Chapter Five #2
“Sorry,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck with my free hand. “I’m a witch. I’m so used to my roommates seeing me do stuff like that, I forgot it can be kinda startling when it happens out of nowhere.
“That’s alright,” Maki murmurs. “That makes things a little easier. I was wondering how to ask about your species without it coming across as blunt or rude.”
I squirt the ketchup onto my plate. Then I watch as Maki takes a fry from his plate, dipping it into his milkshake.
He doesn’t seem like the type to do something like that and I can’t help but find it amusing.
Dare I admit, I find this man adorable despite his straightforwardness and size. Big men can be adorable, damnit!
“Yeah, I’m a witch. I don’t have much magic but the little bit I have is in the telekinesis field.”
“Interesting,” Maki says, nodding his head. He picks up his fork, starting to eat his broccoli. I take a big bite of my burger, just barely keeping a moan of pleasure at bay. Fuck, this food is decicous. I love eating here. “I’m an undine.”
I take my time chewing and swallowing before answering. “I’m not very versed in undine,” I confess softly. “By your pointed ears, I would guess you’re in the fae family, right?”
“That is correct. Undine are considered sea fae, born from the water. We have a few rare qualities to us. One of them is very important for me to share.”
His voice is so serious. I nod my head, gesturing for him to go on. “Let’s hear it, Maki.”
He nods his head once, setting his fork down. “When an undine is in a romantic relationship, it is imperative their partner not be unfaithful. If they are, their heart will stop.”
My eyes widen at his words. “Oh,” I breathe out.
“Fuck, that must feel like a lot of responsibility, huh? Of course, if that were to ever happen, it wouldn’t be your fault!
But at the same time, I can totally see someone taking that onto their own shoulders.
” I shake my head. “Sorry, thinking out loud. I do that sometimes. Just kinda blurt out whatever comes into my mind.”
“It’s okay,” he says, his lips perking up at the edges ever so slightly. “And you are correct. It can be a lot, which is why I’m telling you this up front, just in case.”
Just in case.
Just in case of what?
“We also bond with our mates in a very deliberate and unique way, but we don’t have to talk about that right now. Bonding isn’t a common dinner conversation. At least, I don’t think it is,” he adds on, a little furrow between his thick brows.
Maki pulls out his phone and sets it on the table. I try not to look but can’t help sneaking a peek, watching as he switches over to his notes app. He scrolls through it for a bit before nodding to himself and putting the phone away. He starts eating his burger.
“Is streaming your main job?”
“Yeah, that’s what I do full time,” I tell him between bites.
“I know it’s not a conventional job. A lot of people still don’t really understand it.
The amount of times I’ve had to tell my parents that I’m doing really well for myself only to have them send me money is far too many times,” I tell him with a chuckle.
“I don’t understand how you make money but who am I to judge when I also don’t have a very conventional job.”
“I kinda like that you understand. We might not understand the small details but we understand that it’s kinda quirky. We both understand what it means to be in the public eye.”
“Very much so,” Maki says with a nod. “Though, I’m not the best at that aspect. I have a PR manager and she’s always trying to teach me how to post on social media and do interviews. I hate it,” he says with a frown.
“I know a lot of streamers are known for the games they play but I’ve never actually been that good at video games.
I tend to get way too into them, suck at them, before eventually quitting in a fit of rage.
People like hanging out because of how much I talk to my chat.
That’s what I think they like about me anyway. ”
“I noticed that.”
“So,” I say slowly. “When it comes to the social media side of things, I’ll help you today,” I say with a grin. “We’ll take a selfie before we leave and we can both post it on our social media.”
“You’d be okay with that?”
“Of course! I have to show chat that I’ve won you over,” I explain. “They were really on my case the other day. They called me the asshole and to be super honest, I don’t really blame them. I’m really sorry again about how we first met.”
“Please don’t worry about it. It might have started rocky, but our dinner is going well.” His brows furrow again. I can’t help but grin, loving that look on his face. It’s super cute. “I think it’s going well.”
“It is,” I assure him. “It’s going really well.”
“Good,” he says with a sigh, letting his shoulders relax. “I’m not good at this. Talking to people.”
“I think you’re doing a great job, Maki.”
He smiles, the tiniest bit. “Thank you, Rin.” Then he pushes his milkshake towards the middle of the table. “Would you like to dip a fry into my shake so you can try it?”
