For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,104

sandwich stickers on the side of the case gave her a good guess that it had to belong to PBJ.

She looked over in time to see Braden leave the gaming hall and just keep going, with Psyc following close behind him. No one else seemed to care, yet Rhaven had a funny feeling that this couldn't be good. So she leaned into Knock, bumping his arm with hers, and flicked her finger in the direction they were going.

"Um..." she asked. "Do I need to worry about that?"

"Nope," Void said, overhearing the question.

Riley just leaned closer, pitching her voice so it wouldn't carry. "Psyc's jealous. Braden knows it and is being cool, smoothing things over. Pretty sure neither of them are going to go stupid, and we're all expecting some form of bullshit from KoG today. About you, about me, about any of us. Doesn't matter. We just don't intend to let them win."

"Ok," Rhaven said. "It's just that I don't want to piss Braden off."

"Piss him off," Riley said. "Rhaven, here's a word of advice. Do not change who you are to please a man. No man is worth that. Women are not trinkets to be shown off or clay to be molded. If Braden wants to be with you, he'll figure out how to adapt."

"But doesn't that go both ways?" Rhaven asked.

"Oh, you're already adapting," Riley assured her. "The problem is that you've spent your life - most of us have - trying so hard to fit in, not cause a scene, and so on. You're adapting without even realizing it. Braden? He gets it."

Kate leaned over to add her own opinion. "Don't fight so hard for a relationship if you aren't sure it makes you happy. You want the man, not the status for your social media, Rhae. And if the man doesn't make you happy, find one that does."

"But he does," Rhaven insisted.

"Then there's no problem," Riley said. "None at all, and you have exactly nothing to worry about, right?"

For a moment Rhaven just sat there, dumbfounded. She'd seen the look on Psyc's face. She'd been worried about how he'd take it. She'd heard all of Riley's words. The problem was that she hadn't put those three things together until that last line. If Braden cared about her as much as she cared about him, then Psyc being jealous wouldn't change anything. It wasn't Rhaven's job to fix it - it was Psyc's, and maybe that was what he was doing right now.

So why did this make her so nervous?

Chapter 35

Braden had just entered the main convention area when he heard his name called behind him. Turning around, he saw none other than PsychoCut jogging toward him. He paused, waiting for the man to catch up, then started walking again, all but forcing Psyc to walk with him.

"What do you need?" he asked.

Psyc groaned and shoved a hand through his hair. "Don't hit me, ok?"

"Haven't hit anyone in a long time," Braden promised.

"I wanna know if it's ok to hit on your girl."

That made Braden stop and turn to face him. "What?!"

Psyc grabbed his arm and got Braden moving again. "Look, you're not in the lobby chat. You're not going to be able to speak up for her. All I'm saying is that some people talk shit about my outfit mate, and I'd rather they said it about me."

"Because she's trans," Braden realized.

"And KoG is going to hit her where it hurts," Psyc agreed. "Yeah. Thing is, I kinda know her well enough to know that she'll shut up, say something that equates to fuck off, and get knocked off her game. I'm in there, and I want to change the subject. Pretty sure Void will run with my lead. Knock too."

Braden had just reached his booth, so he invited Psyc behind the counter with him. Together, they headed to the bank of machines that ran the displays and began booting them all up. While he worked, Braden thought about that. It was a good plan. It was no different than what these guys had been doing for months. And yet, back then, she hadn't been his girlfriend. Now she was, and he wanted the entire world to know it.

But there was one other thing gnawing at the back of his mind. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the way Rhaven acted made him suspect that she didn't believe she was as amazing as the rest of them. She put on a good