“R-right. Yes.” I cough, cover my mouth, lookanywherebut at Samson’s beautifulblushing—BLUSHING!?—face. “Maybe tomorrow we can try speedrunning.”
I know it’s a futile request, but I am overheating right now.
“Speedrunning?” Samson strides back toward the ladder we came down to reach this level. Like the last time we left the mines, he scans our surroundings, looks up the hole, scales the rungs, and pops back down before extending his arm to me like an escort. “What’s speedrunning?”
Toasted—thoroughly—from the kiss, the blush, and his consistency with being the best kind of gentleman, I grab hold of the first rung. “It’s a gaming term for when you try to finish a game as fast as possible without any breaks. The deeper in the mines you go, the better the loot you find. Instead of clearing out each level like we have been, we’d dodge the monsters, find the ladder down, and keep pressing on until we’re deep enough that topaz might be a more common find. Once we can get the elevator running again, we just need to make sure we reach each elevator checkpoint with a fresh topaz to install. Better progress toward better loot.”
Samson follows up behind me, grumbling, “Absolutely we will not be doing that. We won’t know what might be waiting for us on the return trip if we don’t clear out our path back.”
“Well, true. To be fair, in the game, you click the ladder going up, and a dialogue box asks if you’d like to leave the mines. Clickyes, and you’re out.” Realism mod strikes again. Must I say it?Boo.
Although…
I touch the top of my forehead once I’m on stable ground again.
Maybe there are parts of it that I don’t mind. I know for darned sure I never got forehead kisses from Samson in the game.
“We could always try to buy a topaz from Mimet,” Samson offers.
“Ew.” My nose scrunches. “Capitalism strats.”
Samson peers up at me as he emerges from the hole, then he shakes his head and chuckles. “Sometimes, I swear you’re speaking a different language.” He passes me. “It’s cute.”
My weeadorableheart soars.
My cuteness! Confirmed! BySamson!
I am going to actually, literally, tell my diary about this when we get back. In the corner of the guest room that Samson is letting me stay in, I’m going to kick my legs and wiggle as I relay the historical event that has just taken place.
Cute.
I can’t believe it.
Is this what self-esteem tastes like?
Incredible. Outstanding. A marvelous vintage.
After finishing up the task of dropping the stone we gathered on the farm and from the mines off in the appropriate places for the retaining wall quest, we start our trek toward Samson’s. Once we crest the hill that separates the path leading to the ocean from Samson’s farmland, dusk falls over the still house, sleepy animals, and a package on the front porch. The scene of fiery clouds tilting into navy blues steals my breath as Samson lifts the brown paper parcel off the step and mumbles something about howNes works fast.
Seeing him, backdropped by a world I’ve only known through pixels, holding something for me, turning tome, smiling atme, knowing he’s flattered and not disturbed by my attention, does horrible things to my heart.
Without warning, he asks, “Any requests for dinner, Lemonade?”
Incomprehensible ease fills my soul. This—right here, right now—feels more like home than anything else ever has. I want to hold onto it, keep it, forever.
As I make my way to him, I say, “Fried rice, maybe?”
He nods. “Fried rice, definitely.”
Then he opens the door, and lets me in.
Chapter 16
♥♥♥
Surely my inability to check my mail won’t become a plot point later…right?
“Do you understand?” I blurt, vibrating. “You don’t, do you?” I clasp my hands together, squealing as I lose my mind on Samson’s front porch. I’m probably scaring the cows, which isfine. Probably. I’m so excited I could scream, but I’mnotdoing that, because Samson still doesn’t look like he’s slept since I arrived two and a half weeks ago.