“Yes please!” I dip one of my fries into his chocolate banana shake, groaning in pleasure at the taste. “Okay, that’s so good. I’ll have to get that next time I come here. You can dip your spoon in my shake if you’d like to try but I’ll warn you, it’s pretty sweet!”
Maki grabs his spoon and tries my shake, wrinkling his nose. “That’s very sweet.”
“You don’t have much of a sweet tooth?”
He shakes his head. “My guilty pleasures swing more on the salty side.”
Ugh, I really need to stop hanging out with Rodney because the first thing that comes to mind is to make a joke about how I’ve got something salty he can taste. I might not know much about Maki yet, but I have a feeling he wouldn’t appreciate or even understand a dirty joke like that.
“When’s your next game?”
“On Monday. It’s an away game against the Beverly Bakers. I’ll be leaving tomorrow night so that my team can have the weekend to practice at the facility there.”
“Are you excited?”
Maki hums, nodding his head. “I think it will be an exciting set. Our teams are very equally matched.”
“But you’re gonna win, right?”
“I’m going to try my best to make that happen,” he says seriously. I can’t help but grin, my chest fluttering pleasantly.
“Are your games televised?”
“They are. Will you watch on Monday?”
“I’ll do my best. I have plans this weekend and I have no idea when I’ll be free again. By the time you get back from your game, I might still be in SkyDive hell.”
Maki tilts his head to the side. “I apologize but I don’t know what that means.”
“I’m starting a stream tomorrow where I can’t stop the stream until I beat the game SkyDive.
I’m not sure how long it’ll take but probably a while,” I explain, finishing the last of my fries before pulling my milkshake close.
“I’ve done marathon streams like this before and they’re really fun, but they’re also really draining. ”
“When will you sleep?”
“I’ll still sleep,” I tell him quickly, “but the stream will stay going even while I’m resting.”
“Do people still watch when you’re not there?”
“Yeah. My mods will do some stuff to keep chat occupied and my roommates are planning a little podcast segment as well. There’ll be stuff happening but the main thing is just beating this game.”
“I’ll do my best to check it out when I can,” Maki says, pushing his plate to the side now that it’s empty. “I still don’t understand everything but I’d like to support you.”
I smile, ignoring the way my stomach is turning into goo. “I’d really like that, Maki. It’ll make me smile to see your name in chat.”
Maki mirrors my smile.
“Oh! Before you finish your shake, let’s take that picture.”
“Okay?”
I slide out of my side of the booth and sit next to Maki. I pull out my phone, flipping the camera around so we can see ourselves.
“Pick up your shake, like this,” I say, holding mine up so it's at the bottom of the picture. “Okay, now grin. Or tilt your head towards me. Yeah, like that. Perfect.”
I take a few pictures before setting my shake back down. Then we look through them, picking the best one.
“I’ll post it on my account and then tag you in it. Do you want any of the others for your social media?”
“Can you send them to me, please?”
“Of course,” I say with a grin, sending them over.
Just remembering that I have Maki’s number fills my stomach with little flutters.
This is going so well and I know I’ll be texting him in the future.
I could even call him if I wanted. Knowing that makes my chest warm in a way I do my best to ignore.
I quickly follow Maki on social media before posting the picture, capturing it ‘from biggest hater to biggest fan’. People are gonna love that.
Maki posts a similar picture and tags me in it. Instead of writing anything, he simply puts three milkshake emojis as the caption. We both close out of the app, knowing our notifications are about to go a bit wild and wanting to stay focused on each other instead of social media.
“Thank you,” Maki says softly. “I think my manager will actually like this post. Plus, she’ll probably be happy some of your fans might become interested in volleyball.”
I grin up at Maki, only now realizing I’m still sat next to him instead of across from him. His body is bigger than me which is unfair because I’m already a tall guy. I’m never outrunning the short king allegations.
His body is strong and big. Everywhere we touch, my body tingles, like electricity stuck under my skin.
I can feel my face warming, but I ignore that, not wanting to tip Maki off to what’s going on inside my head.
I really am a disaster gay, getting all flustered just because I’m sat next to a handsome man!
“I’m glad I could help,” I tell him, just as softly. “Getting to know you was really fun, Maki.”