Page 86 of From Drummer to Gamer

“Okay, bye. I’ll see you later,” she whispered, flashing me a stiff smile as she walked out with her eyes on the floor.

I waited exactly three minutes before I dropped my glass in the sink and traced her footsteps with my own.

Drawing my hoodie lower, I exited the small service elevator at the back.

Last night, curiosity got the better of me, so I checked the security cameras, and I wasn’t surprised to find Sierra loitering around the hallway like she was wasting time, glancing at her phone every five seconds to check the time before a happy smile plastered her lips and she opened the door.

And it wasn’t something she did on just that one occasion. She did it every single weekday when she was pretending to go to classes.

Today, I knew she didn’t have classes, but my patience was wearing thin. I wasn’t going to wait till Monday to find out what she was up to.

It wasn’t like me to pry into her private life, but as long as she was living under my roof, maybe even longer than that, I wouldn’t want her to be roped into something salacious or dangerous.

So help me God if I found her pole dancing or partying around in suspicious places. I didn’t care if I came off as a backward caveman, but I was dragging her home and locking her in the bedroom.

Forever.

She was clueless to me trailing her, her head in the clouds as she absentmindedly exited the apartment lobby.

As soon as she stepped out, she dug inside her backpack and retrieved an amber yellow bomber jacket that oddly looked familiar for some reason, and donned it.

A tiny frown played on her face as she struggled with the backpack and jacket, the warm spring sun casting an ethereal glow on the high points of her face.

Fuck, she looked gorgeous.

A small smile curved her painted lips when she finally won the war with her jacket.

The jacket swallowed her whole, ending just an inch above her skirt, and secretly, I was thankful that she didn’t venture out in her tiny skirt and tight top.

I wasn’t one to comment on what a woman should wear, but something about others having an advantage to see her curves bothered the fuck out of me.

She fiddled with her phone while she waited by the sidewalk. I had conveniently parked my car outside, knowing I would be stalking a little liar, so without drawing attention, I headed straight to my car and got inside the driver’s side.

She shifted on her feet impatiently while her eyes stayed glued to her phone, not even paying attention to the woman who almost crashed into her on the sidewalk.

Five minutes later, an Uber pulled up, and she climbed into the car with a smile on her face.

So I was right. She was lying. There wasn’t any friend who was picking her up.

I took a note of the car plate as I started my engine, keeping a close distance as I shadowed the taxi.

My confusion grew with each mile I drove, and we reached the outskirts of the city almost an hour later.

My car slowed down when a familiar arena came into view, and traffic started to crowd the road. The sidelines were filled with people milling about with excited eyes and wide smiles. Even from the quiet of the car, I could almost feel the excitement in the air.

Just as I rounded the corner, a massive billboard said “Welcome to the sixth national e-gaming tournament.”

What the hell was Sierra doing here?

I didn’t know she was into gaming… or maybe her friends roped her in?

No use in pondering. I was going to find out soon anyway.

My eyes didn’t leave her car, which took a sharp turn and dropped her right outside the venue, and she slipped out with a small smile playing on her lips. My eyes followed her till she disappeared behind the entrance doors, flashing a key card to one of the security guards.

Not wanting to waste my time, I drove my car toward the parking lot and tried to find a spot, regretting my decision to drive here.

It took me almost twenty minutes to park and get myself a ticket to the event, which I thankfully scored one of the last VIP packets, but I wasn’t here to watch the game, or maybe I would…