“I definitely don’t.”
“Wait a minute,” Tom says, sounding surprised. “Why the hell didn’t I know you had a girlfriend? Is it new?”
Tom and I aren’t as close, so he doesn’t know about Gabi, or how I feel about her. And while I wasn’t planning on sharing the details of my non-existent love life, it turns out these guys are even bigger gossips than Gabi.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” I reply with a sigh. “She’s…” Everything. My whole world. The reason my heart beats. “She’s just… my girl.”
“Your girl?” Liam snorts. “Bro, you’re in deep.”
“I’m gonna hop off.”
“Avoiding the question, I see,” Liam replies, amusement lacing his words.
“Bye,” I say, exiting the game.
“You didn’t have to leave just for me,” Gabi’s voice breaks through, and I tear off my headset, freezing in place. How long has she been standing there? Did she hear me call her my girl? I hope to hell she didn’t.
“No, it’s fine,” I reply. “They were being annoying. I’d much rather play with you.”
She smiles, and as always, my eyes drink her in, savoring every detail of her beautiful face, her stunning blue eyes, and her dark hair that always smells like the sweetest coconut.
Gabi drops down onto the couch beside me, her legs folding into a criss-cross position as she reaches for the other controller.
“Were you working on Real Unleashed?” I can’t help but smirk, hearing the project I’ve poured countless hours into being mentioned by her. “I’m dying to see it.”
“No, not today,” I answer, firing up our favorite racing game. “It still needs a lot of work before it ever reaches your eyes,” I admit with a smile. Balancing creating my own videogame with my role at Horizon Creations is a challenge. I hardly get the chance to explore all the features I want to add.
“I could always help you,” she says, tearing her gaze from the screen to flash me a smile that makes my heart race. How does she still have this effect on me after all these years? “You know I’m great inspiration.”
I chuckle before admitting, “Actually, I, uh...” I clear my throat, feeling a flush creep up my cheeks. “I designed a character inspired by you.”
She freezes, turning her head to face me with wide eyes. “You did?”
“Yeah,” I admit with a shrug, feeling my heart pound in my chest. “You helped me come up with the idea in the first place,” I tell her. “Of course I would.”
Gabi was crazy about Jumanji when she was younger. I swear, she must’ve seen that movie a million times. She was obsessed with the idea of getting sucked into a real-life game. So, when I was brainstorming my own little game a while back, I came up with the concept of four characters waking up on a beach, andthen suddenly the whole island turns into this giant game, and they have to find a secret passage to get back home.
Gabi was the very first character I crafted.
Georginais a badass dark haired and piercing-blue eyed character who takes on the role of the group’s leader.
And the second character I designed wasConnor. He’s Georgina’s best friend, and completely obsessed with her.
I might have made their inspirations a little too obvious, but considering Gabi won’t lay eyes on the final game for a while, I won’t sweat about it just yet.
But thoughts swirl in my mind about when she’ll realize that the character based on me is head over heels for the character based on her, and how soon she’ll connect the dots to real life.
“Fuck yeah.” I snap out of my thoughts, redirecting my attention to the TV where Gabi effortlessly crosses the checkpoint, leaving me miles behind.
“How the hell?” I mutter, narrowing my eyes at the screen, determined to catch up with her.
“Not my fault you were distracted,” she says with a smirk, her focus unwavering on the screen as she races toward the finish line. “You shouldn’t have been daydreaming.”
What would she say if she knew she was the one I was thinking about?
Who I’m always thinking about.
“Looks like I’m about to lap you,” she says with a grin.
