Page 13 of Gamers' Omega

“What do I do?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Whatever. He’ll hang on if you want to keep browsing. We walk around with him on a shoulder all the time.”

“Pico, Pico,” the bird said, as if in agreement.

I took a deep breath and took another step toward the other end of the shelves.

“I love your butt!” Pico declared.

I tripped over my own feet, stumbling and putting a hand on the shelf to keep my balance.

Pico flew off with a squawk.

Ian and Freddie were doubled over with laughter as Pico landed on Tony’s head.

“Did he…?” I gasped. “Did I hear that right?”

“Sorry about that,” Beck said as a blush crept up his cheeks. “I should have warned you. That’s his favorite phrase right now… besides his name anyway.”

“Favorite?” I asked, finally righting myself. “You mean he has multiple?”

“Oh yeah,” Tony replied. “Pico’s quite the chatterbox when he feels like it. He’s good at picking up new words and phrases.”

“Good now,” Beck clarified. “It takes a lot of work to teach a bird to talk. It gets easier over time, but they still have to hear things over and over.”

“So… somebody taught him that?” I asked.

Beck made a face. “Not… exactly.”

“Huh?”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Once they know words, they tend to start mashups. He said it once or twice, then these assholes,” he motioned to the other three, “encouraged it.”

I glanced around to see Ian, Freddie, and Tony with fake innocent expressions.

“It’s funny, ok?” Ian finally replied. “And who doesn’t like to hear that they have a nice ass?”

Beck sighed in a ‘See what I have to deal with?’ way.

A chuckle turned into a laugh, and I grabbed a game at random.

My nerves were gone, and I knew I was going to enjoy the unexpected sleepover.

Chapter 5

~February~

“One large pepperoni, mushroom, and green chile,” I announced, setting the pizza on the table with a flourish.

“You’re a lifesaver,” Ian replied, reaching for a piece. “I was about to starve to death.”

“I know we’re busy, but…”

Freddie laughed. “Oh, he still might starve to death, but in the game. He hasn’t played a food card in a while.”

I grinned and glanced at the box at the far end of the table. “Something new? I don’t recognize the name.”

Beck nodded. “It hasn’t been released yet. This is a review copy.”