Then he laughs, just a little. So sweet and so Carter.“Pretty sure that ruined me,” he says, smiling so big it makes my heart ache.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I tease gently, curling deeper into my blanket. God—that was a lot, like a lot, and I can still feel it buzzing under my skin.
“It’s not.” He sighs. “I’ll never recover, but not in a bad way baby.”
I bite my lip, watching him tuck his hoodie back down, still flushed, soft around the edges. I feel it again, that tug. That ache to reach through the screen and touch him for real. But it’s late, and I have an early morning. “I should try to sleep,” I yawn. “Big day tomorrow.”
He nods, brushing his fingers through his hair. “You’ll kill it. You always do.”
I smile. “Good night, Carter.”
“Good night, baby sweet dreams.”
We just leave the call open a few extra seconds, like neither of us wants to let go first.
The first thing I register the next morning is vibration and the sound—ping-ping-ping—followed by the flutter of the curtainsand the unmistakable burn of daylight on my face. I groan, roll over and freeze when I see the time.
“Shit.”
It’s nearly noon. I was supposed to be up by nine, wanted to at least. I fumble for my phone, heart hammering. Fantastic, love that I finally sleep like a normal person and immediately ruin my schedule.
Cassie:girl are you alive
Cassie:I’m taking your silence as a yes,also your stream chat thinks you’re dead I’m about to tell them you were kidnapped by masked men
Carter:Morning, sweetheart. You okay?
Carter:Did you sleep in? Totally fine if you needed rest. I can hop on stream and stall if you want.
Tate:wake up sleeping beauty we’ve got games to ruin and people to destroy
I slap my pillow over my face and let out a muffled scream. “Why am I like this?”
Dragging myself upright, I squint toward the hallway, then back at the chaos in my messages.
My hair is a mess, my throat’s dry and I slept like I was in a damn coma. I wanted the morning slot, wanted the hype, wanted to show I’m serious about this tournament. Now I’ve got to recover like a damn pro. I fire off one quick group message, and a separate one to Cassie.
Me:Yes, I’m alive. Give me ten minutes.
I grab a hoodie, chug half a water bottle, and spin toward my desk. It’s time to rally; five minutes turns into ten. When I finally go live, the second my camera flips on, the chat explodes.
[Stream Chat:]
mod_goblin:SHE’S ALIVE
ec_hoe3:I KNEW SHE WAS JUST TAKING A POST-CHAOS NAP
Neoncherry:tournament queen energy only today
I laugh as I settle into my chair sliding my headset into place. “Okay, okay—yes,I slept in. No, I’m not dead.”
The energy in the chat is crazy, even after I’ve been offline for almost twelve hours. But it’s more than that, they’re excited. They know I’m finally stepping into something bigger. I queue up my warm-up match. Just as I load in, a notification blips on-screen:HavenHexed is now competing in the ELITE OPEN BRACKET.The upgraded rank, real deal. Another notification:GoldenBoy69has joined your lobby.
I smile without even thinking. “Morning!”
Carter’s voice filters through my headset instantly. “Morning. You sound good.”
I catch my reflection in the corner of the screen. Still a little sleep-ruffled, still feeling flushed from last. “I feel good,” I admit. “Let’s see if I can channel it into a killstreak.”
