My phone buzzed again. Tank, of course.
You're killing me here. Give me SOMETHING.
I sighed and called him. He wouldn’t stop until I answered him.
“Finally!” Everest answered before the first ring finished. “I’ve been dying. What’s happening? Is she still there? Have you talked? Have you kissed her?”
“Woah. Everest. Tank. Seriously, breathe.”
“Don’t tell me to breathe. You’ve been sitting on the biggest crush in gaming history and now she’s literally snowed in at your place. This is rom-com gold.”
“It’s not. We’re not.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’m still shoveling. Later, we’re just hanging out. Gaming. Like we always do.”
“Except in person.”
“Except in person,” I agreed.
“And you’re still going to tell me you’re not going to make a move?”
I looked back at the cabin. Through the window, I could see Maya moving around the kitchen, probably searching for the cocoa powder. “Everest, she crashed her car yesterday. She’s bruised and stranded and dealing with the fact that her onlinefriend is a Yeti. The last thing she needs is me making things complicated.”
“Or,” Everest said slowly, “she’s already dealing with all of that, so adding ‘and also I really like you’ isn’t that much more complicated.”
“You don’t know that.”
“And you won’t know unless you try.”
“I’m not going to risk our friendship because I’d rather have her as a friend than lose her completely.”
“Geoff.” Everest’s voice went serious, which was rare for him. “I’ve known you for pushing twenty years. I’ve never seen you light up the way you do when you talk about her. And she’s the same. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. You two have something real. Don’t let it slip away because you’re scared.”
My hands tightened on the phone. “What if she doesn’t feel the same way?”
“At least you’ll know. And you can move forward.” He paused. "But I really don’t think that’s going to be the problem.”
“You don’t know her like I do.”
“No, but I’ve played with you both for years. I’ve heard the way she laughs at your terrible jokes. I’ve seen her wait for you to log on before starting raids even when we had a full group ready. I’ve listened to her talk about you when you’re not around.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, man. She asks about you. Wants to know if you’re okay, if you’ve mentioned her, if you’re seeing anyone. She’s into you.”
My heart was doing complicated acrobatics. “You’re reading into it. All common questions.”
“It means you should talk to her. Not today maybe, not right this second. But before she leaves. Before you go back to being voices through a headset and waste whatever’s building between you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
“I have to go,” I finally managed. “More snow to shovel.”
“Coward.”
“Probably.”
“Call me later. And Geoff? Don’t screw this up.”
He hung up before I could respond.
