18. Liam
Liam
I'm riding on the high of victory as we clear the last wave of monsters when I glance at my chat stream and notice a particular comment.
RaffleRoffleRoar: Anyone else spend time in AmYDeadYet's stream instead? LOL everyone over there is laughing at Trickshot. Do they not know who he is?
AmYDeadYet?
Leaning toward K, I mutter, "What's her stream name?"
They frown at me as they adjust one of their elf ears. "AmYDeadYet. It's in the documents we e-mailed you last week."
Holy.
Fucking.
Shit.
I glance around my monitor, at the woman who's switched from PC to settle in on her recliner and play on her phone, instead. One of the assistants is moving all the recording software over as her stream is on pause.
A controversial streamer.
Someone who isn't family friendly.
Amy.
How did I not figure this out sooner?
"What the fuck," I mutter, and K gives me an odd look. I glance at my chat stream, which is full of fans who are now indignant on my behalf and threatening to invade her stream. Then there are the other half of my fans. The ones who have been making fun of me all along.
They're of the opinion that the truth needs to be told and everyone needs to get over it.
I tend to agree.
This game isn't my scene, which is fine. If they have fun teasing me, that's fine too. It's all about the exposure, after all.
I'm sure K's going to end up with a highlight reel of all my fails. I'll even watch it.
… Though it's more accurate to say Asher will force me to watch it while making commentary of his own. Fucker.
But none of that is what's important right now.
Amy .
The girl I've been blowing zombies up with for the past couple days. The one with the wicked sense of humor, a laugh that makes me grin.
I should've figured.
Her voice is a little different in real life, but now that I know who she is, my mind replays the things she's said. The way she laughs. Her wicked inflections when she makes a particularly cutting remark. Her humor. That take-no-shit attitude.
It's all her.
How the fuck did I not notice this entire time?
She's slouched in the recliner, curls falling over her shoulders, thumbs flying across her phone screen.
The same girl I've spent hours gaming with, trading barbs and blasting zombies.
And the very same Amy who's been avoiding me for days, after our charged encounter in the hotel.
I can't stop sneaking glances at her, my mind reeling. What are the odds? That the badass gamer girl I've been crushing on from afar is the same gorgeous, frustrating woman I can't get out of my head in real life?
I should've known. Should've recognized that voice. Should've put it together.
K clears their throat and I realize I'm still grinning like an idiot. I try to school my expression, but I can't quite wipe the smile off my face. Amy. Here. Right in front of me.
What do I even do with that? After the way things went down at the hotel, the days of awkward avoidance, I'm not sure where we stand.
I glance over at her again, my heart hammering in my ears. AmYDeadYet. Amy. One and the same.
Ready to knock on Amy's hotel room, it opens out of nowhere and Amy nearly barrels into me.
It's starting to feel like a habit.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Grabbing her arm to steady her, I study her panicked face.
"It's K! Some crazy woman is attacking him in the parking lot!"
Shit. I guide her toward the elevators. "Okay, just breathe. We'll get down there."
I have to run behind her, because the woman only has go and stop as her two speeds. She trembles with pent-up energy as the elevator brings us slowly down twelve stories, and I take her hand, running my thumb over her knuckles. "It'll be alright. It's not K's first rodeo."
She's not listening, her eyes glued to the numbers above the doors. When they open, she's bolting through the crowd, on the hunt.
I chase after her, bursting into the parking lot.
There's K, elf ears askew, gripping a woman by her bleached hair as she thrashes and spits. Amy gasps as the woman's flails, hitting K in the face with their own crown that she has some sort of death grip on.
The woman screeches a vile slur I won't repeat. K casually tosses her aside when they see Amy running to help. It's obvious that they have the entire situation under control, so I saunter behind, waiting to see what's going on.
The woman goes sprawling, and K snatches their crown out of her hands.
Then the woman's eyes land on me. Her face transforms into a manic grin. What the hell?
"Inside, both of you," K orders, motioning to a few security officers that I see now in the distance, rushing toward us.
Amy hesitates, a vicious look on her face as she stares at the woman, but I grab her arm and usher her toward the hotel.
"What happened?" I ask K, who snorts as they jam their crown back onto their head.
"Just a little clean-up. Another stalker of yours. I'll never understand how they always find you."
Amy's trying to walk next to K, but jealousy doesn't give a fuck that K's happily married to their husband. I nudge her to the other side of me so she has to peer around me to talk to them.
K watches my every move, a smirk curving their lips. Yeah, I'm gonna hear all about it later.
K thrives on drama. The fun drama, not the stalker-in-a-parking-lot drama. "Where'd you find her?"
