Game Maker (Game #2)

by BJ Harvey

  “Still . . .”

  “No, it’s not. Once in five years when no pants came off does not mean I hook up with fire bunnies. Now give me my damn phone,” I say tersely.

  He scrolls through the messages. “Girlfriend then?”

  “Yep. One you’ll never get the pleasure of meeting, if you don’t hand me my cell.”

  “She hot?”

  “Scorching,” I reply without hesitation, knowing I’ll court shit.

  “She got any friends?”

  Losing patience, I jump up and snatch the device back off him and sit down again.

  “Spoilsport,” Scotty grumbles.

  I bring up the text string again and breathe a sigh of relief when I see he didn’t get a chance to send Danika a message on my behalf. Mainly because then I’d have to kill him, and the chief would probably frown on squad-icide.

  Zach: I’m good but would be better if I could see you.

  Dani: How long until your next day off?

  Zach: Too many to talk about. How’s the geek speak?

  Dani: Well, we’re trying to nail down the achievement trophies in the final level and also incorporate some Easter eggs for the fans

  Zach: Do I get early access for dating one of the developers?

  Dani: Early access to what?

  I grin at my phone and shake my head.

  Zach: You’re putting thoughts into my head, Little Grasshopper.

  Dani: You mean they weren’t already there?

  Zach: I’m trying hard to be a gentleman here.

  Dani: And it’s cute, but can’t you be a gentleman in public, a dirty old man in private?

  My eyes widen and I grunt in amusement. She’s lucky she’s not with me right now because I’d show her the definition of dirty and give her a lesson in respecting her elders by screaming my name a few times while I relentlessly made her come.

  Zach: That’s enough of the dirty old man talk. I know things that’ll blow your mind.

  Dani: Looking forward to giving you the chance to prove that.

  Damn but I’m liking this new side of Dani. She’s no longer nervous around me. The more we talk and get to know each other in this new status quo, the more it’s dawning on me just how much she keeps to herself. She’s never been a wallflower, but whenever I’d seen her at get-togethers with Zander and her sisters, she’d struck me as an introvert. Thinking back on it now, I’m starting to wonder if it’s more that she feels a little overshadowed by her family. Fuck knows why she could ever think that though—she has one of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever known.

  “Are you sexting on the job?” my friend Marco asks. “Scotty just came into the locker room and said you had a live one.”

  “I swear that guy is worse than a woman.”

  “You didn’t say you were dating someone new.”

  I look up at him and toss up whether to tell him what’s going on or not.

  Marco and I met when we were training and kept in touch, coincidentally ending up at the same firehouse. We’re close but—in this situation, thankfully—he has a different circle of friends than Zander and the gang. That’s not to say he doesn’t know him though.

  “I’m dating Zander’s sister.”

  Marco’s brow furrows. He looks to the ceiling and I swear I can almost see his brain ticking over. “Which one? Aren’t they married?”

  “Two of them are. The youngest is single. Well, was single.”

  Now his eyes go wide. “You’re banging his baby sister?”

  “Not banging. Dating.”

  “That’s semantics, Coops,” he states, matter-of-factly.

  “It is, but she’s not a woman you bang.”

  “I’d fucking hope not. Zander must be a lot more easygoing than I am because if it was me, there’s no way you’d be able to piss standing up, let alone ever use your cock again in the way God intended.”

  I wince at the inference, doing a quick look around to see whether any of the guys sitting on the other side of the room with the TV on are listening. I lean forward toward him. “That’s because he doesn’t know.”

  Marco’s eyes go wide and he blows out a slow stream of air, shaking his head at me. “I’m kind of disappointed, Coops. I’m the eldest of five, two of them girls, and there is no way I’d leave my best friend breathing if he touched any of them.”

  “I didn’t mean for it to happen. In fact, I tried to stay strong but it just kinda happened.”

  His head drops down to the table, appearing to study it—or pray for deliverance—but then it snaps back up. “Hang on. Zander’s your age, right?”

