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Gabi looped her arm through mine, grinning. “Thank you. I’ve been trying to get her to tell me what’s wrong for days but she’s stubborn and I didn’t want to push her.”
I shrugged. “Sometimes people need a push. My parents basically had to force me to study abroad, I was so anxious I thought about cancelling like six times. But once I was out there, it was the greatest experience of my life and I was grateful that they made me go.”
ChapterEleven
While Liamand Jo worked things out, we waited at the table, chatting. Gabi was into a lot of the same games I was and I was really excited to show her the gaming hall. For a giant, scary Russian, Dmitriy was really easy going, at least around his wife. He smiled softly as she went on a rant about different gaming styles. Yuri liked to argue with her but if he got too sassy about it, he ended up facing Dmitriy’s wrath or getting smacked in the back of the head by James. Jaime was pretty quiet without Jo around. He played on his phone, throwing out his opinion now and again.
We were in an in depth conversation on the merits of handheld gaming vs. console when Charlotte and Nikki came outside. They both looked a little peeved so I jogged over to them, rushing to explain what happened yesterday. Nikki’s face looked pale when I finished and Charlotte looked downright furious.
“Where is he? Is he still here? I’ll kill him!”
I waved my hands, trying to calm her down. “No, he’s not here. James dealt with him.”
They both looked over my shoulder to the table behind me before dragging me a little farther away.
“Which one is he?” Charlotte whispered.
They’d heard about James. They were there while I gushed about him that first week and they were there when I cried about it the following weeks. Neither of them looked happy to see him, even after I reassured them that he apologized.
“He broke your heart, Elizabeth. You cried for weeks.”
I winced. “Okay, yes. That’s technically true, but he also rescued me. He saw how upset I was after talking to Kyle and he dealt with it for me. No questions asked, no expectations from me. He just took care of it. I don’t know what would have happened if he wasn’t there.” I shuddered at the thought. They both hovered closer, putting their hands on my shoulders.
“Alright, alright. I guess we’ll give him a chance. But if he breaks your heart again, I’m going to break his kneecaps,” Charlotte vowed. I snickered. Pretty sure James could take her but I wasn’t going to comment. I love my friends and this is the closest we’ve been since we got out of college.
They trailed after me as I led them back to the table, introducing them to the group. “This is Nikki and Charlotte, they’re friends of mine. We come to this convention together every year.”
They listened and waved as I went through introductions. Yuri was looking at Nikki like she was his favorite dessert. She noticed and glared at him. When he opened his mouth to speak, she interrupted him, turning to face me.
“So why are we all outside? And what’s the plan for today?”
She smirked as Yuri’s jaw snapped closed. Nikki was a feminist warrior and you wouldn’t get anywhere with her looking at her like that. I pointed at the bench where Liam and Jo were talking.
“Jo and Liam needed a minute, so we’re just waiting for them. I planned on taking them to the gaming hall. They never got to go there yesterday and Gabi is a gamer like us.”
They got swept into the conversation easily. I leaned against James, smiling when he wrapped his arm around my waist. While they got to know each other, I peeked over my shoulder and Jo and Liam. They were hugging each other now and I breathed out a sigh of relief. Jo looked heartbroken when she admitted how she felt and I didn’t actually know Liam so I worried about how he’d react but they seemed happy now.
When they eventually wandered back over, they were holding hands and Jo was smiling. She only released him long enough to hug me, whispering in my ear.
“Thank you. You helped a lot.”
I smiled at her when she released me, melting back against Liam. His face remained stoic but I saw his eyes soften as he looked down at her. Almost made me not want to hate him for distracting James all the time.
“So, we’re going to the gaming hall, right?” Nikki gathered the attention of the group, a slow grin passing over her face. “Have any of you watched Elizabeth play before?”
* * *
I shot her a panicked look.I didnotlike gaming in front of others. It was one of the many reasons I stopped doing tournaments. Streaming was one thing, I was alone in my room for that, but being in a crowded event hall was entirely different. Charlotte saw my face and grinned, matching Nikki.
“Yeah, I heard there were some free play games set up. One of them is connected to the big screen so we can all see what’s happening. I think you should show your new friends what you’re made of.”
They were all looking at me curiously now and I took an unconscious step backwards. James stood, wrapping his arms around me. He leaned in close, murmuring in my ear. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Nikki heard him and rolled her eyes. “Yes, she does. She’ll be fine once she starts playing. Come on!” She grabbed my hand, dragging me away from James and trapping me between her and Charlotte, who was waving her arm in the air like a tourist party leader, her voice loud as she called out different booths we passed by. We stopped a couple times to let the others look around but whenever James tried to pull me away, Nikki or Charlotte would step in front of him and cross their arms.
“She’ll never come out of her shell if you baby her. She can do this, she’s done it before,” Charlotte snapped at him. He frowned, locking eyes with me but I knew better. They wouldn’t let it go until I played. They would never force me into a competition or anything if I insisted but they’ve been working to get me out of my room and out into the world since freshman year and they ruled with an iron fist.
Luckily, Gabi seemed to be purposely taking her time, giving me a chance to summon the nerve to play in front of people. My hands felt clammy as we finally made our way to the gaming setup they had connected to the monitor.
