Playing Her Secret Crush Read online

  He scowled. “Picked up?”

  “Well, yeah. Then once they do, they’ll get to see what’s on the inside.”

  “When they…open you up?” His frown grew deeper.

  “No! I didn’t mean—” She threw her hands up and groaned. “Okay, forget the book analogy. I want a boyfriend. I want to be…wanted.”

  He glanced at the magazine on the bed, then at her dress and knew he was only being selfish, jealous of the guy who would get to be with his Katie in a way he never could. He should be happy for her that she was putting herself out there. And it was time he did the same. For real. Not just a date or two. He wanted to find someone else, someone his brother hadn’t liked.

  Katie was still waiting for a response. Because he couldn’t say that he wanted her, not as any more than a friend, he said, “I get it. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve been thinking that I’d like to find someone, too. A girlfriend.”

  She sank into her desk chair, her expression unreadable. “You want a girlfriend?”

  “Yeah. And I was hoping you could help me.”

  Her eye-shadowed eyes went wide. “Me? You’re the player. What do you want my help for?”

  “That’s just it.” He stared down at his hands. “I know how to get girls, just not how to keep them. I want something that lasts longer.”

  “Longer than a week?”

  “Yeah.”

  Her eyes dropped to the floor. “What happened to carpe diem? Living life to the fullest? Dating a new girl every week like your brother?”

  She sounded kind of sad. Alex wondered if it was because she was thinking of Jason, of all the girls he’d dated. Or maybe because she never got to be one of them.

  “You’re always harping on me about how I go through too many girls,” he said. “I thought you’d be happy. I figure living life to the fullest could also mean living it with one person. Taking that relationship to the fullest.”

  She stared at him while she considered this. “I’m not exactly an expert,” she said quietly. “I’ve never even had a boyfriend.”

  “You have,” he said. “That jerk you told me about. Kyle Jacobs.”

  Groaning, she let her head fall back. “Don’t remind me.”

  “Besides, you’re a girl,” he said. “Who just so happens to be my best friend, and I trust you to be honest with me. You can give me tips and tell me when I’m being an idiot.”

  Her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. “I do like doing that.”

  “And look at all these magazines.” He waved a hand around her room. “You must be an expert on relationships after reading all this.”

  He shuffled through the stack on her nightstand. One title in bold caught his attention. The Relationship Issue. He picked it up. “How about this one?”

  Katie swiped it away from him and gave him a dubious look, but after a moment, she began to flip through it. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered. “Learning how to be a boyfriend from magazines.”

  “So is learning How to Hook Your Guy.”

  She stuck out her tongue. “Touché, I guess.” Shifting through the pages, she paused on one article and scanned it. “Here’s a good one.”

  Alex pulled her wheeled chair closer so he could read over her shoulder.

  How to Find a Lasting Relationship

  1. Be a friend

  2. Spend time together

  3. Go on a group date

  4. Get closer

  5. Make sure they’re the one

  6. Be honest about your feelings

  The article went on to explain each point further, but the basic theme was “take it slow.”

  “See?” Katie said. “It’s not so complicated. You just need to be patient.”

  He grinned. “Well, restraint isn’t exactly my thing.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’ve noticed.”

  He spun her chair so she was facing him and placed a hand on each armrest. “So you’ll help me? Keep me in check? Be my wing man…err, girl?”

  She let out a slow breath as she regarded him from beneath her thick, mascaraed eyelashes. Why was she hesitating? He wished he knew what was going through her mind. When she didn’t say anything, he dropped the playfulness.

  “I feel like I need this,” he told her seriously. “I feel like, despite trying to fulfill my promise to Jason, and the extreme sports, and the therapy sessions, something’s still wrong. Won’t you help me?”

  Before she could answer, a trumpet blast from her laptop interrupted them. A message popped up on the screen from Pizzalover. Katie turned to her desk to read it.

  “The others are ready,” she said.

