“Shit,” Teddy said. “Now he’s stuck here until the storm passes. What do we do?”
Geoff kissed the top of his head. “We just treat him like a friend, the same as we have been.”
“Should we refrain from being affectionate around him?”
“I think so,” Geoff agreed. “We can just wait until he’s not around, or at night.”
“Okay.”
It’d be hard not to hold and caress Teddy. They shouldn’t need to restrain themselves, but they were partially to blame. They should have kept their boundaries, but it was too late now.
Teddy went to take a hot bath, and Geoff perused his video game collection. He pulled up the online menu and scrolled. He’d just landed on one when Ciaran entered.
“What are you playing?” Ciaran asked.
“Monster Hunter: World.”
“Is thatStreets of Rogue?I wanted to play it when it was released last year, but I haven’t had time.”
“Do you want to play?”
“Really?” A broad smile appeared on his face. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Geoff said, “Teddy doesn’t like video games. It’d be nice to play with someone.”
“Let’s do it.”
Geoff handed him a controller and started up the game. They sat on the floor like children and customized their characters. Geoff specialized in lock picking while Ciaran went with hacking. When he slipped up hacking—and did it in front of a police officer—he ran and gathered a mob of enemies chasing him.
He collapsed on his side, laughing and knocking Geoff over. Geoff let out a laugh. They lay on the floor, laughing until their sides hurt.
“Did I interrupt something?” Teddy stared down at them.
“No.” Geoff gasped for air. “We were just playingStreets of Rogue,and Ciaran decided to hack in front of a police officer. Then he fell over and knocked me over.”
“Cute,” Teddy laughed. “I’m going to finish up some work and then make dinner. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
Geoff sat up. “Okay.”
Geoff and Ciaran spent the next hour escaping each level and moving up with their skills and experience points before they called it quits.
“That was fun,” Ciaran said. “Thanks for letting me join.”
“Anytime,” Geoff smiled.
“I’m going to get some more work done. Can you call me when dinner is ready?”
“Sure thing.”
Geoff joined Teddy in his office, where he was filling out a spreadsheet for the guests who would arrive in the New Year. They didn’t think the storm would clear up in time for a New Year’s celebration, so they blocked out the dates.
“Did you guys have fun?” Teddy asked.
“Yeah,” Geoff replied, giving Teddy a kiss on the head. “Ciaran is a great gaming partner.”
“I haven’t heard you laugh that much in a while.” Teddy turned around and looked up at Geoff.
“Really?”
