by Claire Adams
"Stopping my heart and choking the breath out of me? Is that what you call payback?" I asked.
Quinn wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. I felt her smile against my lips. "Now I feel bad. Maybe I should make it up to you?"
I swung her farther into the apartment and shut the door behind us. "Did you see anyone outside? A weasel with glasses and a digital recorder? Did he see you?"
Her smile slipped and her arms tightened. "Are you okay? I checked out some of the forums. You can't let it get to you."
"No, it’s just my manager, and I took your advice. I just got interviewed, but he was more interested in gossip about Light Slayer and Arrowa," I said.
"Oooh, people suspect our avatars are having a steamy affair? How sexy."
"It’s not good, Quinn. Sorry, but I can't handle any more gossip right now," I said. "And you've got me worried with this whole mysterious new plan thing. If you want to take a serious shot at professional gaming, then you need to be worried about the chat room gossip, too. This is all coming dangerously close to affecting my career."
She dropped her arms and pulled me to the couch. "I know. I'm sorry. And if it would help, Arrowa can disappear from Dark Flag."
"Wait, what? You don't have to do that. I know you love it, and you're getting really good," I said.
"That's just it," Quinn said. She grabbed my hands. "Can we take a break for just one second and talk about some good news?"
"Yes, please."
"Alright. So, that last tournament when I managed to get the Green Witch on the run got me noticed by a lot of players. It also got me noticed by some game creators," she said. "To be honest, I was hoping to use that to leverage myself into the Dark Flag tournaments that pay money. But now that you mention the whole problem with the gossip, I'm glad I took a different offer."
"What offer? Are you sure it’s good?"
Quinn crossed her arms. "I've been asked to test out a new game. I get paid per hours logged, and there are bonuses for the levels I crack. I told them it would be more fun if I could play with a friend and they agreed. I have two new log-ins all ready to go."
My shoulders relaxed, then melted as Quinn reached over and rubbed my neck.
"See? I'm not as helpless as everyone thinks I am. I'm not encroaching on your territory or messing up your career. We can have a little fun," she said.
"Is that all this is?"
She tipped her head and looked away. "This is complicated, but only if we talk about it. How about we play instead?"
I handed over my computer and the game console controllers. Quinn brushed her wavy hair out of the way and set everything up.
"What's the game about?" I asked.
"I'm not going to lie, it’s a lot like Dark Flag, except set on Mars. The colony is expanding and there is potential for players to influence the world, just like in Dark Flag. And there are aliens, meteorites, and all sorts of complicated space dangers."
She made my avatar a pock-faced engineer and herself a middle-aged doctorate in astrophysics. "What, no glamorous astronauts or super-sexy scientists?" I asked.
"That's another thing. In this game, your only choice is to be human. Sure, you can augment your avatar, but they keep the choices plain. It’s all about survival and humanity," Quinn said.
"And starting over," I said. "I like that."
"Exactly," Quinn handed me a controller. "Here, we can start over and no one knows us."
We explored the Mars landscape. I had almost forgotten what it felt like. Video games were supposed to be an escape. Now, as Quinn and I worked together, tried and failed, and fought our way through surprising problems, it all came back to me. The whole reason I loved my job was that I could show people how to be who they really wanted, even if the real world kept telling them no.
"This is good, right?" she asked.
"The best," I said. "I really needed this. Thank you."
She moved closer on the couch and curled up against me. "Is it wrong that I always really wanted this?"
"No. Our timing was just off. Other people got in the way," I replied.
Quinn shook her head, her eyes sad for a moment. "She also brought us together and kept us together," she said.
"But you make me better," I said. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for always making me better."
"Even on Mars?" Quinn asked with a smile.
I nodded. "But especially here and now."
Chapter Nineteen
Quinn
The game was interesting and I loved exploring the Mars scenery with Owen. I was bursting to tell him about my plans for the money I was earning. First, I wanted to see the worried furrow in the middle of his forehead ease. He was so wrapped up in his own problems that I was not sure the time was right.
"Watch out for that crater," I said. We both pulled our avatars back sharply.
"Thanks for saving me again," he said.
"I don't know when you think I saved your life," I said.
"Right now. All I could think about was who might be setting me up and what would happen. All the hypotheticals were killing me," Owen said.
"So a little imaginary exploration of Mars was just the right thing?" I asked.
Owen smiled and wrapped an arm around me. "Maybe it’s more than just the Mars game," he said.
"Like what?" I paused my player.
Owen turned to me and opened his mouth to say something. Then, he shook his head. Instead, he tugged my shoulders closer and pressed a light kiss against my lips. I did not pull back. Wrapped up close next to him on the couch was exactly where I wanted to be.
"You're okay with this?" he asked. Another trio of gentle kisses brushed my lips.
"Okay with what?"
"I know it has to feel a little strange. I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you. Or using you to ease some guilt. Or, I don't know, whatever other people say about us," Owen said.
I hovered a half an inch from his face. "I don't want to think. I just want to feel, because this feels right to me."
Owen tossed aside his controller and brought his other hand up to cup my cheek. This time, his kiss was light but did not brush past. The heat built between our searching mouths. He tangled his hand in my hair and tipped my head back to deepen the kiss.
