Jenna looked up and despite the crap she’d just given me, I could read real empathy in her pale blue eyes. She was stunning, really—like the love child of a Norse goddess and Alexander Skarsgård. “It’s okay, Mia, really. If you ever need help studying or anything, let me know. I could quiz you. I don’t know much about bio, but I know there are some physics-related questions on the test and since that’s my major…”
I sighed, running my hands through my hair and resting my forehead in my palms. “I’m the worst friend ever.”
“No. You’re just stressed out and if you keep this up, you’ll fail just because you’ll be too keyed up to even focus.”
I rubbed my forehead with my thumbs, feeling the beginnings of a stress headache. This day! It felt endless, between the lack of sleep after my late shift, the rushed preparations, the unexpected meeting with a pompous but very hot asshole, the weird gaming session with Fallen and now this.
Alex got up from the couch and came over to crouch beside my chair. “Pobrecita,” she murmured in Spanish, meaning “you poor thing.” She slipped an arm around my shoulders. “I’m sorry.”
I sighed again and leaned my head on her shoulder. Then she invited me to eat downstairs with her mom and we pigged out on her awesome enchiladas.
“You leave it to me and Jen,” Alex said. “We’ll find you a hot nerd and then you won’t be able to say ‘no’ to our parties.”
I grinned and swallowed, my throat suddenly tight. I’d met a hot nerd earlier that day and found I didn’t like him much.
Chapter Four
As the next few days rolled on, my mind constantly dwelled on the question of whether it was the right decision to proceed as planned. I was finding it awkward to even force myself to do my weekly DE report. This week’s had been a bland, neutral commentary on some of the lamer quests in the game. But what about next week and the week after? What about after Drake and I slept together? Would I always be worried that he’d be stalking my blog?
I could opt to cut my regular DE report from the blog. Readers would protest that. I received lots of hits, re-blogs and comments on that feature. My blog was my livelihood. It brought in more money through advertisements than my hospital job currently did. Hopefully it would keep paying the rent throughout med school as well.
So, after days of mulling it over, I came to a decision. And while procrastinating making the call to Heath, I happened to log on and find him on the game
*You tell Fragged, “Hey dude, whatcha doing?”
*Fragged tells you, “Killing trolls in the Golden Mountains. This new hidden quest chain is driving me up a tree. Come help me, I need your enchantress. They keep stunning me.”
With a sigh, I complied, running my character over to the nearest magic portal chamber to take her to the location where Heath was tirelessly hacking his way through troll parts to find some small clue to the game’s latest mystery.
*You tell Fragged, “You and everyone else who plays the game. You didn’t try to weasel the secret out of Drake, did you?”
*Fragged tells you, “No. I doubt he’d tell me anything anyway.”
*You tell Fragged, “You sure? You definitely chatted with him for a long time.”
My character was almost to Fragged’s location in the game, at the base of the Golden Mountains, when I got jumped by an aggressive mountain goblin.
*Fragged tells you, “Where are you? I’m up to my asshole in troll guts.”
*You tell Fragged, “I have aggro. Goblin jumped me. I’ll be there in a minute. Oh and by the way, I need you to get in touch with the number two guy in the auction. It’s not going to work with Drake.”
I was just finishing off the mountain goblin, my character at half her full life, when he replied.
*Fragged tells you, “Um. What?”
*You tell Fragged, “Just do it. I’m almost there—shit! Another goblin! Come help me. He has friends and I’m only at half my life.”
I watched as my red health bar—the indicator of my character’s life—started to dwindle. I punched buttons left and right waiting for his Mercenary to show up with his mighty sword so he could stand between me and the bad guys. We spell-casters referred to the big brawny warrior-types as “meat shields” because they stood between us and the monsters while we shot them with magic spells.
*Fragged tells you, “I’m on my way. I strongly disagree, by the way. If you’re going to go through with this, then D. is your best bet. And we probably shouldn’t be texting each other about it in his own fucking game.”
Fragged arrived to save my bacon when I had only a sliver of health left. I backed up, drank a healing potion and punched my highest-level spell, “Bedazzle,” to stun the goblin and his friends. They swayed back and forth with stars in front of their eyes while Heath’s Barbarian Mercenary beat them down one at a time.
“Take that, sucker!” I muttered aloud.
I turned back to my keyboard, quickly typing in my next message to Heath.
*You tell Fragged, “So why do you disagree about calling it off with him and going to the other guy?”
I finished off the second goblin with a lightning bolt and then sent a healing spell to Fragged, who was down to a third of his life.
*Fragged tells you, “Because D. is the best prospect, hands down.”
I gritted my teeth, frustrated.
*You tell Fragged, “Are you saying that because it is in my best interest or because you have DE stars in your eyes? You are hooked on this game and I know that’s what you spent your hours talking to him about—wheedling game secrets out of him.”
*Fragged tells you, “WTF.”
His character, turned to mine and made a rude gesture. In response, I flipped off the screen, though I knew he wouldn’t see it.
