Ah. That’s nice.
“Yeah, man. Tell her the business. Get your woman under control.” Simon laughs at his suggestion, I lift a shoulder in casual agreement.
“Man, shut up,” Link grumbles.
“So, are we meeting the sports guy tonight?” Simon asks, shifting the conversation away from The Boobs.
“Yes, he’s running a little late, but he’ll be here.” I gulp down the rest of my drink and motion to the bartender for another.
It doesn’t go unnoticed by either of us that Link is silent. I glance at him and he's staring down into his beer.
“Yeah, I’m gonna go save Gia from small talk with …” he trails off and I could swear I heard him muttering “The Boobs” under his breath as he slinks away.
I accept the new drink from the bartender with a smile and a thank you. When I look back toward Link, he’s studying me.
I sigh, “What?”
“I’m just trying to figure out why now.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, furrowing my brows.
“You’ve been dating the sports guy —”
“His name is Mason.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’ve been dating Mason, for almost a year.”
“I’ve decided to take our relationship to the next level. And that involves him meeting my people.” I shrug.
“The next level.” There’s an expression on his face that I can’t read. And, I’m trying to understand what’s going on right now. We get along like 45% of the time. We don’t talk about relationships because we usually end up arguing. So why are we having this moment right now?
“Link —”
I’m interrupted by the loud cheers over Dex and Morgan’s arrival. Link seems to shake himself free of the moment, gulps down the rest of his beer, tosses the empty cup in the trash can next to the bar. The bartender is on point tonight because there is another cup waiting for him when he turns slightly and snags it up.
“Well, cheers to boyfriends and boobs, right Rubester?” He clinks his plastic cup against mine and stalks off toward Amber. I don’t look away when he snakes his arm around her waist and pulls her in and nuzzles his nose into her hair.
Barf.
I turn on my brightest hostess smile and decide focusing on the bride and groom is my best option for survival tonight. I may also need a few more drinks.
The party is in full swing a couple hours later. In total, there’s about 25 people here tonight. But you know who isn’t here? Mason.
Nope.
Mason isn’t here yet and it's starting to piss me off. He’s texted me a few times, so I’m not worried about him. I know he’s not missing or hurt somewhere. I’m just not sure what’s holding him up, but this was a big step in our relationship and he’s late. He’s well past fashionably late.
Outwardly, I’m playing it off like I just don’t care. That it isn’t a big deal. But I can tell by the looks Morgan, Gia, and Bernie keep giving me and then each other, they know differently. I haven’t spoken to Link since the awkward bar conversation, which suits me just fine since Amber is pretty much humping his leg and I don’t want to be near that. He’s caught me staring a few times. I’m sure the disgust on my face is evident; his smug smirk tells me so.
Whatever.
Eventually, I see some of the guests starting to leave. It’s a Thursday night, so most of them probably work tomorrow. I’ve just sat down for the first time in a while when I feel my phone vibrate from my dress pocket. Whoever invented dresses with pockets was a genius. I pull my phone out and see a text from Mason telling me he is here.
Finally.
I slide off the bar stool and walk up out to the front of the bar to meet him. He’s never been here, and I wanted to have a moment with him before he meets the gang, anyway.
I find him at the bar ordering a drink. He’s dressed nicely and looks freshly showered. I take a seat to his right.
“Is this seat taken?” I ask.
If he’s startled, he doesn’t show it, instead he gives me side eye until he realizes it's just me. Turning toward me now he says, “Hey, I’m really sorry I’m so late. I didn’t expect to be held up at work for so long.” He leans in and kisses me.
“It’s okay,” I respond, smiling at him. I’m glad he’s here.
“You ready to meet my people?” I ask.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” He shrugs.
Yay, he seems really into this. Wonderful.
I grab his hand and lead him to the back room. When we enter, I notice that the table I just vacated is deep in conversation. As we walk toward my friends, I can’t shake the feeling of being watched. But no one at the high top even notices us yet. When we reach them, I hear their conversation about the publishing house courting Dex about a book deal.
“Hey guys.” I get their attention. Morgan and Gia have big smiles on their faces. Dex and Simon on the other hand are assessing the newcomer.
“This is Mason.” I go around the table and introduce him. Before I’m done with introductions, Bernie pops in between the guys and introduces herself too.
“So, you’re the sports guy,” Dex says.
Mason laughs it off. “I am. You’re one of the video gamers, I take it?”
“Sure am.” Dex still doesn’t ease his slightly scrutinizing demeanor. They make small talk for a bit. The girls trying to lead the conversation away from the tension the guys are throwing out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered. I suspect this is exactly how my own brother would act right now. But while they are just now meeting him, Mason and I aren’t new. I’ve been dating him for a while. It’s not like I don’t know him.
Simon excuses himself to get some refills for the table and as soon as he returns, Link appears at the table. He doesn’t sit though, he remains standing. I could swear he’s puffing out his chest.
“I’m Link. You are?” He shoves his hand out for a shake.
Mason slowly takes a drink before making eye contact with him, making Link wait as he lowers his cup to the table, and grasps his hand.
“Mason. Ruby’s boyfriend.”
