“See you later. And Lola?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t do anything else stupid.”
“Me? Do stupid stuff? Never?” I grinned with fake innocence. We both knew I had a knack for attracting trouble.
“See you soon, troublemaker,” Rachel smiled, without a doubt, shaking her head like she always did. She found it uncanny how I managed to get myself into the messes I did, but it wasn’t my fault. Usually.
With Rachel stuck at work for another couple of hours, I had the chance to explore all the corners of this rather eclectic bar. Getting a tattoo straight off the bat was probably not the smartest idea but when I got here, it just felt right.
What to do with my time… What to do…
My eye fell on the gaming station and my heart sped up. I did come here for one thing and one thing only.
I strutted to the bar, catching fancy-shirt guy’s eyes. That was one well fitting shirt. I wondered if he did that himself or his mum did it for him. Why was such a clean cut guy working the bar?
“Hello, what can I get you?” he asked, smiling politely. His warm brown eyes flickered lightly as he greeted me.
“Umm… Just a red coloured soda, please. Whatever you have.” I really didn’t go out enough to have a preferred drink. I preferred to stay inside with my trusted keyboard, but after passing the first five levels of the Realms&Rebels tournament, I really couldn’t pass up the opportunity to compete in the final. Even if it meant a trip to the other side of the city.
Fancy-shirt stepped aside, revealing a row of coolers. “We’ve got about every red drink there is,” he smiled, his lips curling up in an amused smile.
“Your coolers are also colour-coded,” I noted dryly, wondering what kind of bar arranged their drinks by colour instead of category.
“What?” He turned around and snorted. “Oh yes, we do. You’re not the only dragon that only likes to drink one colour.”
My cheeks heated up. I hadn’t realised that was a common thing. At least now I could tell Rachel I wasn’t weird for only liking red drinks. “I’ll have the raspberry one.”
“Excellent choice.” The drink hissed as he popped the cap and pushed it towards me. “You’re new here.”
I pulled an eyebrow and tried to contain my glare. “Really? Is that supposed to be a pick-up line?”
Fancy-shirt chuckled as he ran his hand through his brown hair. “No, it’s not. It was just an observation. You’re new.”
“Riiiight… How would you know? Maybe I’ve been squatting in the corner for weeks,” I replied sarcastically.
“I doubt it, that’s Angry Arnold’s spot,” he smiled, clacking his tongue as he gestured to the dishevelled man lurking at the small table.
“Angry Arnold?”
“Yup. And that on the other end is Tango Tim, he’ll snatch you up for a dance if you pass him so beware. Hanging by the jukebox is our youngest customer, Talia. She’s a compulsive liar and a little thief.”
Instinctively, I reached to check my purse but he caught my arm.
“Don’t touch your wallet, she’ll know where it is.”
I stared at his hand curled around my wrist. His palm was soft and surprisingly nice. The spot on my collarbone heated up. Startled, I yanked my hand back. I rubbed the recently-tattooed spot and decided that the stinging came from that. Just that.
This was nothing else, definitely not the mating bond. No, no, no, no, no. If I said no enough, it would be true.
No.
Fancy-shirt guy gave me an intense stare, but I wanted none of that. Pretending like I hadn’t felt anything, I shrugged uncomfortably and pointed at the gaming corner.
“Can I use one of the computers? I’d like to warm up for my game,” I asked, hoping that’d get rid of him.
“Sure, let me show you how it works.”
“No, thanks. I got it,” I cut him off, grabbing my soda and moving over to the quiet corner. I dumped my backpack down and wiggled my ass into the chair. This was my chair now.
The familiar screen booted up and as I reached for my headset, I caught fancy-shirt staring at me. Damn it, I didn’t want any of that. Especially not when Rachel got here. She was always super excited when a guy looked at me but I knew it reminded her of her mateless existence.
I didn’t need a man. No, I was perfectly fine with staying single and taking care of my best friend. We could get houses next to each other and race in wheelchairs when we were old. No man needed, and certainly not this shirt dude.
2
Getting lost in the game was easy. It always was. My character could whoop a whole lot of ass. More than I could myself if I was honest.
“Got you!” I cried at the screen as yet another demon dragon fell before me.
Okay, that was a little bit over dramatic.
I walked over to where the hovering gold chest sat and picked it up, adding a couple of new weapons to my armory and collecting the coins. This wasn’t a hard battle, but it was one I needed to do in order to get past the door and into the special Dragon Soul level.
I did wonder why a bar even had a level of its own in Realms&Rebels but then, anyone with a decent understanding of coding could do it. I’d been tempted myself but I was more of a player than a builder. Plus, where was the challenge in completing a mission if I already knew all the shortcuts.
I exited from the game mode to study the map and leaned forward to grab my soda only to discover my glass was empty.
Damn. I must have gotten carried away drinking while playing again.
“This what you’re after?” Fancy-shirt offered me a glass full of red liquid and I smiled politely.
“Thanks,” I replied, taking it from him.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
“I’m not the sociable type.”
“I meant to game,” he corrected me. “I always have more fun gaming with someone else.”
