Iwas embarrassed about being embarrassed about being called out, even though I had nothing to be ashamed of. I’m sure if you surveyed most men, they’d owned a video game system at some point in their life. Teagan wasn’t wrong. I was a gamer. I’d been gaming since I received my first PlayStation for Christmas when I was six years old. I’d cut my teeth on Mortal Kombat 3 and had enjoyed gaming ever since.
“Come on. Deeper conversation, remember?”
“Thought you said we were limiting it to one per day?”
She shrugged. “Let’s go for two, and you get tomorrow out of the way early.”
Why not? Teagan had already dealt with me at my worst. She’d staged an intervention for my excessive drinking and general mopeyness and then offered to play my fake girlfriend because I was too much of a pussy to go to a wedding alone. So what was one more admission to seal the deal?
“Fine. I was introverted as a kid. While my parents were married, they argued constantly, and video games were my escape. My brother used to play with me.” Hell, over the last decade, despite our busy schedules and hellishly different time zones, we’d made a point to meet up for a monthly game. Thinking about it reminded me of how much I missed it now.
“Anyhow, I kept playing, but it became a lot less cool as I got older.”
“I take it the ex didn’t enjoy playing games with you?”
Oh, she enjoyed playing games, all right, but not this type. “She abhorred video games or anything which took the attention away from her.”
“So you got used to hiding it.”
Indeed I had. In the same way, I’d pretended to be a lot of things in order to be more or less for Vanessa over the years. “I did.”
“Any chance you have Mario Kart Racing?”
Playing with Teagan over the last hour had been more fun than I could remember having in a long time. Although she hadn’t been great, her enthusiasm for gaming was contagious. The way she approached everything with wide-eyed wonder reminded me of myself as a kid.
“Afraid I don’t have Mario Kart, but I could pick it up.” I’d have to purchase a Nintendo gaming system while I was at it, but I definitely didn’t mind if it meant we could play again.
“Cool. Maybe it would be something I don’t suck at.”
She stood up, and so did I.
She suddenly cocked her head to the side as if something had dawned on her. “Should we practice kissing?”
“What?”
“Kissing. You know, to make it appear natural.”
Dammit, I could feel my face heat. And when she stepped closer, I couldn’t help sucking in a breath and widening my eyes.
She burst out laughing. “See, that’s what you can’t do. You can’t stare at me like, ‘what the hell are you doing?’ Instead, try to convey a look of ‘I don’t freak out at the thought of kissing you.’”
I cleared my throat, awkward about this entire situation. “Okay, I’ll work on it. Maybe it’s because kissing a friend doesn’t feel entirely natural.”
She smirked. “No, I don’t suppose it is.”
“We’ll be dancing at the wedding reception, so maybe that’s a good place to practice, you know, touching each other. Dance with me?”
“Sure.”
I took her into my arms, dancing her around the living room. I was happy I’d had lessons, so I didn’t embarrass myself. She was stiff at first but then finally relaxed.
But after a while, she started giggling and shaking her head.
“What?”
“This is formal dancing. But dancing with someone you are in love with or at least you’ve had sex with should be closer, more intimate.”
I swallowed hard, especially at her mention of sex. Since she was so tall, she was only a few inches shorter than my six foot two. I slowed it down as if I was dancing with a lover. “You’ll be near my height when you’re wearing heels.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Not at all.” I appreciated the way she fit my body. A little too much if I was being honest.
“Good. Put your hands on my ass.”
I could not have heard her correctly. “Pardon?”
“I said, put your hands on my ass.”
