make it up as we go along,” she said.
Not what he wanted to hear. Guessing, lack of planning, taking jabs in the dark… None of those were solid approaches to any problem. Knowing that still didn’t give him an answer, though.
Chapter Eight
As Jaycie paced the length of her room, random snippets of sentences flitted through her thoughts. None of them really encompassed what she was trying to say about God of the Stars . It was fun. Nothing special—certainly not worth the hype surrounding it—but better than a lot of its competition. It had let her play stealthily, and not a lot of games offered any option besides going in, guns blazing. But there was something negative about it, and she couldn’t quite place her finger on it.
Her deadline was tomorrow morning, and she really needed this write-up. It could be one of those career-making reviews, if she did it right. Besides, she was already feeling the financial strain of refusing to take on more Digital Media games.
The familiar sound of digital gunfire tore through the air. She should go see what Ethan was up to. Maybe whatever he was playing would give her enough contrast to find the words she needed. Not that she was looking for excuses to spend time with him. When things went well between them, it was easier than she thought possible. When they didn’t, she tended to walk away feeling gutted. But she looked forward to either option, even if she wasn’t sure why. As much as tiny bits of her mind told her not to get involved with a roommate, with another gamer, with him, she couldn’t ignore her attraction to him.
She just had to figure out how to either deal with it or get over him.
He didn’t as much as glance in her direction when she wandered into the living room. His gaze was fixed on the TV, fingers flying over the controller pad as he navigated the cosmic war zones of God of the Stars . So much for contrast. She should stop him, and take the disc back. Her non-disclosure agreement on this game had been stricter than most, and he was technically the competition.
The concern she should feel wasn’t there, though. She’d ask him not to tell anyone until the game was out, and he’d respect her request. Logic argued that was a stupid assumption to make. She’d trusted Nick—not with that kind of information, but with other things—and he’d glossed over everything she said, as if she were a child that needed to be placated.
Except, for all the unanswered questions Ethan left her with, she never doubted his sincerity.
All of her concerns faded, as the minutes ticked by and she watched Ethan play. She knew the level he was on. She’d struggled with it, and it had taken her several retries to figure out how to do the entire thing while being stealthy.
She wasn’t surprised he hopped into the middle of the combat zone, pistols drawn, instead. Walked right in, and started picking off targets. Sure, he ducked when he needed to. Dove for cover. But there was no sneaking. No tiptoeing up behind a guard and garroting them. She could tell from the inventory tracker on the right side of the screen he didn’t have any weapons besides guns and a spiked club.
Typical gamer guy. Rushing in. Except that wasn’t true. Even though his approach was more aggressive than hers, he still seemed to have a plan beyond ‘shoot it, if it moves.’ Not only did he not get slaughtered out of the gate, the aggression worked for him, and he made it almost to the end before getting swarmed and owned.
She hated that she was going to have to interrupt, and take the game back.
He paused the game, and the screen dimmed to almost black. He met her gaze in the reflection of the TV. He’d known she was back here? He seemed so absorbed in what he was doing.
“I hope this is okay.” It wasn’t a question. “I found it in the console, and couldn’t help myself.”
“Technically…” She trailed off. Would it really be a big deal to let him finish? Normally she’d be
Not what he wanted to hear. Guessing, lack of planning, taking jabs in the dark… None of those were solid approaches to any problem. Knowing that still didn’t give him an answer, though.
Chapter Eight
As Jaycie paced the length of her room, random snippets of sentences flitted through her thoughts. None of them really encompassed what she was trying to say about God of the Stars . It was fun. Nothing special—certainly not worth the hype surrounding it—but better than a lot of its competition. It had let her play stealthily, and not a lot of games offered any option besides going in, guns blazing. But there was something negative about it, and she couldn’t quite place her finger on it.
Her deadline was tomorrow morning, and she really needed this write-up. It could be one of those career-making reviews, if she did it right. Besides, she was already feeling the financial strain of refusing to take on more Digital Media games.
The familiar sound of digital gunfire tore through the air. She should go see what Ethan was up to. Maybe whatever he was playing would give her enough contrast to find the words she needed. Not that she was looking for excuses to spend time with him. When things went well between them, it was easier than she thought possible. When they didn’t, she tended to walk away feeling gutted. But she looked forward to either option, even if she wasn’t sure why. As much as tiny bits of her mind told her not to get involved with a roommate, with another gamer, with him, she couldn’t ignore her attraction to him.
She just had to figure out how to either deal with it or get over him.
He didn’t as much as glance in her direction when she wandered into the living room. His gaze was fixed on the TV, fingers flying over the controller pad as he navigated the cosmic war zones of God of the Stars . So much for contrast. She should stop him, and take the disc back. Her non-disclosure agreement on this game had been stricter than most, and he was technically the competition.
The concern she should feel wasn’t there, though. She’d ask him not to tell anyone until the game was out, and he’d respect her request. Logic argued that was a stupid assumption to make. She’d trusted Nick—not with that kind of information, but with other things—and he’d glossed over everything she said, as if she were a child that needed to be placated.
Except, for all the unanswered questions Ethan left her with, she never doubted his sincerity.
All of her concerns faded, as the minutes ticked by and she watched Ethan play. She knew the level he was on. She’d struggled with it, and it had taken her several retries to figure out how to do the entire thing while being stealthy.
She wasn’t surprised he hopped into the middle of the combat zone, pistols drawn, instead. Walked right in, and started picking off targets. Sure, he ducked when he needed to. Dove for cover. But there was no sneaking. No tiptoeing up behind a guard and garroting them. She could tell from the inventory tracker on the right side of the screen he didn’t have any weapons besides guns and a spiked club.
Typical gamer guy. Rushing in. Except that wasn’t true. Even though his approach was more aggressive than hers, he still seemed to have a plan beyond ‘shoot it, if it moves.’ Not only did he not get slaughtered out of the gate, the aggression worked for him, and he made it almost to the end before getting swarmed and owned.
She hated that she was going to have to interrupt, and take the game back.
He paused the game, and the screen dimmed to almost black. He met her gaze in the reflection of the TV. He’d known she was back here? He seemed so absorbed in what he was doing.
“I hope this is okay.” It wasn’t a question. “I found it in the console, and couldn’t help myself.”
“Technically…” She trailed off. Would it really be a big deal to let him finish? Normally she’d be
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