I could not get close enough to him. I turned from cuddling against his side to sitting astride his lap. Owen's arms wrapped around my back and pulled me closer. This time was different, the heat building slower. It seemed to radiate gently from my chest. My heart beat long, throbbing pulses against him. I worried that I knew what that meant.
"It feels right to me too," Owen said. "So, absolutely right, and I waited too long."
I felt his hand push gently against my side, asking permission. I moved in the direction he suggested and lay down on the couch. For the longest time, we enjoyed the warm friction, our bodies rubbing together as the kisses grew longer.
Soon, I was breathless, breathing from him as our lips could not part. His hands were hot on my body as he explored all the places we pressed together. We were too warm, but not close enough, longing to hold each other connected.
Owen undressed me slowly, the magnetic pull of his gaze heating every inch of skin he bared. He let me pull his shirt over his hard shoulders, then he slipped free of his jeans. He brought his body against me slowly, the warmth touching me like sunlight. His agate-blue eyes held mine as we came together, and our gaze did not break even as our bodies took over.
For all the pulsing desire, it was slow, as if Owen needed to savor every small sensation. The pressure of him, the anticipation, the wild longing soothed by the possessive look in his eyes, brought me to shattering before him. He drank up my shuddering cries, brushed my hair off my neck. I felt him whispering there as he rode my aftershocks, words he could not yet say out loud. Words I understood anyway, saying things that made my heart sing and my body surge around him again as he poured himself into me.
We lay for a lon
g time afterwards without moving. His lips stopped their soundless words, and instead, kissed the curve of my neck. My hands drifted up and down the contours of his back.
And we both held on to each other. Every throbbing beat of my heart was answered by his, and neither of us moved away.
When Owen finally leaned back on his arms, he gazed down and caught tears in the corners of my eyes. He kissed them away. I could not say anything, and he did not try. Instead, we pulled each other up and got dressed.
Somewhere between balancing to put on socks and buttoning up shirts wrong, we started laughing. I had never felt so free or at ease. It was like the whole world was anchored securely beneath my feet.
"Wait, shhh. Do you hear something?" Owen asked. He was still struggling to put on his left sock.
I gave his shoulder a prod and giggled as he toppled back onto the couch. "No. Please tell me you are not paranoid the police are going to bust in the door again."
"No, sorry. I just thought I heard voices," he said.
"I mean, I know I'm good, but I didn't think I was that good," I said.
Owen snagged my waist and dragged me onto the couch where he tickled me mercilessly. I had just struggled free and ran for the kitchen when the apartment door sprang open. Jasper stumbled in with two overflowing grocery bags.
"Snacks and supplies. The alcohol's still in the trunk of my car," he said. He stopped and eyed the both of us. "But, never mind. You finish up whatever is going on and I'll get it." He dropped the groceries in the entryway and disappeared back down the hallway.
"Supplies?" I asked. "For what?"
"Who knows? He mentioned having a few beers with me and hashing out the whole police search problem," Owen said.
I brushed the tangles out of my hair with my fingers and fanned my red hot cheeks. "Boys' night or can I stay? I was thinking, you do have pasta here. I think there's enough stuff in your cupboards that I could make a sauce."
Owen came up behind me in the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. "That sounds perfect. I'll get rid of Jasper."
Unfortunately, Jasper returned with four friends. They carried more than just a six-pack of beer. Soon, an entire party spread was all over the kitchen island. Jasper turned on the apartment sound system and music took over.
"We can't let them see they've gotten to us, man," Jasper said to Owen. "Don't worry, I invited all the neighbors. Maybe we can find out who’s been sending the bad vibes our way."
"No. This is a terrible idea," Owen said. He turned the volume down. "This is the opposite of what we should be doing."
"Come on, man, let go a little. They didn't turn up anything during the searches, they've got nothing on us. A party is not illegal, and frankly, I think you could use a little fun. Though, you do look remarkably looser than earlier," Jasper said. He winked at me.
I tried not to gag. Something about Owen's roommate had never felt right. He told big, exciting stories with details that did not quite match up. From what Owen said, Jasper was a talented website designer with a promising freelance career, but I had never seen one scrap of evidence that he actually worked.
A group of five more people filed into the apartment. Two were friends of Jasper's, but the other three were local gamers. Owen greeted them with big hugs and smiles. Maybe Jasper was right. A night spent surrounded by friends would make Owen feel a lot more supported.
"Everyone's read the chat rooms and they have ideas for what we should do," Owen said. He brought me a beer and leaned against the kitchen counter next to me. "I hate to say it, but maybe Jasper is right. I'm worrying about things that haven't happened and probably won't."
"I'll drink to that," I said. I slipped an arm around Owen and was relieved when he did the same.
It was one thing to feel so connected to him when we were alone, but it was still hard for us to be together in front of people. Most of his friends had met Sienna and they knew who I was. It was just something we were going to have to get past together, and Owen's arm around me helped.
