For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,70

laughed once. "Dad, he's - she's trying to say you have one son and one daughter. Not two boys."

"What?" Dad asked.

"Oh, c'mon," she said. "You know about the bathroom laws. I use the girls' when I'm not at home. I mean in Prescord."

"But..." He just shook his head. "I don't understand."

Then her brother's head jerked up, and a split second later, she heard the sound of a car. That meant her ride was here. It was time to go. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure whether or not her father's reaction was a good one. Then again, this whole thing had been a mess.

"I'm not gay, Dad, because I'm a woman. A transgender woman. I like men. Girls who like men are straight. The problem isn't who I love, it's how I was born."

"I still love you," he blurted out, and then the driver honked his horn to announce his arrival.

"I have to go," she said, reaching for her bag.

Tyler grabbed her computer and gestured for her to go first. "I'll explain it to Dad, ok?"

"Yeah," she muttered, heading for the trunk. "Thanks."

Tyler carefully placed the box inside, then helped her get the bags in there with it. "Rhaven, huh? It's a pretty cool name."

"So, you're ok with this?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I will be. Right now, I'm kinda in shock. And I'll probably screw up your name and pronouns a lot, but I'll try, ok? I'll also explain it all to Dad."

"Think he'll forgive me?" she asked.

"I think he's confused," Tyler corrected. "We're both shocked, and he'll probably be a little stupid about it, but we do love you, Eth - Rhaven."

That was what did it. Her annoying older brother trying to use the right name for her was just too much, and her eyes started to leak before she could even blink away the tears.

"Damn it, Tyler," she grumbled.

He stepped in and hugged her tightly. "I knew there was something. I think I've always known, and that's why I've tried to take care of you. Go do your thing, win all that big money, and we can talk about it when you get home."

She stepped back for the door. "I'm not sure I can come home."

"What? Why? Dad's confused, but he'll be fine. You know he will. And everyone else? I'll break the legs of anyone who has a problem with you!"

But that wasn't her biggest problem. "Who's going to hire me, Tyler? I can't keep going to these conventions if I can't buy a plane ticket! And you didn't see that crowd today. It took less than three hours and there were people gathering at the GasNGo! I'll never be myself here. No matter what I do, I will always be Ethan, never Rhaven."

"Then where will you go?" he asked.

"I don't know," she admitted, "but I have four days to figure it out." She glanced back to the porch where her father still stood watching. "I wanted him to be ok with this. More than anything else, I've been scared that he'll hate me. That's why I kept putting it off. I wanted to enjoy having my dad love me."

"I think he's just worried about you," Tyler insisted. "We both got calls from just about everyone we know. We couldn't get ahold of you, so we were freaking out. Then you locked yourself in your room? He was sure you'd try it again. Shit, I thought you would."

"I just wanted to pack my clothes before you could stop me."

He nodded, accepting that. "I'll talk to him. He'll be fine."

"Ok," she said, easing into the back seat. "I gotta go."

"Hey." He leaned around the door to peek his head in. "In case no one else tells you, you look good in a dress."

"Braden says the same thing."

"I knew it." Then he closed the door. "Shoot 'em dead, Rhaven."

"Oh! The stream is on The Gamer Channel's website," she told him as he stepped back.

He just waved, and then the car eased away from the curb. Her problem was that her dad was still just standing on the porch. He hadn't moved, and she wasn't quite sure what that meant.

Chapter 24

Braden sat at his desk, adding the final tweaks to the maps for the Denver PLG tournament. Everything else was ready. The team was getting excited. In a few hours, they'd start packing the gear, and then tomorrow he'd fly out and start setting up their two booths. The only problem was that Rhaven still hadn't replied to him, and he couldn't