"She was trying to break into your car over by the valet parking. Chased her ass down. She was offended by the crown, kept screaming that she's your fiancee and I was gonna rue the day. You know, the usual shit."
"Did she figure out where he was from watching our stream?" Amy asks, taking all of this in surprising stride.
"Could be. They're resourceful. We're lucky to have caught her." K fiddles with one of their elf ears, which isn't sitting on their ear properly.
"Hold on." The daylight's fading, but I squint and figure it out. It was damaged in the fight. "You're going to need a new one. It's torn down the seam."
"Fucking twatwaffle doesn't know culture when it's standing right in front of her fucking painted-on face. Even if they're cheap, they didn't deserve to be ruined like that."
K manages to get their elf ear back on, adjusted just right.
"At least they're cheap to replace?" I offer, to ease their grumpy mood.
"It isn't about the price, you uncultured barbarian." K switches into lecture mode. "You think I wear these for me? It's to lighten the mood, to bring a little fun into our day. We all work around art, around imagination. You want me to be some corporate hard-ass with a metaphorical whip all day long, or do you want K, the delightful fairy who cracks fun jokes and has all the best crowns?"
"I vote for fairy K." Amy raises her hand immediately. "But I confess that I thought you were an elf."
"I can be whatever I want to be, darling."
I snort. "You only vote for fairy K because that's what you're used to. There's also Satan K. Or orc K. I think orc K was my favorite. But Satan K has the most female fans."
"Hmm, yes. Orc K was fun, but the green body paint got a little old after a while." K laughs. "My husband prefers vampire K. I think he secretly watched all the Twilight movies behind my back."
I nod. I can believe it.
"You're married?" Amy asks, and it warms my heart to hear no judgment in her words.
"Jay," K confirms with a grin, flashing their wedding band. "He pretends to hate the outfits, but I think they're his favorite."
"They probably are."
Liam grunts. "They're not, trust me."
Amy and K both ignore me.
"Liam's got the body to pull off Phantom. Not all the popular cosplayers can mimic that intimidating loom of his. It's too bad his gaming skills aren't on par with his looks." K sighs. "It's a problem. I should have thought about that when we hired him on."
Excuse me? I'm a retired professional . It's the genre that doesn't work for me, not a reflection on my skills.
"Beauty and brains don't usually mix," Amy says sympathetically.
Since when did they bond like this? Weren't we complaining about stalkers a few minutes ago? Why are they all chummy and ganging up on me now?
I scowl at K, who knows damn well I'm shooting them death stares and doesn't give a flying pig shit about my feelings.
Instead, they fucking flirt with Amy.
In front of me.
On fucking purpose.
And Amy's lapping it up, batting her eyelashes at them like she's lovesick.
But then her small hand slips into mine, and I can't help the swell of masculine pride that straightens my spine.
She's holding my hand.
That means she won't avoid me anymore, right?
Hah. She might be flirting with K, but who's the one holding her hand? Yep. It's me.
I give K a smug look, and they roll their eyes.
K's banter winds down as we reach the elevators. They jab the button viciously before turning to us, face suddenly serious. "Watch yourselves out there, especially if you leave the hotel. Keep your wits about you."
"We will," I assure them, meeting their eyes. A silent understanding passes between us. Any stalkers would likely target Amy, so we'll have to work harder to keep her safe.
It's been a hot minute since I've had to deal with these pesky things; I'm not thrilled they've come back here, when I'm trying to focus all my free time on the delectable treat walking beside me. "Actually, I was hoping to borrow Amy for a bit, if you don't mind."
K waves a hand dismissively. "She's all yours, lover boy. I've got damage control to handle anyway." They stride into the waiting elevator, tossing a wink over their shoulder as the doors close.
I turn to Amy, squeezing her hand. She squeezes back. "Walk with me? I thought we could... talk."
Uncertainty flickers across her face, teeth worrying at her bottom lip. My heart sinks. But then she nods, squeezing my hand. "Okay. Lead the way."
Relief courses through me as I guide us toward the beach access. The sky is painted in vivid oranges and pinks as the sun hangs low, and a salty breeze ruffles our hair as we step out onto the sand.
Earlier in the day, it was hot. Now, it's cooling down.
I glance at Amy, drinking in how she looks in the oncoming sunset.
"So..." I clear my throat, trying to gather my scrambled thoughts. "About the other night. And, well, everything since then."
She tenses slightly beside me but doesn't pull away. I take that as a good sign.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you who I was, but I thought it would be a cute surprise." I rub the back of my neck, feeling like an ass. "It obviously wasn't."