” he said evasively. It wasn’t a question and his demeanor almost seemed accusatory.

  “Yes, I’ve known Sky for several years now. Although, I didn’t know what company you worked for or who would be the host of the charity event, so I was pretty surprised to see her.” I paused, assessing his reaction. Nothing… not even eye contact. “Why?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and sitting back in the small booth.

  “I’m just trying to figure you out,” he said, finally lifting his blue eyes to meet mine. “The charity received a rather large donation from a noteworthy author—Pembroke Publishing’s star author, actually. And I was just curious if you had planned to be there with me for that reason.” His tone was no longer accusatory, but instead took on a sad quality, as if me using him to that extent would be a major disappointment.

  And I was stunned silent. What could I say? I was the one who donated? I was the, quote, noteworthy author? No. My people at Pembroke, the exception being Sky, were the only ones who knew me. I couldn’t break that—not after the hard work I’d accomplished at keeping my anonymity.

  “You knew he was there, didn’t you?” Even though it was a question, his voice didn’t hint to it and again took on a more accusatory tone.

  “Actually, no. I’m only assuming you mean M.L. Thomas, who tends to shy away from the public eye.” I kept my answer vague, already sick of the lies and deceit, yet knowing my attempts to keep my identity a secret were very important—very real.

  Liam seemed to visibly relax with that bit of information, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why he was acting so strange.

  “He’s one of my favorite authors. When my ad executive told me he was on the donors’ list, I kinda freaked,” he admitted with a chuckle.

  The fact he kept referring to my pen name as a male persona didn’t surprise me. Why so many people chose to judge an author’s gender based on their genre was beyond me. I was a bit surprised that Liam hadn’t put the pieces together yet. He seemed to be smarter than the average goon, and I wouldn’t put it past him to connect the dots at some point. If he ever did find out, he’d probably hate me for keeping him in the dark. Yet, I also didn’t want him to know because, other than Sam and Celeste, I’d never met a true fan of my work.

  My silence and pensiveness didn’t go unnoticed. Reaching out to me, he grazed his finger along my knuckles and asked, “You okay?”

  With a forced smile, I nodded, never letting him know his compliment got to me.

  “So, now that our non-date is behind us, any chance we can go on a real date?”

  I couldn’t help the laughter that seemed to burst from my lips.

  “Oh,” he moaned, grabbing his chest as if my laughter injured his heart. “You wound me.”

  “I didn’t mean to…” I responded as I continued to laugh, waving my hand in front of my face to hopefully pretend like my laughter was no big deal. Only that made me laugh even more.

  “I really didn’t think the idea of a real date was that funny,” he said, grinning at me like I was the fool I seemed to act like.

  “It’s not that. I just… I was so stressed before you came in here. Worried you were pissed at me,” I explained while wiping a tear from my eye, being careful not to smear my eyeliner. Thank Christ for waterproof mascara.

  “So, is that a yes?” he prompted, leaning forward on his elbows and giving me a crooked eyebrow look, impatiently waiting for my answer.

  “God, Liam. I’m not really the dating type. I’m such a homebody. I’d rather spend time at home with a controller in my hand and a bag of Twizzlers to keep me company.”

  “Deal,” he blurted out, nearly making me jump at how abruptly his mood had changed. Easing his way out of the booth, he held his hand out and said, “Let’s go.”

  “What? But… go where?” I stuttered. I wasn’t usually at a loss for words, but he just seemed to turn my brain to mush with his emotional cartwheels.

  “We’ll go to your place… or mine… whereve
r we can shut off the rest of the world and just play. We’ll even stop and pick up a bag of Twizzlers if you want.”

  “Oh no,” I said, shaking my head in refusal. Not only was it about time for me to leave, but I wasn’t certain I could be alone with this man right now, for more reasons than one. “I’m not going home with you. Plus, don’t you have work?”

  “Being the boss has its perks,” he said with a wink while squaring off his stance in front of me. A couple holding hands eased their way around him, suddenly making me realize we weren’t alone.

  “Well, I have work to do and a lunch meeting. I can’t just play hooky.”

