My time with the group isn’t long term, and I feel good about that. But it’s nice to know there is a network of other women that have experienced exactly what I have. And that what I’m feeling — or not feeling — is completely normal.
I was so stuck in my head — more like running from it — that I completely checked out of all things pertaining to Dex and Morgan’s wedding. I spent a lot of time talking with the girls and apologizing to them for my behavior too. Gia laughed and commented about how if we could forgive her for all her bad choices, they should have no issues forgiving mine. God, I love those ladies.
With the wedding now a little more than a month away, it’s double down time. We are having the bachelorette party tonight while the guys do the bachelor party. The guys are keeping it low key and hanging out at Mike’s Arcade. I wasn’t shocked when Dex opted out of a crazy typical party. No strippers is always a good idea, if you ask me.
“Oh, guess what?” Link says as he finally gets out of my bed and picks up his clothes from the floor.
“Chicken butt,” I reply.
“What are you, like, ten?” he asks.
I stop touching up my makeup and look at him through the mirror on my dresser, “You said the exact same thing to me an hour ago.”
He just shrugs and grins at me.
Shaking my head, I go back to work on the makeup. We are dressing for a work out now but will head back here to quickly change before dinner. I know, I know, I’ll probably sweat off the makeup but it’s a bachelorette party.
“Anyway, what I was saying is we are getting a new roommate next week,” Link says from the floor, he’s got one sock in his hand, he must be looking for the other.
“Oh yeah? Who's that?” I spy his missing sock next to my brush on the dresser and toss it to him.
“Thanks, and Wade,” he says, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull on his socks. Don’t ask me why a quickie meant he needed to shed those too, but it happened.
“Really? Why would Wade want to move in with you two slobs?” It’s the truth, since Dex moved out, the state of their apartment has gone downhill.
“Well, they found mold in the walls at his place. I don’t know, the building was under some kind of inspection when it was found, some routine thing for insurance. But his lease was up anyway, so he needed to find a new place and fast. Dex suggested his old room and Wade actually gave me a call.”
“But he knows you guys don’t ever clean up after yourselves, right?”
“Best part, he said he doesn’t mind keeping the apartment clean, so really, we’re getting a new roommate and a maid.”
“Oh my gosh, you guys cannot expect him to do all the cleaning.” I turn to him and level him with a stare. “Did Dex do all the cleaning, Link?”
He looks at me and shrugs. “Most of it.”
“Unbelievable.” I shake my head and add, “For the record, whenever we move in together, I will not be your maid. You will help and if you don’t you won’t get laid.”
“Awe, Rubes, you don’t mean that.” He comes up and wraps his arms around me, snuggling his face in my neck.
I’m laughing, but still try to push him off, “Yes, I absolutely do.”
“Fine,” he groans taking a step back. “I won’t make Wade do all the cleaning, just the kitchen, bathrooms, and vacuuming.”
I roll my eyes and grab my purse from the nightstand. I wonder what Bernie is going to do with Wade being so close and around more. I know she has a wicked crush on him. She has had it for a while, I wonder if this new development will help a girl out.
I’ll have to find a time to mention it to her.
“You look sexy, Rubes,” Link says as he follows me out of my room.
I look over my shoulder at him and wink. “Right back atcha, hot stuff.”
Playlist
The Middle - Zedd
Treat You Better - Shawn Mendes
Wake Up - The Vamps
Back To You - Selena Gomez
Want To Want Me - Jason Derulo
Make This Leap - The Hunts
One Call Away - Charlie Puth
Miss You - Gabrielle Aplin
Let Me Love You - DJ Snake, Justin Beiber
Always - Gavin James
In My Blood - Shawn Mendes
Fix You - Coldplay
I Won’t Give Up - Jason Mraz
Up - Olly Murs, Demi Lovato
Over and Over Again - Nathan Sykes, Ariana Grande
Listen to the full playlist on Spotify
Acknowledgements
It honestly takes a team to publish a book. When you’re self-published, the team you put together is even more important. So, I want to take a moment to thank several people that have helped me over the course of writing and publishing GAME ALL NIGHT. I’ll keep it short and sweet.
Allie York: you’re my girl. Thank you for all the times you talked me down from the ledge. Thank you for being the one person I can count on to cheer me up with a GIF and the fact that we can have whole conversations using them. You embrace all my crazy, organizational bossiness and that means the world to me.
LJ Evans: you are always there with kind and encouraging words when I need them the most. Thank you for sticking with me in the early stages of this book and helping me work through plot lines. I’m not sure I would have been able to even get started writing the manuscript if it hadn’t been for your help.
Cassie Graham and Karin Enders: you two. I don’t know if I can even truly express what the two of you mean to me. So, I’m going to just say this, you both are wonderful, amazing, and truly talented women. I’m lucky to have you both in my circle. HA! Knowing that I have you both to lean on when I’m having a bad author day, need talked into or out of something makes my heart happy.
Maggie: girl, you were my first real fan. I’m talking, not family and friends, you know those people who have to love your work? No, you came out of nowhere and loved my gamer boys as much as I did. I know alpha reading GAN was tough and it took several months. But you really helped shape this book to be the best it could be. For that, I am truly grateful.
Aubree: thank you for helping me keep my head on straight. For having my back and not letting me get too overwhelmed with all things authoring.
The ladies of Romancing the Manuscript; when I joined our little group, most of us were strangers. Now, I consider you friends and a support team that I know will always have my back. Plus, those GIF strings … #dynamite.
Romance Game Changers: I still can’t believe I have a group of readers who actually love my books and look forward to interacting with me on a daily basis. THANK you for making me feel loved!
LJ, Aubree, MK, Debbie, and Kristina: thank you for being one awesome beta reading team. You all gave me such great feedback. Because of you ladies, I can’t wait to share this book with the world.
JL: lady, if I didn’t have you on my team, I would be lost. You edit my mess of a manuscript with such ease. You whip my words into shape. You are never allowed to leave me. I will find you. You are stuck with me forever.
Mike White: thank you for being such a comic book nerd. If it hadn’t been for you and all of your comic wisdom, I wouldn’t have been able to make Ruby as kick-ass cool as she is. I owe you a comic book or two.
Will Murray: once again, your help with writing a YouTube star and all things pro-gaming was invaluable. Thank you for answering all my questions and helping me to more thoroughly understand the industry. Thank you!
My Family: without you all, I don’t think I would have the confidence to keep writing and publishing. It’s hard work, and it’s emotional work. Thank you for all your support.
Rob: thank you for being you. I know I give you shit for being a slow reader, but you read my books when they are in the rawest form, so really, I can’t complain. Thank you for loving my characters and my words even when I don’t. Your love and support knows no bounds.
Also by Lauren Helms
Gamer Boy Series
/> Level Me Up (Morgan & Dex) - Gamer Boy #1
One More Round (Gia & Simon) - Gamer Boy #2
Game All Night (Ruby & Link) - Gamer Boy #3
Gamer Boy #4 (Bernie & Wade) - coming 2019
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About the Author
Lauren Helms has forever been an avid reader from the beginning. After starting a book review website that catapulted her fully into the book world, she knew that something was missing. Lauren decided to take the plunge and write her first novel. While working for a video game strategy guide publisher, she decided to mix what she knew best--video games and romance. She decided to take the plunge and joined NaNoWriMo and a month later, she had her first draft.
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Game All Night Page 23