Chapter 11
Luca
Complete side quests to gain special rewards.
My arms stretch, and my fingers dig into the rough texture of the red climbing hold above me.
Maleek is already climbing the white route—which is a sign that I definitely need to start exercising more.
I take a deep breath, push myself upwards using my legs, and just about manage to get both hands on the top hold.
“Brilliant!” Maleek calls out, already on his way back down. I touch the climbing hold with both hands, climb back down a bit, and let myself drop to the mats.
“I am so out of practice.” But that’s only half the story. Sure, I’m out of practice, but I’m also absolutely knackered. I rub my face with a groan, remembering too late that my hands are covered in chalk.
It’s been three days since I fell asleep next to Lara.
Three days since our kiss. Three sleepless nights, turning everything over in my mind, and I still haven’t found an answer.
Not to why she left without a word or what the hell she’s done to me.
Because she’s made a total mess of me. Instead of getting lost in my code like I’d do on a normal weekend, I stared at the flashing cursor for hours, thinking about her soft lips.
At the same time, the fact that we kissed feels almost absurd now, like a fever dream.
And the fact that Lara isn’t replying to my DMs makes me question whether it was, after all.
Her note is in my jacket pocket, safely tucked away in the locker by the changing rooms, but I can see her words in front of me clear as day.
Why didn’t she say goodbye? But above all—why didn’t I wake up?
I can’t remember sleeping that deeply even once over the past four years.
Especially not in the middle of the day. But with Lara by my side . . .
“Break?” Maleek asks, scrutinizing me, his head tilted to one side. Probably because I haven’t moved an inch.
I nod. “Let’s.”
“Stay down there on the mat; I’ll get us something to drink,” Maleek says with a laugh and saunters off.
I stare up at the gray ceiling, waiting for my breathing to return to normal.
Quiet conversations echo through the gym; it’s still too early for the big crowds.
Thankfully, that also means that the air’s comparatively fresh and not saturated with the smell of sweaty feet.
“Here you go.” A bottle thuds down on the mat next to me, and shortly after, Maleek lowers himself to the ground. “Are you thinking about GameChanger again?”
“Am I that predictable?”
“A bit.” Maleek prods me with his sock foot, just freed from its tight climbing shoe.
“I just wish I’d done more.”
“You did all you could.”
I shrug, uncertain whether that’s true, though I did try. Nothing happened apart from the kiss—nothing physical, at any rate. Instead, we talked; I tried to calm her down about the video—only to wake up alone shortly after.
“Why did she leave so suddenly?” I ask, voicing the question that’s been rattling around in my brain these past three days.
“Maybe you’re a piss-poor kisser?”
“I knew I’d regret telling you.”
Maleek gives me a wide grin, but when I don’t bite, he turns serious.
“Oh, don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m sure she just wanted to avoid running into that weird lad—Shane?
—again. And she probably didn’t want to wake you, so you’d get some rest. Have you seen the bags under your eyes lately, mate?
Besides, you’re still competitors. Maybe she regrets the whole thing. ”
I grumble. What can I say to that? From an intellectual perspective, I realize Maleek is right, of course.
I’m sure Lara regrets this whole thing just as much as I should.
And yet I’m left with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach at the prospect of not seeing her again anytime soon.
Truth be told, there’s nothing I’d rather do right now than talk to her.
The TikTok has made its way over to Instagram Reels at this point, and it’s garnered a decent number of views on both platforms. Since, as usual, I wasn’t able to sleep last night, I read the comments and killed time reporting several users.
They probably won’t get banned, no matter what they do.
“Well, has she replied to your message?”
How are you doing? I hope you get home safe, and let me know if you want to talk. That’s what I sent her—and she obviously doesn’t want to talk.
I shake my head. “No, but that’s fine. I hope it just means she’s staying off the socials for a few more days.”
“People suck.”
“Not all of them; you’re all right,” I retort.
“Thanks, I find you quite acceptable too, once you’ve had your first coffee of the day.”
I burst out laughing, sit up, and gulp down some of the water Maleek brought for me.
“So,” Maleek says, “are you taking Hank up on his offer to take Monday off, then?” I raise my eyebrows in response, and Maleek sighs. “Oh, why do I ask.”
“We’ll know on Monday whether we’ve made it to the next round. And even if we don’t get through, there’s enough work to do.”
“Sure, but this is Hank offering . . . I think he’s in a generous mood right now. He spent half of yesterday’s team meeting praising us to high heaven! In front of everyone!”
