For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,38

I don't do the Renegade promotions. I'm the big dumb shooter guy."

"No, you're not," she breathed. "Braden, you're not just the shooter guy. You're the man who understands balance without needing to try. You mentally compensate for teamwork, knowing that it's not just the gun numbers and armor numbers. Never mind that the community loves you!"

"Yeah?" he asked.

She nodded. "Flawed players talk about Tank, not Kohl. EC players know you from the booth. You're a good dev, and I don't know if there's problems on the backside, but the games you're on always work the way we hope."

"And you still haven't answered the question," he pointed out. "Boyfriend, Rhaven. What will it take to make that happen?"

"Are you allowed to date a pro gamer?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I dunno, but I can check when I get back."

"What if you're not?"

His shoulders dropped. "I don't know. I didn't even think about that. Fuck!" Then he leaned his head back against the headboard. "Because this has to be a secret thing here at home, and if it had to be a secret thing at the conventions, then I just became more trouble than I'm worth."

"Other way around," she told him. "I'm the one who isn't out at home. I'm the one trying to be the pro gamer. You're a top developer! The man with the inside scoop on things. The guy that - "

"Every girl wants to fuck for a beta code," he finished. "Trust me, I know."

She sat up to see him better. "You trade codes for sex?"

"I most certainly do not!" he assured her. "But when I go to the bar, some girl always makes that 'joke.' She'll go back to my hotel with me for a code. She'll suck me off for a code. Some just start hitting on me, hanging on me, and then ask for the scoop on the Flawed traits, the Renegade release, or some other thing I'm not supposed to talk about."

"But you offered to let me see it." And now she was confused.

"Because that's not why you're into me," he said. "Rhaven, we talk. Maybe it's about games, but it's also about other things. I mean, you've never once asked me for something I shouldn't talk about. I also know that if I do show you Renegade, you'll taunt the guys in PsychoDreads that you've seen it, and tell them to wait for release."

"Pretty much," she chuckled. "So what are we going to do?"

He slowly turned to look at her again. "What do you mean?"

"About this boyfriend thing. I mean, I'd have to be an idiot to say no. Not that I can figure out what you get out of this, but..." She paused to chew on her lower lip, wondering just how honest she should be, then decided that she had nothing left to lose. "Braden, I'm lying in this bed naked. Beside you! I... You..." She groaned, knowing she was messing this up. "I don't feel weird when I'm around you. I don't have to remind you that I'm a woman, or worry that you're going to out me somehow. You've made that clear these last two days."

"I fucking hated hearing your brother call you a guy, though," he admitted.

She nodded. "Me too. It's kinda why I haven't been able to tell them yet."

"So how about we both figure our shit out," he suggested. "When I get back to Ohio, I'll check the rules for dating a gamer. And when you decide how you want to handle things with your family, you can let me know - unless you're planning to live a double life forever?"

"I have to come out to them before - "

"No," he insisted. "I'm not putting timelines or pressure on you. I'm saying I want to know your plan. Tentative or otherwise, ok? Do you want me to be the gay boyfriend? Do you want me to be the cool pal from the conventions? That sort of thing. I'm also saying that there's no need to rush, Rhaven. I'm asking because I've been thinking about you for almost a year now. The offer's there. The ball's in your court. Think about it, because I don't want to pressure you, but I'm not going to be off chasing girls between now and then."

"Guys?" she asked.

He groaned. "No. I mean, I flirt with Chance all the time, but that's just because of his addiction, you know? Makes me feel good when he jokes around about it, and makes him feel