  “Fair enough,” he hummed, tapping his long index finger against his lips, thoroughly distracting me from this infuriating conversation. Pushing his way onto the bench seat and settling next to me, he draped his arm behind me and said, “I got it. There’s going to be a midnight showing of Back to the Future at the student center on campus tonight. Now, no one in their right mind would refuse a date with the DeLorean and Marty McFly.”

  “Shit, Liam,” I huffed.

  “What?” he asked, a look of shock crossing his face.

  “You’ve seemed to nail down my weaknesses, but I haven’t figured out yours yet.” Chancing a look at his eyes, I was unexpectedly lost in a sea of blue. I concentrated on the air coursing through my lungs as he traced a finger along my cheek, trying with all my might to ignore the way he took my breath away with just a simple touch.

  “I thought it was obvious,” he whispered.

  My lips burned with the need for him to kiss me again, but the mental war deep in my brain screamed for him to back off.

  Pushing at his chest, I couldn’t help but laugh as I forced him to back away until he stood from the booth. “Okay, Casanova. Save it for tonight. I’ll text you my address.”

  “I knew you’d cave,” he said jokingly, pointing at me with fingers from both hands.

  “Yeah, okay,” I responded while rolling my eyes skyward. “You’d better scram before I change my mind.”

  Bending over and leaning on the table, he hovered over me and said, “No one can resist Doc Brown.” Winking, he grabbed his iced latte and sauntered out the door, the bells chiming overhead causing chills to pepper my skin.

  My face nearly split in two with the stupid grin—all because of him.

  Chapter Ten

  Liam: Burgers and Billiards, Baby!

  “What do you mean—you can’t make it tonight? You haven’t been on a raid in two weeks, dipshit,” Thad scolded, spittle spewing from his mouth as he followed me around the parking garage like a lost puppy dog. “What has gotten into you anyway? You never used to bail on our Monday night raids, yo.”

  “Chill your beans, Thad. I have plans,” I said, never slowing as I approached my Jeep. My phone was nearing nuclear in my pocket with the knowledge that it stored Maci’s address. The fact that she wanted to grab a bite to eat beforehand had me hurrying to get home so I could shit, shower, and shave. Not like I would nix the whole stupid shirts or anything, but it was rare for me to make second dates, so my need to impress was putting pressure on the situation.

  “Holy shit. You’re ditching me for a girl,” he deadpanned.

  “If you’d get laid for once, you’d know that they’re totally worth it,” I said as I grabbed the roll bars and hopped up into the cab of the Jeep.

  “You’re such an asswipe. Thanks for the reminder of what a loser I am.” With that, Thad turned and hauled ass to his own mean machine. The only cool thing about the dude was his truck. Well, that and his loyalty to the game.

  “Fuck,” I whispered. I guess I’d have to make it up to him later somehow.

  *****

  Once out of the shower, I toweled off my hair and noticed the green light blinking on my phone. Nearly tripping over my shoes to get to the confounded thing, it wasn’t lost on me that I was acting like a teenage boy. At least I didn’t have anyone around to witness my excitement over a simple text message.

  Maci: Please say things will be casual.

  Liam: Burgers and billiards, baby.

  Maci: Think the Audi will be offended if I wear jeans?

  Liam: Actually, I was thinking way more casual than the Audi. But it might not be kind to your hair.

  Maci: Oh?

  Liam: Just bring something to put those pretty colors up, just in case. ;)

  Maci: 10-4

  Liam: See you in 30.

  Smiling at how easy she was to please, I hurried to my closet to try and find my favorite Back to the Future t-shirt. Knowing we were going to see the movie, I couldn’t resist the chance to wear it. Even men had to accessorize.

  While bolting out the door, I called Thad, worried I had pushed him too far.

  “Yeah,” his disembodied voice answered, sounding bored and entirely drained of any enthusiasm.

  “Hey, dude, I just called to apologize. I didn’t mean to be a douche earlier,” I said with sincerity, double-timing it to my Jeep. “This chick… well, I don’t know how to explain it other than she’s… different.”

  “Yeah, I get it. No need to go all mushy on me,” he replied.

  “You sure you’re not pissed at me for bailing?”

  “Oh, I’m still pissed at you,” he said with a pause. “But I get it.”

  “Word. So, are we good?”

  “Yeah, we’re tight.”

