Level Me Up (Gamer Boy #1)

by Lauren Helms

  Dex

  We start the night in an awkward haze of tension. Something is up with Simon. While I don’t know Gia, I have a hard time believing Morgan and Ruby would be friends with someone horrible enough to make Simon act like a total tool. Fortunately, he seems to ease out of his funk once we start eating.

  Link and Ruby are definitely entertaining. I can tell Link is interested in her. She’s cute and spunky, and she challenges Link over almost everything he says. He’s used to girls who don’t give him a hard time about anything. That’s actually what he seems to prefer. The guy is like a serial dater.

  Bernie appears to hit it off with all three of the girls, which is good. As the only female member of the team, she is like a sister to us. She pulls her own on the team and is a valued member. She spends so much time with us that she doesn't have a lot of friends of the female variety, and she almost always hates the girls we date. I know we drive her nuts a lot, so the fact that she seems to have already accepted Morgan is a big deal.

  I don’t know what it is about Morgan, but I just want to touch her all the time—not even in a sexual way. I just seem to crave her touch in general. It’s like I want to make sure she is always next to me, which is totally bizarre because I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. This is only our third date; I can’t stop wondering when I will get to see her again.

  Now, we are all sitting around the TV playing Mario Kart. Morgan warned me that she is horrible, and I have to admit she was pretty awful at first, but she seems to be getting the hang of it. Ruby, on the other hand…she was true to her word; she is really good at these old-school games. She kicked Link’s butt when we played Doctor Mario earlier. When Link suggests we play Bomber Man next, she just smiles like the Cheshire cat and agrees that it’s a good idea.

  We’ve been playing for a while when Ben comes by. Ben is a good guy, but he really likes to do his own thing. I didn’t have the instant “dude, let’s be friends” moment with him like I did with Simon, but after getting to know him, we became friends and not just teammates.

  Chuck, on the other hand, isn’t very social, and if there are girls involved, he draws even deeper into his hermit shell. Except with Bernie; it took him close to a year to get used to her. While there are times when I can see he wants to come out and hang, he just doesn’t have it in him. Instead of confidence, the guy is arrogant; it really makes no sense. We were all used to it since he really is a nice guy, and we knew it was all just misplaced. To people who don’t know him, though, he comes across as a douche. I hate to admit it, but I’m thankful that he didn’t accept the invite to hang out tonight.

  At the moment, I’m sitting on the couch, and Morgan is sitting on the floor in front of me leaning against the couch and my legs. I get the feeling that the constant need to touch the other is a two-way street. I feel like I’ve known her forever, and it’s hard to believe that I’ve only known her for a couple of weeks.

  “Dude, I know you’re aiming those shells at me. Every time.” Link grumbles to Simon. Right now, it’s Simon, Link, Ruby, and Bernie racing. We’ve all played several rounds, and the four of them are by far battling it out for the title of champ. My money is on Ruby.

  We actually have a bet going. Morgan and I think Ruby will win, while Gia, Ben, and Bernie think it will be Link. Neither of them knows we are betting on who will win. Now that the final of the four races is coming to an end, it’s clear that Ruby is taking this last race. What is unclear, is who will have the most combined points in the end.

  We are all on the edge of our seats, waiting for the final score to show on the screen.

  “What?! No way!” shouts Link as he tosses the controller on the coffee table.

  At the same time Ruby does this little victory dance and almost sings “Yeah, that’s right. I kicked your ass, gamer boy.”

  “Ok fine. You’re decent at Mario Kart,” he replies.

  “Um, wait a second, are you saying that you’re only decent at this game, too? Because I just outraced you, by like 200 points,” she interrupts.

  “What? No, no I’m better than decent. Let’s race again.”

  Everyone else in the room says “No!” at the same time.

  “She beat you fair and square man,” I say

  “I think it’s time for Bomber Man. I’m really interested in seeing if Ruby can beat Link, yet again tonight,” Bernie adds.

  The rest of the group mutters their agreement and Morgan gets ups and quietly informs me and Gia, who was sitting next to her, that she is taking a bathroom break.

