The ride from Mark’s flat to The Orion feels too short. I’m still throbbing from our quickie when we arrive.
We’re just in time for this year’s main event.
Starting on the red carpet, we show off our costumes with the other guests. The whole of Infinio Games have been invited, alongside the board members, new investors, potential investors, even competitors. And one hundred lucky subscribers won the chance to play with the Infinio team at this big augmented reality gaming night.
It’s the biggest happening in London this year. Aiden has turned down huge celebrities to allow the Infinio team to join; Mark didn’t want to exclude anyone. Instead, Aiden auctioned tickets for upcoming events and has been raking it in. Together, these two are unstoppable.
I’m elated because we’re going to spend an evening dressed as characters I’ve invented. We’re elves,myelves, in custom-designed outfits that match my art and the game. Mark’s eyes tell me he loves what he sees when his gaze drags over me, and there’s a tick in his jaw that reveals how badly he wants to take me somewhere private again. He’s insatiable, and I love it.
It’s been a year since we got together, since the billboard.
And I’ve never been happier.
The red carpet is busy, the paparazzi are here, and probably whoever is behindWhat Happens in Mayfair,who haven’t changed their tune at all. They’ve grown, if anything, and are working their way through the billionaires of London.
Well, they can stuff it for all I care. Mark and I don’t give a shit anymore. We have no secrets. Nothing to hide. Not from each other or from the world. I know his friends don’t feel thesame as they’ve felt the heat this year, but Mark and I are over it.
Finally, in front of the entrance of The Orion, I can soak up the grandeur of the design team’s work. They’ve truly outdone themselves. The entire outside is a likeness of the world Horace and I created for the game.
It’s stunning.
There are wildflowers on the bottom, climbing ivy growing up the side and the rest has been made to look like a ruin, with wildflowers growing from the cracks and the windows.
It’sWorld Builder.
I can’t wait for everyone, including the press that’s invited inside, to finally see my art. The walls of the entire first floor are covered in the story I’ve come up with, and inspired by Horace’s changes to the game version.
The elves draw magic from nature, but they live in synergy as long as they use the magic for good. Kindness breeds kindness, and that’s how they rebuild their world. The game is wildly popular for encouraging players to use their artistic skills alongside defeating evil on their way through harsh landscapes.
Mark’s AR addition to it has taken it through the roof.
Suffice to say, it’s been a success. And the crowd gathered outside the club reflects that.
“Oh wait,” Mark says, and stops me on the red carpet.
“What is it?”
Cameras flash in the twilight, but I pay them no further attention, because I turn around and there’s Mark on one knee.
I gasp.
My heart beats so hard, my eyes focus in on the love of my life on one knee in front of me, and the rest of the world falls away.
Mark lifts a hand, showing a purple velvet box.
So he’s seriously doing this?
While half-naked in an elf costume?
This is him proving himself all over again, but he doesn’t have to. This is not our first night out together. Although I can always feel his eyes on me in that way (the way that says, ‘that’s my girlfriend you’re looking at’), I also know he does it with love. Not lurking as a possessive arsehole, but showing me that he supports me.
I have no concerns. He’s everything to me.
Mark’s beautiful lips move, and I don’t have to hear what he says. It’s clear.
“Marry me.”
Classic Mark. Less is more.
