Page 83 of Playing Games

No fitting him into my routine anymore—he’s apartof it.

Blake

I finish off my burger and start to collect Lex’s and my takeout containers from her coffee table. She’s already curled up on the couch with a blanket, scrolling through Netflix for something to watch.

Last night, we watched a documentary calledTrust Machine, and it was all about cryptocurrency, how currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were developed, and the possible global implications for the future.

I didn’t know ninety-nine percent of the information, but Lexi did. For all I know, she’s already created her own form of cryptocurrency.

“Hey, Lex?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know how to create cryptocurrency?”

“Yeah.”

I drop our containers into the trash and walk back into the living room. But I stop right in front of where she’s perched on the couch, still scrolling through streaming possibilities. “What do you mean,yeah? Like, you know the basic logistics of it, or if Iasked you to create a coin named Biscuits, you’d have it done by the morning?”

She glances at the time on her phone. “It’s almost ten, Blake. I’d need at least sixteen hours. Possibly twenty-four.”

My jaw hits the floor. “You’re serious.”

She just stares at me.

“Lexi, you mean to tell me, that big, beautiful brain of yours could create me a cryptocurrency named Biscuits?”

“Honestly, Blake, I think Biscuits would be a horrible name if you actually want it to succeed.”

I laugh.Fuck. This girl. She’s endlessly intriguing to me.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because…”Because I love you. Because you’re everything.“You’re funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

“I know. But sometimes the funniest things are when they’re meant to be serious.”

She quirks her brow. “That’s so contradictory.”

“That’s life, baby.”

She smiles at that.

My phone vibrates from its spot on her coffee table, and I grab it to find a few missed texts in my group chat with Ace and Finn.

Ace: BLAKE

Ace: BLAAAAKE

Finn: Blake, this is Ace’s annoying way of telling you to come out with us tonight. There’s a party on Frat Row. The Sigma house.

Ace: Fuck, Finn. You ruined my whole spiel.

Finn: Zero fucks given, bro.

Ace: What do ya say, Golden Boy? You going to meet up with us tonight? Or are you going to keep being a recluse in your apartment bc football is making your wittle baby muscles sore.

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