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I wanted to argue. Pride said to tell him no. But pride was part of the reason I let this go for so long. An internal battle started over whether or not to let Maddox do this, and he and Adam moved on before I could voice any concerns.
Relief trickled into my thoughts on top of it all. Maybe this would be okay. Maybe my store would be okay.
Maddox and Adam were two minds who could create a single stream of consciousness when left to their own devices, and over the next few hours they did exactly that, focusing on elements of my store that I never considered interesting before today.
Seeing my world through their eyes was a unique experience.
They talked about the robots I made, too. They didn’t have the details of my agreement with Sawyer, but they knew in general about my tinkering. They could see I was working on a new combat robot.
A few hours into the stream, Sawyer snuck in, but he hung back from everyone else. Still, having him here made me smile.
We talked about gaming. I answered silly personal and trivia questions as rewards for certain pledge goals. When things started to lull, Adam or Maddox would toss out a flash goal, and someone would do something silly or dumb or fun when we met it, like karaoke performances—chat’s choice.
When Adam walked away for a break, Gage pulled him aside, but I was talking to Maddox about who would win in a cartoon robot death match between Optimus Prime and Leader One.
“They wouldn’t fight each other.” My reply was a stalling tactic. Was I more flustered that I’d never thought about it before or that Maddox had?
Maddox leaned in on the table, closer to the camera. “But what if they did. What if… the Zentradi leader tricked them into thinking each was the other’s enemy?”
“Wait. There are Zentradi now?” What were the rules of this game? “In that case, Leader One wins because he can be fueled by protoculture.”
Maddox’s eyes grew wide. “How do you know that?”
Seriously? I made it up like the rest of this. “How do you not?”
“I think Evie wins.” Adam was back, and Gage was with him, standing behind me. “I also think it’s time for another stretch goal.” Adam gestured. “This is Gage, Evie’s boyfriend.”
It was the first time hearing anyone phrase it that way, and while the words startled me, they were also true. I liked the sound of it.
The way Sawyer twisted his mouth was impossible to miss, but maybe that was because I was staring at him.
“If we meet the next pledge goal on the screen, in the next hour,” Adam kept talking, oblivious to where my mind was going, “Gage is going to shave his head.”
“What?” I spun in my seat to face Gage. “You can’t.”
He leaned in to kiss me on the top of the head. “I can. I am.”
“But…” I tangled my fingers in his locks, holding him in the crouched over position. “Then I can’t do this anymore.” I pulled lightly.
He grinned. “It’ll grow back.” He kissed me hard, stealing my breath to a chorus of oohs and ahhs and whistles.
We met our next goal with plenty of time to spare. I was sad to see Gage’s hair go, but I couldn’t believe people were donating this much money. To help me. People I’d never met flooded the chat with words of support and encouragement.
Adam let me take the clippers to Gage’s head, and shearing off that first strip made me cringe. But when he was done, when Gage’s hair lay on the ground around him, he actually still looked sexy. I couldn’t help but run my hand over the short, dark fuzz.
The way he shuddered was delicious.
“What do you think?” Gage asked.
“I like it.”
“Maybe I should keep it this way?”
I scrunched up my nose. “I don’t like it that much. But lucky for you, it should grow back before it gets cold here.”
Gage pulled me into his lap. “You’ll keep me warm.”
“Hey. Hey. Keep it PG,” Maddox teased.