Link brings his other hand around and slaps Mason’s back. “Ah. Well it’s great to finally meet ya, Mase. I’ve heard almost nothing about you!” They drop each other’s hand at the same time I hear someone beside me snort.
“It’s Mason,” he corrects.
Link just blows him off, pulls over a stool and starts talking his ear off. I mean, I guess this could have gone worse. Amber, who I didn’t notice before, sits next to Link proceeds to look bored out of her mind. Dex and Morgan excuse themselves to go chat with their parents. And it seems like the rest at the table are enjoying talking to Mason.
“So, do you plan on working for ESPN or SportsCenter some day? Like, is your gig with NBC just a stepping stone or are you happy where you are?” Bernie asks. She’s adept at keeping the conversation going. She’s also got mad interviewing skills.
Mason snaps out a laugh, he looks a bit annoyed with the line of questioning. Which baffles me since he usually loves talking about himself.
“Well, I have what you call a career. A real job. So yes, I have long-term goals,” he replies.
“Excuse me?” Link and Simon say in unison.
“Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you just play video games all day?” he asks.
“Among other things, yes. But I get paid probably three times more doing what I do than you could even imagine. It’s a real fucking job,” Link bites out, and damn, he sounds pissed. I’ve never heard him so angry before.
Mason laughs. He actually has the audacity to laugh right in their faces.
I gulp. I’m afraid to look at anyone but Mason right now. It’s clear that our nice, “getting to know the new boyfriend time” is over.
“Right,” he drags out the word. “Well, I guess we will just have to agree to disagree then.”
Link growls and I risk a glance his way. But, I’m not prepared for what I see. He’s not staring do
wn Mason with fire coming out of his ears, ready to attack. No. My throat catches at the sight before me.
He’s looking at me with disappointment in his eyes. His gaze holds mine and I start to say something, to try and fix where this conversation just went. But I stop. He gives a quick jerk of his head. He clears his throat and pushes off of the stool.
I’m absolutely embarrassed. You know when you’re a kid and you do something bad, and instead of your parents saying they are upset with you, they tell you they are disappointed? It makes it so much worse. That’s how I feel right now.
“Well, I think that’s our cue to leave. See ya around, Mase.” Link looks to his left to where Amber is collecting her phone and purse. Somehow, she still manages to look bored. He motions a quick goodbye to the entire table, avoiding my gaze entirely, and then he walks away.
You could cut the tension with a knife when Simon stands and turns on his heel. He stalks towards the table where Morgan and Dex are sitting. Gia shoots me a pleading look as she follows him. Bernie sits stock-still, worry sketched on her face.
I start to speak, but Mason beats me to it.
“Well, that went well. They all seem all right, but I’m not sure I like the cocky asshole.” He says this all while looking at his phone, not aware or just not caring that Bernie is still sitting at the table.
“I’m gonna go get a water, you want one?” Bernie asks me.
I shake my head. I’m really not sure what to say or what to do right now. So, I give myself a reprieve and tell Mason I’ll be back. I head to the restroom.
I get to the hallway that holds the restroom and see that Link is leaning against the wall near the door. I assume he is waiting for Amber. I take a deep breath, readying myself for the apology I need to make.
“Link,” I say with a plea, “I’m so sorry about that.”
He looks at me, with more of the same disappointment before.
“Ruby, why are you with that tool?”
“Link, he just doesn’t understand professional video gaming. Give him time.” I kind of, sort of, hate that I’m defending him right now.
“He pretty much just insulted all of your friends with his ignorance. You’re okay with that?”
“No, absolutely not. And I’m gonna talk to him, but I just wanted to apologize to you.”
He sighs and shakes his head. “It’s not you who should be apologizing for what that douchelord said.”
I roll my eyes in response because if he is just going to call Mason names without accepting my apology, then fine. So be it.
I brush past him and reach for the door of the women’s restroom, but it opens and Amber breezes past me.
“Oh, that boy toy of yours is freaking hot,” she says as we pass each other. “He’s a keeper for sure. Don’t blink or someone else might swoop in and snag him away from you.”
Really? She’s dating Link, yet she’s making comments like that about someone else’s boyfriend? She laughs as she walks down the hall. As the door shuts behind me I realize that everything I was afraid of happening tonight is what ended up happening. I’m pretty sure my friends hate my boyfriend.
Chapter Seven
Link
“He’s a total asswipe,” Simon says through a mouth full of food. We are taking a quick lunch break in the Game Room where the team has been practicing.
“Like the lord of all douches,” Dex agrees.
I’m still fuming from last night. Mason, and his pompous attitude toward gamers, has me off my game today. Literally. Which is why I decided to join the team for lunch. I was having a hard time focusing on work and needed a change of scenery.
Look, as gamers we are used to people not understanding our profession. It’s hard for those who sit at a desk all day to understand being paid to play them. Especially if they don’t enjoy video games in the first place. In most face-to-face conversations, people are more willing to listen as you explain what it means to be a professional gamer.
