Page 88 of Level Up for Love

“And he lives in New Haven now?”

“Yes.”

“And he’s also making a demo for NEWT?”

“Yes.”

“And he’s your…Dungeon Master?” She makes it sound kinky as hell.

“Yes, but Jesus, Nali, it’s not like—”

“Sorry, babe, you know I never really understood your D&D shit.”

Suffice to say, we’ve caught up on everything.

Well. Not everything.

“God, I can’t imagine how terrible it’s been for you,” she says with a laugh. “What fresh hell, right?”

I pause carefully. “It hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be.” I turn my head away from my phone’s camera for a moment, glancing toward my empty passenger seat. Only half an hour ago, after we visited the gym, Wesley was sitting there with his hand down my leggings before I’d shooed him off to go prep for tonight’s session and give me time to catch up with Nali. “It’s been kind of fun, honestly.”

The stunned silence has me whipping my head back to look at my phone. Nali’s got her face pressed up close to her camera again, and all I can see is the intense arch of her thick brows and her brown eyes blown wide.

“Reagan Riley,” she says. “Are you sleeping together?”

My face gets so hot I almost reach to turn off the car’s heat. “Why would you say that?”

“Look at your fucking face!” she shrieks. “I know you.” She gasps, then dissolves into giggles. “I thought you hated him!”

Soon enough, my shoulders are shaking with laughter, and I’m wiping tears out of my eyes. “I did! I really did, but—god, Nali, maybe I didn’t know him that well at all.”

“Maybe that boy has grown up,” she muses. “We keep in touch, you know. Barely, and mostly just for work stuff, but—he’s been nice enough to me. Just be careful, all right? This is messy, honey, even for you.” She says this while sounding utterly delighted.

I glance to my dashboard; if I don’t leave soon, I’ll be late to the game. I wince. “I really didn’t think all my drama would take up this much time,” I say. “We haven’t even talked about your job. Is it any better?”

“Oh! Honestly, I might quit soon.”

“What? But you just found this one. Why—”

“Hold on.”

Her eyes go unfocused for a second, like she’s checking some notification on her phone. Her face creases. “Ah, shit. I’ve got to take this. Can we chat again soon? I have so much to tell you, and I’ve got to hear more about your…situation.”

I laugh. “Of course.”

She pauses for a moment, her expression sobering. “But tell me the truth—are you really serious about this NEWT stuff, Reagan?”

This question has haunted me all week, especially after Sunday’s game night. It’s kept me up late as I key in more code to the game, wondering where this road will lead me and whether it’s worth it. But despite not knowing the why yet—

“Yeah,” I say. “I am.”

Her eyes sparkle. “Well. Watch your email, and we’ll talk more soon, okay?”

“Email? What for?”

But she’s already waving and blowing kisses at the screen. “You’ll see! Gotta run!”

I shake my head, amused. “Miss you.”

“Yeah, yeah, miss you, too. Now go kiss your Dungeon Master, or seduce the villain, or whatever the fuck it is you do.”

She hangs up before I can tell her how close she came to hitting the mark.