“You can game?” I tried to suppress my laugh but failed miserably. He didn’t seem the gaming type.
“Yes.”
“Really?” I quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Yes. How do you want me to prove it?”
“Sparring match,” I blurted.
“Fine. Any rules?”
“No projectiles,” I started.
“No electronics,” he countered.
“No eye gouging.” I didn’t really need to specify that one, we weren’t going to fight physically but it was fun to say.
“Best of three?” Fancy-shirt’s eyes twinkled as he looked at me and he took a sip of his own drink.
His own red drink.
Shit. I hoped he wasn’t really a fire dragon. Then the burning on my collarbone...I meant, around my tattoo, could mean more than I wanted to admit.
“Best of three.” My voice shook a little and I tried my best to contain it. I didn’t want to give away how I was feeling right now.
“What handle am I looking for?” he asked, setting his drink down and booting up the computer next to mine.
“Lola24,” I replied instantly.
“I’m guessing that’s your name then, inventive.”
“And what’s yours Mr. Fancy-Shirt?” I bit back.
“Flamemaster,” he admitted sheepishly.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Well, okay then."
"It's not any less original than using your own name." He pouted at me which only made me laugh more.
"Maybe not. But at least I don't have a pretentious name to live up to," I teased.
"It might not be pretentious, Lola."
I shivered as he said my name. Damn, why did he have to have such an amazing voice? It spoke to something deep within me I was trying to ignore.
"Prove it then." I clicked the button to accept his request to spar. Luckily, my character was still loaded up with the weapons from her mission so I was ready.
A bright number three appeared on my screen before counting down. The flicker 'go' followed and it was
time to see if the Flamemaster really was all that.
An hour later and the score was even. More annoying though, was the stupid grin lighting up my face. It was fun to play against him. Almost as fun as when I played at questing with my normal partners in crime, Tate and JJ.
"Martin?" a soft female voice called and the two of us turned to look in the direction of the bar.
Jealousy clawed in my stomach as I took in the beautiful brunette behind the bar. Tall and slim, with a cropped top showing off her toned stomach and long brown hair which made her look like she'd walked straight off a hair commercial.
But worst of all, she looked friendly. The epitome of the girl next door.
I certainly felt like a frump in comparison, but then again, I was wearing the baggiest t-shirt I could find with slouchy jeans to match. The perfect gaming clothes but not exactly attractive looking.
"I need to go," fancy-shirt, no, Martin, said.
"Late for work?" I teased.
"No, Zara has the bar under control. But I have a tournament to open."
Ahh fires of hell. How had I forgotten about that? I glanced at my watch in panic.
"You've got another hour or so, but I have stuff I need to do first," he said reassuringly.
"Thanks for the game," I muttered.
"You're welcome, Lola. I'll see you later."
I watched him retreat all the while thinking I hoped I would. The timer popped back up and a little disappointed to have lost my companion, I exited the sparring room. I completed the entry level for the Dragon Soul Quest so I just needed to check my inventory and make sure I was geared up for all circumstances.
I cycled through my weapons, debating whether I’d take my favourite flame staff or go with the two-handed Blade of Flames. Hmmmm… I preferred blasting my enemies with fire, but if everyone was well equipped against magic, I’d have a hard time getting rid of the competition.
The interface blinked and a little treasure chest popped up in the corner.
Flamemaster sent you a gift. Click here to open.
I glanced at the bar, wondering what he was doing. He grinned at me before diving back into his phone.
Huh… This game didn’t have a mobile version. Then how did he sent me a gift?
Carefully, I clicked the dancing chest and a simple health potion exploded on my screen.
For when you get thirsty - Flamemaster
I hid the grin stretching across my face and quickly clicked accept. Another screen popped up asking if I wanted to send a gift in return and I bit my lip. Did I?
That seemed like a very flirty thing to do… And yet…
Not able to resist, I threw open the map and found my way to the nearest tailor. My avatar teleported with a splash of purple magic and I whizzed myself up. The most basic shirt only cost twenty coins, but I doubled it to get the custom design I wanted.
I threw open the gift section of the game and found Martin’s name. With a note attached, I sent him the new flame shirt I made.
Now you look the part - Lola24
The chest danced away and only two seconds later, the confirmation came through. I heard a low chuckle behind me and without having to look, I knew he liked it. Pleased, I teleported back to the lobby and decided to grab my fire staff for the tournament. This was not the right time to try out new weapons.
A soft clink pulled me out of my concentration and I stared at the beautiful bartender, Zara. Her long wavy hair cascaded down over her shoulders and I hated how perfect she was. She pushed a red drink towards me and smiled.
“Ummm, I didn’t order that...” I stared at her in confusion.
“It’s on the house. You clearly made an impression on Martin,” she chuckled, winking as if we knew each other. With swaying hips, she moved back to the bar and I wanted to dislike her, but she just seemed too nice. Annoyingly nice.
I nipped from the refreshing drink and sighed contently. Still, not a bad spot to be in. I checked the timer and nodded to myself. Another twenty minutes to go before the DS tournament started.
