Page 22 of Gamers' Omega

“I-I wouldn’t know…” I admitted.

One of his eyebrows rose, and he appeared on the verge of asking more when Freddie’s voice floated in from the kitchen.

“Ian, did you move my lunch?”

“That was me,” Beck called back. “It’s down one shelf, I think behind the leftovers.”

There was a moment of silence, then, “Found it!”

Beck smiled, then turned back and gave Pico a bite of birdie bread.

I stood before Beck could remember the prior conversation. “I think I’m going to get ready to go home.”

“Ok,” he replied, though there was an unsure tone to his voice.

I scurried off to put a change of clothes in the guest bedroom closet.

The guys were my friends and they didn’t need to know about my dating struggles.

∞∞∞

“What’s going on over there?” Ian asked, motioning to my big table. “Isn’t that your boss?”

I nodded as I handed the guys their sodas. “My boss, his new mates… I think… then his cousin,hismates, and their new baby.”

“You think?” Beck asked.

I shrugged. “It’s all very new. He left mid-shift one day last week because his cousin went into labor, and when he came back a couple days later he had four mates. That’s how I heard it anyway.”

“Damn,” Tony laughed. “Sounds like a busy break.”

Ian shifted to glance over. “He looks happy though. I mean I’ve only seen him out front a few times, but he always looked serious. It’s nice to see him smiling.”

I nodded. “He’s always been friendly, but seemed lonely too. I’m glad he found the family he deserves.”

“They must be packed in like sardines at family functions though,” Tony joked. “Ten men, plus kids and others.”

I chuckled. “The other cousin has several mates too. So you’re probably right.”

“Bet you could have some epic game nights though,” Freddie said. “That’s enough people that you could have two or three going, so nobody has to settle for a game they don’t like.”

Beck laughed. “There will always be one who only wants to play one game that nobody else is interested in.”

“Hey,” Freddie retorted. “A man can dream.”

I grinned. “I’ll go put in your order. Extra small with kiwi and mayo, right?” I teased, having decided to see how many grossed out faces I could get with each new outlandish suggestion.

“Blech,” Ian laughed. “You bring that out, and you’ll be the one eating it.”

I laughed. “I’ll be back in a few.”

I was waiting in the kitchen for some plates when Owen’s laughter filtered in from the dining room.

“That’s a good sound,” Mandy said as she grabbed a bread basket. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard him laugh like that.”

“He really does seem happy.”

“He does. And what about you?” she teased. “You’re awfully close to our gamer group. Something going on there?”