AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was weird to have Landon here. Like aone of these things doesn’t belongsong on a kid’s show.
“Landon,” Carly said. “I know all about these schmucks, but you’re a mystery. Is stripping your only job? I know some girls make really good money at it, and I have no idea if it’s the same for guys.”
“Well, I was a bartender until yesterday.”
“What happened yesterday?” Jeremy’s question carried far more than the simple words implied. I knew he’d been dying to ask that very thing since he brought Megan her stuff, and found the three of us in the bar parking lot.
Megan sighed. “We just happened to end up in the bar where he worked, he saw my ruined dress, he thought it was Nigel’s doing… I’m sorry we got you fired.”
“It’s not your fault.” Landon sounded sincere. “Besides, bartending is temporary work. I’m a programmer—or rather, that’s where my education is, and I’m hoping I can find a job in the field.”
“Ooh, Nigel, Jeremy, and Sonya work in software.” Megan sounded instantly excited.
I wasn’t interested in sharing the details of my life with Landon, even the more public ones, so I kept my attention on my food. Mango curry with a lot of heat; Carly was right, this was really good.
Landon made ahmmnoise. “I figured Nigel was a professional Ninja.”
Funny. Ha. Ha. “Quality Assurance Director is my secret identity.”
“So you’re asecretninja.” Landon winked. “I won’t tell.”
I refused to enjoy this conversation. “As opposed to the kind who shoutshey everybody, I’m a ninja, howdy howdy howdy, when they walk in a room. Yes, it’s a secret.”
Laughter rolled around the room, and my smirk threatened to escape. “And now the world knows. Thanks a lot.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness in my voice.
Two minutes in, and I was already not hating having him around. Not cool.
“Not the world, just us,” Sonya said. “And we already knew.” She was usually quiet around new people. What was this?
“How?” I asked. “I hid it so well.”
Jeremy’s sigh was exaggerated. “Okay, we didn’tknow, but sometimes when Sonya writes something into a fanfic, she pretty much nails the reality.”
“Sonya wrote a fanfic… about me?” I pretended to be surprised. She hadn’t, but damn it, this was kind of fun.
“Is that bad?” Landon asked.
Carly shrugged. “Depends on how many men you like at your orgies.”
“Me personally?” With feigned surprise, Landon rested his palm on his chest. “I don’t think I can handle more than four at a time, but other people can have the rest.”
Sonya scoffed. “Only four? Amateur.”
“Can we go back to this fanfic thing? Why were you writing Nigel into your stories?” Megan twisted her head enough to see Sonya.
It always broke down into randomness with this group. I couldn’t do disarray and lack of cohesion in most places, but with friends it made sense. The world wouldn’t seem right without their tangents.
“Okay, I didn’t really.” Sonya sounded resigned. “But saying I did,thatwas a pretty good story.”
Jeremy grinned. “A story about writing a story. So. Meta. I like it. Game idea.”
“Quest idea.” Sonya pointed at him.
Should I pretend to be offended? Sure, why not? “Wait, you didn’t really write about me? I’m not smut-level material?”
“You’re too…” Jeremy sighed heavily.
I already knew where the statement was going, and I wasn’t offended. “Too what?”
