16. Griffin
I drop my duffel and softly wave to Lydia, whose mouth is agape, obviously shocked that I’m here in the flesh.
“Hey,” I smile.
She thinks for a moment, then runs up to me and jumps up into my arms. I stumble back a little, but once I regain my footing, I wrap them around her waist and tug at her a little tighter. I bury my face in her neck and grin as her hair droops over my shoulder.
“Oh my god!” she exclaims. “You...you’re here. In the flesh. In Vegas.”
“I am.” She’s still holding on to me, and I don’t let her go. I love the feeling of holding her, and even though people are probably looking at us, I don’t care.
“Wait, why? I...your next game is back in San Jose.”
“It is.” I’m waiting for her to figure out that I’m here to see her, but her clueless face is really cute to watch. “Have you figured it out yet?”
“No! Wait.” She smirks at me. “Did you come to visit me?”
“Bingo,” I whisper, my face inches away from her.
She gasps, and I chuckle. “You said you missed me, right?”
“Y-yeah,” she stammers.
“So I thought I’d fly to Vegas to surprise you.”
She shakes her head. “You’re...something else, Griffin Markey.”
“By something else, I hope you mean the best fake boyfriend in the world.”
Her face drops, and she moves her arms from around my neck, gripping my shoulders. “Yeah. You’re the best fake boyfriend I’ve ever had.” She squirms a little, and I let her down. Shit. Mission ‘confess my feelings for Lydia with Vegas as a backdrop’ is off to a stellar start.
“How long are you here for?” Lydia asks.
“Just until tomorrow morning.” I look past her to see a crowd of students wearing LGU sweatshirts staring at us. Those are probably her students on the esports team.
“Um...” One of the kids speaks up. “Sorry to bother this love fest, but are we still going to go to the Esports Arena?”
“Yes!” Lydia blushes. “Sorry, everyone.” She turns around and opens her hands to show me off. “This is Griffin. He, um, surprised me here on his way home from a game.”
The kids walk up to us, their faces starstruck and eyes all fixed on me.
“Mr. Markey, I love watching you play.”
“Thank you,” I nod. “Have you guys been having a good time?”
“Yeah,” another kid chimes in. “Although Lydia was just about to take us to the Esports Arena, and, um you’re kind of stopping her from doing that.”
“Oh.” I frown. “I’m sorry. Here, you all can head on your way. I still need to check in. Um...Lydia, will there be a time that we can hang out?”
“I don’t have anything to do after we head to the Esports Arena.”
“Okay,” I nod. “Great.”
Ross wheels his suitcase over and lets out a groan. “God, you are such a little baby. I’ll check in for you. Lydia,” he says, turning to her. “Mind if Griffin tags along with your field trip to the arena?”
“Ross, that’s okay. I don’t want to interrupt anything that Lydia has planned with her students.” And turn into a bumbling idiot in front of a bunch of college kids because I’m trying to formulate a grand plan to confess my feelings for Lydia, which seems like it’s all gone to the wayside.
“You can come if you want,” Lydia says. “We’re going to take a tour and play a few games. The kids have been wanting to play because the networking stuff is boring them.”
“Oh.” At first, I shied away from wanting to tag along because it felt like maybe Lydia wanted to keep her distance from me, but I need to be honest with myself—I didn’t come all this way to see Lydia one time, give her one hug, and then leave. I’m going to tell her that I’m falling in love with her and I’m going to plan the perfect time to do it.
“Okay, sure, I’ll tag along.”
“Mr. Markey, can you play a game of Overwatch with us?”
“Yes, Mr. Markey, pleeease?” Another student begs.
I’d much rather be talking to Lydia while these kids play on their own, but I suppose that if I need to win her over, then I’ll have to get in her students’ good graces.
“Sure,” I chuckle. “But I’m not going to be very good,” I warn them.
“That’s alright, we can go a little easy on you,” they giggle.
“You can come too, Mr. Nathan, if you want.” another kid chimes in.
Ross’s eyes look like they’re sparkling under the bright LEDs in the Cyberscape. He’s like a kid on Christmas. “Really?”
“Yeah, the more the merrier.”
“Hell yes,” Ross pumps his fist in the air. “Okay, I’m gonna check in. Give us like 5 minutes, and we’ll be ready to head over.”
“Sure thing,” Lydia nods. I look back at her, mouth a “thank you” and rush over to the check-in desk. We grab our room keys and head inside the Cyberscape’s futuristic-looking elevator.
“What happened, man?” Ross asks when the doors close, and we’re alone in the elevator that will take us up forty floors to our rooms. “I was expecting the run-and-jump hug, but then Lydia just kind of shut off all of a sudden. What did you say to her?”
I slump my body against the wall and begin my slow descent down until I’m squatting on the floor. “I said that I was the best fake boyfriend in the world...which was true, but I guess it might have made her think that I just want this to be fake or she wants this to be fake...I don’t know.”