Even if they still don’t understand, they aren’t likely to shit on what you do right to your face. No, they bash your career choice behind your back. Hey, it’s the way people are, right? But it's not every day when you’ve got some twat who so blatantly treats you like your life and career are a joke, and then laughs right in your face about it.
It’s the first time I’ve talked to anyone about what went down last night. Yet ten minutes ago, upon my arrival, it's all Dex and Simon seem to be able to talk about. Simon replayed the scene for Chuck and Ben. Dex already knew, since he texted me last night after I left the party.
“Sounds like you need to put him in his place. Be like, “Let me educate you, son”. See him laugh then,” offers Ben.
Yeah … how about not?
Ben’s got an interesting personality. He doesn’t hang out with our group a lot as he has his own group of friends. Since Chicago is his hometown, he was already in his own element when the rest of us moved here to work as a team. He’s a nice enough guy, he just says a lot of shit like that.
We snicker at that but try to move past his comment.
“I just get so tired of defending this profession. I mean, hell, it's not like we tried to convince the guy that video gaming is an actual sport. I mean, I’m all for this new term “eSports”, but I’m also not about to suggest that the local sports guy who roots for the White Sox should come and cover a CoB tournament,” Simon yammers on and he’s got a point. But I might want to keep that in my back pocket if I want to piss the guy off … should I have to see him again.
I wanted to punch the prick in the face the moment the words came out of his mouth. I didn’t like how he laughed off Bern’s questions from the start, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what was to follow. I didn’t lay my fist into his fucking face because, for one thing, I need my hands in working condition — playing with bruised knuckles blows — and also, because he wasn’t just some asshole talking shit. He is Ruby’s boyfriend.
“I’ve got to give you props man,” Dex comments, studying me. “Walking out like that? I’m proud. You don’t always demonstrate the best restraint when it comes to situations like that.”
I lean back in the chair and sigh. “Yeah, but I didn’t want to say or do something that I might regret later, so I just removed myself from the situation.”
The guys continue to grumble a bit and then move on to other topics before clearing out and heading back over to their gaming units. I stay for a few, trying to gather my thoughts when I feel a light touch on my knee. My knee stops bouncing a mile a minute and I see that it’s Bernie’s hand. She’s been relatively quiet the whole time.
“Hey, you all right?” she asks.
“Yeah, just in my head today,” I tell her truthfully.
“Can I ask you something?” she asks, cocking her head and looking thoughtfully at me.
I nod.
“Are you really that upset with what was said?” This catches me off guard, because has she not been sitting here for the past twenty-five minutes? She registers the confusion on my face and continues, “Because I saw the look you were giving Ruby. Almost like the whole thing was her fault and not the twatwaffle who actually said the words.”
Shit.
She’s onto something. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“I guess … I’m just disappointed that she would bring someone into the fold who thinks so little of us. I mean, more than half of her friends are video gamers. Wouldn’t that be important to her?” I’m starting to get angry again whereas before I was just annoyed.
“I mean, we are her people and he showed us absolutely no fucking respect last night. I showed him a fucking stadium’s worth of respect for not clocking him in the fucking face.” I realize that I’m getting heated, and I don’t need to be yelling at Bernie right now. “Awe, Bern. I’m sorry,” I say, sagging back into the chair.
“It's fine, but I promise this whole thing is important to her. Why do you think it took her nine months to finally bring him a
round? I can tell you with near certainty that she won’t let that happen again.” She stands from the chair across from my right.
“And you’re right, we are her people. You’re her people and you making her feel like this whole thing was her fault? Kind of a dick move.” She tosses me that sweet, innocent smile of hers. Yikes … I can always count on Bernie to drive a point home with the sweetest, most genuine smile. She turns and heads back to her own unit. “Let’s fuck these newb bitches up.”
~~~
It’s been nearly a week since the engagement shindig and I haven’t so much as talked to Ruby since that night. I have to admit, it’s grating on my nerves. I’m ticked at her, I’m ticked at me. If I’m being completely honest, she’s one of my favorite people and I hate that we aren’t talking. But it’s not all my fault here. She’s avoiding me. I’ve been around. She hasn’t.
But I’m over this little tiff. If that’s even what you want to freaking call it. I hate knowing she’s pissed at me or thinks I’m still pissed at her. I want to put this behind us and move on. I’d like to go back to pretending her assclown of a boyfriend doesn’t exist. I also may need to record a new classic showdown video for the series she helps me with. It’s been nearly three weeks since our last one and her fans are calling.
Texting isn’t an option in this situation, and no one calls anymore, so I decide to drive over to her place. When I knock on the door, I hear movement from inside. A few seconds go by and I can tell someone is peering through the peep hole. I knock again just for shits, but a little harder this time. I hear a familiar grumble from the other side. The door unlocks and swings open.
Ruby stands there barefoot with purple painted toes, wearing short cut-offs and a plain black tank top. Her red hair is piled on top of her head and she looks fucking stunning.
“What do you want, Link?” she snaps, clearly pissed at me. I turn my meter all the way to Ruby status, because she sees through most of my shit. I try to use the best of my charm to convince her to let me inside.
“Hey, Rubes, I came to talk. Can I come in?”
Her eyes narrow.
Game All Night Page 5