Page 29 of Achievement Unlocked

“Too anal,” Quentin said.

“So I’m perfect for Sonya’s stories.”

Carly tapped the end of her fork against her chin. “He’s got a point…”

“Anyway.” From her tone, Megan was ready to move on. “They work for— Wait, am I allowed to say?”

I patted her shoulder, and a random pulse of want raced through me. Best to stow that for later. “Only the ninja stuff is secret.”

“We work for a company you’ve probably never heard of, because our first MMO just went into beta, but we used to be at Rinslet,” Jeremy said.

Landon nodded in understanding. “AcesPlayed.”

“The man knows his gaming companies.” Carly took a long swallow of her beer.

I wasn’t so impressed. “Or his smut peddlers.” No one else could call our game trashy or smutty, but we were allowed to. The company we worked at was launching a massively multi-player online role-playing game that was not just adult, but pornographic in its nature. There were the standard cyberpunk-style role-playing quests, but we’d also built in the ability for avatars to have sex with each other. As many as wanted to participate, and there was no censorship in game.

“I’m trying to get into game programming, or really a job with any game who’s willing to take on a forty-year-old, junior level coder. I have a wish list of those I’d love to work for, but AcesPlayed doesn’t seem to put outHelp Wantedads,” Landon said.

At the explanation, Sonya raised her brows. “So you don’t know us for our raunchy stories?” Was she offended, because she and Jeremy were behind those stories, or glad the company had a deeper reputation?

“Those too.” Landon grinned. “I also keep hoping I can get into the beta. The game looks like a lot of fun.”

“I’ll send you a key. I know someone on the inside.” Sonya’s tone shifted to teasing and conspiratorial.

A protest bubbled up in my throat, and I swallowed it. Why the fuck did I care who played the beta of our game as long as they weren’t a troll?

The talking continued long after lunch was gone, and carried into the evening, and after the sunset. Normal for our group. Still weird with Landon here.

Even weirder, I felt a twinge of regret when he stood and said he had to go. He thanked Megan for the invite, and Quentin promised him they’d keep in touch more.

“I’ll see you to the door.” Megan stood too, and fell into step with Landon.

My jealousy spiked, and it was foul mixed with the scent of curry that hung in the air. I’d always hated seeing her with other men, but this was different. Was it because we were both single?

I didn’t know, but I needed to get myself under control.

Megan was gone longer than I expected, and murmurs floated toward me from the front door.

When she finally returned, she settled into the seat next to me.

“What was that about?” I tried to keep my tone casual and quiet.

“I wanted to make sure Landon was still okay to help check things off my list.”

Yup, I was definitely jealous.

The conversation wound down, and a short while later, Sonya, Jeremy, and Quentin were on their way, too.

Which meant I should get going. “Walk me to my car?” I asked Megan.

“Of course.”

“Do something I’d do,” Carly called.

Megan rolled her eyes as she closed the door behind us.

We walked in silence toward the condo parking lot. Carly had one thing right earlier, I was fighting a serious caveman impulse, and couldn’t think of any way to convey my thoughts beyond tossing Megan over my shoulder and carrying her away.

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