  Nodding, Alex pulled his laptop out of his backpack and logged into Conquerors of Caroon. Katie said nothing more about his dating life as she pulled her headset on. Unplugging her laptop, she brought it over to the bed so they could assume their usual battle positions.

  Laptops on their legs, they arranged themselves the way they always did—however they could fit on her single bed. Sometimes that meant contorting themselves in a pretzel-like fashion, legs intertwined. Now she slouched down until she was leaning against his chest at an angle, one leg over his, so they could both see each other’s screens.

  As Alex pulled on his own headset, her hair tickled his cheek. He inhaled. Coconut—still his same Katie.

  When Alex and Katie jumped into the game, they found Sugarplum and Pizzalover standing at the mouth of the cave that led into the Dwarf Mountains.

  “Are we ready?” Trevor asked.

  Penny gulped. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  “Let’s do this.” Alex said. “I’ll go first.” Pressing the forward arrow button, he plunged his elf into the inky blackness.

  As the others followed, their footsteps echoed in his headphones, hinting at the deep and endless passageways hidden beneath the mountain. His screen dimmed as darkness swallowed his avatar, and he shivered in real life.

  Sometimes the game felt so real. While playing Conquerors, it was as though he became Dark_Prince. When he swung his sword, his muscles tensed like he was the one fighting for his life. When the wind blew around his avatar, he could practically smell Caroon.

  Pizzalover cast a spell over the orb on her staff. It glowed deep purple, lighting their path and casting eerie shadows on the rough rock walls. They ventured deep into the heart of the mountain, slaying all manner of creepy crawlies: bats, giant insects, slime creatures.

  Katie remained quiet next to Alex. She was usually more animated when they played. Was she still thinking about his request? He wanted to ask if she was okay, but he didn’t want the others to hear.

  As the team rounded a curve in the tunnel, a distant clicking tapped in Alex’s headphones like the steady beat of the mountain’s heart. Footsteps, he suddenly realized. And whoever it was—or whatever—they were in a hurry. Was it an ambush?

  His hand automatically hovered over the attack button. “Hold up, you guys. Something’s coming.”

  Alex sidled his avatar to the bend in the rock wall and waited for the right moment. The footsteps grew louder, the echoes bouncing off the cave walls, overlapping until it sounded like roaring applause. When movement appeared around the corner, he attacked.

  There was a high-pitched squeak. Alex’s blade came within inches of a human male’s clean-shaven throat. The man barely danced out of the way in time.

  “Look.” Katie pointed at his screen, at the coat of arms pinned to his chest. “He’s a royal herald.”

  Garbed in a rich velvet tunic with puffy shoulders and a flouncy hat, it was clear he wasn’t looking for a fight. Alex realized it was a non-player character programmed into the game. He sheathed his sword.

  “What is a herald doing in the depths of the Dwarf Mountains?” Trevor asked.

  “I don’t know.” Alex moved his cursor over the talk icon above the herald’s head and clicked on it.

  The man drew himself up, and a snooty voice c
ame through his headphones. “I have been traveling the lands far and wide. I come bearing an invitation.”

  Penny gasped. “Ooh. Is it a party?”

  The herald reached into his leather satchel and produced a scroll. With a practiced flick, he rolled it out. He waited patiently for someone to hit the next button. Alex clicked on it.

  The herald cleared his throat dramatically and began to read. “Hear ye, hear ye. By royal decree, all citizens of Caroon are eligible to enter a tournament. The grand prize shall be a treasure trove worth one hundred thousand US dollars. The first five parties to complete the qualifying trials and find the key will be sent by the crown to battle each other at Ultra Con in Las Vegas, Nevada, this November.”

  Alex inhaled sharply. The announcement immediately brought back memories of Jason. He’d been the one to get Alex hooked on Conquerors in the first place. By the time they’d started spending more time together, Jason had been bedridden. It wasn’t like they could toss a football around. Instead, they played Conquerors of Caroon together every day in his hospital room.