  “You can use my bathroom. I promise it’s cleaner than Link and Simon’s. She smiles, says ok and heads toward my room.

  Shit. My room. She will be in my room alone. I’ve been dying for some alone time with her.

  I notice everyone seems to take a break as well. Gia and Ruby are refilling drinks and chatting with Bernie at the bar. Simon and Link are discussing Bomber Man tactics. Hoping, but not truly caring, that no one notices, I get up, and walk into my room.

  I’ll just wait for Morgan in there.

  I sit down on my bed, and a minute later she opens the door. She doesn’t look startled to see me like she expected me to be there waiting for her, but she smiles and says, “You know, my fortune cookie tonight said that I would be coming into some money. Seems as if betting on Ruby was the right choice.”

  With a laugh, I say, “Usually, those things are filled with meaningless advice, looks like you got lucky tonight.”

  I realize what I said as she cocks her eyebrow and gives me a sly grin and walks over to the bed and sits down next to me. She sits so close that our legs are touching. I clear my throat because sexual innuendo wasn’t really what I was going for, but now all I can think about is getting my hands all over her gorgeous body—which would be entirely unexpected because this is only our third date, and she doesn’t strike me as the type of girl to let the guys she’s dating get lucky on date three.

  But I wouldn’t deny it, I’m really hoping she’s into it.

  “You’re going to have to teach me some video game stuff, like general knowledge stuff, if I’m going to hang around here more. I’ve probably been completely lost at least five times tonight when you and the guys and Bernie start talking shop.”

  “Oh yeah? No problem. I could arrange some tutoring,” I say leaning in. She bites her bottom lip, and now it’s all I can look at.

  “Yeah…that sounds like a great idea,” she says in a whisper. I can’t stand it anymore, so I lean all the way into her and claim her mouth in a kiss.

  Before I know it, our much-desired kiss turns intense. My hands are everywhere on her. Running up her arms, in her hair, cupping her face. Then they move to her thighs, then her legs. With her arms wrapped around me and her hands in my hair, she starts pulling me closer to her, like she can’t get close enough fast enough. She makes this sexy little moan when I pull her onto my lap. This new position seems to light her on fire.

  I fall onto my back, bringing her with me, not breaking the kiss. She adjusts so she is straddling me. I reach around and grip her ass, and she lets out another sexy noise. I know we are getting carried away, but it feels like we’ve been leading up to this moment since she introduced herself back in California. I can’t stop it. I don’t want to stop it. I need her, like this, right now.

  A knock comes from the door. And her body goes rigid, and she breaks the kiss. I know that whoever is at the door won’t open it, so I lift my head off the bed and kiss the soft skin right under her ear. Her body softens slightly. Then I slowly move down her neck as we hear Simon clear his throat, “Yo, getting ready to play Bomber Man. The girls are wondering if they’ll see Morgan again tonight.”

  And just like that, the progress I was making to bring her back into the moment diminishes, and she instantly becomes still again. This time, I stop kissing her and say just loudly enough for him to hear me, “Yeah, be out in a minute.”

  He says nothing in reply.

 
; She looks me in the eyes, and I fully expect to see embarrassment, but instead her eyes are tantalizing with want. She leans down and kisses my nose with a smile. Then climbs off me and says, “Looks like you’re gonna need a minute alright,” as she draws her eyes over the raging erection in my pants and smirks in satisfaction. Which is a new look on her, one that I like way too much. And so does my dick. A lot.

  I groan and push my hands through my hair. Through my forearms, I say “You looking at me like that isn’t going to speed up the process any.”

  She giggles her apology as I sit up. I lean over and give her peck on the check. I’ve wanted to ask her something since the minute she walked in our front door tonight. But my whispered question comes out more like a desperate demand. “Stay the night.”

  She bites her lip, and it takes everything in me not to grab the same lip with my own teeth. She eyes me out of the corner of her eye, and asks “Will you give me my first tutoring lesson?”