  I hold my breath, wondering where the hell he’s going with this. “Yeah, he’s thirty.”

  “And this is the youngest sister?”

  Fuck. “Yep. She’s twenty-one.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ, Coops. That’s cradle snatching. You’re taking your life in your hands. It’s an unspoken rule. You don’t go there. It doesn’t matter if you’re the last two people left on Earth after the zombie apocalypse has finally happened.”

  I quirk a brow at him. “Dude . . .”

  He puts his hands up in the air. “It’s going to happen. Why do you think I watch The Walking Dead? I’m looking for tips to use when I have to save all your asses,” he says and scarily enough, he’s dead fucking serious.

  “You’d probably get along well with Dani.”

  “She’s waiting for the return of the undead, too?”

  “No, but she’s probably designed a game with zombies and knowing her, she’d talk your ear off about it.”

  “She’s a gamer?”

  “Works for the biggest game development company in Chicago.”

  His eyes go wide, a slow smile curving his lips. “So she’s perfect then?”

  “Pretty fucking close.”

  “Worth it?” he asks, stretching back against the chair.

  “Never had a doubt she would be, otherwise I wouldn’t be tying myself up in knots about what we’re doing.”

  “Then proceed with caution but above all else . . .” he says, waiting until I meet his eyes before finishing, “you’re going to have a lot of shit to wade through before getting to the easy part.”

  My head jerks back. “The easy part?”

  “The happy ever after.”

  The week has been manic. We’re getting close to our development deadline for a new online multiplayer war game that the powers that be want to launch soon so it’s been all hands on deck, sleep be damned. By the time I’ve crawled through my door every night, I’ve been a dead girl walking.

  The light at the end of the tunnel has been hearing from Zach every day.

  It’s funny; I’ve gone from not seeing him very often but hearing about him through all of our friends, to talking to him more than anyone else close to me yet still not seeing him.

  Friday morning, with a rare night off from both the club and the hotel, Abi calls an impromptu girls’ night in while I’m eating breakfast.

  Eight o’clock and I’m planted in the corner of the couch in our living room with a glass of wine in my hand, surrounded by Zoe, Mia, Kate, Mac, Sam, Nat, and Abi.

  “I’m telling you, Noah and Matt are ganging up on us,” Zoe complains. She’s sitting in our one-seater recliner cradling a giant glass of chocolate milk, her latest craving.

  “What did they do now?” Mac asks, placating her.

  “Apparently, Mia and I are having a joint baby shower, and it has to be in a month’s time when the Bears are playing the Broncos. That way, the guys can commune inside and leave the ‘women’ to do their thing.”

  “That’s actually pretty smart,” Abi replies. “They won’t miss the game but they’ll still be there.”

  “Mrs. Taylor is going to have a shit fit,” Mia says. “She’s lovely,” she continues, looking at Zoe, “she really is. But if I get another email recommending the latest lotus birthing retreat, I’m gonna go postal.”

  Kate bursts out laughing and points a
t Mac, who’s sitting across from her. “Remember when your mom sent you the link to the orgasmic birth video when you were ready to have Mason?”

  “Say what now?” Sam blurts out. “There is no way you can have an orgasm while having a baby.”

  “I’m totally sending you that link,” Mac announces. “It is both strange and weirdly intriguing at the same time. This woman totally sings the high notes just as the baby’s head crowns.”

  “That’s just creepy.”

  “Fucking crazy is what that is,” Nat mutters. “No way, no fucking how, will I be doing that when I give birth—”

  All heads swing towards her. “You’re going to have a kid?” Mia shrieks.

  “Well not now, obviously,” she says, tipping her head toward her wineglass, “but eventually I guess I’ll spawn a baby Jase.”

  “That’s disturbing on way too many levels,” Mia says under her breath, but I don’t miss it and can’t help but giggle.

  “Who’s Jase?” Abi asks, leaning forward and scooping a corn chip into the bowl of salsa.