“Or maybe she also wants it to be real, but she had some existential crisis about the strength of this relationship.”
“I guess.” I bury my face between my legs. I don’t know the right words to say or what I should avoid. Should I be forward with telling her how I feel, or do I feel it out and let her tell me what she feels when she’s ready?
“Just...be a good friend to her. She has to have her work face on right now, and maybe she met someone who made her question if she’s good at her job or not. These...work conferences might do that to you.”
I wouldn’t know. The only real conference that I went to was a concert competition where I met a bunch of musicians who were all vying for the top prize: an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to play at Lincoln Center and tour Juilliard. I didn’t win, but I lived so close to the school that I could have toured whenever I wanted.
“What do you think a professional athlete conference would look like?”
“Fitness challenges, hookups, drinking copious amounts of alcohol. The rookies during a club night, in a nutshell.”
I stand back up. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
We make it to Ross’s floor, and he heads out to drop off his bags in the room. My room is just a few floors above his, so after I ride the elevator for a little longer, I get out and place my duffel on the bed in my room. I try not to get sucked into playing Mario Kart on the Switch console that comes standard with the room.
I head back down and see the crowd waiting by the lobby doors for me. I start walking towards them and plant myself next to Lydia.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said. “I was really trying to resist not playing on that Switch.”
“It is very tempting,” Lydia nudges. “Although a Mario Kart race sounds like the perfect plan right now.”
I raise my brows at her and make a note to myself to boot up the Switch later so we can play. Although if we’re playing cross-legged on the bed, I’d be more tempted to tackle her and lay on top of her than play a little Mario Kart.
“Okay!” Lydia claps. “Let’s get a move on then.”
It’s a bit of a trek to get to the Luxor from the Cyberscape. Thankfully, we’re able to take a monorail to the MGM Grand and then cross the street to get to our destination, passing across our go-to place, the Aria, when we’re in town for games. I wish I had more time to enjoy myself in Vegas; I always have fun exploring all that the city has to offer, including a not-as-well-known but very delicious spot at the Blossom Hotel called Happy Noodle that does a killer job at Beef Stew Noodle Soup.
We arrive at the arena, and I’m in awe of how large it is. It has multiple floors and a stage where players can compete in front of a crowd. It’s a dream come true. For so long, I would play video games just for fun, not even thinking about how people could turn this into something profitable.
“Do you want to play a game?” I ask Lydia. “Hero Seek? For old times’ sake?”
She blushes and slowly nods. I lead her to two computer stations sitting next to one another. We boot up the game, and I invite Lydia to join my party. She joins, and our characters come into full view for the first time in weeks.
“I missed this,” Lydia said. “I didn’t realize it’s been so long since we’ve played.”
“Yeah. Me too.” We enter the map, and I go through the motions of scavenging for materials and slaying the minions that stand in our way. At some point, Lydia cries out.
“Griffin, I don’t think that I can shake these guys all on my own.”
“Okay, I’m coming, babe.”
She sharply turns her neck to me. Her eyes are flickering from the screen to my face. “Did you just call me babe?” she asks.
“I...” It slips out. “I’m sorry. It was an accident, Lydia.”
“It’s fine,” she says, turning back to the game. “I just have a lot of these guys on me.”
I didn’t mind the name once I realized I said it. I liked calling her babe, but she seems to kind of brush it off. God, I am messing it up big time here.
I move my character to help her and start shooting arrows at the enemy minions. God, these are loaded. I’m trying to rapidly shoot them off, but they react so quickly.
“God, dang it!” I start getting frustrated. “These guys are not dying.”
Lydia is trying to spawn her own Support to ward off the minions—hers are super skilled, and they’re dropping like flies.
“Griffin, I don’t know if I can’t shake them.”
“No!” I yell at her. “We have to win. We’re so close. I know I can beat these guys. Just...keep working at it.”
“You don’t have to yell at me!” She throws off her headset. “This is supposed to be fun, and you’re being so serious.”
She stops playing for a moment, and her character rapidly starts losing health. She gets up from her seat and huffs.
“What are you doing?!” I raise my voice. “You could have totally stuck it through and defeated those minions.”
“What is wrong with you?” she yells. “You are getting worked up over a game. News flash, Griffin: people lose all the time. You don’t have to be so upset about it.”
I fall back into the chair. I just want to have a good time. And part of having a good time is winning. Lydia isn’t trying hard enough because I know she has it in her to win, so I don’t know why she isn’t trying harder.
“I just want us to have a good time.”
She groans. “You can still have a good time and not win. I know it’s frustrating, but...” She holds the bridge of her nose. “You need to chill out. It’s just a game, and honestly, right now, I’m not having fun playing with you acting like this. I’m going to go take a break and think you should do the same.”
