Kei snorts. “I wish I would have been there.”
“It was the worst night of my life. Ofcourseyou wish you were a witness,” Rodney grumbles under his breath.
“Oh,” Rin says, grabbing Kei. “They have those candies I like, come check them out!”
Rin winks at me from behind Rodney’s back before pulling his friend away, leaving the two of us alone. I would find the whole wingman shtick adorable if I wasn’t so nervous. I shift from foot to foot, doing my best to keep my breathing under control.
Rodney clears his throat. “I didn’t realize you lived in this area.”
“Kinda,” I say with a shrug. “I live about an hour away but you know how it goes. Everyone always comes to Nanio for everything.”
“That’s true.” Rodney bites the side of his thumb. “I really did have a great time playing with you the other night. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to try again? Or any game really. I noticed you do variety streams on Thursdays. We could try something different if you want. Or something,” he says, his voice trailing off.
My heart is in my throat and my stomach twists so violently I’m worried I might actually throw up. Is this a streamer asking another streamer to game because they know it’ll make the viewers happy? Is this some sort of business question?
Or is Rodney asking to spend time with me?
Why do I hope that it’s the second thing so desperately? I can’t even remember the last time I felt anything like this. Have Ieverfelt like this before?
“I’d like that,” I say softly.
“Hey,” Bruce says, suddenly stepping up behind me. “There you are! I thought I’d lost you guys.”
I watch as Rodney’s face seems to fall. There’s suddenly a wall between us and I’m so mad at Bruce for interrupting our conversation.
“Where’s Calloway?”
“He should be in here somewhere,” I say quickly. “You’re taller than me. Surely you can see him from over the shelves.”
“Ope. There he is. You ready to go? I heard it’s supposed to start raining soon and I wanna head back before then. We both hate driving in the rain,” he says with a chuckle.
“Let me just check out and then we can go,” I say quickly before turning back towards Rodney who’s looking between Bruce and I.
“I’ll let you go. It was really nice meeting you, Gayle.”
“You too, Rodney. Message me later and we can work out when we can play together again.”
Rodney looks like he’s about to argue but instead, he nods his head. “Yeah, okay. Sounds good.”
He heads over to his friends and I quickly pay for our candy before we’re heading out the door. The entire time, I can’t help but feel like something passed through Rodney and I that I don’t quite understand.
“Who was the cutie?”
I groan, covering my face with all the bags I’m carrying. Calloway bursts out laughing, telling Bruce all about my run in with Rodney.
It’s not until later, while we’re in the car that Bruce brings it up again. “Just so you know, I think it would be okay if you let yourself be open with someone.”
“I know that,” I say right away, crossing my arms over my chest. I look behind me and let out a sigh of relief when I notice Calloway is sleeping. “I’m not holding myself back or anything. I just haven’t, you know, found anyone worth pursuing.”
“For a long time I was worried you’d be too afraid to try again or maybe you thought you weren’t good enough for someone else? Either way, that’s bullshit, Gayle. You’re amazing and you deserve to be happy.”
My broken mating bite throbs with the beats of my heart. I reach over and squeeze Bruce’s hand. “Thanks, Bruce. You too.”
He gives me a small smile before dropping the topic, asking about what’s new in the streaming world. It’s comfortable. All the while, I can’t stop thinking about Rodney.
Chapter Five
Rodney
