by L.H. Cosway
“That’s me, Lady_M. And yes, before you ask, she is heavily inspired by Brienne of Tarth.” She laughed before pointing to a small, ugly, impish looking creature. “That’s Afric.”
I peered at her name questioningly. “Afric_Is_The_Biggest_Ride_In_Greenforest?”
“A ride to Irish people means you’re, um…” She paused to bite her lip, which was quite distracting. “Good looking in a sexy way.”
I chuckled as I studied the very ugly avatar.
“Afric enjoys sarcasm. She’s also got a weird sense of humour.”
“I can see that.”
Finally, she pointed to an avatar with the upper body of a woman with very large breasts and the lower body of a horse. “And that’s Sarita. She’s obsessed with horses. And boobs.”
I chuckled, studying her a moment. Most people thought Michaela was sheltered and shy, but I was starting to see that wasn’t entirely true. She was merely reserved, which made her come across that way if you didn’t know her very well.
“I never really got into gaming,” I admitted. “Trev and Paul play some sports and shooter games, but it just felt like a waste to spend so much time on something that doesn’t amount to anything.”
“I can understand that, but it’s not really about it amounting to anything. It’s more about doing something fun in your free time, a little break for your brain. Some people meditate or go for runs to de-stress. I prefer to play Greenforest.”
“How long have you played?” I asked.
“Since I was twelve or thirteen. It’s actually how I first met Sarita and Afric.”
“Seriously? I thought you met in college or something.”
She shook her head. “Afric never went to college, which goes to show it isn’t everything, since she has the most successful career of the three of us. And Sarita went to the Royal Academy of Music. I don’t have a musical bone in my body,” she paused to laugh, shooting me a little grin. “Anyway, they’re the best friends I’ve ever had. You bond pretty quickly when you join forces to save the fairies.”
“Teach me how to play,” I said impulsively. Something in how she spoke about it intrigued me. This game seemed like the perfect distraction and I needed something to take me out of my head for a little while.
She seemed surprised by my request. “Okay, sure. I can teach you. But first, we’ll need to create a new account and avatar for you.” She started logging off, then found the sign-up page and handed me her laptop. I quickly filled in my details, choosing the screen name James_the_Conquerer and Michaela smiled her approval. A minute later, I had my very own Greenforest account.
“Just keep scrolling through the options until you find something you like,” she said.
A half hour later, I’d created an avatar that looked a little like me, except he had long black hair, neck tattoos, and wore a lot of leather. Okay, so he didn’t look anything like me.
“The nymphs at Shadow Lake are going to be all over you,” Michaela said with a chuckle.
I just want to know if Lady_M will be all over me.
I batted at the intrusive voice in my head. Michaela guided me around the game for a while, showing me all the best locations and how I could win points. I felt way too comfortable just sitting with her, being close, and smelling the faint notes of her perfume.
When her phone vibrated with a call, she let me continue exploring the game while she went to answer it.
“Hey, how are you?” A pause. “Oh, really! That sounds exciting.” Another pause. “Seriously? You want me to come with you?” She stole a quick glance in my direction. “Um, okay, sure, I’ll go.”
I listened surreptitiously as she finished up the call, more than a little curious about who she’d been talking to. She stood for a minute after she hung up, looking nonplussed.
“Everything okay?” I asked, eyebrow raised.
She glanced at me. “Yeah, I’m just…surprised. That was Louis. You know, the guy I’ve been texting?”
How could I forget? I didn’t even know him and I already hated him. “The same one you meant to send that selfie to?” I questioned casually. On the inside, jealousy reared its ugly head again. It wasn’t a feeling I was used to.
Michaela nodded. “He got tickets to see Twenty One Pilots next week and invited me to come.”
I tried to look encouraging while what I really wanted to say was, Don’t go! It was selfish, I knew that. Michaela deserved to be out there meeting people. She was too young and beautiful and smart to hide away indoors, even though a large part of me wished to keep her all to myself.
She seemed to be the only person who could make me forget to be sad.
“I saw them live a few years ago,” I said instead, “and they were amazing. You’ll have a great time.”
Each word felt like swallowing glass. Shanise was right. I might not be falling for her just yet, but I had definite feelings for Michaela, and that put me in a very tricky situation. I didn’t want to lose her as an employee, and certainly not as a friend. She was important to me, right now more than ever.
The problem was I had no idea what to do. Did I tell her how I felt and take the risk of freaking her out, possibly losing her completely? Or did I play the long game, see how things panned out. Perhaps these feelings I was having were just temporary. Maybe I only wanted her because I felt so torn up inside over Mum, and I was still very much in a transition period after breaking up with Diana.
