Page 58 of Achievement Unlocked

Not that we’d offered more. But the longer I spent with Landon, the more I wondered why he couldn’t be part of us, our group of friends. Megan adored him, no matter what she called it, and his company had grown on me.

“It’s done and in the past.” Landon’s reply stopped me from falling into a pit of thought I didn’t want to be in. “Let’s change the subject. Where’d you get your bike? Unless that’s a tale with trauma attached to it.”

I grinned. “It’s not. Not for me, anyway.” I loved this story, and was happy to talk about anything that didn’t require me tofeel. “When I ran away from the circus—”

Landon snorted. “Hearing that still cracks me up.”

“That’s why I say it. Anyway, I didn’t have much cash on me. Enough to grab a bus ticket to the next closest city, which happened to be Salt Lake. And I didn’t have a lot of work experience, either, so I was doing random, shit jobs. A friend of a friend knew a few guys who had just bought a building, bank repo, and they needed it cleaned out.”

That was the first home of Cord, which later became Rinslet, and changed all our lives. But that was a story for a different time. “They paid me a nice chunk of cash, and told me I could keep anything I wanted, as long as the building was empty in two weeks. Most of what I tossed was junk—broken chairs, desks, that kind of stuff. But there was a sweet ass server array that someone had ordered, then they were fired before it got installed. And a giant wooden crate.”

Landon settled into the seat across from me, and crossed one ankle over the other knee. “A crate. You found a motorcycle in a foreclosed-on building?”

“Are you telling the story?” I asked lightly.

He held up his hands in surrender. “Do continue.”

“I grabbed a crowbar, I pried the crate open, and there was a brand-new bike in there. Still packed in grease and basically directly off the boat from Japan. One of the execs had ordered it, but when it took too long to arrive, he lost interest. I needed a ride, and now I had one. It seemed like fate.”

Landon clucked and shook his head. “So you’ve had that thing for—”

“Almost twenty-five years. And yes, I keep it in immaculate condition, and yes I know what it is and how much it’s worth to collectors.” It was the first year they’d made that model, and there had only been five hundred imported into the US. I’d had people offer me almost as much as my house was worth for the bike, but it was mine.

“Now that’s a good story. Tell me another, Pappy.” Landon’s tone shifted to something that reminded me of that old movie,Oliver.

I laughed at the out-of-the-blue accent. “What the fuck was that?”

“Don’t know. The inspiration possessed me.”

Weird, but amusing. Then again, I tended to like weird. I patted my knee. “Come sit on my lap, and I’ll tell you all sorts of stories.”

“Will you let me have the candy in your pocket, too?”

“Only if you’re extra squirmy. But seriously, what kind of story?”

Landon shrugged. “I don’t know. What’s it like working in game development? Keep in mind that it’s my dream job, so if you tell me anything other thanit’s amazingI’ll assume you’re a liar and a cheat.”

“I won’t say that.” I took my job seriously. “Itisamazing. Everything you think and more. In fact, you should come by the offices sometime. I’ll introduce you to the gang, give you the grand tour… We’re not a huge company, but we’re friendly.” I considered my words. “Correction—they’re mostly friendly. I’m still an asshole, even at work.”

“I’d be disappointed to find out otherwise.”

I liked Landon. Hopefully, despite his experiences being a third wheel in the past, he’d stick around even after Megan was satisfied with what she’d checked off her list.

It was possible I wanted more from him, too. But vocalizing the words, even just in my head, drew a mental scoff in response. What could I possibly want from this attractive, intelligent, articulate man who had captivated the woman I loved, and intrigued me enough that I never questioned his joining us on this trip?

Maybe a few more kisses like the ones we shared the other day. I’d probably give him a blow job.

So why did the pit in my chest feel like that wouldn’t be enough?

Our conversation took us through several random topics over the next few hours. We moved to the couch. We chatted and got serious every once in a while, but mostly it was lighthearted and joking.

I didn’t get along like this with many people. Jeremy. Megan.

The people at Aces were great, but I wasn’t as close with them as a lot of them were with each other. Hell, even back in our wild and free days when they were all fucking each other, I was the guy who preferred to watch. That’d probably amuse the fuck out of Landon to find out.

“The tattoo on your arm…” Landon nodded.

I looked at my left arm, the incongruous sleeve of ink, and pointed at a random image. “That one?” I already knew that wasn’t what he meant.

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