For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,12
both rooting for you."
"Me too," Braden said. "There's something special about Rhaven."
"It's because she's the one," Chance told him. "You always know when you find her. Just make sure you don't lose her before you get a chance."
Chapter 5
The next day, Rhaven started getting ready as soon as she got home from work at five. It should be easy to get dressed for coffee with "another" guy, right? Not so much. The goal was to impress him, so she didn't want to show up looking like some dork. She wanted to be cute and appealing. No, what she wanted to do was look like herself, but Angela worked at Denny's, and her sister was the receptionist at the shop where Rhaven's dad worked. In other words, rumors would get around if she did anything stupid.
So she found something perfectly androgynous. A pair of dark skinny jeans, chucks without socks, and a tee that had the PsychoDreads logo across the front. She swept her hair back so it fell loose to her shoulders, but that was it. No makeup. No ponytail. No jewelry. This was as close to her real self as she could get, so it would have to do.
What did it matter if she was wearing satin panties under her jeans? She didn't have on a bra, so that made it ok, right? Considering that the shirt was loose enough to hide her newly-developing chest, it would have to be.
Everything was fine until she left her room. Not only was her father sitting on the couch, but Tyler was beside him, the pair watching some movie together. The moment she walked in the room, they both looked up.
"I need to use the car," she said.
"Going out?" Tyler asked as he reached for his keys.
Rhaven nodded. "I'm heading up to Denny's, so don't expect me for dinner."
Dad's eyes narrowed. "You have a date or something?" Then he wagged his finger in the direction of her body. "Looks like you're trying to impress someone. Gonna tell us who?"
She scoffed, trying to play it off. "Not a date."
"Nothing wrong if it was," Dad pointed out. "Ethan, you aren't going alone, are you?"
"No," she promised. "I'm actually meeting someone from those games I play."
"Friend?" Tyler asked, lifting the keys to make it clear he was willing to trade for information. "Maybe a special friend?"
She shrugged. "I'm hoping it's work, actually. He's interested in a mod I made."
But her dad was smiling. "Anyone we know?"
"No." She put a stop to that before the pair of them could pick on her. "His name is Braden Mathis. He works for one of the biggest gaming companies. He was in Montana for something else, and asked if I'd be willing to meet with him about HUD design before he leaves the state."
"So, a quickie?" Tyler teased, grinning.
Rhaven just rolled her eyes. "Gross, Tyler. Also, not funny. Trust me, I don't want to work at GasNGo forever. Now give me the keys?"
He tossed them over. Then, before they could start again, she turned for the door. It was barely closed behind her when those two started talking again. She paused for just a moment to listen.
"You're not helping anything," Dad told her brother.
Tyler just groaned. "I'm just trying to make it clear that if he wants to say something, I'm not judging him, you know?"
"No, what you're doing is making your brother feel like there's something to be ashamed of. Leave him alone."
"Dad - "
"I'm serious, Tyler. Ethan's not like you. He's sensitive, ok? I'm just worried that he's depressed again, and we both know he won't talk about it."
Which was when she decided to leave. She wasn't depressed. Not lately, at least. Right now, things were going good, but Dad had a point. If this meeting with Braden ended up being some kind of bad joke, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to take it. So, just to be safe, she sent Kate a message saying she was heading out.
Kate sent back a thumbs up emoji and a whole line of hearts. Yep, that was exactly the kind of encouragement a girl needed. It also made Rhaven feel like she'd have someone to listen if Braden wasn't the same guy away from the conventions as he was at them. God, why was she so nervous about this? It was just a coffee, after all. How bad could it really go?