  I pull back enough to see her face which wears a sexually suggestive smile, and I say in all seriousness, “Absolutely.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Morgan

  Over the past few weeks, Dex has been having a good time teaching me everything I need to know about video games. He calls them our tutoring sessions. It was actually quite entertaining. He gets all excited and starts talking about something video game related. For example, after we had that epic Mario Kart tournament, he told me all about the history of Mario and Nintendo. Apparently, there were several Mario TV shows back in the 80’s and 90’s. He also told me about all the different gaming systems. Every time, without fail, when he is done with the "lesson" as he calls it, he quizzes me on what I’ve learned.

  In all honestly, I really like learning about video games and such. It isn’t that I want to become a gamer, because I don’t, but I love that Dex is so passionate about it. He is so knowledgeable on the subject, and it is evident that it has been an important part of his life. He gets so animated with excitement as he talks about it. I can’t help but listen to every word he says. Granted, sometimes, I get distracted with how hot he is when he really gets into explaining something.

  While I have been learning more than I ever expected about video games, so are Ruby and Gia. Ruby embraces it better than Gia, however. Dex's excitement about video games is contagious. I find myself telling the girls all about what I learn.

  Right now, Dex and I are back in his room after a night out with the group. It's not terribly late, but he's been really busy this past week getting ready for an upcoming tournament. I perch on the end of his bed and wait while he tosses some dirty clothes from the floor into the hamper.

  "Ok, so I thought we could change things up a bit tonight with our tutoring session," he says with a devilish grin as he sits down in his desk chair and faces me.

  "Really? What do you have in mind?" I ask.

  "Well, I propose a pop quiz but with a twist. I'm thinking, something like strip poker."

  I fight back my laugh before replying, "Ok…what are the rules?" He looks so hopeful as he explains.

  "I'll ask a question. If you get it wrong, you lose an article of clothing. If you get it right, I lose something."

  "Sounds fair."

  "Good. I thought so too," he says with a triumphant smile.

  "But, I just want to point out that you have the ability to ask me all crazy difficult questions, questions you know I won't know the answer to. If you want me to get naked, just ask."

  "Well, I'll remember that, but I'll be fair. Look, I'll even start with an easy one."

  "Fine," I give him a mock pout.

  It has been about two weeks since our friends met each other and I first spent the night with Dex. We didn’t have sex that night, but we did have another hot and heavy make-out session. I like kissing Dex, and making out with Dex is all-consuming and downright addicting. We haven’t had sex yet. We’ve been dating for few weeks now, and while we have spent hours exploring each other’s bodies, I haven’t been ready to take the next step.

  I’ve had sex before, but I’m not very experienced when it comes to sex as I’ve only had two sexual partners in the past; Dylan from college and then an ex-coworker, Sam. He kept asking me out for months before leaving the company, but I didn’t want to date a co-worker. I liked him, but I wasn’t willing to mix work and dating. After he changed jobs, I agreed to go out on a date with him. On date two, regrettably, I slept with him, and the sex was horrible, and I never saw him again after that.

  I think the reason why I haven’t had sex with Dex yet is that I like him too much to rush it. I really like the buildup that’s happening between us. As hot as our make-out sessions are getting, as well as the other things we are doing, it almost feels like I have to be emotionally and mentally ready for the final act. Don’t get me wrong, I want to have sex with Dex, and the want and need have become stronger than I ever thought possible. Dex is a trooper about it, too. That first night, when I told him I wasn’t ready to do it, he said he understood, and I think he truly did. He didn’t push me or give me a hard time. And now, when things get hot and heavy, he backs off and lets me set the pace. He’s never given me grief. Plus, it isn’t like he gets left high and dry.

  Tonight, is really the perfect night to finally go all the way. He has probably been thinking about this strip trivia plan all day, so why not surprise him in the end and tell him I’m ready? It’s about time to level up.

  "Ok, question one: What video game publisher produces CoB?" he asks.

  This is an easy one since it's the company whose party we attended in Cali. "Visionwave," I answer confidently.

  "Nice." He bends over and removes both of his white socks. "Socks count as one."

