Strong Signal (Cyberlove #1)

by Megan Erickson

  “Stream channel?” mom sounded out the words like they were a different language.

  “People pay a monthly subscription to watch him broadcast himself playing video games on his webcam. He’s made an amazing career out of it.”

  “Like those YouTubers!”

  “Yeah, Mom. Like the YouTubers.” Snickering, Nicole turned to me. “So is that where you’ve been since you got back to the States? With him?” She shoved me. “You liar.”

  “I didn’t lie. You asked if I was with a girl, and I said no.”

  “Okay, liar by omission. So what, you spent the last week or so fucking like beasts?”

  “Nicole!” Mom yelled.

  “What?” Nicole was all innocence.

  My face was hot and my family was ridiculous. “Can we change the subject now, please?”

  “Well,” Mom said. “Do we get to meet him?”

  “Ah….” Should have seen that one coming. “I’ll have to work on that. He’s kind of a recluse.”

  “Makes sense if his job keeps him on the Internet several hours a day.”

  Of course Nicole would get it so easily. For as much as I hated living in Rickston, I loved my family. Even though I knew this confession would have gone down a lot differently had it happened with my father present.

  “Promise you’ll work on it,” mom demanded. “I want to meet this guy. You’ve never liked anyone before.”

  “Romantically, or just in general?” I asked with a smirk.

  “What do you think?”

  We laughed and some of the tension unknotted from my chest.

  * * *

  Kai

  I was mad at Garrett.

  Okay, well not really mad, just kinda mad. Because he was gone, yet he was everywhere. I couldn’t do anything without being reminded of the imprint he’d left on my life in a mere week.

  I couldn’t shower without being reminded of the many times he’d fucked me against the wall, my face pressed against the tile as he slid in and out of me. I couldn’t eat without thinking about the time on the couch when he’d he licked ice cream off my chest. I couldn’t sleep without my bed feeling huge and empty without him in it.

  And my job, my refuge, had been invaded by him because I couldn’t even get on Twitch without my viewers asking where “Garrett with the abs” was. And then MitchMatch asked about his bulge and shit went downhill from there, with Garvy slamming down the ban hammer left and right as Chat went crazy.

  This was my life now, and I blamed my stupid Army boyfriend who I missed like air.

  We’d texted a couple of times since he’d gone back to Rickston, which had been my call. He’d neglected his family to surprise me at my doorstep, which was romantic and all, but his family was…his family. I didn’t want them to resent me because Garrett was spending all his time there talking to me. He said he’d visit with them for a little, and come back to me. I had to have faith in that despite my doubts.

  After nearly a full week, I couldn’t take it anymore. When Garrett asked for the millionth time if we could Skype, I agreed.

  I sat cross-legged on my bed, my laptop in front of me, as the Skype call connected. Once Garrett was there on the screen, smiling, I realized how tense I’d been since he’d left. As soon as I was able to see him, my whole body went slack.

  “Hey, baby,” he said. “How you doing?”

  I stretched out a finger, as if I could touch him. “You got your hair cut.”

  “Yeah, Ma did it. It was driving me crazy. Does it look okay?”

  Garrett could dye his hair bright green or shave it all off and I’d still get hard just looking at him. “Of course, I was just surprised. You look good. Are you eating better?”

  “Yep. And they’re trying to teach me how to cook.”

  “How’s that going?”

  He waffled his hand, which made me laugh. “You keeping busy?”

  Sure, I’d been busy eating ice cream and wallowing. “Yeah, but I want to talk about you. Did you…tell them?”

  The question earned me a rueful grin. “I should have just told them earlier. They were fine with it and not too surprised given my lack of interest in females for the past twenty years. And they’re happy that I have a boyfriend. Nicole wants to meet you.”

  I bit my lip. “Um…”

  There was a voice behind Garrett. He looked to the side, frowning. “Go away!”

  A woman’s voice rang out. “Can’t I just peek at him?”