*You tell Fragged, “Real mature.”
*Fragged tells you, “I’m not very mature when I’m pissed. If you think, for one minute, that I was putting my own interest ahead of yours, then how can you even call me a friend, Mia?”
*You tell Fragged, “I don’t believe that. I’m sorry. I was mad. Drake pissed me off and it’s not going to work.”
*Fragged tells you, “Stop using his name, goddamn it. Either abbreviate or call me on the phone, and don’t effing insult me.”
With a heavy sigh, I grabbed the phone and called him. He picked up the phone and without a greeting, he said, “Okay, I get it. He came across about as aggressive as a mustang stallion. I have no idea what that was all about but I’m assuring you right now that he’s the far better choice than New York and I’m putting my foot down on this. Now get your ass over to my spot. These trolls are going to take me forever to kill without your help.”
“Heath—”
“No, Mia. If you want to back out with Drake, you are going to have to tell him yourself. I’ll send you his e-mail address. You let him know what you’ve decided.”
I stiffened. “Fine. I will. I can’t blog about his company and his products if I’ve had a personal relationship with him. It just wouldn’t be right.”
Heath snorted on the other end. “No, at least be honest with yourself. He scared the shit out of you because you have never been that into a guy you’ve just met before.”
“Whaaaaat?” And in spite of the fact that I was alone, my cheeks heated, my entire body grew hot and I started to sweat.
It was a good thing I had to focus on killing trolls and saving his Barbarian Mercenary’s smelly loinclothed ass or I would have died of embarrassment.
“We’ve been best friends since eighth grade. Back when you were still interested in guys, before that fucker screwed you up, I could always tell who you were into. It’s been six years since you dated that little prick and you’ve never so much as looked at a guy since. In our little meeting, you were flushed and breathing like you’d just run a marathon. Drake turned you on and that scares the shit out of you.”
My fist closed on the table and my T-shirt was starting to stick to my ribs. His charac
ter was running low on life. I prepared my gate spell to take me away from the area and out of harm’s way. I’d tell him I accidentally hit the wrong button instead of healing him.
“You have no idea what’s going on inside my head, so stop trying to figure it out.”
“Doll, when you asked for my help in this auction, you gave me the right to voice my opinion. My work is all over this venture. Quit squawking because you’re losing control.”
I wasted the second to the last troll with a killing enchantment. He could fight the last one by himself—with only a sliver of life left. “I am not losing control.”
“Then admit that you want Drake.”
I took a deep breath. “He’d be a conflict of interest.”
“Heal, please? And that’s not what I asked you.”
My finger hovered over the heal button, but I didn’t press it. “Are you bound and determined to humiliate me? Yes, I think he’s hot. Okay? But that was never a requirement. Now if I e-mail him and tell him he’s lost his chance, will you set things up with the New Yorker?”
There was a long silence at the end of the line. “I’ll consider it. A heal any century now would be great.”
“Drink a potion,” I snarled. Then I wussed out and shot him a small heal…just enough to let him think he might make it out before I gated out on him.
“Mia, I really think you should think long and hard about Drake.” And then he laughed his typical juvenile boy laugh. “Huh. See what I did there? I said ‘long and hard.’”
“Can you hear me dying of laughter over here?” I hit my gate spell and disappeared.
Ten seconds later, Fragged showed up next to me in ghost form. The troll had finished him off.
“Now who’s laughing, sucker?” I giggled.
“I forgot how bitchy you get when I’m right and you’re wrong. Go write your e-mail then. I’m not playing with you when you’re in one of your moods. But for the record, I think you’re making a big mistake.”
I swallowed my frustration, at last relieved that I apparently had won him over. “Yes, yes. It’s noted.”
So after I hung up, I sat down and wrote it.
Dear Mr. Drake,
I appreciate your interest in my auction and your willingness to lay down a considerable sum to see things come to pass. But since our meeting I’ve had some time to reflect on the matter and I feel that we would not be compatible in this venture. It was clear to me at our meeting that you lack the desire to put me at ease. This was never a requirement and I know you will point that out in your reply, but as the plans for this have solidified, I’ve decided that I need someone who is willing to make those extra efforts. As well, I do not think we would work well together and though it is only for a brief time, I still think it would be in my best interests to go with one of the runners-up in the bidding. I wish you well and thank you again for the opportunity to have met you.
Regards,
Mia Strong
Holding my breath, I pressed “send” and sat back, staring at the blinking cursor on a blank screen. After a few tense moments, I released it, realizing that I was a coward. Heath was right. I hadn’t been this affected by a man in—well—never. And I had no idea why that was the case, but at the very core of this cold feeling inside me was an icy kernel of fear or thrill. It dried my throat, made my palms clammy. I wiped them on my jeans and stood, unwilling to let myself dwell on it.
Then I went about my day, tidying up the apartment in between writing blog posts and making still more tea. When I got back from vacuuming—a short break because I only have one room in my studio—I saw the “new e-mail” indicator flashing for my attention.
