Page 90 of From Drummer to Gamer

Tin lost some of his smile, but he nodded.

“Of course she’s not going to stay with us,” Kiki added with a pout. “I wouldn’t either if I got to stay at a swanky apartment in the city.”

I let out a shaky laugh. “It’s not really that swanky. It’s just a regular old apartment.”

“I doubt that,” Kiki mumbled. “You never invite us.”

Thankfully, Ken said something to distract her.

“So, uhm…” Tin flashed me a smile. “What are you up to next week?”

No sleep. Cooking. Training. Pretending, among other things.

“Nothing much,” I mumbled instead as he walked beside me, matching my slow steps as we trailed the team, who were bickering about something.

We gamers were always the last to leave. Thankfully, the crowd had thinned.

“If you’re free, can we meet up in the city for lunch or something?” Tin eyed me expectantly, his hands digging inside his pockets.

I didn’t want to disappoint him by saying no. I guess I could make time when I was sneaking out to the gaming café. I was just about to say sure when Kiki, Freddy, and Ken halted abruptly.

“Am I seeing this right?” Kiki muttered in shock.

I caught myself just an inch away from her back, almost face-planting myself onto her.

“What…?” My words died at the sight in front of me, and all the weariness dissipated from my body.

My blood rushed to my feet in a whoosh, and my heart galloped to my throat.

It felt like I was on the brink of a heavy daze that was trying to knock me out, cold.

“Sierra,” he simply said, his voice conveying no emotions. “Or should I say Luna?”

I took a step back, one after another, while my friends snapped their questioning eyes at me.

But I had no answer for them.

Standing there in his tall, brooding presence was Matty Evans, his pale green eyes scrutinizing me with a vacant gaze—a gaze that held something else, something I couldn’t comprehend.

Every lie I told, every painstaking ruse I created crumbled like a firewall under a hacker’s hand.

I was screwed, wasn’t I?

Panic flooded my blood, and it felt like my whole world was crashing down on me right then, but I still stumbled toward him.

A hand stopped me cold in my tracks. “Si?” Tin asked, frowning as his eyes volleyed between Matty and me. “How does he know your name?” If I heard correctly, I’d say I heard a bit of disdain in his voice.

“None of your business.” A calm, collected voice reached us before I could say a thing.

My eyes drifted to Matty, who still had the same expression on his face, apart from the thin line on his jaw, his eyes were soley focused on Tin’s fingers wrapped around my wrist.

The tension in the air grew thick, laden with murky energy with each passing second.

Tin stiffened and started to take a step forward, but I stopped him.

“Tin, it’s fine,” I said softly, releasing my hand from his hold. “I actually know Matty. It’s a long story, but I’ll explain later, okay?”

I didn’t wait for his answer as I hurried away.