For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,9

little noise. "You're not going for an indie, are you?"

"I'm not going for anything," she assured him. "I'm just hoping that one day I can."

"You can," he promised. "Rhaven, you're one of the best mod designers we've seen in a long time. You're a damned good gamer. I mean, your social skills could use a little work, but I'm more than happy to help you with that - if it means taking you out a few more times."

She actually laughed. "Well played, Braden. Just for that, I'll make it dinner tomorrow night. If you want to talk games after that, well, you'll have to convince me."

"Oh, so you're saying you're not the easy kind, huh?" he teased. "I can work with that. Kinda like a challenge, and believe it or not, I enjoy those. Besides, seeing your pretty brown eyes across the table from me will make it so worth it. Seven, Rhaven. Don't stand me up, ok?"

"I won't," she promised.

"Good, because you'd break my heart."

Rhaven ducked her head, feeling her cheeks burn, but her lips were smiling. This man! If anyone wanted to destroy her, he would be the one to do it. Mostly because no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't quite resist him.

Hopefully, that wasn't going to become a problem.

Chapter 4

Braden tossed his phone onto the bed and flopped backwards with a relieved sigh. She'd agreed to see him! A stupid smile lingered on his face, and he couldn't quite make it go away. Oh, when she'd first answered the phone, he'd been a little confused. Her voice had been just deep enough to make him unsure, but it still sounded like Rhaven. Well, the way she sounded on TeamSpeak, at least.

So why was he so nervous now? He knew that Chance and Dez wouldn't care at all if he took a few more days before heading back. He'd just finished the deal with the call center, and that should be waiting at the office for Chance to look over in the morning. Everything was good. Everything was handled. Yet something about Rhaven's timidness scared the shit out of him.

On impulse, Braden grabbed his phone again and called the one person who'd know how to navigate this with ease. Swiping at the screen, he found the contact he needed, tapped on the green icon, and listened to the phone ring.

"Chance Hunter, Deviant Games," it was answered.

"Chance," Braden said. "Hey, I have a question."

"Shit," Chance groaned. "Please tell me the contract didn't fall through already? That place was the best deal we could get in North America, and I really don't want to contract overseas."

"No - " Braden tried.

But Chance was on a roll. "We just need some basic troubleshooting and escalation direction. It should be a breeze for them!"

"It's signed," Braden promised. "Deal's done, Chance. This is about something else."

Silence hung on the line for a moment. "Ok?" Chance finally asked.

Braden sat up again, only to lean over his knees. "I need some advice about picking someone up."

Chance's reply was a soft laugh. "Man, you know I'm clean."

"I also know you can still charm the pants off a monkey. Look, I'm certainly not asking you to fly out here and pick her up. I just..."

"Rhaven," Chance realized. "You're seeing her at home?"

"Yeah, but sounds like she's not 'out' at home." Braden grunted, making it clear he hated how that sounded. "She's scared, man. I asked to meet for coffee, and she acted like I was trying to propose or something. I mean, I convinced her to at least show. Well, I think I did. She could still stand me up, but I'm pretty sure she's going to be incognito. I just..."

"You're trying too hard," Chance told him. "Brae, Rhaven is not your girlfriend. She's made it pretty clear that she is willing to blaze her own trail. If you want to impress that woman, then let her."

"She said she'll be 'Ethan,'" Braden grumbled.

"Stop," Chance said before Braden could say anything else. "She's still young, right?"

"Yeah, like early twenties," Braden said. "Legal to drink, I know that."

"Ok..." Chance paused to pull in a breath. "And she lives in a small town, right? The kind of place where everyone knows everyone else?"

"With her parents," Braden admitted.

"Ah." Chance sounded like that explained so much. "Remember when your mother read about you taking it up the ass?" Because some of the tweets back when their first game had released hadn't exactly been kind. "That fear, wondering what she'd think