Chapter 18
Sly
Sumner had gotten so comfortable around me that she was actually staying over at my place for once. And tonight, she was watching me stream.
I had my usual setup ready, with the camera angled, the lights adjusted, the mic checked, and everything sitting there, just waiting for me to go live. The only difference was her. She was sitting off to the side, out of frame, on my recliner in the corner.
She was curled up under one of my blankets with her legs tucked beneath her, and a mug of tea cupped in her hands. She’d watched me set everything up, quietly curious, asking questions about a few things I never thought anyone would care about.
Before sitting down at my desk, I walked over to the recliner. For a moment, I just stood there, looking down at her. I couldn’t help it.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” I said softly, smiling.
“I’m so happy I’m here too,” she said back. Her smile was warm.
“If you get bored, just tell me and I’ll stop the stream. We can go do something else.”
“I won’t get bored,” she promised. “I’m going to have fun watching.”
I let out a breath. I needed to keep her forever.
I’d never let a woman this close, and I'd never shown them this part of my life because I’d been afraid they wouldn’t understand or would find it weird.
Streaming had always been my safe space, the one thing that was completely mine.
But just like Sumner had let me into hers, I was letting her into mine.
And it felt right.
“Okay,” I murmured. I let myself take her in again. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail with strands falling out around her face. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the heat of her tea, and her body looked completely relaxed in my chair.
I took a slow step closer, giving her space to pull away if she wanted. When she didn’t move, when she kept her eyes on me, I leaned down and rested both my hands on the arms of the chair. I stayed there, waiting and watching her.
Her breath caught a little, but she still didn’t flinch or shy away. She was watching me as carefully as I was watching her.
I decided to keep it slow. I leaned in just enough to press a soft kiss to her cheek. She exhaled, leaning a little into me as her free hand came up to rest against my arm.
I pressed another kiss to her cheek, then one to her forehead, before meeting her eyes again. “You’re so damn special to me,” I said quietly.
Her cheeks deepened in color, and for a second, she opened her mouth like she was about to speak, but no words came out. It didn’t matter. Her eyes told me everything I needed to know.
“I’m going to start the stream now,” I told her with a grin that a little too smug tugged on my lips.
“Okay.” She bit her bottom lip and dropped her eyes to my lips.
I told myself that it wasn’t an invitation to kiss her, but I wanted to so badly.
Then I finally made myself step back from her before I did something reckless.
She was still curled under the blanket, looking at me like I’d just handed her the whole world, and I knew if I didn’t sit down now, I’d end up kissing and forgetting I was supposed to be taking it easy with her.
She was still the one in charge here, and I needed to keep it that way.
I slipped into my chair, put on my helmet, slapped the visor down, and hit the button to go live.
I waited for people to join, then started talking to them. “Alright. What’s up, everyone?”
The chat lit up instantly.
VISORRRRRR!
Helmet Daddy is here.
Where have you been, man?
HE’S ALIVE
You’re two hours late!!!
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I chuckled, leaning back in my chair. “Had some…stuff going on.” My eyes flicked toward the corner of the room for half a second, and I caught Sumner tucking her legs tighter under the blanket, trying to disappear like she wasn’t already the most distracting thing in the room.
Luckily, the people watching couldn’t see where I was looking because of my helmet, or they’d get suspicious.
I started up the game, letting the intro run while I scrolled and read the chat.
Stuff = dating a girl?
Don’t lie to us, bro. You got a girlfriend.
GUYS, let’s not assume things
Men only get distracted when they’re dating
I laughed, shaking my head. “You guys always jump to conclusions.”
The game started, and I dove into the chaos like usual. Trash-talking enemies, laughing at my own mistakes. It felt natural, but there was a difference tonight. Every time I made a joke and saw Sumner smile, it hit me like a lightning strike right in the heart.
I didn’t acknowledge her in an obvious way, though. She was sipping her tea, staying quiet, and I wasn’t about to put her on blast in front of thousands of people. This was my world, and I didn’t want her to feel like she had to share herself with it if she was uncomfortable.
About an hour in, I felt my throat going dry and leaned off-camera to lift my helmet and grab my water. When I glanced over, she was stretching under the blanket, her mug empty on the small side table now. She yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, eyes watery and tired.
Without thinking, I smiled and asked, “You tired, baby?”
The second the word left my mouth, I realized I hadn’t muted the stream.
Sumner’s eyes widened and flicked to the screen, and I froze before putting my helmet back down and looking at the chat. It was going crazy.
BABY??????
WHO TF IS HE TALKING TO
Probably talking to April haha
NO WAY
MYSTERY GIRL REVEAL???
SHOW HER. SHOW HER NOW.
Guys, he’s a private person. Let’s respect that.
I coughed, trying not to curse myself for that slip.
“Relax,” I told them, shaking my head with a grin they couldn’t see. “Calm down.”
That, of course, only made it worse.
Oh he so has a girl in that room with him
He can’t hide her now
IT’S A GIRL
HELMET DADDY IS TAKEN
my dreams = crushed
I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I started laughing, resting my helmet in my hands while the game character I was supposed to be controlling stood still on screen, getting wrecked by other players.
“Shit,” I muttered. “Okay, fine. You caught me. There might be someone here. But she’s off-limits, and she’s staying out of frame. End of story.”