  “He’s not a fucking sideshow, Nicole!” Garrett’s scowl was firmly in place. “I told you that you can meet him when he’s ready. Go shoot some cans or something.”

  “It’s okay,” I blurted out.

  Garrett did a double take. “What?”

  “That’s your sister?”

  “Yeah.”

  Well, since I wasn’t getting myself to Rickston anytime soon, I could compromise. If his family wanted to meet me, well…I was here. I smoothed my hair out of my eyes, then straightened my shirt.

  “First, do I look okay?”

  “Seriously, Kai?”

  “What? I don’t want her to see me when I look like a slob.”

  Garrett scoffed. “You look perfect as always, but are you sure this is okay? I didn’t mean to bombard you but there’s limited privacy here.”

  I hesitated for only a moment more before sucking in a deep breath. “Yeah.”

  Garrett still looked skeptical but he called Nicole from wherever she had gone.

  “What?” a voice screeched back.

  “Get over here if you want to see Kai.” There was a pause, then the pounding of footsteps. “Christ. Quit running, you’re gonna break—”

  He was shoved out of the frame by a hand tipped with red nails. Nicole really was…a female version of Garrett, but with a gigantic smile. She had long, dark wavy hair, those gorgeous warm brown eyes, and full lips. Her jaw was a little square, like Garrett’s, but it suited her. She blinked at me with eyes heavily rimmed with eyeliner.

  “Oh my gawd!” she cried. “He’s so caaa-ute!”

  There was a brief tussle as Garrett shoved his way back into the camera frame so I could see both of them at once.

  I waved. “Um, hi, I’m Kai.”

  Her hands were fluttering near her face until Garrett forced them down.

  “I’m Nicole, and oh my God, we need to become friends. I have to know how my grim faced bro scored such a hottie.”

  Garrett was starting to look like he thought this had been a very bad idea. “Nicole, ease up, will you? Goddamn, you’re even scaring me.”

  “Look, I’m excited, and I had a lot of Pepsi today.” She turned in a swirl of hair, and shouted over her shoulder. “Ma, come meet Garrett’s boyfriend. He’s fucking adorable!” After a muffled reply sounded, Nicole turned to me again. “Okay, so tell me about yourself. Garrett said you’re this big time gamer.”

  Maybe she knew how nervous I was, or maybe she really did want to know about my job. Either way, that was the best way to put me at ease.

  I launched into describing how Twitch worked (people were always confused by why some people watched for free while other people subscribed for extra perks), how many subscribers I had, along with the games and equipment I got to demo. It could have been boring as fuck, I wasn’t sure, but Nicole listened the entire time with rapt attention, and Garrett smiled his quiet smile while looking at me proudly.

  “Wow,” Nicole said when I finished talking. “So you’re basically famous.”

  “I don’t think I’m famous to anyone but my subscribers.”

  Another face appeared on camera, and I met the gaze of the Reid matriarch. She was an attractive older woman, with dark hair streaked with silver and hazel eyes. Her one arm was tattooed with large colorful flowers.

  “Hello, Kai.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Reid. Nice to meet you.”

  Her smile was kind despite the aura of take-no-shit badass emanating through the screen. “Thank you for making my son ha
ppy. I’ve never seen him scowl less than seventy-five percent of his waking hours.”

  My heart thumped loudly in my chest, and I actually wished for a minute that I was there with them, that I could hug her for saying something so sweet. “You’re welcome.”

  “And I told my son, I don’t care if you’re man, or woman, or whatever else.”

  “For God’s sake, Mom. Whatever else?” Garrett dropped his head into his hands. “Please don’t try to ally so hard. You sound ignorant as fuck.”

  She swatted the back of his head. “You watch your mouth in this house. I’m not good at this PC shit, and you know it. I’ll do better.”

  Nicole snickered as Garrett shot their mom another warning glare. She exchanged a grin with me.

  Was this what family was like? Camaraderie and support and love? Sure, they weren’t perfect, but after growing up and living in a town like Rickston—where gays were likely run out of town if they came out—I was shocked they were willing to try. I was so glad Garrett had these women, and their love, in his life. He deserved it.