Maybe it was time to check out who of my competition already arrived. I glanced over my screen to inspect the people sitting next to me.
Pink-headphones guy to the left, butterfly-shirt woman to my right. An older man in the far left corner and another three random guys in the row in front of me. That made six, seven including me. So we were just missing one more player. Whoever that was, they were cutting it close. If you weren’t logged in and in the lobby when the timer started, you were automatically disqualified.
I did a last check on my inventory, making sure to grab as many enchantments as my backpack could carry. I was going to win this damn thing. I needed to win it. The prize money would go a long way and the bragging rights were even better.
3
A message flashed up on my screen saying there was five minutes until the first break. Damn, the first two hours had sped by. I was doing decently as far as I could tell, though I wouldn’t know for sure until the leader board flashed up at the start of the break. Apparently, they were keeping us in the dark to add to the tension.
It made sense. There was definitely some of that about. The gaming area of the bar had been silent since the word GO had shown up on our screens.
My character was in a safe place, so I took the opportunity to take a drink. I didn’t know if it was part of the tournament, or if I really had just made a crazy good impression on Martin, but my table hadn’t been without a drink since the game started.
“Eurgh.” I spat the red liquid out and pulled a face. Damn, Rachel must have arrived. Only she would take the time to make a disgusting kale smoothie and colour it red. I’d have to get another one when the break started. She was just lucky the game shut off in those fifteen minutes, or I’d have been using the time to get ahead of my competition.
Getting lost in the game for the last five minutes was easy. The quest for this was crazy long and part of me doubted it was even possible within the five hour limit we’d been given. Not that I planned on failing. I was going to win this damned tournament even if it killed me.
GAME PAUSED.
I leaned back in my chair, my shoulders sagging as the tension within them released. Blood was coursing through my veins. I was going to grab myself a drink, then do a practice level. I was sure some of the other avid gamers here would want to as well. There was a great level I’d just found with the Goblin King boss.
“Here you go,” Zara said, putting down a glass. “Your friend told me what she did.” Her lips quirked into a smile.
“Is Rachel okay?” I felt kind of bad for ignoring my best friend, but she knew what this tournament meant to me and I had told her not to come.
“She’s fine,” Zara assured me. “She’s talking about eating plans with one of our boxers.”
I glanced over my shoulder and sure enough, there was Rachel sat at one of the tables and talking animatedly with a pretty blonde woman. She must have been the boxer then. That answered some of the questions I had about the boxing ring but raised others.
Zara left me to it and I pulled up the entry to the Goblin King level, sending invites to all eight players next to me. To my surprise, five of them accepted instantly. Three versus three would make a good game. Hopefully I’d be able to pick up on some of their individual skills then too. That way, I would be able to adapt my own game style for the next round of the tournament.
After about ten minutes the Game Won sign came up and I smiled to myself, satisfied with my team’s victory. They’d all played well, which wasn’t good news for me.
A loud cough sounded behind me and I swivelled around to fix my eyes on the man now standing behind me. He was medium height, wearing a slightly too tight t-shirt and with the just short of too muscled physique.
“Can I have a word?” he asked in a slightly accented voice while tapping the ID badge stating he was a judge and not a player. Shit.
Without saying anything, I rose from my seat and followed him as
he took me to a small interview room. Once we’d entered, he oddly stopped to tap on the mirror thing. Maybe it was one of those two-way things. But then, who could possibly be behind it?
He motioned for me to take a seat and reluctantly, I complied, feeling a little like I was in one of those police dramas and about to be interviewed. The gym bunny wasn’t going to have much luck with that. I knew nothing about anything.
“I was watching you play,” he started.
“I’m not a cheater.” I crossed my arms and glared at him, insulted he was even suggesting it.
“I’m not saying that. On the contrary,” he defended instantly.
I cocked an eyebrow. “So what do you want?”
He pulled out the chair opposite me and took a seat. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“Lola.” I didn’t even consider lying.
“Do you recognise me?”
Erm…what? Why would I recognise him? He wasn’t anything special. Though there was a current of something in the room, but I was just going to put that down to the tension surrounding being interviewed in the first place. “Ummm…”
“My name is Hector, I’m hosting this tournament with my friends.”
“Good for you.” I tried to infuse my words with as much boredom as possible, but in reality, my feelings were quite the contrary. If he was hosting with his friends, did that mean he knew Martin? And if he did, did that mean he was a fire dragon too? And if he was a fire dragon…Smoke and sparks. I was screwed. “Can I go back and play? I got a tournament to win,” I said, trying my best not to freak out about the direction my thoughts were taking.
“Actually…” He banged his hand down on the table, a little card underneath his fingers. He pulled his hand away and I studied it. I wasn’t completely surprised to realise it was a Realms&Rebels squad card.
“Wait…Hector…Hec? The FlameGod? From the Renegade Rebels, the best team on the East Server?” Well colour me impressed. He was almost a legend in gaming circles. Not that he had anything on me. I could take him.
“The one and only.” He smirked, as if knowing I’d recognise his gaming handle above all else.
Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection Page 25
