For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,86
"God, I love your new hair." So he did it again. "And you didn't, baby. There are some things that take time. I just hate that you didn't get to do this on your terms, ok? But me? All I'll ever ask is that you tell me what you need, and you did. You told me to stop pushing. I stopped."
"I thought..." Her teeth found her lower lip. "Braden, I kinda said that if you didn't like how I was doing things then we were done."
"Well, in a roundabout way," he agreed, "but I had no problem with how you were doing things. Just figured that since I was ok with it, then everything was still cool. You told me where my place was, and I put my ass into it."
She pressed her face into him again, but this time it was the crook of his neck. "You are amazing. How did someone like me end up with a guy like you?"
"Someone like you?" He parroted. "You mean a woman who loves games, is a badass in my favorite genre, and can design code that's beautifully elegant? I mean, that's kinda like my own wet dream." He leaned closer to her ear. "And your mascara is a mess."
"I was going to do false lashes today, but couldn't find my glue." Leaning back, she wiped beneath her eyes. "Now I'm kinda glad I didn't."
Then she stood, but before she walked to the end of the couch, someone tapped at the door. Rhaven hurried over to check it, and then opened it. Kate slipped in, but she froze at the sight of her best friend.
"Are you ok?"
"Dad called," Rhaven explained.
Kate's mouth parted. "What did he say?"
"It's good," Rhaven promised. "He tried to call me 'she' and kept making himself say my name. And..." She paused to wave at her eyes. "Um, he said there's nothing wrong with me, and he was saying that some people from one of the churches came by. He chased them off, and he told them there was nothing wrong with me. He's not ashamed of me, Kate!"
"I knew it," Kate breathed, throwing her arms around Rhaven's neck. "And your face is a mess."
"Then I should fix that real fast," Rhaven said, pulling away just to head to her room.
Kate, however, headed to the kitchen. "And you two?" she asked, gesturing between Braden and the bedroom Rhaven had gone into. "Everything ok?"
"All cleared up," he promised. "I didn't even screw it up when I answered her phone for her. Kinda made sure her dad was still ok with this, but I also knew he would be."
Kate sighed in relief. "Good. I thought he and Tyler would be." Then she paused. "Tyler's ok with this, right?"
"They're both good with it," he promised. "Unfortunately, though, it's not all good news."
Kate just lifted a hand. "Coffee?"
"Please?" he begged. "I'm supposed to be putting up the drapes for the booth, but my crew kicked me out to check on her. Dez's orders, they said."
Kate's brow furrowed. "Deviant's already here?"
"Just the first team," He explained. "I'm not usually on the initial crew, but what with that article and Dez seeing it..." he lifted his hands. "And no one tells Dez no."
"Especially not when you wanted to be here anyway," Kate teased while she fumbled with the Keurig. "Cream? Sugar?"
"I'll take it just about any way," he promised.
"Which is best?" she asked.
"Dash of cream."
Kate nodded, turned to the undersized fridge for a container, and then added a dollop while a second cup brewed. "So what's the bad news?"
"Sounds like Rhaven's rural little town isn't as thrilled as her family. Bill said the gas station she worked at put it in the paper that they fired her. People are going to her house to pray for her and shit." He paused as Kate carried over both cups, standing to grab one before she spilled anything, and then they both sat back down and he continued. "Sounds like it's not a good idea for her to go home right now."
"We have a spare room," Kate said.
"I do too," Braden assured her, glancing back to make sure Rhaven was still in the room. "Thing is, I know something that I shouldn't know, that is a good thing, and I can't breathe a word of it."
Kate's eyes narrowed and her gaze dropped to the table as she tried to make sense of that jumble of a sentence, then she nodded. "Ok. What do I need to know?"