  With no more than a few accepting grunts between us, we hung up, and I made my way toward Maci’s condo.

  Turned out, she lived in a much nicer area than I would’ve anticipated. Not that I pegged her for a pauper, but her job title didn’t exactly scream money. So the fact she lived in a rather nice condo in a ritzy area of Tampa led me to believe she wasn’t at all what she seemed.

  Well, when didn’t this woman throw me a few curveballs? She was always chock-full of mysteries, and I couldn’t wait to find out all her dirty little secrets.

  Pulling through the roundabout in front of the building, I immediately spotted her already waiting for me. Before I could put the damn thing in park and come around to help her up, she was hoisting herself into the seat next to me. She practically leapt into the cab wearing a tight black tank top with a Ms. Marvel lightning bolt on the chest. Seriously, the woman had me adoring her even more simply with the fact that she seemed to like her comics. Not to mention her breasts very closely resembled Ms. Marvel herself and the shirt was so fitting in more ways than one.

  It was just one impeccable shocker after another.

  “Hah! I just love reading the different shirts you wear each time I see you,” she blurted out while grabbing her belt buckle and strapping herself in. “But a flux capacitor tee when we’re going to see Back to the Future is just perfect in so many ways.”

  “I’m beginning to enjoy all your shirts too, Ms. Marvel,” I said with a wink as I put the car in drive. From the corner of my eye, I watched as she looked down at her shirt, grazing her fingers over the lightning bolt on her chest, and I couldn’t help but wish it were my hands caressing her in that way.

  As we picked up speed, her hair whipped around her face in a torrent of waves and the laugh that left her lips pierced the sound of the wind around us. “You weren’t joking when you said it wouldn’t be hairdo friendly,” she said with a voice a little louder than normal, but not quite a shout.

  “Want me to put the top up?” I asked, worried she might not like the wind in her face quite like I did.

  “No, it’s fucking fantastic. Such a beautiful night for this.” Her answering smile let me know she was being sincere and truly enjoyed the breeze in her hair as we headed toward campus. “How are we going to hang with the college crowd without student IDs anyway?”

  “Ahh, you forget. I’m considered a god among the gamers at the university. Getting into the student center won’t be an issue. Is it cool if we eat somewhere else though? I don’t really want to deal with food court crowds.”

  “Sounds good.”

  A
s we pulled into the sports bar parking lot, Maci lifted her brow in a questioning manner. “I told you, burgers and billiards, baby,” I clarified with a smile as I climbed out and swiftly walked around to help her down. The lift on my Jeep Wrangler was fairly high, the thirty-seven inch tires being the perfect fit for such a suspension, yet it wasn’t so high that she couldn’t get down herself. Still, it was reason enough for me to get my hands on her, even if it was for just a moment.

  Placing my hands on her hips, I gently coaxed her down until her front was flush with mine. She braced her hands on my shoulders as I increased my hold and slowly glided her body down until her feet grazed the ground. Her fingers dug into my biceps, my grip on her never easing as I held her firmly, one hand on the small of her back and the other at the center, just below her shoulder blades. I could feel the wispy tendrils of her hair tickling my knuckles as our embrace softened, our bodies pressed together so invitingly, and I had to bite back the groan that was fighting its way up my throat.

  Damn. I definitely didn’t want our embrace to end. Feeling her softness against my body had all kinds of delicious thoughts riddling my mind.

  Her beautiful, green eyes were so inviting, so trusting, that I knew I had to keep control of myself—earn her trust.

  Regretfully, I let her go.

  “No purse?” I asked, only now realizing she didn’t have one anywhere in the cab. Since my Jeep was rather open, I didn’t want her to leave it behind.

  “Nope. What do I need a purse for? I was planning on making you pay anyway,” she said with a light slap to the center of my chest. Her laughter was contagious as she grabbed my hand and began leading the way toward the restaurant’s entrance. “I have pockets. I’m not usually the girly type who carries a suitcase around wherever I go.”

  “All the better. I never understood why women carry so much with them all the time.”

  As soon as we were seated, an awkward silence enveloped us. We were usually so good at conversing with each other, even if it was snarky banter. Yet, now my tongue was completely tied, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what to say.