  I raise an eyebrow at this because we are unevenly matched in what we are wearing. He already has less clothing on than I do to start, since my flip flops are next to the couch in the living room

  "Question two: What does FPS stand for?"

  "Easy. First-Person Shooter." He is still going easy on me.

  He's contemplating his next question when he grabs the hem of his shirt, pulls it over his head and tosses it at me. I momentarily can't look away, as I'm still stunned at the sight of his abs. He does pushups and pull-ups every morning, and well…that works for him.

  He takes advantage of this and fires off the next question. Something about the objective of Hard Point. Crap. I totally missed the full question. I know it's a way to play Call of Battle, but I have no freaking clue, so I say, "Is it like capture the flag?"

  He smiles like a cat that is about to eat a bird. "Nope. That is incorrect," he says, and he points to my shirt and gestures for it to come off.

  I move up onto my knees on his bed, wobble a bit as I start to lose my balance. Great a spaz moment instead of sexy time would be perfect right now. I scoot back a little, so I don't fall off the bed and fall face first on the floor. So much for a sexy strip tease. Slowly, I pull my shirt up over my head and mentally high-five myself for bringing the sexy back. I don't think he even noticed the wobble.

  I still have a spaghetti strap tank on so I can see a flutter of disappointment in his eyes. It's quickly replaced with determination, however.

  "Question four - How many installments of CoB are there, and when was the first one released?"

  Shoot. I know there are a ton of them, and they come out every year.

  "Umm, thirteen and the first one came out in 2003?" I say with uncertainty.

  "I'm impressed, but you’re wrong. There are only twelve games in the main series. Now take something off."

  I crawl off the bed, stand and unbutton my jeans. I slowly shimmy out of them, leaving them in a pile on the floor between us. Then I climb back on his bed and return to my previous position.

  He watches with intense interest, then clears his throat before he says, "Name four different video game genres."

  "First person shooter, fighter, racing, and…" I bite my lip and look up at the ceiling,
pretending to think, "Hmmm…RPG," I say with an innocent smile.

  "Funny," he says as he shucks off his jeans. I can't help but lick my lips as he stands there in only his boxers.

  "You're not cold are you, Dex?" I ask sweetly.

  "Not in the least, babe." He moves to stand right in front of me. "The next question is all or nothing."

  "Ok," I reply, quietly.

  "What is the best gaming system of all time?" he asks.

  I try to keep my face as blank as possible. I know what he wants me to say, that it's the Sega Dreamcast. He's gotten into this debate with Link and Simon before. He says that it was the most advanced system of its time, but due to crappy decisions by management, it didn't pick up the needed market shares.

  He is staring down at me like he is mentally trying to urge the right system out of my mouth, but instead, with the sexiest look I can muster, I raise up on my knees and pull off my tank and toss it at his feet. His pupils dilate, and I reach around to the back of my bra and unclasp it as he slowly moves closer to the bed.

  "Man, Dex, that really is such a hard question," I say, moving my arms in front of my chest, to hold my bra in place. I slowly move one strap down my arm and continue, "I mean, it’s such a subjective question that any answer would be correct, technically."

  I move my hand over to the opposite strap, and he drives a knee to the bed. In a deep, demanding voice he says, "Answer the question, babe."

  I give him one more thoughtful look as I let the bra drop to the bed and say, "GameCube." At that exact moment, he pounces on me as I let out a shrill giggle and fall back onto the bed.

  From above me, he says, "You play dirty, Lawson." Then the whole tutoring session is forgotten as he leans in and nips at my ear and then trails hot, wet kisses down my neck. While he continues down to my shoulder, he palms one of my breasts, and I let out a soft moan. I've never really been into having my breasts fondled during sex, but when Dex does it, it makes me forget everything I thought I did and didn't like. He takes my moan as an invitation and moves his mouth to mine. The kiss is the opposite of sweet; it's almost punishing. I bite his lip as I hook a leg around his waist and pull him into me as he lets out a deep growl. Electricity shoots through my body at the sound.