Page 99 of Level Up
When Treagan suggests a game of Strip-Poker with Cartwright and Helena, things get heated.
Author’s Note:
I was trying to write a super fluffy Cartwright/Helena enemies-to-lovers thing, but then my brain got side-tracked and I ended up with this smutfest. Enjoy.
twenty-five
i think i get it now
“Adorable Audrey!”Malcolm greets me with a wide grin when I show up at the door to his apartment Tuesday afternoon. “Damien’s just finishing his stream, but you can head in there and wait for him,” he adds, nodding towards the end of the hallway where it opens into the living room.
“Thanks.” I give him a small nod before slipping off my shoes and jacket.
“Elliot and Nathan are visiting family out of town this week, and I’m heading out in a minute,” he says, following me down the hall. “And I’ll be gone for several hours. Just. So you know.”
“Um.” Dammit, I think I’m blushing. “Okay.”
That’s not why I’m here, though. Damien and I have plans to go try a new restaurant that makes vegan sushi burritos—despite neither of us being vegan—that opened up near his apartment, and I said I would drop by after his stream so we could head over together.
But now that I’m here, and we’re about to be in his roommate-less apartment for several hours, and I’ve never seen inside his bedroom?—
Okay, nope. Stick to the plan. Sushi burritos. Cauliflower bites. Vegan sriracha mayo. All good stuff.
When I reach the living room, I peek around the corner to see if he’s still streaming—he is—and I intend to scurry over to the couch so I won’t be visible on camera, but he notices my arrival and pauses his game to face me with a smile that makes my heart race.
“Hold on a sec,” he says to his computer before pulling off his headphones. He reaches a hand towards me. “Hey, I’ll just be a few minutes. But?—”
I take his offered hand uncertainly and he drags me towards him. With a quick glance at his monitor, he holds up his other hand to block his webcam and then pulls me close like he’s about to kiss me—but he waits for me to start it, as usual. It’s short and sweet but already has me rethinking the wholedinnerthing.Who needs food, really?
When he finally lets me go, I back away to the couch and flop down onto it, though I miscalculate where I am and end up in the Pit. I don’t bother moving.
Damien puts his headphones back on and resumes his game, but I can’t make out what’s happening on his screen from this angle. Although I can tell he’s using the new keyboard I gave him; the space bar sounds much less infuriating, and I feel vindicated.
“Come on, guys, let’s focus on the game,” he says with a nervous laugh. “… Yeah, I’m not talking about that.”
He quickly glances back at me, and I can tell by the look on his face that he’s regretting his decision now that he’s getting teased by his viewers—or so I assume. Not that they would be able to tell who I am, but it had to be pretty obvious thatScones has a girlfriend. (LinkFarts must be having a field day.)
The stream wraps up shortly afterwards and he headsover to the couch, shaking his head. “Okay, I should have seen that coming,” he says, standing in front of me
“Probably none of them knew you’d ever interacted with a human in person before,” I say jokingly. “It must be quite a shock to them.”
“Well, the shock will wear off, soon.” He reaches out a hand. “Shall we head out?”
I let him help me out of my sunken seat, but as we’re walking down the hallway, I rubberneck at one of the open bedroom doors, hoping to get a glimpse inside. I can immediately tell that it must be his and Malcolm’s room based on all the fabric everywhere. I even catch a glimpse of the nefarious ironing board.
“Go snoop, if you want,” he says as he comes to a stop ahead of me, and I realize that I’ve stopped outside the open door already.
“Oh. No. I mean, it’s Malcolm’s room too, I don’t want to invade?—”
“He’s a man of few secrets,” Damien says. “He won’t care.” He nods towards the door, and I hesitantly step inside.
It’s a small room, but not as small as mine. And not as small as I was expecting, given that I’d been told they had bunk beds. I assumed there wouldn’t be room for two real beds, but there would be, if it weren’t for the sewing supplies taking up three-quarters of the space.
“You’ve given Malcolm a lot of space in here,” I say as I take it all in.
He shrugs. “With my gaming stuff in the living room, I didn’t really need much space. And it’s better for the mess to be contained here, where it won’t give Nathan a heart attack.”
“I guess that explains how they can live under the same roof.”