  “Okay,” Garrett said with authority. “Both of you, get gone.”

  “How about you get gone, and I spend more time with Kai?” Nicole suggested.

  “Dude. Seriously. I haven’t seen him in a week. Get lost.”

  Mrs. Reid looked to the ceiling. “You two still fight like you did when you were kids.”

  Nicole stood, then leaned down again to wave at me. “It was nice to meet you, Kai. I look forward to seeing you in person.”

  “You too, Nicole,” I said.

  She shot me another smile, then flicked Garrett’s ear before walking out of frame.

  Mrs. Reid patted Garrett’s shoulder. “I’ll send some food home with Garrett. You look like you could eat more.”

  Right, my diet was ice cream, coffee, and whatever else I could scrounge up. “Thanks, Mrs. Reid.”

  “See you soon, Kai,” she said.

  I waved, and then it was just Garrett and I again.

  “Sorry, they’re overly excited and a little nuts. And…really fucking ignorant about a lot of LGBTQ stuff. God, it’s embarrassing. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine. I get it. They’re…new at this. But I love them,” I said, because no way should he think he had to apologize for a family that actually cared about his life. “We can help them, uh, not be totally offensive and uneducated.”

  “Seriously?” My Garrett. So skeptical. “You like them?”

  “Yeah, they love you, clearly.”

  “Yeah. They do.” Garrett started to say something, glanced down, and then flashed a quick reassuring smile. “I have a couple of things to finish up here and at the base, but I’m coming back soon. I promise.”

  God, how badly had I needed to hear that? But instead of jumping up and down on my bed, like I wanted to do, I played it cool. “Okay.”

  “Come on, Kai. All I get is an okay?”

  “I’m trying to be normal! To be honest, I’m freaking out because it sucks here without you.”

  Garrett grinned, the big sexy one that made me want to climb him. “Sucks being without you too no matter where it is. Give me some more time, and we’ll make up for it as soon as I get back to Philly, okay?”

  “Good.” I tapped my finger on my chin. “I have ideas.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yeah. Ideas. On how to spend our time. Which will consist of no clothes and maybe some props.”

  “Dude, stop, I’m sitting in my mother’s kitchen.”

  I blew him a kiss. “Have a great day.”

  “Yeah, it will be really fucking peachy with that thought in my head.” Garrett pushed away from the table. “I miss you. We’ll be together again soon.”

  This time when he disconnected, I didn’t have any doubts.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Garrett

  Staying in our protected bubble wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d hoped. I’d always known that, but it became even more apparent after I returned home to Rickston for the third time in as many weeks, and began to seriously consider my available job prospects.

  I could score work as a mechanic anywhere, but my specific skillset wasn’t valuable in some mom-and-pop auto shop. I knew absolutely nothing about doing engine repairs on an import car, but I could work the fuck out of a tank or tractor.

  “This can’t be all there is.” I shoved my laptop to the middle of the kitchen table, staring at the offending tab. “There are dozens of plants in Pennsylvania.”

  “Yes, but none of them are hiring for what you want except the one you interviewed at a few weeks ago. Which, I’ll remind you, they wanted an answer before the month is out.”

  “I know,” I said. “But their only management openings are in Ohio and fucking Illinois.”

  My mother sat back in her own chair. Silence stretched between us, and I knew she was waiting for me to explain why I was so horrified at the prospect of having to move out of the area. I’d been talking about moving away from Rickston, and Pennsylvania in general, for years. But now that decision spelled doom for a key aspect of my new life as a veteran—the one that included Kai.

  “It’s okay.” The tap-tap-tap of my fingers against the table was the only sound in the kitchen. “I have enough in my bank account to let me coast for a few months. I could just stay here until something turns up.”

