Page 58 of Level Up
“Nothing happened!” I laugh sarcastically. “Literally nothing. Pal might not be the best judge of who is or is nothorny.”
Victory glances sideways, towards the rest of the cafe, since I may have said that a little too loudly. I fold my arms with my glass cradled between them and slouch down in my seat, taking a long sip of cold brew.
“I don’t follow,” she says after staring at me for a minute.
I huff, exasperated, but the paper straw is still betweenmy teeth and my drink bubbles up. “I invitedSconesup to my apartment to hang out after the pub, and he very awkwardly and emphatically declined,” I tell her. “You’d think I’d threatened to kick him in the nutsack.”
Victory snorts a laugh but quickly apologizes for it. “So, he’sSconesagain?”
“When he’s being a dick? Yes.”
“And he’s a dick because he didn’t want to keep hanging out?”
“He’s a dick because he looks likethat, and then he won’t even?—”
“Looks like what?”
“Hot!”
She pinches her mouth shut like she’s trying not to laugh.
I set my glass on the table with a thud and cover my face with both hands. “I feel like an idiot.”
“I’m just trying to get on board here,” Victory says, sweeping her hair back. “You invited…Scones…to your apartment because you think he’s hot, and when he didn’t want to go, you figured that meant Pal was wrong about him being into you. Is that right?”
“Don’t look at me like that,” I say to her, peeking at her through my fingers. “Like you think I’m an idiot.”
“I don’t?—”
“You made a face when I said he was hot!”
“No, no, he’s kinda cute, I guess. We just might have different taste?—”
I groan and hide my face again.
“Audrey?” she says slowly, and I hazard another glance at her through my fingers. “Did you invite him over…for sex?”
“I—Not exactly.” I lower my hands, defeated. “I mean, I didn’tsayit. But I at least hoped maybe he would…kiss me?”
“So, you didn’ttellhim that’s what you wanted,” she says, like she’s still trying to get the story straight.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t know how to do any of this! I don’t know how this works!”
“No one does.”
“You and Pal figured it out pretty quickly,” I point out, and she smiles shyly.
“After a year of failed flirting,” she says. “Putting yourself out there is uncomfortable.”
“Maybe it’s for the best,” I mutter, slumping to one side, cheek propped on my fist. “I had some sort ofepisode, clearly, and I’ll be back to normal soon.”
“Normal?”
“You know what I mean,” I say with a sarcastic laugh. “Maybe I just need to stick to gaming with him. That feels safe. And then whatever I was feeling the other day will pass.”
“Sure,” Victory says unconvincingly. “Anything’s possible.”
I don’t appreciate her lack of conviction, but a thought occurs to me. “He asked me to do a speedrun with him,” I tell her suddenly, and she looks confused by my invisible train of thought. “Well, someone suggested we should both do a speedrun ofStones 4and see whose time is better, and he said he’s in if I am. Right after he turned me down.”
