Page 53 of One More Round

I make an explosive sound and hand gesture in reply. He starts nodding his head with a big douchey grin.

“Nice,” he says, drawing out the word.

“Don’t be a douchecake, Link,” Bernie mutters.

“Are you happy, Simon? She seems happy,” Bernie asks with a dreamy look in her eyes. I smile at her, because I love that she cares.

“I am.” Dex leans over Bernie and smacks me on the shoulder.

“Happy for you, man.”

“It’s still odd though. You know? Seeing you two … together. You’ve hated her for most of the time we’ve known her,” Link says skeptically. “It’s almost like this is an act. Like you could go back to giving her the stink eye instead of an eye fuck at any time.”

Dex starts laughing, Bernie chokes on the water she was drinking, and I look at him with disgust.

“What the hell, man, an eye fuck? What is that? I’m not going to fuck her eye.”

“Noooo. You know, as in you’re fucking her with your eyes,” he offers, confused at the situation.

“Dude, just, no. Please don’t say that again,” I tell him, shaking my head. “And no, I promise you this is real. This is me and Gia, the way we use to be, but with sex. Great sex. And I never hated her.”

Laughter hits me from all sides.

“You totally did, man,” Dex says. Bernie nods her head in agreement.

I sigh. “I didn’t hate her. I hated what she did. I had a bad attitude toward her. And her popping up in my life so unexpectedly just threw me for a major loop. But we are good now. We’ve worked through everything.”

“If you say so, then I’m happy for you. I wish you and the fair maiden nothing but the best,” Link says with a regal head bow.

“God you’re so fucking strange sometimes,” I tell him. Our conversation comes to an end when Chuck, Ben, and our manager John walk through the door.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Gia

I’ve been watching Simon and the guys stream nearly the whole time they’ve been live. It’s been three days now and they seem to be doing a great job. While I have them up on my computer, I’m not interacting with them like Ruby is. But, then again, Ruby is really into gaming. She is also into Link and he’s had a lot of screen time.

I’ve seen Simon a couple of times. I’ve gone over to his apartment during his breaks, but he pretty much kissed me for a while then passed out.

It’s about half past ten in the morning when I finally decide to get some work done. I’ve got several emails piling up that need my attention. Plus, I need to plan my articles for next month. But I’m quickly distracted when a new email hits my inbox. It’s from Michelle at TVEdge.com, who has been my primary contact since applying for this job. She and I have also known each other for a few years, as we used to write for a smaller entertainment site that has since shut down.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Welcome to the TVEdge Team!

Dear Gia,

We wanted to thank you again for all the wonderful pieces you have written for us over the past several months. They have all been well received and we feel like you would make a great member of the TVEdge team. Congratulations! We would officially like to offer you the Feature Writer position and are looking at a starting date of November 29th.

Attached I have included a formal offer, benefits package, and our basic onboarding packet. Please print and have it with you when you arrive on day one. Since you will be relocating, I have also attached information on the area as well as some nearby apartments. We do have several resources available to you. I know from experience that relocating can be stressful and the last thing we want to have is our new employees starting off on a bad note, so please let me know if I can do anything to assist you with your move.

Best,

Michelle

Production Editor | TVEdge.com

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