“Wait,” he says, going still. “You’reKilla?”
I don’t smile right away. I just nod.
He lets out a quiet breath, something between a laugh and disbelief. “No.”
“Yes.”
He studies me like he’s searching for proof, his hands still resting at my waist.
“I had no idea it was you,” I admit. “Your username didn’t click for me right away either. Not until I heard someone call you Rowdy.”
He shakes his head slightly. “It’s my nickname. Just my last name shortened.”
“I know that now,” I murmur. “But back then, it looked like any other gamer tag.”
He studies me again, something curious settling in his expression.
“AndCerealKilla?” He smirks. “What is that all about?”
I laugh, dropping my forehead briefly to his chest. “I couldn’t exactly use something likeSniperGirlorHeadshotQueen.”
He huffs a quiet laugh. “Why not?”
“Because the second guys realize you’re a girl, half of them turn into idiots,” I say. “They either start hitting on you or trying twice as hard to prove you shouldn’t be there.”
He grimaces. “Yeah… I guess that tracks.”
“So cereal it was,” I shrug. “Everyone eats cereal. Nobody questions cereal.”
“When did you figure it out?” he asks.
“After we met,” I say. “After we’d already been spending time together.”
His brow furrows.
“I pieced it together that day in the student center,” I continue. “When you came to talk to me. You were wearing your jersey…”
“And Donovan called me Rowdy,” he finishes. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t know how,” I admit. “It almost felt like I knew you in a way you didn’t know me.”
He’s quiet for a moment, like he’s turning that over in his head.
“I was going to tell you tonight,” I add. “When we were playing. It would’ve made sense then.”
He looks at me like he’s somewhere else for a second.
“All those nights,” he whispers, then pulls me into him.
When his lips crash against mine, it surprises me.
It isn’t heated like earlier. It’s slower now, softer. Like he’s trying to memorize this version of me and line it up with the one he thought he knew.
His hands slide into my hair, holding me there. I melt into him.
When I pull away, I study his face carefully.
“You’re not upset, are you?”
