“Skye …” I drag my sister’s name out. “It’s the twenty-first century. People are meeting other people online and getting married and having happily ever afters all the time. You yourself were on dating apps before you met your boyfriend. And—” I go on before she can say something about howit’s differentthat I met Caleb playing video games. “—we text all the time. I’ve known him for almost a year.”
“You’re right.” She pauses dramatically. “This could be really bad. Do you even know what he looks like?”
“Skye,” I whine. “That’s not important! He’s sweet and kind. I know he’d do anything for his family and friends.” Plus he’s patient and kind in the game, not like guys I’ve played with who blow up over small mistakes.That’sa red flag.
“I know, I know,” Skye says. “You’re right. But what you should really think about is the fact that you’re a bold girlboss used to telling people what to do all day long, but you haven’t asked him out yourself yet.”
“There hasn’t been a right time.” It’s an excuse I’ve been using for a while. A bunch of little things showed me how great he was—protecting our missions over getting awards and points for solo stuff, checking in with me when we took big hits, and making sure the team recognized me when I did something that saved a mission. “We’ve had some important missions in the game. I don’t want to ruin the dynamic if things don’t go well.”
Skye scoffs, of course. She doesn’t think my game is this important, but the truth is, she’s right that I’m dumb to put that ahead of something that could be really great for me.
“You’re right,” I say, shaking off my insecurities about asking Caleb out. I can’t explain why he hasn’t asked me out, but I don’t want to dwell on it. He’s a guy, after all. Maybe it just hasn’t occurred to him. He can’t be totally perfect.
Maybe he found out somehow that I run Vire Gaming. I don’t usually tell people I meet through gaming that I run a subsidiary company for a major tech corporation, especially at first. They expect favors or only want me on the team because they think I can get insider info on games. (I mean, I probably could if I wanted to.) But by the time I’d decided I could trust Caleb, I’d found out about his aversion to women in high-powered jobs thanks to his mom.
“I’m right?” Skye repeats, surprised I agreed with her. We so rarely agree.
I shake off the worry that Caleb knows about my job. He would have said something. “It was silly of me to make excuses. This is a good thing. Amazing. It’s totally going to work out.”
“I love the way you manifest your happiness, sis,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
My phone dings, interrupting our conversation. It’s probably Caleb, wondering if I’m going to follow up on my agreement to go with him. “Thanks.” I smile in return. “Okay, I have to go. He’s still texting me. Thanks for the talk.”
“Anytime. Love you.”
“Love you.” We hang up, and I quickly open my messages to see what Caleb asked.
Caleb
If you’re sure…
So,sosure. It’s really perfect, now that I think about it. Caleb has given me my chance to go out with him without any pressure of it ruining our gaming friendship. If the vibe isn’t there, it’s fine. Nothing has to change.
Malia
Absolutely.
So, are we going as friends or are we going to fake a relationship to keep the sexy girl bosses away?
Caleb
Um your call?
I don’t want to make things weird.
Malia
But the fake girlfriend thing is what you need, right? Cos if we go as friends, your mom will still be setting you up.
Isn’t the point to not get set up?
Caleb
Well, yeah.
But I’m just happy you’re willing to go. I could always just insist that it’s awkward she’s introducing me to people when I have a date.
Like I said. Your call.