I clicked on it and noted the return address. Not the address I had sent it to, which was a generic Google mail account. [email protected].
I opened it up and it was very short.
Hi Mia,
I’d like to talk with you again. As soon as possible.
Adam
I sent off my reply immediately.
Mr. Drake—
My decision is made.
Mia Strong
Next I did the windows—actually a bit astonished at my burst of desire to clean. I hadn’t cleaned like this in months. I hated to clean, but I’d found that, since sending that first e-mail, sitting around and doing nothing, or even just writing blog posts, was driving me crazy.
After finishing the windows, I pulled on my shorts and running shoes, tucked my long hair up into a ponytail and decided to burn off my excess energy with a 5k run.
I was almost out the door when someone knocked. I pulled it open and started in shock.
Filling up my doorway with all of his masculine beauty was Adam Drake. In the very solid flesh. He wore jeans, a casual short-sleeved black button-down shirt and designer aviator sunglasses. He was leaning against the doorframe on one hand and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his firm bicep. He looked even more delicious than he had the day I’d met him at the hotel.
“Um,” was all I said. How the hell did he know where I lived? Something tickled at the back of my memory—a hurriedly scrawled address on the back of the nondisclosure agreement that I’d signed. My heart started its furious staccato. I could feel it in my throat, my wrists.
I couldn’t see his eyes, but he smiled—a genuine smile this time, not that sarcastic bullshit. “Hi. May I come in?”
I hesitated. My apartment was clean but very humble. This guy probably had a mansion on the harbor somewhere—I was guessing Balboa Island. Worth at least five or six million, probably more. He probably had his own boat in a slip and he lived just down the street from the legendary home of the late John Wayne. His master bathroom was likely bigger than my entire studio.
“It’s okay, Mia. I just want to talk.”
This was a far cry from the caveman I’d met the previous week. I held his gaze through the shades and then he reached up and pulled them off, folding them and putting them in his shirt pocket. The gold watch on his strong wrist flashed in the sunlight. I blinked and, not believing what I was doing, I stepped back and let him in, folding my arms over my chest.
“You caught me at a bad time,” I murmured.
“Yeah, I can see you are about to go running.”
I frowned. How had he known that? Sure I was dressed in exercise clothes but how did he know I wasn’t headed for the gym instead? Then I remembered that I’d mentioned that I was a runner on my blog. Maybe he’d read it there?
He entered slowly, moving as if he was afraid he might frighten me away. He glanced around the room, his face expressionless, but I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed when his gaze settled on my old rattletrap computer. At least I’d been able to swap out that old blocky CRT monitor for a newer flat screen when Heath had upgraded his system and given me his hand-me-down. But it was still a source of shame, especially for a techie gaming addict like me.
My fingers dug into my arms where I held them across my chest. I shifted uneasily. “What are you doing here, Mr. Drake?”
His gaze met mine, that studious look in his eyes again. “I’d like to know why you’ve changed your mind.”
My lips thinned. I squared my shoulders, preparing for his hard sell. “I don’t believe I’m required to supply that answer, but out of the goodness of my heart I will say that Heath is the one who chose you, not me. I’m changing Heath’s decision, not mine. I’m still going through with this. Just with a different person.”
His expression remained completely neutral but there was a speculative look in his eyes. “Because of our conversation last Thursday?”
I blinked. “No. I wasn’t terribly impressed by that conversation, but that’s not the reason.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t I deserve to know why, then?”
I shifted my weight from one leg to the other and looked down. “Because of who you are.”
He nodded as if expecting that answer. “Yes, I wondered when that would come up. I was surprised there was no
discussion of it at the meeting and didn’t surmise that Bowman hadn’t told you until after it was over. It wasn’t by my choice that you didn’t know.”
I cleared my throat, suddenly uncomfortable. “Heath Bowman is my closest friend. I don’t believe he meant any harm. He just thinks of this gaming thing as something that you and I have in common. But it’s a conflict of interest.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything and for a long moment there was silence. My stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten yet.
He smiled. “Can we grab something to eat? I’m feeling pretty hungry myself.”
We walked to the sandwich shop at the end of the street. It was a little diner with tables on the front patio under a slatted wooden cover. On a breezy spring day in early May, it was the perfect place to sit. Drake and I ordered our sandwiches and sat while waiting for them to be brought out.
My heart was doing its weird offbeat fibrillation again and when I swallowed, there was a cold excitement in my throat. Christ…just from sitting at a table with him? This guy was pure danger to my senses. What was it about him that set me on edge like this?
I cleared my throat and began. “I don’t think you’re aware of this, but my blog is my livelihood.”
“I’m aware of your blog, Emilia. I have been for quite some time.”
This caused me to sit back against the chair. The cold of the metal back seeped through my T-shirt. “Is that so?”
He smiled. “Why does that surprise you? Considering the industry I’m in and yours is one of the best blogs out there reviewing gaming material.”
At Any Price (Gaming The System) Page 5
