“Yeah, until then.”
As if he’d conjured her, Justine walked into the courtyard, looking tired. Dressed in denim capris and a cute, light-blue top, her long hair down and a messenger bag over her shoulder, she looked both professional and beautiful. And friendly, he reminded himself.Not looking for a man, and you’re not looking for a woman. Quit focusing on how attractive she is.
“Hey, Justine.” He had to act fast before Benji bolted. “Come on over and meet Benji.”
She smiled and drew closer. “Hi. Nice to meet you, Benji. I’m Justine Ferrera, living in 3D for the time being.”
Benji turned red and stood. He glanced at Xavier, saw his subtle encouragement, and wiped his hand on his shorts before offering it to Justine. “Hi. I’m Benji.”
They shook before he hastily pulled his hand back and sat, then shoved some fries in his mouth.
“Please, sit,” Xavier said to her, motioning to the spot next to him on the bench. He didn’t think Benji would be able to handle it if Justine sat too close to him. Benji, he noted, focused on his food and not Justine.
“Oh, I don’t want to interrupt you two.”
“You’re not. We were just talking about Benji’s rise to fame and fortune withArrow Sins & Siege.”
“Oh man. That game is everywhere, and I suck at it.” Justine made a face.
Benji blinked up at her. “You play?”
“Please. Everyone plays. Although I don’t know if you can call what I do playing. More like dying repeatedly.”
Xavier chuckled. “Benji tried to get me to play. I’m not bad.”
Benji snorted. “You’re horrible.”
Justine laughed. His friend studied her out of the corner of his eye but hadn’t run yet. A good sign.
Justine toyed with her bag and set it on the table. “I have to confess that I used the game as a diversion last night at family dinner.”
“Oh?” Xavier wanted to hear all about it.
“Things were going well, um, kind of. Not really, but I was hanging in there. Then my annoying sister threw me under the bus with my mom about dating. I tried to escape and overheard my dad and his friends mentioning how much money the gaming industry makes, as an investment potential. So I jumped into talk aboutArrow Sins & Siege.” She grinned. “I went through my efforts as a barbarian queen and had them so lost it was funny. You’d think they’d have played a little. Gaming isn’t just for kids.”
Benji nodded. “It’s a billion dollar industry for a reason. The majority of those playing the games, which cost upward of $70 a pop, are men over the age of thirty-five. I would know. My company hires out for work on a lot of those projects.”
“No kidding?” Justine goggled before Xavier could respond. “That’s so cool. Is that what you do? Game design? Coding?”
Benji gave a shy nod.
Justine asked him more questions about his job, and Benji answered without pause, enthusiastic about computers and games and most anything that plugged in.
Then a small lull in conversation occurred, and Benji must have realized he’d been talking at length toa woman.He stammered something unintelligible, hurried to his feet, and lit out with a hasty good-bye.
Justine turned to Xavier with a question. “Did I say something to upset him?”
“No. I think he realized he was talking to a beautiful woman and got scared. Benji’s a great guy, but he’s pretty introverted. The fact that he sat here so long talking to you is amazing in itself.”
Justine blushed. “He was really sweet and very into gaming. Wow. I feel stupid after talking to him. The guy’s smart on top of smart.”
“No kidding.” He watched her for a moment, realized how much he’d missed talking to her, and leaned back. “Okay, hit me.”
“With?”
“With your Sunday dinner. I caught undercurrents of fear and dismay.” They both laughed. “The folks were on you about dating, huh? Tell you what. You tell me about your dinner and I’ll fill you in on mine.”
“Oh, the man-list for your mom.” Justine’s eyes sparkled. “You’re on.”