Sumner’s muffled laugh slipped through from the corner, and of course, my mic caught it. The chat went wild again.
WE HEARD HER YOU CAN’T HIDE HER FOREVER
OMG her laugh is so cute
HOLY SHIT HE REALLY HAS A GIRL OVER
Wait he really isn’t gay???
Is it the grey-eyed girl you talked about last time?
I read the comment about the grey eyes and cringed. I still hated that I couldn’t see her true eye color, but I was set on buying myself a pair of colorblind glasses to see them for real.
“Actually, turns out her eyes aren’t grey. They’re green. And, apparently, I’m colorblind.”
our colorblind king
omg so sorry that sucks
I bet her eyes are beautiful either way
“Yeah…” I smiled and turned my head toward Sumner, who was still looking at me with that sweet expression. “Her eyes are fucking perfect. Just like the rest of her.”
She tilted her head to the side, her eyes filling with so much joy my heart almost burst.
“Sorry about all this,” I told her, but she shook her head like she didn’t mind.
Back on stream, I clapped my hands and sat up straighter. “Alright, enough about that. We’re here to play. And if you guys can keep your eyes on the game instead of trying to ruin my personal life, that’d be great,” I joked.
Nah, bro, we’re locked in.
Never letting this go.
SO SWEET OMG
We’ll protect her privacy. Mystery Girl stays mystery girl.
That one made me laugh. “Yeah, you better. Otherwise, my stream is canceled forever.”
I played on, but the mood was different now. Lighter. Every time Sumner shifted in the corner or laughed at something dumb I said, I felt my chest loosen. She was here. She was with me. And no matter what the people in the chat thought, she was mine to keep.
The sweetest secret I ever kept.
***
It had gotten late by the time I ended the stream and shut everything down.
The adrenaline that always kicked in after a good session was still running through me, and Sumner hadn’t moved from the chair the entire time.
She sat there curled up under the blanket, watching me like this was the most natural thing in the world.
When I finally turned to her, she gave me a soft smile, making my heart beat louder in my chest.
“You hungry?” I asked after taking off my helmet and pushing back from my desk to stretch my arms overhead.
She tilted her head at me. “A little. What do you have?”
I grinned and got up to walk toward her. “I actually have a surprise for you.”
“You do?” Her eyes were wide as she looked up at me.
I nodded and held out my hands. “Come on.”
She got up with the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders and curiosity written all over her face.
Once I led her to the kitchen, I gestured for her to sit at the counter stool, and she climbed up, resting her chin in her palm like she was ready to watch a show.
I started pulling things out and laid them out on the counter.
Her eyebrows rose as she studied the fresh salmon filets, spinach, and a box of rice. “Wait…you cook?”
I wasn’t offended, but the answer was no. “Not really. I’ve been trying to figure out how to cook things that don’t come in a Styrofoam cup or a cardboard box.”
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “That’s already impressive.”
I rolled my sleeves up and focused. “You just sit and watch, okay? If I start a fire, please help me put it out.”
“Of course,” she said with an assuring grin.
“Alright, here I go.”
First, I rinsed the rice, set it on the stove, and covered it to steam. Then I patted the salmon dry, seasoned it the way I’d seen in a dozen tutorials, and heated the pan until it hissed when the fish touched the surface. The smell filled the room almost instantly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sumner watching me with a look that told me she was both amused and impressed, but trying not to make a big deal out of the fact that I was cooking for her.
I knew she’d always been the one to cook for Joey, and that she probably never got anything more than a grunt in return. I ignored the anger, which had begun to make itself noticeable in my chest, and focused on dinner.
The rice finished first, and the salmon came out with the perfect crisp on the edges.
I tossed the spinach in the same pan for flavor, as the recipe called for, and plated everything together.
When I set the plate down in front of her, she blinked and then looked up at me like I’d just performed some impossible trick.
“That looks delicious.”
“Yeah?” I took a seat next to her and filled our glasses with water. “I have to be honest…I’m impressed with myself.”
She laughed, then picked up her fork and knife to cut into the salmon. “That’s hard to cook,” she said slowly before taking her first bite, and her eyes widened. “And you cooked it perfectly, Sly.”
“Yeah?” I asked, trying not to let the grin take over my face.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I’m really impressed. This is delicious. Thank you for cooking for me.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
Something warm and almost stupidly big spread in my chest. I watched her take another bite, her shoulders relaxing as she chewed. Before I turned into a creep by staring at her, I started eating myself and was truly surprised at how good it tasted.
“Guess I can tick ‘learn how to cook something other than ramen’ off my bucket list, then.”
She laughed and nodded. “You really can. I bet now you can cook right about anything.”
I leaned back in my chair, smirking. “Careful. Keep hyping me up like that and I’ll start cooking every night.”
Her cheeks flushed, but she held my gaze. “I wouldn’t complain.”
The room went quiet for a few seconds, only the clinking of forks against plates filling the air. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. It was the exact opposite. It just felt right.
I caught her smiling to herself as she took another bite.
She didn’t realize how much she gave away without speaking, how her eyes and her lips and the way she held herself made it clear that she was enjoying this, and I wanted to tell her exactly how she affected me, but the words stuck in my throat.
I didn’t want to catch her off-guard or make things awkward, so I stayed quiet and kept eating, and held those feelings in me until the time was right to let them spill.