“Don’t you start about creaming your knickers again . . .” I grumble.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Maleek says with a grin. “In any case, he’s sure we’ll get to the second round. Who knows; maybe if he sees how much the judges believe in our game, he’ll stump up some more money after all—whether we win or not.”
“Maybe. Amanda was keen too, in yesterday’s meeting. Her jaw just about dropped to the floor.” I raise my eyebrows, watching Maleek, who’s showing a sudden interest in the mineral composition of his bottled water. “And she gave you a thumbs-up . . .”
“Yep,” he says tersely. When I don’t look away, he groans in frustration. “There’s nothing going on, all right? We’re just friends.”
“Is that an ‘unfortunately’ I’m hearing?”
“I preferred it when we were solving your problems. Let’s go over this whole thing one more time: It sucks that you’re never going to see Lara again, and she’s—”
I punch him in the shoulder, and he stops, laughing. Two men and a woman duck around us and start scaling the wall. I get up to make space for them, and so does Maleek, stretching his arms over his head.
“I think I’m done for today.”
I nod. “Same. I’m already going to be sore tomorrow as it is.”
“As long as you’re still up for tonight,” Maleek replies as we walk away from the mats. My shoes tap-tap against the smooth floor of the gym, and I bend down to open the Velcro and tug them off my feet too.
“Tonight?”
“The party? For our Digital Triumph Award nomination?” Maleek crosses his muscled arms in front of his chest, scrutinizing me. “You’re coming! I don’t want to hear a no.”
I groan, because I had, in fact, blocked it out already. Havoc City, the other flagship game by Bytes & Bits apart from Lawless, has just been nominated as game of the year, and now it’s picked up another prestigious nomination.
“I dunno . . .”
Maleek groans. “Luca, it’s the weekend! Drinks are on the company . . .”
“Amanda’s going to be there,” I interrupt him, which gets an eye roll from Maleek, but then he raises an admonishing finger.
“You know what? Yeah! Amanda’s going to be there. And I’d be stranded without my wingman.”
“You’re buggered one way or another.”
Now it’s Maleek’s turn to punch my shoulder. I deserved that, I suppose.
“Fine, I’ll come. But isn’t the party at that posh cocktail bar?”
“Yeah, and like I said—drinks are on the company!” Maleek opens his locker and gives me a broad grin. “We’re leaving at seven, even if I have to drag you out of your room.”
I sigh, grab my things from my own locker, and slam the door a little too hard. “Hm, but . . .”
Maleek, who’s already making his way over to a changing area, turns around with a questioning look in his eye when I don’t continue.
“What do you think—why doesn’t Hank just take legal action against that Sophia Richards woman?”
“No idea. He didn’t sound like he cared all that much.”
“Enough to warn us about her, though. And he obviously can’t stand her.”
I let a group of boys exit before entering the changing area myself, which smells of deodorant and soap.
Since the bouldering gym is in Camden and our flat isn’t far from here, we could just shower at home.
But sadly, the showers here are better—and consistently warm.
I’ll have to make use of that in a moment.
“He did say he might still take legal action. I reckon he has enough going on with Lawless for now, though. Or maybe he’s just hoping Novel Haven will flop on its own.”
“It won’t,” I say firmly, leaning back against the wall with my arms crossed. “It’s too good for that.”
“Then I’m sure he’ll take care of things once crunch mode is over for the other games. Why do you care so much, anyway?” Maleek’s dark brows shoot upwards, probably because he can already guess what my answer’s going to be.
“Because I really don’t think Lara knows, and I’m wondering whether I should warn her.”
“Nope.”
“But . . .”
“Luca, Hank told us so we’d be warned. You’d be cheating him.
Hank Bayford. Our boss, and the only person in this entire industry who hasn’t slammed their door in our faces.
How do you think he’d feel about you passing on things he’s told you off the record?
If Lara really doesn’t know about any of this, then nothing would happen to her if it does get out. ”
Now it’s my turn to raise my brows and stare at him. “If by ‘nothing,’ you mean that everyone in the industry will be talking about the incident and she might not be able to find a new job . . .”
To my surprise, there’s a smile tugging at the corners of Maleek’s mouth as he returns my gaze. He simply watches me for a second, then shakes his head and grabs his towel and shower gel from his sports bag. He steps closer and pats my shoulder with a sigh. “Oh, mate, you’re down bad, aren’t you?”
Without waiting for an answer, he disappears in the direction of the showers. I grab my things from my bag and scurry after him.
“I am so not!” I call out, but even without his laugh, I would have realized how delayed my reaction is to his words.