  Once Katie had joined, they did a local search through the game and found two other players near them that wanted to form a team: Pizzalover and Sugarplum. Together, they became MegaByte. They started breaking records and setting top scores. When the annual Ultra Con tournament was announced, Jason was pumped for it, but before they could qualify to enter, he died.

  “Are you interested in more information?” the herald asked pleasantly. A new text box appeared on the screen. Yes or No.

  When no one spoke, Alex looked at Katie. She was staring at him, as though waiting for some cue. There was a certain reverence about the silence in his headphones. For the group of warriors, competing meant so much more than money or Ultra Con tickets.

  Finally, he moved his cursor and clicked Yes. A window popped up with a giant document to scroll through for the Official Rules released by the game designer, Maxware Studios.

  “Are you sure?” Katie asked. “If it’s too much, we don’t have to. I know you wanted to do this with Jason.”

  “I did. But I didn’t get to.” No regrets, he told himself. “All the more reason to compete this year. Jason wanted to go so badly, so we’ll go and win it in his memory.”

  Katie smiled. “Then I’m in.”

  “Me, too,” Penny said, and the ogre swung his mace in the air like a sort of “whoop whoop.”

  “Same here,” Trevor said.

  Alex moved his cursor to next, and the herald continued. “To prove you are worthy, you must complete several perilous trials and defeat a foe unlike any creature to walk the face of Caroon. If successful, you will receive a key to enter the tournament. It is hidden somewhere within Caroon. The sky’s the limit, but you must find it before October fifteenth.”

  Trevor’s laugh barked in Alex’s headphones. “But Caroon is practically endless. New regions and storylines are being added almost weekly. That means the key could be anywhere.”

  Alex banged his head on Katie’s headboard. Anywhere? That made it next to impossible. But he supposed the online role-playing game was more popular than ever. They had to weed out the amateurs somehow.

  There didn’t seem to be any other next button to get more information, so Alex clicked on Goodbye.

  The herald rolled his parchment back up and tucked it away. “Good luck, and may Valhalla shine favorably upon you all.” With a flamboyant bow, he flung his velvet caplet around him and headed back the way he’d come.

  As they watched him leave, Sugarplum ran around in circles on the screen. “Yippee! We could go to Ultra Con for free. I’ve always wanted to go.”

  “I hear the Doctor is going to be there this year,” Trevor said.

  Sugarplum stopped. “Doctor who?”

  “Exactly,” he replied. “And more importantly, there’s the grand prize of one hundred thousand dollars. I could afford some night classes at the college. I don’t want to be stuck in my dead-end serving job forever.”

  “I could convince my mom to take me to Disneyland,” Penny said. “She can’t say no if it’s my treat.”

  A slow smile crept over Alex’s face. “I could buy that Ducati I’ve been checking out.”

  “Really?” Katie shot him a look. “A motorcycle? They’re so dangerous. But look who I’m telling,” she said sarcastically. “The adrenaline addict.”

  “Oh, come on,” he said. “I’ll let you ride on the back. You’ll love it.”

  She snorted. “Well, I like Trevor’s idea. I’ve got college tuition to save up for. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First we need to figure out how to gain entry into the tournament.”

  “I know a lot of long-time players,” Trevor said. “Folks who have been around since the early beta days. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and see if I can learn anything. But we have a bigger problem. I’m just going through the rules now. It says you must have a party of five to be eligible, and…” His deep voice paused, as though unsure how to phrase the next sentence. “We’re down one player.”

  Alex’s shoulders slumped at the news. “Where are we going to find a new member on such short notice?”

  “At this point, anyone will do,” Trevor said. “We don’t have time to waste if we’re going to have a chance at entering. Last year all the entry positions were filled after only a month.”

  Alex frowned. “I can’t think of anyone else we know that plays.” He didn’t realize he’d been anxiously twisting his laptop cord until Katie put a hand over his.

  “Don’t worry.” She gave him a smile. “We’ll all be on the lookout for someone.”

