“I wasn’t sure I’d see you here tonight.” She took a deep breath and spoke again before I could get a reply out. “Not that I was hoping or thought you might be here, but I might have possibly hoped. I mean, I would have liked to see you again, but I just wasn’t sure. You were gone so quickly last night, and I hadn’t gotten your name, and I wanted to get to know you more.”
“Odette,” Jemma said her name, not looking over from where she and Beckett were talking at their table. Odette stopped her rant immediately. She covered her mouth, eyebrows knitting together in worry.
I lifted my hand, moving hers away.
“I’m glad to see you, too,” I whispered.
We were standing just as close as we had been last night. A smile crossed her face, and I hoped she knew just how much it meant to me that she felt comfortable enough to say exactly what she was thinking.
“Fuck me,” Jemma whispered, but all of us heard.
“Gladly,” Beckett spoke up, and she slapped the back of his head. I was going to have to figure out more about what was going on between them.
“Ryker,” I spoke my name and held my hand out to her, giving her a formal introduction, finally. I could see Beckett’s head snap to me as I said the name. His attention went back to Jemma, but he was sitting up straight, on high alert. I was going completely off the books now.
“I know.” She took my hand. “Odette.”
“I know.” I teased back and lightly squeezed the hand I was holding.
A smile rippled across Odette’s face as the minute warning was signaled for all attendees to take their seats.
“Odette!” I turned my head to see Parker coming in fast with no regard to me standing next to Odette. He grabbed hold of her waist and brought her in for a hug before she promptly pushed him away with a heavy shove.
“Parker.” The name was short from her mouth and not kind. She was fixing her dress and hair as Jemma stood between them, reacting faster than I knew how to in this instance.
“Leave.” Jemma’s one word was far more malevolent than Odette’s had been, but it made Parker leave immediately, but not before blowing Odette a kiss and making his way back to the standard theater seating. I went to grab Odette’s hand back, but she had already moved to sit back at her table.
Jemma gave me an apologetic look before joining her, and Beckett moved back to his seat at our table.
I took my seat next to him, but my eyes never left Odette. Her entire demeanor had changed, where she had seemed to be relatively comfortable in the room full of people to completely guarded, and I didn’t blame her. It was evident Parker had violated her space.
Beckett nudged me before pointing to the stage where two presenters were standing, talking aboutLeague of Witches.They were talking about the consistent gameplay across multiple platforms and those who streamed the game. How impactful the game had been among gamers and the role it had played in many of our lives. Especially one specific life.
This was my moment.
But honestly, I couldn’t have cared less.
In this moment, I wished we weren’t here at the award show but somewhere I could comfort Odette. I wanted to make it so we could go back to the little bubble we kept creating around us.I wanted to hold her in my arms, tell her that she was safe with me.
The room went dark, and the screen on the main stage showed snippets of my live streams from the very beginning of my career to the most recent, which was three days ago.
“Did you give them any footage?” I leaned into Beckett.
“Yeah.” He looked back, giving me a ‘not to worry’ look because he knew what was going through my mind. Those older videos from five years ago are not around any longer, at least not available to the public.
The lights came back on minutes later, and the presenters announced my achievement in Best Gameplay ofLeague of Witches. The lights dimmed only slightly before a new video graced the screen.
I took my gaze away from the video, already knowing what was going to play, and looked over to Odette. Instead of her eyes being focused on the screen like everyone else, her eyes were trained on me.
I mouthed, “Are you okay?”
She nodded her head and gave a sheepish smile. Odette tucked a piece of hair behind her ear that had come loose from Parker’s hug. She turned back to the stage, her shoulders relaxed, and I relaxed into my chair.
CovertRetriever could be heard throughout the entire theatre, going on aboutLeague of Witchesand the consistency of the play, as well as updates, and the pure magic that comes from immersing yourself in such a world. A shiver went up my spine listening to my own words. They were all true, and I had a lot more to say, but I had a time limit to fit into.
I pulled out my phone, messaging Beckett my idea of filming a longer acceptance speech when I was back home that said everything I wanted to say in honor of Best Gameplay, but also just how much this game meant to me. I shouted it from therooftop whenever I could, but with so much focus on the game, I knew I could make an impact with new gamers to start enjoying this journey with those who have been playing for so long.
Beckett turned his head and nodded in agreement. The lights came back on, and the presenters on the stage stayed, making an easy transition to theLeague of Witches’special honor of the evening.