  Mom’s placid expression morphed into one of the deeply skeptical and unimpressed. She dropped her forearms on the table, shoulders hunching forward, and gave me the most challenging look I’d received outside sparring with a two-hundred-and-sixty-pound grunt from St. Louis. He’d been trying to prove his salt against me after a long bout of shit talking regarding my worth as an Army mechanic versus my pay grade, and I’d been annoyed enough to want to knock his head off his shoulders. It’d been Costigan to break it up when sparring had turned into something a lot more serious.

  Shit, I should probably get in touch with Costigan.

  “Garrett.” One of her eyebrows rose in a high arc. “You’re thinking with the wrong head, baby.”

  My spine went straight. “Look—”

  “No, you look.” She thumped her thumb against the laptop and nearly sent it flying over the side of the table. “I get you just got back, and there’s no rush this month for you to find a job, but you’re talking foolish right now.”

  “What’s so foolish about it? I can coast for a while and still have money to give you for half the bills. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  Impatience seeped into her face and tightened the sides of her mouth. “You’ve been working since you were fifteen, and now all of a sudden you’re thinking about not taking a job?”

  “Well—”

  “Before you got back you’d been talking, all excited, about your future. You said a couple of the boys you served with said the pay at Caterpillar was great, and—”

  “Ma, you don’t understand.” I went back to gripping my head. There was pounding sensation at my temples that wouldn’t go away no matter how much I massaged. “There are other companies out there.”

  “And none of them have positions in your field in this area. Or if they do, they’re positions that might find you laid off in a few months because they’re on the assembly line. You can make a lot of yourself if you take the position they offered you. A supervisory position, Garrett.”

  “Yeah,” I said sharply. “That position is the only one right now. But in a few months—”

  “Oh, come on, Garrett.” She grasped the crumpled golden pack of cigarettes sitting at the edge of the table. It was weird to see her smoking again after so many years, and I half-wondered if she’d only quit because of my father’s fascist household rules. It wasn’t exactly a habit I’d encourage her to continue with, but far be it from me to tell her what to do. “So you’re telling me that your game plan is to blow your savings in the hopes that a few months down the road a new position will open up? After the way you grew up, going hand to mou
th all the time, you’re going to screw up a plan you’ve had for years just so you can keep playing house with a boy you just met?”

  I’d seen this coming as soon as she’d told me to sit down and talk. After avoiding the topic, and barely coming home, for weeks, it’d been inevitable. Both she and Nicole had slowly gone from cheerleading my first real relationship to wondering what the hell I planned on doing with myself now that I was back.

  It was typical. We’d grown up scrabbling to have enough to eat on the table as my father drank himself out of job after job, and my mom had clung with both hands to her underpaid receptionist position just because it gave her benefits for the entire family. Now that we were adults and my father was gone, she’d been able to move on.

  For them, being in love was great but putting a job on hold wasn’t an option. And I got it. But it still didn’t ease the lance driving down my back at the very hint of her saying something negative about Kai.

  “Ma, don’t go there.”

  “Hey,” she barked. “I like that fucking kid. He’s adorable with his Skype sessions, and I’ve even put in time to watch his stream thing.”

  Some of my anger cooled. “Seriously?”

  “Uh huh.” She blew smoke at me. “I donated ten bucks and everything.”

  “Oh geez.” I bet she’d even left a donation message that would have displayed to the entire Twitch channel. Asking was tempting but I didn’t really want to know. “Whatever. I’m glad you like him and I appreciate you accepting this whole gay thing—” the comment earned me a sad headshake at my previous fear of her being a bigot. “—But when you say we’re ’playing house’ it makes it sound like you think it’s a game, and I couldn’t be more fucking serious. I want to be with him, Ma. I want us to be together.”

  “As in get gay married?”

  I stood up and searched the kitchen for an ashtray. “Can you not say gay married? It’s just married. And I don’t know, but I want to be with him for as long as he will accept a cranky-ass, stone-faced soldier in his life.”

  “He’d be lucky to have some asshole vet in his life,” she said, standing. “And I think he knows that. The kid talks about you like you hung the moon.”