I wasn’t going to see him again for ages. It was probably why I asked impulsively, “Are you busy tomorrow?”
Neil’s eyebrows rose. “Tomorrow?”
“I’m going to watch a tournament over at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere. You should come. It’ll be a good opportunity for you to practice flirting for when you finally meet Annabelle in person.”
“Are there typically many women at gaming tournaments?”
“Okay, so there might be a slight gender imbalance,” I allowed, “but there’ll definitely be women there. I promise. And if not, you can just practice on me.”
Neil chewed his lip, his eyes running over me. “I’ll think about it.”
I bobbed my head. “Cool.” Why did I suddenly feel so awkward? Maybe it was a bit weird to suggest he use me to practice flirting. He hadn’t commented on it, though. “Are you excited about the trip to New York?” I asked, changing the subject.
He shook his head. “Not really. Travelling all the time gets old very quickly. I like my routine, and it’s constantly being broken when I have to jet off to South Africa for eight weeks of filming.”
“Oh, yeah, it sounds terrible,” I said, heavy on the sarcasm.
He eyed me now, the tips of his ears turning pink. “I didn’t mean to sound so ungrateful. I do love my job. I’m just a creature of habit. I’m pretty much a granddad in a thirty-year-old’s body, set in my ways. Plus, being around the cast, they’re all so adventurous and wild. It makes me feel, well, the opposite, mainly because I am the opposite.”
“It’s not a bad thing to be how you are,” I countered. “Not everyone wants to be around someone who’s constantly jumping off buildings and putting themselves in danger. That would get old very fast. Sometimes we underestimate the appeal of a nice, even keel.”
“Annabelle obviously likes someone who embraces danger. She thinks she’s messaging with Callum Davidson,” Neil said.
Well, then, maybe Annabelle isn’t the right one for you, my mind argued, but I was impressed when I didn’t voice the sentiment. I scratched the back of my head. “Yeah, about that. Haven’t you ever found it a little weird that she’s messaging with ‘Callum’ when Callum has a girlfriend?” I asked, unable to resist. It was something that had been bothering me for the last few days.
Neil’s expression turned perturbed. “I don’t think she knows he’s with Leanne. They try to keep their relationship out of the public eye as much as they can these days.”
At that, I laughed. “Right. If she’s a fan of the show, then she knows Leanne and Callum are together. And I’m saying that as a fan of the show myself. We’ve all watched their tumultuous relationship play out on screen.”
Neil frowned. “Okay, true, but I think because they were so at odds with one another for the first few seasons, Annabelle believes they aren’t right for each other. Seeing Callum and Leanne on TV only gives you half the picture. I know that because I see them every day, and they’re one hundred percent in love. But if all I saw was what happened in the show, I’d probably have my doubts about them being right for each other, too. Nowadays, they try to keep most of their relationship off air. They learned that lesson the hard way in the early seasons.”
Hmm, it sounded like he was trying to rationalise it to himself, but I had a feeling Annabelle wasn’t the sweet girl she wanted Neil, or should I say ‘Callum’, to believe she was. Neil might’ve been the one doing the catfishing, but I suspected that when it came down to it, Annabelle was the guilty party.
6.
Neil
I stood outside the gaming sphere waiting for Afric. The place wasn’t too far from my work, so I was able to walk over once I clocked off for the day. I checked my watch. She was running a few minutes late. A part of me was relieved because the thought of practicing flirting with random strangers sent a chill down my spine. Maybe Afric wouldn’t show.
Flirting wasn’t my strong suit. This was a fact I knew about myself. It was something I tended to avoid at all costs.
I was about to call Afric to check where she was when I spotted her approaching. Her long blonde hair was down around her shoulders, and she wore a loose-fitting black and white striped shirt with burgundy coloured leggings, Converse, and large hoop earrings. It was the most normal outfit I’d