Chapter 53 Elizabeth
ELIZABETH
@theanswerisno:
Hey, Pancakes?
@pancakesareelite:
Hmm?
@theanswerisno:
Thank you for always being around
@pancakesareelite:
Anytime. Every time. All the time.
“I thought you’d never ask,” I said.
Lincoln slid off the couch and onto the cushion near the TV. I joined him on the other cushion, wanting to be as close as possible. Soft vulnerability came off him in waves.
“I haven’t played this before,” I said. But I’d seen the movie, so at the very least the concepts weren’t entirely foreign.
“You’ll catch on quickly,” he said, his voice an echo of what it usually was. “I’ve seen you jump headfirst into far more complicated games.”
The half smile on his lips tempted me, but I stayed put.
As if reading my mind, he kissed my shoulder but then turned his attention back to the game.
“My dad was my first Player Two. He was the first person who introduced me to games, and when he was around, I didn’t need anyone else.
I didn’t need friends.” He swallowed, his eyes fixed on what was happening in the game.
I kept moving too. Slashing. But my focus was on Lincoln.
“My dad was always there and ready to play a game with me. Even when he was tired or stressed.”
Like Link was for me.
“And this was the last game we’d played.
This was the last thing I’d done with him before we went to the store and never made it there.
” His voice broke. “If we’d played a second longer.
If we’d left a second earlier…” He dipped his head, his knuckles whitening around the controller.
“Maybe he wouldn’t have been standing there when that driver lost control.
Maybe if I hadn’t gone with him, he wouldn’t have worried about me. Maybe…”
I hit pause and took the controller from his hands before wrapping his big figure in my arms. His tears dampened my clothing and sank into my skin.
I tightened my grip, pulling him closer.
For a few minutes, I could barely tell where I ended and where he began because Lincoln’s pain became my own as my heart cracked open, letting all of him in.
All of his grief. All of his love. All of the things he didn’t like about himself.
I loved all of Lincoln Carden, and I always would.
He straightened, apologies slipping from his mouth. I shushed him and used the back of my sleeve to dry his face.
“I’m not usually like this.” He cleared his throat.
It was as though I could see the mask being pulled over. The one he used when he thought he was being too much. I leaned my forehead against his. “You can be however you want, whenever you want. I’m here. And if you want to pack this up, I’ll help you. If you want to play it, I’ll beat you.”
“It’s not a competitive game.” A laugh huffed out of him, and he shook his head. “You are so perfect.”
My heart fluttered pathetically. This man could say anything to me, and it would flutter. But he wasn’t just any man saying anything. He was Lincoln, the kindest, smartest, most handsome man in the world.
“Hey, Lily,” he said, handing me the controller, “I’d like to finish it. With you.”
“And as I’ve proven time and time again, my answer to you is always yes.”
The last bit of the game didn’t take too long, but with every step, with every arc of his virtual sword, Lincoln unfurled. His shoulders dropped, his smile returned, and there was a lightness surrounding him that wasn’t there before.
At some point, we paused and opened the chips he’d brought along. The controllers became a little greasy, and our laughter grew more frequent.
And this went on and on, until the game credits rolled. Which was when he gave me one long look. A look that struck my heart. Held it. Fixed it. A look so soft that I was glad he didn’t say anything because no words would match the amount of value he’d given me with that one look.
Slowly, he packed up the console.
“Are you keeping it?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nah. Donating it, along with the games and most of the books. Maybe some other kid can play on it with their dad or find their Player Two.” He lifted my hand and kissed my fingertips. “I’ve been lucky enough to find mine. Twice.”
At some point during the night, which was slowly edging into morning, Lincoln and I moved boxes of books to his truck.
I took a moment to explore what had been his childhood home. It was so much smaller than the house where I’d met his mother. But this place was lived in and worn down with memories that were scratched into every surface. Sometimes, literally so.
I moved my laptop, still open, even though I hadn’t done a single application. The desk and chair needed to go next. I flopped onto the couch while he moved the last of the boxes.
Lincoln’s hand dropped to his stomach. “I’m starving.”
“Me too.”
He whipped out his phone. “There’s a twenty-four-hour pizzeria, and while the Google reviews average at 2.7, it is the only place that’s still open.”
“What’s a little food poisoning between lovers?”
He chuckled. “Favorite pizza?”
“Anything with cheese.”
“Girl of my dreams,” he replied, sitting beside me, bumping my mouse.
My laptop screen woke up, opening my inbox. There were two unread emails. Both from Mr. Anders.
The first email told me what I already knew. Cedric and Peter were the top two interns this year, and I followed closely behind.
The next email was also about the internship.
[UPDATED] INTERN POSITIONS
I glanced at Lincoln as I opened it. Cedric was still number one, but number two had changed. Number two was no longer Peter. Now it read Elizabeth Gordon-Bettencourt.
At the bottom stood a single line: Peter has taken a job in the United Kingdom. We wish him all the best.
My mouth dropped open. “Does this mean?”
“I think so,” Lincoln said with a chuckle. “Lily! You got it.”
“I got it?” I said, my voice cracking. “I… can’t believe it.”
“I can.” He pressed his lips against mine. “Congratulations, gorgeous girl. Simucon is the best place for you to learn. You’ll get all the experience you need to really tap into the skills you’re already developing, provided you’re willing to deal with a few jerks.”
Joy and nerves prickled across my skin. “I can handle them.”
He nodded, grinning. “They’re in trouble. They have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into.”
I crawled closer to him, already thinking of all the things we could do to celebrate.
But then the doorbell rang, and Lincoln held up a finger before going to the front door. He returned with the pizza.
He sat down and placed it between us before opening it to reveal the super cheesy perfection. I grabbed a slice and bit into it, gesturing for him to speak. Finally, he told me all about his meeting with Professor Hahn.
I swallowed the food before it was ready to be swallowed. I coughed. “You’ll be a lecturer?”
His frown returned, but there was a smile playing there too. “Yeah. I’m gonna try. I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it.”
“If you were my professor, I’d either have passed everything to impress you or failed everything because you’re gorgeously distracting.”
He burst out laughing.
“Lily,” he breathed, and shut his eyes, “you’re not helping.”
I reached out and pinched his chin. “Link, you’re the best teacher I’ve ever had. During games, with road design and traffic analysis, even on-site. You’re patient and kind, even when I thought you didn’t like me.”
“You thought I didn’t like you?” His dark brows pulled together.
“Uh-huh.” I took another slice. “You were so angry around me.”
“I couldn’t think clearly,” he said with a long sigh, and I knew he was about to give me one of those toe-curling compliments.
“Elizabeth, I enter a black hole of focus, and it helps my productivity, but it’s not always easy.
Then you were there, shimmering and shining.
All I wanted to do was look at you, make wishes upon you, bottle you and take you everywhere. ”
There it was.
I lifted the pizza box because I couldn’t handle the separation. Lincoln pulled me closer until I was on his lap.
“I can’t wait for you to take me everywhere.”
“I will.” He offered me a kiss. “But for now, can I take you home? To my home?”