Page 97 of A Farmer’s Guide To Gamers

“Aiden!” Kai’s yell pulled me from my dream and I groaned, burrowing further under the covers.

“No.”

“Don’t be like that,” he laughed, jumping on the bed hard enough I bounced a bit.

“You woke me up after having been up all night by coming in here and yelling.” I paused for a moment, refusing to come out of my hiding place. “Why shouldn’t I be upset?”

“Because of the news I have.”

I knew what he wanted. He wanted me to act excited, to give into his antics. But this time I was exhausted and honestly, the only thing I wanted to do was sleep.

And finish my dream.

“Fineeee.” Kai dragged out the word and I could tell from the tone he was rolling his eyes at me. “Everyone else is gone, and I had to tell someone that we just got selected to be part of an accelerator program, which includes seed money to help us start our game. Sorry that it was you, Mr. Crankypants.”

“What?!” I yelled out in shock as I flipped the covers back and hit Kai in the face with them.

He didn’t care one bit though, as he grinned at me with a look that was at complete contrast to my shocked reaction.

“Half a million dollars in seed money, Aiden. Half. A. Million. Dollars!”

“Holy shit. Holy shit!”

He leaned forward to hug me, and I hugged him back. My heart had to be racing and so was his as he kept saying he was shocked.

“How did you—?” I started to ask as he pulled away.

“We just got the email,” he said as he pushed his dark hair out of his face. “The program also includes mentorship from some of the top leaders in the indie gaming space so that will be awesome, too. Just wait until the others find out!”

“Wow,” I breathed out, barely able to wrap my mind around it. This is the kind of seed money indie studios dream about… not actually get. “How? When did you even apply?”

He gave me a look that told me I’d clearly been too absorbed in my art to listen properly. It turned into an indulgent smile as he flopped down beside me.

“Months ago,” he laughed. “We compiled everything we had, including all the upcoming plans. They also got our credentials from working on the last project. I just never dreamed we’d get this.”

His smile was so big I couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss his lips. It felt like I was trying to draw some of that intense emotion into me. I froze for a second and so did he, before he pulled me closer.

Everything always stopped when Kai’s lips were on mine. Just like with Tillie. They were the only two people that could quiet the world around me and the errant thoughts in my head.

I groaned as he teased his tongue over my lips, slipping past them as I sighed against him. His tongue danced with mine as he pulled me over him so I was on his chest, every inch of our bodies touching now.

He was just as hard as I was and my hips rolled forward tentatively. Testing how I liked it. A shock of pleasure shot through me and I did it again.

This wasn’t our first time kissing, but I decided this time should go further. Be more. I wanted to share this with him.

“We should slow down,” Kai whispered. I pulled back and looked down at him.

“Do you not want me?”

He sputtered out in shock. “Of fucking course, I do.”

“Then why are you always holding back?” I pointed out. He let out a breath that felt a whole lot like he was asking the universe for patience.

“Because this is your first time with a guy, right? You take a while to warm up and I’m just happy to be with you. I don’t need things to go fast,” he reasoned, but I was done being patient.

“I can take a while to get there, but I’ve decided I want you. That means I want all of you,” I said bluntly. “I want you to fuck me, Kai.”

“What do you mean?” Kai asked, his eyes wide as he stared up at me. “You can’t just say shit like that, beta.”