Waiting things out and seeing how I felt in a few weeks or months’ time seemed like the best option, but what if this Louis person swept her off her feet?
What if she fell for him and I never got another chance? What if waiting was wrong and it was do or die? Act in this very moment or spend the rest of my life regretting it.
I watched as she moved across the room, grabbing a cardigan from her suitcase since there wasn’t a wardrobe yet for her to put her clothes in. Maybe I should be impulsive, take a chance. I knew I risked fucking things up irreversibly, but I also stood to gain if my risk paid off. Quite like jumping from a new and untested height, there were very many things that could go wrong. But when it went right, there wasn’t a feeling like it in the world.
What would happen if I went over there right now and kissed her?
Only one way to find out.
Seventeen
Michaela
Feeling a chill, I pulled on my cardigan. When I turned around, James was standing right behind me, an indecipherable look on his face. Was he…staring at my mouth? I blinked, convinced I’d imagined it, but no, he was still staring at me with an intense, heated expression that made my neck and face feel warm.
“James?” I said questioningly.
He seemed to shake himself out of whatever had come over him as he took a step back. “I better go,” he said, voice stilted. “I’ve taken up enough of your time.”
“You don’t have to go,” I replied breathily, but he was already backing away toward the door.
“It’s late though, and I’m tired. Goodnight,” he replied stiffly, and then he was gone.
That was weird. Was it something I said? I crawled into bed and logged back onto the game, but it was hard to concentrate. I couldn’t get the way James had looked at me out of my head. He seemed like he’d been about to do something crazy…like kiss me? But that couldn’t be right.
I groaned. Things seemed to be getting more complicated between us by the day and I felt like I was losing it. Logging out of the game, I quickly checked my work schedule for tomorrow, running down the list of tasks I needed to complete. Neil and I shared a calendar that we could both edit and I noticed a work trip to New York was scheduled in for James and Paul in two days’ time. They were going to scout locations for the next season of Running on Air. Neil was due to accompany them, and I tried not to fixate on how much I’d miss James while he was gone.
The next morning I made us both breakfast like normal, but James didn’t come down from his room. I tried not to analyse his absence
too deeply as I covered his plate with some cling film, left a Post-It Note on top reminding him to eat, then headed out to meet Neil.
When I walked into the gym, Neil was wearing what could only be described as an overly friendly smile.
“Morning, Michaela, can I get you anything? Some coffee maybe?” he offered.
I eyed him suspiciously as I took off my coat. “Coffee would be good, but what’s going on? Why are you acting all nice?”
Neil let out a long, beleaguered sigh. “I don’t want to go to New York.”
My pulse sped up at his mention of the trip, the one that would both take James away (boo!) and give me some space to sort my head out (yay?). “You don’t? Why not?”
Now he groaned. “I’m just so sick of travelling. You know I like my routine and going to New York for a week will throw everything completely off.”
“Okay, I can understand that,” I allowed.
“Plus, James has been extra grouchy with me lately,” Neil went on. “With everything he’s been through it’s expected, but it’s tough to deal with when you’re just trying to do your job.”
“How has he been grouchy with you?” I questioned. I’d noticed he’d been quieter than usual, but I hadn’t noticed him being grouchy.
“It’s just small things,” Neil said. “You’ve been working at the house so much you haven’t been around to see it. For example, the other day I asked what he wanted to eat for lunch and he told me I should know what he eats for lunch by now, even though we all know he changes what he eats from day to day. I’m not a mind reader.”
“He’s going through a hard time. You know he’s not himself,” I said, feeling the need to defend James since I was the only one who knew the true extent of what had happened with Diana.
“Does he snap at you like that?” Neil questioned, lifting an eyebrow.
“He did once, the first day he came back to the gym, but not since.”
“See? He’s nicer to you. Probably because he doesn’t know you as long as he’s known me. You’re also his favourite so—”
“I’m not his favourite,” I scoffed, praying my cheeks weren’t too heated.
Neil rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, all I’m saying is he likes you more.”
I studied him. “Where are you going with this?”
Now his expression turned pleading. “Well, I was thinking since you’re the one person James tolerates lately, that maybe you could go on the New York trip instead of me.”
I blinked at him. “Oh, no, I can’t do that. I—”
“Oh, please, Michaela. I’ll do anything. Name your price.”
I rubbed at my chest, the idea of going on a trip with James made me feel all hot and panicky. I couldn’t very well tell Neil my true reason for not wanting to go. In fact, like he said, I was the best candidate to go instead of him since I was one of the few people James could stand to be around lately. Neil also knew that travel was my favourite part of the job, since I’d never gone on holidays abroad as a kid. My parents always preferred to do staycations.
