“I don’t understand how you make money but who am I to judge when I also don’t have a very conventional job.”
“I kinda like that you understand. We might not understand the small details but we understand that it’s kinda quirky. We both understand what it means to be in the public eye.”
“Very much so,” Maki says with a nod. “Though, I’m not the best at that aspect. I have a PR manager and she’s always trying to teach me how to post on social media and do interviews. I hate it,” he says with a frown.
“I know a lot of streamers are known for the games they play but I’ve never actually been that good at video games. I tend to get way too into them, suck at them, before eventually quitting in a fit of rage. People like hanging out because of how much I talk to my chat. That’s what Ithinkthey like about me anyway.”
“I noticed that.”
“So,” I say slowly. “When it comes to the social media side of things, I’ll help you today,” I say with a grin. “We’ll take a selfie before we leave and we can both post it on our social media.”
“You’d be okay with that?”
“Of course! I have to show chat that I’ve won you over,” I explain. “They were really on my case the other day. They called me the asshole and to be super honest, I don’t really blame them. I’m really sorry again about how we first met.”
“Please don’t worry about it. It might have started rocky, but our dinner is going well.” His brows furrow again. I can’t help but grin, loving that look on his face. It’s super cute. “I think it’s going well.”
“It is,” I assure him. “It’s going really well.”
“Good,” he says with a sigh, letting his shoulders relax. “I’m not good at this. Talking to people.”
“I think you’re doing a great job, Maki.”
He smiles, the tiniest bit. “Thank you, Rin.” Then he pushes his milkshake towards the middle of the table. “Would you like to dip a fry into my shake so you can try it?”
“Yes please!” I dip one of my fries into his chocolate banana shake, groaning in pleasure at the taste. “Okay, that’s so good. I’ll have to get that next time I come here. You can dip yourspoon in my shake if you’d like to try but I’ll warn you, it’s pretty sweet!”
Maki grabs his spoon and tries my shake, wrinkling his nose. “That’s very sweet.”
“You don’t have much of a sweet tooth?”
He shakes his head. “My guilty pleasures swing more on the salty side.”
Ugh, I really need to stop hanging out with Rodney because the first thing that comes to mind is to make a joke about how I’ve got something salty he can taste. I might not know much about Maki yet, but I have a feeling he wouldn’t appreciate or even understand a dirty joke like that.
“When’s your next game?”
“On Monday. It’s an away game against the Beverly Bakers. I’ll be leaving tomorrow night so that my team can have the weekend to practice at the facility there.”
“Are you excited?”
Maki hums, nodding his head. “I think it will be an exciting set. Our teams are very equally matched.”
“But you’re gonna win, right?”
“I’m going to try my best to make that happen,” he says seriously. I can’t help but grin, my chest fluttering pleasantly.
“Are your games televised?”
“They are. Will you watch on Monday?”
“I’ll do my best. I have plans this weekend and I have no idea when I’ll be free again. By the time you get back from your game, I might still be in SkyDive hell.”
Maki tilts his head to the side. “I apologize but I don’t know what that means.”
“I’m starting a stream tomorrow where I can’t stop the stream until I beat the game SkyDive. I’m not sure how long it’ll take but probably a while,” I explain, finishing the last of my fries before pulling my milkshake close. “I’ve done marathon streamslike this before and they’re really fun, but they’re also really draining.”
“When will you sleep?”
