Page 33 of Now Streaming

She shook her head, still not looking at him but he could see her eyes turn watery, as if she was fighting off the tears.

“I need this tournament, Hayden. It’s my last chance to show that I’m more than what he’s trying to convince them I am. Not to mention the money from winning and from the sponsorship.”

“Then do it. If anyone can, you can.”

She smiled at that. “Okay, but I’m going up against a rival who’s very, very good at the game.”

Hayden leaned forward, letting her teasing wash over him. “How good is he?”

“Good enough to not need me to stroke his ego.”

“But would you stroke other parts of him?”

She sputtered into her coffee at that, and he laughed, letting go of her hand and standing up.

“Look, I’m not going to pretend with you, Min. That sponsorship and money would mean everything to me as well, so I’m going to fight you for it. Prepare yourself.”

She snorted, shoving food into her mouth.

“You’ve never been able to scare me, Death.”

“Maybe not, but I can make you scream.”

She gave a surprised snort as he made his way into the bathroom, a grin on his face.

This was going to be fun.

After Min had eaten, showered, and donned her jeans from the day before with another one of Hayden’s DeathsHead tees tied up into a crop top, they headed downstairs. They hadn’t discussed it, but Hayden was happy she wasn’t objecting to spending the morning together. At the front desk, they learned that the police had finished with Min’s room and that the housekeepers were going to give it a thorough cleaning before she got back. Min definitely looked relieved, even as Hayden felt disappointment twinge. He wanted Min to have access to her stuff and her own room, but having her in his room, wearing his clothes, was a treat he hadn’t been expecting. He wasn’t sure he was ready for it to end.

With that knowledge, they made their way to the con. A lot of people must have been hungover from the night before, so they easily made it into the first car for the trolley, with plenty of space to sit. The trip went fast, and the crowd outside the convention center was easy to manage.

They made their way to the exhibition hall and immediately headed for the small vendors section. Hayden let Min pull him from shop to shop as she chatted with each of the owners about their wares. For his part, he kept quiet, happy to simply drift near her. It was always a gamble to walk the floor and talk to anyone, always a not-so-small chance that someone would recognize his voice and blow his cover. But right now, walking with this woman and feeling her excitement, it was worth the risk.

The problem was, now he knew how she felt under him, how she tasted, the sounds she made when she was getting close, and how his name ripped through her when she came. He had been hard for hours after she had fallen asleep, her smell everywhere in the bed and filling his head. With sleep eluding him, Hayden had spent his time trying to work on his game from his laptop, making notes on things that needed to be tweaked and rewritten for when he saw Theo for lunch. They still had so much work to do before they could launch. On any other day, Hayden would be buried in it, overwhelmed by his to-do list.

But for now, he let Min pull him along with her. She had claimed that her FlameThrower outfit was so she could blend in unnoticed as herself. But Hayden could see the interested eyes on her, watching her move through the crowd. Min didn’t have to be in her persona to be admired. He did his best to stay close and keep a hand on her back, but the hall was growing more and more packed, worse than it had been yesterday, and pushing through it was difficult.

After some drifting, Min found herself drawn to a booth with corsets displayed in a rainbow of colors. She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her, pointing.

“What do you think?” she asked him. He looked at the corsets, shrugging. They were bright, with a variety of laces and ribbons everywhere.

“Like a unicorn vomited all over this place.”

She laughed as she started sorting through the various blouses and skirts.

“Exactly what I need.”

Just then, they heard a rustling behind them. “Looking for something in particular?”

Hayden turned and froze. In front of him was at least six feet of man dressed to the nines in a corset, fishnets, five-inch heels, and a bright pink wig contrasting nicely against his rich, dark skin. It was hands down the best FlameThrower cosplay Hayden had ever seen. A glance at Min told him she was practically glowing. It was love at first sight.

“Oh my god I love your outfit,” she gushed. “Are you FlameThrower?”

The man laughed at that, preening. “Thank you, and yes. She’s my favorite streamer.”

Min beamed at him. “She’s my favorite, too.”

The two were making googly eyes at each other, and Hayden had to fight back a smile. Min may like blending in, but she also loved being seen as FlameThrower, and she always adored her fans. Right now, she was smiling ear to ear, and Hayden could almost feel her joy.

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