For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,95

in the middle of a story. I want to see your eyes light up when you laugh. I want to know this amazing woman, Rhaven, so how about we start there?"

She leaned in to steal one last kiss. "Yeah, but you have to brew the coffee."

"Then you have to wear some cute girly pajamas, because I'm not putting jeans back on." And he tilted his head to press against hers.

"Yeah," she breathed. "Brae? Is it always this perfect?"

"No, baby. But perfect's a pretty good word for this."

Chapter 32

They talked well into the night. When the conversation paused, it always felt natural. She learned that he had a cat named Dammit and wanted a dog, but wasn't home enough. She told him about how she'd gotten into games - to pretend to be a woman. Her character on the screen, at least. They compared the titles they'd played, and she was shocked to find that he had almost no MMOs in his past. Well, except the ones he'd helped to make.

At some point, they moved their chat to the bed. He took the center and she curled up beside him. The feel of his arm around her back was so nice, and his shoulder made the perfect pillow. When her eyes started to get heavy, he kissed the top of her head and told her to go to sleep. That was all it took.

The next day, the sunlight coming through the massive windows woke her. She and Braden shared breakfast in her suite, even though it was almost noon. Then she headed downstairs to check in and set up her computer. Rhaven's assigned chair was actually at the high table - but she wasn't a signed or a pro gamer.

Granted, it was the last chair before the next table down, so maybe it was just coincidence? There was no line to show where the normal players ended and the professional ones started. But could this be a sign that a sponsor was watching her? Rhaven could only hope.

When her stuff was done, she headed over to the Deviant booth to see what Braden was doing. Today, the curtains were closed and the monitors were playing, each one streaming a different ad for one of their games. Rhaven could hear voices coming from inside, but she wasn't going to walk in without permission, and didn't know how to knock.

But she ended up not needing to. Just as she thought about calling out to those inside, the curtain parted. A tall man with brilliantly red hair stepped through, almost crashing into her. Rhaven squeaked in surprise and he grabbed her shoulders to steady both of them.

"Rhaven?" Chance asked, recognizing her immediately.

"Mr. Hunter," she breathed.

He chuckled. "It's just Chance. I'm going to make a wild guess, but I'm assuming you came looking for Braden?"

"I hope that's not a problem," she said. "It's just that I don't really have anything -"

Chance reached out to pull back the curtain. "Come on in." A gentle hand on her back pressed her forward, and then he followed behind her. "Amy!"

"Yeah?" the woman in question yelled back.

"We need to get Rhaven a guest pass. Don't want security trying to kick her out," Chance said.

"Rhaven?" This came from a lean woman kneeling in the corner. She had a screwdriver in one hand, a roll of duct tape around her wrist, and tattoos visible at her collar. That was Destiny Pierce, the most influential game designer in history, and the fact that she remembered Rhaven's name felt a little surreal.

"Hi, Dez," Rhaven said.

"Braden!" Dez bellowed. "Your girl is here!"

"Busy!" Braden called back.

Rhaven just pointed at the cables Dez was clearly busy with. "Need some help? I can at least tear the duct tape."

Dez's lips curled into a smile that looked a little sinister, and the woman's eyes jumped over to her partner before she spoke. "Sure."

Rhaven knew better than to touch Dez. Everyone did. So she knelt on the ground just within arms' reach and held out her hand for the roll of tape. Instead, Dez had her pull the cable tight, the two of them slowly working their way across the traffic area as they taped it all down so no one would disconnect anything.

"So," Dez said after a couple of feet, "you know Braden's my best friend, right?"

"That's what he says," Rhaven agreed. "He's kinda cute about it, actually."

"He's a good guy," Dez told her. "Honestly good, in a rough around the edges sort of way." Then she looked