  “My future baby daddy,” Nat explains.

  “Matt’s best friend,” Mia adds.

  “Right. Do you guys ever ponder how fucking incestuous this little group of yours is?” she asks the room at large.

  Mac, Kate, Mia, Zoe, Sam, and Nat all look at each other and burst out laughing.

  Abi leans toward me, whispering, “What did I miss?”

  “You have no idea how they all came to be friends, do you?”

  “Not a fucking clue. I just know they’re cool.”

  “One day when we’ve got a whiteboard and a whole lot of time, I’ll draw you a sex tree.”

  “A what?” she says, spitting out her drink in the process.

  “I told you we’d need a lot of time.”

  “They’ve all slept together?”

  “Technically, if sleeping with a guy who’s also slept with your friend is classed as degrees of sex separation, then yes.”

  “Who?” she whispers.

  “Another time, Abi.”

  “Damn, you ladies really know how to live,” she says loudly, holding up her glass for a toast.

  I just grin and shake my head, and not for the first time that day, wonder how Zach’s night is going. He’s at Mac and Daniel’s place with Noah and Zander, playing poker, something they all do once a month.

  “What about you, Dani? Zander told me he gave you some brotherly advice the other night,” Kate asks me, drawing the attention of the group to me.

  “Oh, this should be good. Which Zander speech was it? The ‘you need to settle down’ one?” Mia asks.

  “She’s too young for that one yet. I think I was the only one to get it,” Zoe adds. “Was it the ‘you need to get a life’ one?”

  “Nope. It was the ‘you need to work less, date more’ one.”

  Everyone’s eyes widen, and there’s a wave of shocked gasps. “He didn’t?” Mac says on a loud whisper.

  “He’s just worried about you, that’s all. His heart is in the right place.” Kate tries to defend my brother in his absence.

  “Oh I get that,” Mia says, looking from Kate back to me. “You do work a lot, Dan.”

  “I love what I do.”

  “But working yourself into the ground isn’t worth it.”

  “I’m trying to open the Little Grasshopper’s eyes,” Abi interjects, and I stop breathing all together, shooting daggers at her. She doesn’t care though; she just smirks at me and raises her eyebrows in a silent challenge of what are you gonna do about it?

  “Little Grasshopper?” Mac asks curiously.

  “It’s just a stupid nickname Abi has for me. Ignore her; I try to,” I say, sticking my tongue out at my roommate when she gasps and holds her hand to her heart as if she’s wounded.

  I make a mental note to kill said roommate later on, when everyone has gone and there are no witnesses around.

  “So are you, Dani?” Sam asks.

  “What?”

  “Are you seeing someone we don’t know about?” Zoe asks. I’m at risk of getting whiplash if this questioning continues.

  My cheeks flame, and I know that I’m cornered with no chance at escape, especially if the seven pairs of eyes boring into me are anything to go by.

  I put one hand up in an ‘I surrender’ gesture and decide a half-truth is better than an out-and-out lie. “There is someone.”

  If it wasn’t such a huge deal, I would almost find it comical when every single woman in the room leans in my direction, waiting for all the dirty details. Unlucky for them that there are no such dirty details, because Zach and I haven’t even had the opportunity to test out that particular area of our budding relationship.

  It’s not because we’re not willing. He’s a guy, a real man’s man, who would in no way shy away from anything sex-related. It’s simply that we just have not had the time to do anything—or each other.

  “Who is he?” Zoe asks, and I do a sneaky side glance to Abi whose eyes bug out of her head.

  “It’s new,” I hedge. “We’ve only been out a few times. We’re still getting to know each other.”

  “But he’s nice?” It’s Kate’s biggest concern—bless her heart.

  “And hot?” Mia’s question.

  “And is he packing potential down below?” That was Nat, of course. I swear Nat and Abi are soul sisters from other misters.

  “He’s nice, hot, and I think there’s potential everywhere,” I answer to the room at large, breathing a quiet sigh of relief when they seem placated by my reply.

