Max and I haven’t even kissed.
Which makes me think he really doesn’t want to kiss me. That he meant what he said about doing all this to protect his peace.
“Okay. I’m totally taking that silence as ayes.”
“Yeah, maybe he’s hot,” I admit, my face flushing, like I’m a teenage girl kicking her feet, on the phone with her bestie about a crush. “But he’s also not interested in me.”
“Is he gay?”
My mind flashes to that day in his workshop, the dark look in his eyes, the way his throat had bobbed and his hands tightened into fists, like he was holding himself back.
“No,” I croak. “I don’t think so.”
“Then he’s interested. Why the hell else would he be spending so much time with you? I’m shocked he hasn’t made a move, honestly.”
“We have a deal that I won’t rent out to any college kids.”
“For being so insanely brilliant, you are also incredibly dense sometimes,” Vanessa deadpans. “And also, if you don’t sleep with the hot mountain man during this adventure, I’m going to be pissed.”
I laugh, and my shoulders loosen slightly. “I would never want to suffer such wrath.”
“Also,” Vanessa says, moving from one subject to another with ease, like she always does. “I’m sending these files to Greenie. He’s going to flip.”
Pressing my lips together, I try to keep from smiling as Vanessa talks about what it would be like for us toactuallyfollow through with it. Actually make a game together, like we’ve been talking about for ages.
And, for the first time in a long time, I don’t write it off as being impossible, or something I’ll get to focus on later.
Right now, I find myself wondering about how hard it would be to get the parts to build myself a PC here in the cabin.
CHAPTER 14
MAX
Each day, we cross more and more things off Lacey’s must-do list for the cabin.
The place is looking better and better. Two more weeks pass with us working together consistently, and Lacey doesn’t bring up the website thing again. In fact, she doesn’t even gonearthe woodworking sales topic, except to ask questions about the process.
She has, however, started working remotely again. She’s important enough that Gaia couldn’t go that long with her on vacation, and I noticed the shift in her immediately.
Now, she’s standing at the top of a ladder — because she’s insisted on being the one to string up the outdoor lights, even though I offered to do it three times, and even though she’s wearing a dress, of all things — and ranting about her first day back, angrily sticking up the weather-proof hooks against the side of the cabin.
Yesterday, I convinced her that fixing up the outside of the cabin was as important as doing the inside. It made her list a bit longer.
As she talks, I pointedly force myself to avoid accidentally glancing up her skirt.
“It’s just, like, why we need three more soundtracks is completely beyond me. I mean, everyone knows the extras are out to get money, but at a certain point, it feels slimy, you know?”
I don’t, really. She’s explained to me that people can buy different things in the game — skins and music, dance moves and little charms to hang from their belts — but I don’t really get why anyone would spend money on that. If the game is free, then why spend money on it?
Today, Lacey is wearing a soft green overall dress. As if the skirt element wasn’t bad enough, the thing ties at the top of her shoulders. I’ve thought about reaching over and undoing the ties more times than I care to admit.
But right now, the only thing I’m thinking about is how her anger is making her jerky, so I hold the ladder tighter. It’s not like it would kill her to fall, but the porch drops off into the water, and I have no idea if she even knows how to swim.
Plus, the water is probably pretty fucking cold.
“Keep a hold on the top, there?—”
“I am,” she says, waving her hand at me, and not getting the irony of that. Accepting another hook, she sticks it on and strings up the light before climbing down so I can reposition the ladder again.