Oh man, I was going to have to do this, wasn’t I? I couldn’t even remotely come up with an argument against it.
“If I go, you’ll need to take care of things at James’ house,” I said, relenting. Neil smiled widely, his gratefulness written all over his face. “The kitchen is being fitted this weekend, so someone will need to be there to oversee the workers.”
“Done,” he said, holding out his hand and I shook with him.
When midday rolled around, I grabbed my things to go meet Afric for lunch. I’d promised her we’d eat at her favourite sushi restaurant. I mentioned this to Neil and he invited himself along.
“Just to warn you, my friend doesn’t go out much,” I said as we made our way to the restaurant.
“Do I even want to know what that means?” Neil questioned.
“It just means Afric has a different way of doing things.” I started to think maybe introducing him to my friend wasn’t the best idea. They had very different personalities, and I wasn’t sure they’d mesh well. But it was too late now.
“Is that your friend?” Neil asked warily.
Afric was waiting outside the restaurant, her blue hair in a pile on top of her head. She wore green leggings, pink converse, and a baggy black jumper with an image of someone being abducted by an alien spaceship. The caption read, Get in, loser. We’re doing butt stuff.
I nodded and there was a long pause before he went on, “Does her top say what I think it says?”
I held in my urge to chuckle. Looks-wise, Afric and I were completely opposite. Since I enjoyed not being noticed, my clothes reflected that. I tended to dress pretty conservatively. Afric, on the other hand, loved to be seen. Well, when she actually decided to leave the flat.
“You’re late,” she said when she saw me. Her eyes wandered to Neil. “Who’s this?”
“This is my co-assistant, Neil. I hope you don’t mind him joining us for lunch,” I said, introducing them. “Neil, this is Afric.”
“Nice to meet you,” Neil said, holding out his hand.
Afric glanced at it, a wide smile spreading across her face. “Oooh, a handshake, aren’t you posh!”
Neil frowned and quickly withdrew his hand. I shot him an apologetic look. Afric laughed as we stepped inside the restaurant and were led to a table for three.
“Michaela, why is your co-assistant staring at my boobs?” Afric questioned while we perused the menu.
Neil sputtered. “I’m not staring at your….” He paused and seemed to gather himself. “I was looking at your jumper.”
Afric glanced down, like she’d forgotten what outfit she put on before she left the house. “Oh, right. Are you into UFOs?” she questioned, resting her elbows on the table and her chin on her interlocked fingers.
“Not particularly,” Neil replied. His tone was slightly dismissive, like he considered it a silly thing to believe in. It was his first mistake, because there was nothing Afric relished more than arguing with sceptics. It was like a sport to her.
“Why not?” she asked, deceptively casual.
“The California rolls look good,” I said in an attempt to change the subject. Neither of them paid me much attention.
“Well,” Neil began. “If they do exist, why haven’t they made contact? And why are the people who claim to see them always hicks who live out in the middle of nowhere who have too much time on their hands?”
“That’s not true. There are plenty of eyewitness accounts from pilots and respected military personnel, scientists too. It’s not all hillbillies,” Afric responded.
“I might actually get the sashimi. It sounds delicious,” I interjected again.
“Yes, and I’m sure all those respected individuals are getting lucrative book deals and television interviews to talk about what they saw,” Neil said derisively
“Just because a person is getting paid doesn’t mean they’re lying,” Afric countered.
“Do you know what, I might even get a glass of plum wine,” I went on, but it was a losing battle. They’d already locked horns.
“Okay, let’s say they’re telling the truth. Why haven’t the aliens come out and shown themselves to everyone? Why only a select few?” Neil shot back.
Afric threw her hands up. “Oh, I don’t know. Because humanity has always been so kind and accepting to those who are different,” she said, heavy on the sarcasm. “Besides, have you ever considered that beings from another planet might be so far advanced that there would be no point trying to talk to us. It’d be like a human going into a field and trying to have a conversation with a cow. It just wouldn’t work. Cows can’t speak. Maybe the difference between humans and aliens is that vast. Maybe they’re here to observe us, the same way we observe animals, but they aren’t going to get involved in our daily lives because that’s not what they’re about.”
My phone vibrated with a text, while the battle of wills going on between my co-worker and my friend con
tinued. I really should’ve made up some excuse when Neil asked to tag along. I left them to battle it out as I opened up the message.
James: Thanks for leaving me breakfast. Sorry I slept in. Had a hard time getting to sleep last night.
Me: Don’t worry about it. How are you?
James: Just really missing Mum today.
Me: Do you want to talk? I could come home.
Right after I sent the message, I realised how much I liked being there for him. I liked being the one James came to when he needed support.
My attention returned to my phone when a new message popped up.
