But that didn’t mean I was going to ignore my instincts entirely. Something about Todd still didn’t sit right with me, and I wasn’t about to let my guard down.
The line crept forward, and soon we were at the counter. Michael ordered something elaborate—a waffle cone with three scoops and a mountain of toppings.
I kept it simple with a single scoop of chocolate.
As we sat down on a nearby bench, Michael’s mood seemed to lift again. He took a big bite of his ice cream, a smudge of whipped cream sticking to his nose.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’ve got a little something…” I gestured to my own nose.
Michael laughed, wiping it away. “Better?”
“Perfect,” I said, smiling.
For a while, we just sat there, enjoying the moment. The sweetness of the ice cream, the cool breeze, the sounds of the city around us—it all felt a little lighter.
“Griffin?” Michael said after a while, his voice quiet.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for being honest with me,” he said, his gaze steady. “I know it’s not easy to bring stuff like that up, especially when it’s about someone important to me. But I appreciate it.”
His words warmed something inside me, easing the tension that had been building all day.
“Of course,” I said. “And I’m sorry if I came off too strong. I just… care about you a lot, Michael.”
Michael’s lips curved into a soft smile, and he reached out to touch my hand.
“I care about you too, Griffin.”
Chapter 15
Michael
Ichecked the time on the corner of my laptop screen. Thirty minutes left before Griffin got back.
Perfect—just enough time to wrap up the stream.
“All right, guys,” I said into the mic, leaning back slightly in my chair. “Let’s do one last hunt before I end the stream. If anyone wants to join, just copy the lobby code on the screen.”
The party filled up almost immediately, little avatars popping in one by one with familiar usernames.
I restocked my character with potions and supplies, fingers moving on autopilot, and launched into the hunt with my viewers.
As the game loaded, I glanced at the chat bar. The messages were flying by too fast to catch everything, a blur of text and emojis, but I tried to pick out any questions or comments I could respond to.
“Have you eaten yet?”A comment stood out, simple but oddly endearing.
“Yeah, I’m grabbing dinner right after this,” I replied with a grin, eyes still on the chat as I prepped my character. “A friend of mine’s dropping by with some pizza, so it’s all good.”
The chat immediately lit up with playful remarks.
“A ‘friend,’ huh?”
“Pizza AND company? Sounds sus.”
“Michael has friends now? Jk jk.”
I chuckled, shaking my head but not bothering to elaborate. Chat could have their fun. I focused back on the hunt as the game finally loaded.