  There was a murmur of voices in his headset. A moment later, Penny said, “Sorry, guys. Mom says it’s bedtime.”

  “Are we still on to play again Monday afternoon?” Trevor asked.

  Everyone agreed and said their goodbyes. When Alex pulled off his headphones, he ran a rough hand through his hair. He stared at the screen until Katie nudged his shoulder.

  “We’ll get into that contest.” Her smile wavered a little and she added, “And I’ll help you get a girlfriend.”

  “Really?” His anxiety was replaced by a flood of gratitude, and he hugged her. “Thanks.”

  As Alex packed up, Katie was quiet. He recalled how often she’d hung out in his brother’s hospital room. She was there almost as much as Alex was, showing up every day after school with her laptop. He suddenly realized that competing in the tournament was probably as important to her as it was to him.

  Alex often wondered, if Jason had beat cancer, would they have ended up together? His stomach twisted with guilt over how much he’d wanted her back then, over wishing she could be his even now.

  During Jason’s last week, he kept talking about Katie, about what a great girl she was, about regrets—it was all a little jumbled because of how much medication he was on. He told Alex to look out for her. And he had, but Alex knew it was just as much for him as it was for Jason.

  After the funeral, shared grief brought Katie and Alex closer than he could have imagined, but was it simply because Katie felt obligated? She might have been doing Jason a favor by looking out for his little brother. At least, maybe at first.

  As Alex waved goodbye and headed across the street to his truck, he was still thinking about the days surrounding Jason’s death. Katie had held his hand at the funeral, had hugged him as he cried, and said so much with her silence when she’d sit with him for hours. He wasn’t sure how he would have made it without her.

  He turned and looked to her bedroom window on the second floor. The sun was setting, but her light was on, and he could see her outline as she waved goodbye. Had it only been an obligation for her, one that turned into friendship? Because after his brother died, they’d only remained friends.

  But of course it had to be that way. And that was why he needed a distraction, someone…exciting enough to finally draw his attention away from Katie, once and for all.

  Alex backed up to his truck, h
is focus still on her silhouette. He was in the middle of the road when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He jumped, spinning in time to see a motorcycle headed straight for him. They were going too fast.

  Alex’s heart stopped for a painful moment. His legs froze with indecision.

  A horn blasted. The motor hushed as the guy let off the throttle and hit the brake. Tires skidded.

  Alex swore he could hear his heart pick back up again, double-time. It thudded in his ears like a clock ticking down.

  This was it. This was when it all ended, and he hadn’t done enough. He still had regrets. He hadn’t found what was missing in his life.

  You never know when it’s all going to stop.

  Arms flying up, he braced for impact.

  He heard Katie scream from her window. “Alex!”

  At the last second, the bike cut hard to the right. Alex felt the rush of air as it came within inches of him. A heartbeat later, it swerved around him in a smooth arc, whizzing by.

  His breath whooshed out in a relieved groan. For a moment, he thought the guy would keep going, but then the engine grunted as it was geared down.

  Suddenly, the driver cranked the bike to the side. It spun one-eighty, laying a patch of rubber on the pavement until it faced Alex. The driver killed the engine, and the suburban street was quiet again.

  Where did the guy get off, driving that fast on a quiet road? If he wants to race, maybe he should go to a racetrack.

  Alex was all for an adrenaline rush, but the point was always to make him feel like he was alive, not make the opposite come true. He was already fully aware of how short life was.

  Fists clenched, he marched up to the bike. Just as he opened his mouth to let the guy have it, he slipped off his helmet.

  Long, blonde locks unfurled as the helmet came away. The biker swept them aside, revealing a pair of full lips and striking blue eyes blinking against the setting sun.

  Alex tripped over nothing, his words falling flat on his tongue. Instead of an argument, all that came out was an incoherent mumble.

  The girl kicked the stand down and swung herself off the bike. Now that she was standing, he could see the slim, feminine figure beneath her leather jacket and jeans.