That night, I locked myself in my room, my laptop open, fingers flying across the keyboard. For the first ti, this wasn’t just so idle fantasy or a passing thought—I was actually making plans.
"This is real," I muttered under my breath, my heart pounding with a mix of excitent and fear.
I wasn’t just dreaming anymore. I was doing.
First, I began making research on everything... ga engines, developnt teams, funding, legalities. I went deep into forums, watched interviews with ga developers, noted down every mistake failed companies had made.
A ga wasn’t sothing I could create alone. I needed programrs, artists, sound designers. But before that, I needed a concept.
I grabbed a notepad and started scribbling ideas. What kind of ga did I want? A shooter? An open-world RPG? Sothing revolutionary? I had played every type of ga imaginable, but what would make my ga different?
I spent hours at my desk thinking. At so point, I caught myself acting like I was in an interview, explaining what my ga was really about to myself.
I thought about everything, what players loved, what they hated, the kind of worlds that pulled people in and didn’t let them go.
A competitive shooter, but with deep world-building. A realistic story mode where there was no limit to what a gar could do, where even the NPCs had lives of their own, reacting to the player’s actions in ways that actually mattered.
The ideas flowed nonstop. And at so point, exhaustion took over. My head rested on the desk, the notepad still open, pen loosely clutched in my hand as I drifted off.
---
A light tap on my shoulder stirred awake.
I blinked, groggy, adjusting to the dim light in the room. My muscles were stiff from sleeping in such an awkward position. Then I felt it again, another gentle tap.
I looked up to see who it was.
Abby.
Her hand was still on my shoulder, her eyes studying with mild concern.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked softly.
I rubbed my eyes reluctantly before answering. "Yeah, yeah... I just dozed off while working."
She smiled, her lips curving into an expression that was way too amused for soone who had just walked in on passed out at my desk. "I see. Happy New Year, by the way."
I chuckled, stretching slightly. "Happy New Year to you too."
She glanced at my notepad. "So, what were you doing that was so important you fell asleep and missed the crossover?"
I couldn’t possibly tell her the truth, so I lied without hesitation.
"Just so work stuff for Daniel."
She raised a brow, unconvinced. "It couldn’t wait?"
I shook my head, finally looking up at her properly. That was when I noticed what she was wearing.
A black silk robe, loosely tied at the waist, just barely covering a lacy red nightdress underneath. The soft fabric clung to her body in all the right ways, the slit teasing smooth, toned legs. The robe had slipped slightly off her shoulder, exposing her cleavage, that made it clear that she had no intention of simply "checking up on ."
I swallowed, forcing my gaze back up to her face.
"You must have been really tired," she continued, her fingers still on my shoulder, applying slight pressure in a way that felt more intimate than casual. "I knocked several tis before I decided to open the door."
I cleared my throat, trying to refocus. "Where’s everyone?"
She glanced toward the door. "I don’t know, but the girls ntioned sothing about a crossover party, so I’m guessing that’s where they are."
"Right," I muttered, checking my phone for the ti. "So, we’re ho alone."
She smiled, biting her lower lip slightly. "Fortunately."
I exhaled slowly.
I knew where this was going.
I knew why she was in my room.
And if I were being honest, on any other day, I might’ve let it happen . Abby was gorgeous, confident, and clearly interested, or at least she looked interested. But I was at a point in my life where I couldn’t afford more complications.
I already had enough emotional baggage to deal with Esther, Faith... the uncertainty of whether I truly had feelings for either of them or if I was just holding onto the idea of them. The last thing I needed was to add Abby to that list.
I needed to be honest.
Not just for her, but for myself.
"Abby," I started, my voice lower, steady.
She tilted her head slightly, waiting.
I gently removed her hand from my shoulder and sat up straighter. "Look, I think you’re beautiful, and I respect you too much to lead you on. I don’t want you to think this is going to be sothing more than what it is."
She raised an eyebrow, amusent flickering in her expression. "And what exactly is this?"
I sighed. "I don’t know. But I know I’m not in a place to start anything real right now. I don’t want to waste your ti."
She studied for a mont, then smirked. "Honest. I like that."
I nodded. "Yeah, well... I’m trying to do better."
She didn’t seem upset. If anything, she looked more intrigued, a slow smile playing on her lips.
"Well, I’m not trying to start anything real either."
Before I could respond, she reached for the armrest of my chair and pulled, swiveling so I was fully facing her. The sudden shift caught off guard, and my hands instinctively gripped the edges of the seat.
She leaned in, placing both hands on the armrests, effectively caging in.
"Did you really think I’d let you hit that easily?" Her voice was teasing, her gaze locked onto mine with a spark of mischief.
She tilted her head slightly, her dark eyes searching mine, as if she was testing and seeing how I’d react, how much control I really had.
I was speechless literally, just just sat there and looked at her.
"I’m not expecting anything from you," she said.
And in an instant she swung a leg over mine and settled onto my lap, her hands resting on my shoulders.
My breath hitched.
"Abby," I started, but she leaned in before I could finish, her face re inches from mine.
"Shhh... You’re overthinking it," she whispered, her fingers trailing down my arm. "I told you, I’m not expecting anything. No obligations. No strings. I’m here because I want to be."
I swallowed hard, my hands instinctively hovering over her waist, torn between pulling her closer and pushing her away.
And then, before I could say anything else, she closed the gap between us, pressing her lips to mine.
It was slow at first, but the mont I responded, she deepened the kiss, her fingers tangling in my hair, her body molding against mine.
I felt the heat rush through , the rational part of my mind screaming at to stop, but the other part of that had been denying every temptation thrown my way was no longer present.
No strings attached right? I can work with that.
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