Page 10 of Eddie (Romance & Revolutions #7)

Shelby

“No, Twilight Night is a better game. It’s got a stupid name and the storyline doesn’t seem to go anywhere besides that vampire dungeon but it’s much better.” I wasn’t sure if it was being a middle that made Collin so confident or just him knowing Not-Henry a little too well, but he was wrong.

“Twilight Night doesn’t go anywhere besides the dungeon where you get eaten because they ran out of money before they finished the game and the storyline is literally going in circles for the same reason.

” Collin looked like he wanted to throw up his hands, but his Daddy was trying not to smile, so it couldn’t be a bad reaction. “Why is it better than Midnight Run?”

“The main character in Midnight Run wears one outfit the entire game. One. There’s no way to change his clothes and you can’t even upgrade to a different level and get new gear.

One outfit. Baggy cargo pants and a black T-shirt.

He’s like those online personalities that wear the same thing in every video because some omega told them they looked good in it. ”

Entirely too many alphas ended up doing that and it was painful.

“His outfit?” Collin blinked, definitely looking more grown-up and less little or middle or whatever he’d called himself. He seemed to be using some of the words interchangeably and it was confusing. “His outfit?”

Was he mad or broken?

As I leaned over and cuddled against Not-Henry, I covered my mouth and dropped my voice. “Is he broken? He’s just blinking at me.”

“His outfit?”

And saying that.

Not-Henry coughed but managed not to laugh, so I decided I was okay with his reaction…as long as he could answer my question.

“He’s…he’s really into games. Online ones. Video games. App games. Um. I don’t think he’s ever had anyone debate him on the best ones using your logic.” Not-Henry seemed confident about that and didn’t bother whispering, so Collin’s Daddy nodded too.

That was weird.

“Well, he doesn’t play the best games, so I’m trying to be nice and have a conversation.” I was starting to think other people were just weird and it wasn’t me. “I was being nice.”

He was just wrong.

But I was still being nice.

“What…” Collin’s brain seemed to be resetting like a computer but it took a few false starts before he got anything else out. “What is the best game?”

“Diary of a Badass Slayer.”

“Diary of a Badass Slayer.”

When Austin and I answered at the same time, Not-Henry laughed and Collin’s Daddy was the one who had to start coughing.

“I…” Collin glitched again. “Is that a game for my phone?”

“Yes.” Austin did a happy dance in his seat but frowned as he patted himself down. “Shoot. I don’t have pockets.”

And we weren’t supposed to have our phones.

“The new level is updating tomorrow.” It was my turn to do the happy dance. “I entered to win but I’m not expecting to get picked.”

That wasn’t going to happen but it’d been fun to try.

“What is it about?” Collin blinked but stayed functional that time. “I don’t think I’ve seen more than a few ads for it.”

“You’re a vampire slayer that gets fabulous clothes and every time you kill an upper-level demon you get to go on a shopping trip.” My slayer had the best closet ever. “You have to be careful about the in-game currency, though. It’s a problem.”

I didn’t have to worry about that because for some reason none of my cards would work on it.

Not-Henry let me buy gift cards once a month at the grocery store, though.

They’d started showing up after I’d been looking at the prom dress I wanted for weeks but hadn’t been able to kill the right demon to get.

“It’s a scam.” Austin’s sigh said he understood my pain. “I’ve got feelers out to see if they want to sell it, though. I’d rather own it to make sure I can get the upgrades I want.”

“That sounds more practical in the long run.” At least for him. “But you can’t rig the contests in your favor if you own it. That would be cheating.”

Austin’s grin made me think he didn’t have a problem with cheating, but Collin distracted me. “What kind of contest is it?”

He really didn’t know anything about the game.

How?

It was the best.

“Designing clothes for a new story in the mall.” There were so many people who’d entered, the site had nearly crashed but—

Oh dear.

“You weren’t helpful, were you?” Not-Henry was insistent on being helpful sometimes and he wouldn’t look guilty about it so his innocent expression didn’t give me any hints.

“No.” He kissed my head when I sighed in relief. “I did keep the site up and running, though. There were…shenanigans going on behind the scenes and I fixed that too.”

Because he was helpful.

Austin’s glare said he knew about the shenanigans and wasn’t happy. “Just because they have money and a title doesn’t mean they get to rig anything. They need to stick with fixing elections or I’m going to have words with some people.”

Not-Henry knew the most interesting people.

But they were smart and curious, and by the time we were leaving, Collin had promised to download the game so he could try it too.

“What did you think, Shelby boy?” Not-Henry looked very pleased with himself as I swung my duffel bag and squeezed his hand. “Better than you expected or about the same?”

“Amazing.” I wasn’t sure how else to answer. “You were real. I made new friends and got to come.”

It’d been a great date so far.

“If Collin starts playing the game then we can share clothes. I’ve never had online friends to do that with because it takes a lot of trust. Sometimes people steal your dresses.