  “How’d you meet him?” Zoe asks, and my chest tightens.

  “Through a friend,” Abi says, saving me from impending doom.

  “Who?” Zoe presses.

  “No one you know.”

  “But someone Abi knows?” she continues.

  “Yeah,” I answer quickly, hoping they’ll stop this interrogation. I catch Mac’s expression, noting that she’s been uncharacteristically quiet during this particular discussion.

  Her face is assessing, her brow furrowed, and I swear she’s looking right inside me like an X-ray to my soul. “So Zo, how’s the morning sickness?” she asks my sister, and I breathe a huge sigh of relief when everyone’s attention switches to another Roberts girl.

  Once everyone leaves, Abi announces she’s heading out to Throb and asks me along but with exhaustion setting in, I tell her to go without me.

  After a nice, hot bath, I hop into bed and type out a text to Zach.

  Dani: How was your night?

  Zach: Poker with the guys is always fun.

  Dani: Did you win? Or do I need to feed you until pay day?

  Zach: Daniel and I had a good night. Left with two hundred more than I came with so I’m happy.

  Dani: Never thought I’d hear the day you said you were happy spending the night taking money off men.

  The dots come up that show he’s typing, but no message comes through. He seems to stop then start again before finally, he sends it through.

  Zach: I don’t know how I should answer that . . .

  Dani: You’re funny. Abi and I had all the girls over. Mac, Kate, Sam, Zo, Meems, and Nat.

  Zach: I know. We wondered what random topics you might be mulling over.

  Dani: As always, it was entertaining. You really don’t wanna know what we talked about.

  Zach: I think I do want to know now . . .

  Dani: Baby showers, having an orgasm while giving birth, and Zander wanting me to get a life.

  Zach: Sweetheart, that combination sounds rather fucked up. How did the discussion about getting a life go?

  God, I love it when he calls me sweetheart, but I know what Zach is really asking. He’s gauging where I’m at with the whole ‘keeping this a secret’ issue. Unfortunately for the both of us, I’m still stuck firmly in the blackout zone.

  Dani: I did need to get a life. Fortunately, Zander doesn’t know that I have a hot firefighter I’m dating.
r />   Zach: I hope the fireman is treating you well and keeping you happy.

  Dani: He’s a busy man but he makes me smile at least once a day, which tides me over. I think I’d be happy if I saw him face to face again.

  I’m not ashamed for making the most unsubtle invitation on earth to him. I’d love him to come over right now and have his wicked way with me but I’d be mortified if I did ask him over and he turned me down. I’d have to change my name, have a total body transplant, and move to Mozambique or somewhere else far far away, just to ensure I was never seen again.

  Zach: How does tomorrow morning sound?

  Now I really am smiling. He may not have got my hint about tonight, but in less than ten hours, I will be seeing him. Beggars can’t be choosers.

  Dani: Tomorrow morning sounds great. Where should I meet you?

  Zach: I’ll come to you.

  Dani: Really looking forward to waking up now.

  Zach: You wouldn’t be going to sleep if I was there with you. Sleep well. See you in the morning.

  I put my phone on charge and drop it on my nightstand, then roll back over, cuddling my pillow into my chest and falling asleep with a smile on my face because after almost two weeks of not seeing Zach Cooper, tomorrow he’ll be close enough to kiss again.

  I’m in that weird place between being awake and being asleep when I hear a knock at my door.

  I turn my bedside lamp on so I can see what I’m doing. Not completely with it, I throw a robe on—since answering the door with just a pair of panties and a smile is generally frowned upon—and stumble out of my room, down the hall, and to the entranceway. Looking through the peephole, I gasp when I see Zach’s face staring back at me.

  I swing the door open. “Hey,” I say. Instead of responding, he pushes his hand to my stomach and gently moves me out of the way stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. His arm runs up my back as he brings his body hard against mine, and I can feel every delicious hard plane of his body. I grip his biceps and lift my head to meet his blazing blue eyes.