The apartment started to fill up, and Owen saw people he knew everywhere. I was content to stand back in the kitchen and observe while he made tracks back and forth through the growing crowd. His friends were there, but Jasper's eclectic guests soon outnumbered them. He claimed most were clients, but many did not strike me as flourishing business owners that had hired Jasper to design their websites. In fact, I recognized a few as regular burnouts from my high school.
I was making my way towards them to ask how they knew Jasper when someone caused a scene in the doorway. Anya arrived in a skintight green dress. The Dark Flag players applauded as they recognized her Ayaan costume, minus the green scaly skin. I wished she had done the makeup, because without it, she was devastatingly beautiful. Every eye was drawn to her.
Even Owen looked. I watched as he accepted her kiss on the cheek and clinging hug. They talked closely for a minute, and then Owen kissed her on the cheek. I was glad when he moved away from her and came directly over to me, but there was still a hard knot in my throat, and I could not speak.
"Anya is sorry about the whole mess with the chat rooms. She's going to help track down who started the rumor," Owen said.
"That's really nice of her," I said. I wanted to point out it was also a convenient way to cover up if she was the one who had started them in the first place. The jealous thought was hard to tamp down, but I swallowed hard.
Owen noticed and he put an arm around my shoulders. "Jasper invited her," he said.
"Jasper invited everyone."
"But I really only want to hang out with you," Owen said.
"Then how about we ditch the party and go somewhere? It’s a clear night. I bet the stars will be out on the trail."
"Everyone came over to help," Owen said. "It would be rude to leave now. Plus, I feel like I haven't partied in forever, and I've never really partied with you. Don't you want to have a few drinks and a good time?"
"Yes, but this just doesn't feel like the best place to do it," I said.
"Now who’s the one being paranoid?" he asked. He hip-checked me.
I pushed him back and had to admit that I was looking at everyone as if they were suspects. "Fine. I'd love another beer."
Owen opened the refrigerator and handed me one before a few of Jasper's friends asked for drinks too.
"How do you know Jasper?" I asked as we all stood around the kitchen island.
"Um, through work?" one said.
"Really?" I asked. "He designed your website? Jasper's kind of secretive about his work. I'd love to see what he did for you."
"Website design? Isn't that like super brainy? That's what J does?" the other friend, a lanky, heavy-lidded young man asked his friend. "That's cool."
Owen was too busy brainstorming a new mission with two of his clan members to notice the strange conversation.
"When did you meet Jasper?" I asked.
"A while back," the first one said. He was noticeably more sober than his friend.
"Yeah, like last week at the grocery store," the lanky one said.
#
It took a few long conversations about Dark Flag and one awkward explanation of how we met before I was able to pull Owen aside for a private conversation.
"Have you ever seen any of Jasper's work?" I asked.
"Oh, Quinn, please. Do I have to think about this now?" He looked over to where Jasper was loudly entertaining a knot of women with his imitation of a Vegas showgirl he once met. "He's just one of those guys that talks himself up. So what if he doesn't want people to see his work? It’s probably all boring corporate stuff."
"Do any of these people look like corporate clients?"
Owen shook his head. "You don't invite those kind of clients to a party like this. These are probably the IT guys and computer geeks he met while on the job."
I hated to admit how much sense that made. "Alright, fine. But you have to admit something feels off about your roommate."
; Owen slammed back the rest of his beer. "Oh my God, I think I know what it is," he said. "Jasper reminds you of Trent. Think about it. He's the life of the party, he's always meeting new people and bringing them along, and his stories are always just a bit over the top."
Again, it was impossible to admit how much sense that made. "What made you think of that wild theory?"
"They actually met the other day. Remember that awful dinner party at your parents’?" Owen asked. "Jasper met him out at the club that night. How's that for insane coincidence?"
"Sick is more like it," I said.
"I know a cure for that," Owen said. He gave me a smacking kiss and got us two more beers. He really was not kidding about wanting to drink and party.
My only consolation was that Anya appeared to be captivated by Jasper. Owen told me they had flirted very heavily the night she stayed over, and it seemed like they were picking up right where they left off.
"Wouldn't that be a good couple? Then they could both go off to wherever his new job is and leave us in peace," Owen said.
"I like the sound of that. But I wouldn't want to break up your clan," I said.
"Quinn, it’s a game," he said. "I know it’s my job, but it’s also just a game. This is real life." He slipped his hand around my waist and squeezed.
"How drunk are you?"
He shook his head. "I can handle it. Sienna never liked me to drink."
I frowned. It was the most effective way to get me off his case, but I was disgusted that he had used it. "Well, you have fun with that, and I'm going to go look up your roommate. Something still doesn't feel right."
Jasper had moved Owen's computer to a kitchen cupboard and I pulled it down and tucked myself into the corner. From there, I was not shocked to pull up scant results for Jasper Collins. He had a few social media accounts, but there was nothing about his work. No profile webpage, no advertising, no freelance hub connections.
I looked up and accidentally caught Jasper's eye. He was watching me with a steady look that belied his carefree, partying facade. The look made a chill run up the back of my neck. It only got worse when I saw Anya shamelessly flirting with Jasper. She rubbed her tightly clad body along his, but her eyes were on Owen.