” It was scary and I’d heard too many stories about entire closets being cleared out.

“But Collin is very nice and won’t steal my clothes. ”

Hopefully.

One peek at Not-Henry had him smiling as we got to my car. “No. He won’t steal your clothes. His Daddy seems very honest too and will keep shenanigans to a minimum.”

“Do you think Austin will fill up my closet or find a way to steal my prom dress?” It could go either way, so I sighed before Not-Henry could answer. “Remind me to be careful with him. He’s going to talk me into something ridiculous.”

Not-Henry’s cough said he thought I was right about that.

“You’re going to have fun, though.”

So Not-Henry thought I’d enjoy being robbed?

He was probably right about that too.

“Help me remember that when we get to that point.”

Ugh.

He laughed.

“I’m going to end up thanking Austin for robbing me, aren’t I?” I wasn’t sure how it’d happen but it was definitely going to happen. “You can’t help me, though. If I do something stupid, I have to pay the price.”

“I’m not letting you lose the dress, Shelby boy.” Not-Henry looked stubborn enough that I decided not to argue with him and just nodded. It got me a forehead kiss and an almost smile from Not-Henry. “I won’t go too far, though.”

We probably had different definitions about what that meant, but I decided to pick my battles. “Thank you.”

He was definitely pleased about getting his way, but I didn’t want to know why.

“Are you ready for dinner?” Not-Henry reached up and cupped my cheek before leaning in and giving me a soft peck. “How are you feeling?”

“Hungry.” If it was an aftercare kind of question, I wasn’t sure what he was worried about. All I could think of was food and seeing what would happen when we were finally by ourselves. “How are you feeling?”

Aftercare went both ways, right?

Did he have concerns?

Before I could remind him about safewords and make sure he was fine, Not-Henry flashed me a quick smile. “I’m hungry too and I’m thoroughly enjoying being with you.”

Good.

That meant he was fine, right?

“Am I supposed to be worried about something?” There was generally something that I needed to overthink, so it was kind of concerning that I was so relaxed. “I haven’t felt this good in a really long time, so I’m not sure I’m thinking clearly enough to overthink.”

Wait.

Had that made any sense?

Not-Henry wanted to smile but he kept his serious face in place. “No. There is nothing you need to worry about, but how about I drive us to the restaurant, and then when you’re thinking clearly enough to worry, we’ll pick your car up.”

Hmm.

“Will you feel me up in the car like that scene in the book last week?” That would make it worth the inconvenience.

“No.” Not-Henry looked serious enough that I sighed. “Do you know how many cameras there are near public streets?”

Too many for him to be helpful with?

“I’ll trust you on that.” The last thing I needed was to end up on the internet again…especially if it would be my fault. “Will us needing to stop by here after dinner derail the other plans we were talking about?”

Not-Henry raised an eyebrow. “Are you honestly concerned that I’ll forget about wanting to tie you up and fuck you because we have to come back and get your car?”

Okay, well, when he put it like that.

“If you’re not careful, I’m going to watch you even closer just to make sure you know I’m serious about our relationship.” Not-Henry’s tone said he thought that was a threat but it just made me hard and I had an urge to kiss his cheek. “Cameras, Shelby boy. Lots of cameras would be a start.”

Oh.

“Where would you put them?”

It was a serious question but Not-Henry rolled his eyes. “I’m not putting a one-way mirror in your bathroom. I’m stalking you but I’m not creepy.”

“Hey, neither of them thought creepy was a bad thing.” I wasn’t going to argue that it’d been a healthy relationship, but the book had ended really well.

Not-Henry glared at me.

“Fine.” But there was nothing wrong with a curious kink. Just because I didn’t want to be spied on twenty-four seven didn’t mean it wouldn’t turn someone else on. “It’s still an interesting book.”

He huffed. “You’re lucky I find dirty-minded omegas sexy.”

I really was.

“And I’m lucky you learn new skills very quickly so you can do things like tie me up.” He’d done a good job at that too. “Thank you.”

Kissing his cheek seemed like a good idea since Austin said it was an adorable distraction when littles did it.

Yep.

He smiled.

“I’m hungry.” When in doubt look cute and ask for a snack worked too. “I won’t complain about us going together.”

Because he was right, I was still kind of distracted.

Where was my bag?

Oops.

I wasn’t sure how it’d ended up under the car, but Not-Henry’s snort said I shouldn’t ask. “Thank you for dinner too.”

Since another distraction seemed like a good idea, I dragged the bag out and straightened, trying to look cute. “Don’t worry. I put out as long as you’re willing to tie me up.”

Not-Henry rolled his eyes but he was trying not to laugh. “You’re going to be a handful.”

Possibly.

“You seem to like that, though.” It was one thing I didn’t seem to have to worry about.

Not-Henry’s gaze flashed with heat. “I really do.”

He was definitely adorable too.