She storms off, and I hold a hand out to stop her, but I can’t grab onto her in time. Is there even a point? I fucked up. And Lydia definitely wants nothing to do with me right now.
I get up and search around the room for where Lydia’s gone. I can’t find her anywhere. I catch one of the students who’s part of Lydia’s esports team and pull him aside.
“Hey, have you seen Lydia?”
“No,” he shakes his head. “I haven’t.”
Shit. I start getting frazzled. My pace quickens, and I look in every nook and cranny of the arena to see if I can find her. I pull out my phone and call her, but her phone keeps ringing, and it eventually goes to voicemail.
“Hello, you’ve reached Lydia Goh. Please leave a message, and I will return your call as soon as I can.”
“Lydia,” I begin. “It’s Griffin. I...I’m just making sure you’re okay. I’ve looked everywhere for you around the arena, and I can’t find you. Just...call or text me that you’re okay.”
After wandering around the arena, I’ve given up hope that I can find her somewhere here. The arena is big, but it’s still constrained within four walls.
“Hey,” I walk up to the students playing games on a row of computers. “I think Lydia might have left the arena, and she’s pretty upset. I’m going to check in on her.”
“Hey,” one of the kids stands up. “You go after her Mr. Markey. And tell her how you feel. But if you break her heart, we will never forgive you. Lydia is the best director in the world and she deserves to be with someone who is going to treat her how she should be treated.”
“Um,” I swallow. “Yeah, noted. I’ll be...good to her.” That’s the goal anyway. I’ve just been kind of fumbling with my words and actions to get there.
I speed walk through the hotel and crane my neck over at almost every slot machine, but no luck. I don’t want to think that she’s left completely, so I try to look through other parts of the hotel. The Luxor isn’t the biggest hotel on the Strip, right? I mean, it’s a goddamn pyramid.
After walking in circles, it seems, I finally spot Lydia sitting alone at a table, eating some sort of ice cream or frozen yogurt.
“Hey,” I sit down across from her. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Sorry,” she mumbles. “I just needed a pick-me-up.”
“Lydia,” I begin. “I am so sorry for how I acted. I was trying to relive the good ol’ days, so to speak. When we’d get so excited over a win. I...might have gotten a little too carried away.”
She raises her brows at me. “A little?”
“A little. I mean a lot.”
“Griffin,” she asks. “Why did you come to Vegas?”
I try moving my mouth. “To see you.”
“But...but we’re supposed to be friends. Friends don’t just hop on a plane to fly and see their friends.”
“Do they not?” I ask her. I take a deep breath. I think this is it.
She scoffs. “I don’t know. This is like shit that you see in a romance movie.”
“Is that bad?”
“It is...if you are just doing all of these things, but you don’t actually like me,” she tells me. “Griffin...I...”
I reach out to grab her wrist. If we’re confessing feelings, then I want to be the one to do it first.
“I’m falling in love with you, Lydia.”
Her mouth hangs open while I move my hand down to hold hers. Our fingers intertwine, and I start pouring out the rest of my feelings.
“I’ve tried to let go of the feelings I have for you, Lydia, but you continue to amaze me every day. I know that you might want this to be fake, and I’ve rejected you before, but it’s only because I was scared. I’m still scared because I don’t want the media to paint you in a bad light, but I...I think I want to try this out. If you want to. But I don’t want to just be your friend.”
I wait for her to react, and I almost think that I might have poured my damn heart out for nothing. But Lydia reacts by grabbing onto my hoodie and roping me in so that my lips touch hers. I close my eyes and push deeper into the kiss, and she moans. It’s one of the best sounds I’ve heard in my life.
She pulls back, and I grin. “I hope that means you feel the same way I do.”
She rolls her eyes. “It does. But...are you sure you want to be with me? Like, if we do this, then there are real feelings on the line. We can’t use the excuse that it’s fake, so we can move on anymore.”
I didn’t even think that when we were fake dating, that I could even stand the idea of it being fake. I just had to prove to myself that I’m capable of being in a real relationship, and at this point, I think I have. I know that the road ahead is going to be hard, with real emotions and real hearts on the line, but Lydia is the only person in the world that I want to be with, and I’m gonna fight damn hard to hold onto her.
“I do, Lydia.” I grab onto her and pull her to stand up, facing me alongside the table. I hold both of her hands in mine. “I want nothing more than to be with you and to do whatever I can to make you happy. I want to keep falling in love with you because you make me happy.”
She wraps her arms around me and gives me another kiss. I reach my arms around her waist and lift her towards me. “You make me happy too, Griffin Markey.”
“So, what’s next?” I ask.
“Are you hungry?” she asks. “I haven’t eaten much today.”
“I mean, of course. But I think I’m hungry for more than just food.”
“Oh my god,” she chuckles. Was it too soon for euphemisms? “Okay, well, let’s get something to eat. And then you can get something to eat after,” she winks.
And I think that makes for the best plan.