Level Up (2 page)

"Well, if you didn't expect a little damage, you shouldn't have invited all the guys over," Rodney said. "You'll notice that we always hang out at Fezza's condo, not mine, even though we're in the same building. I've seen what you animals have done to the couch. Not to mention the tables."

"And the fridge," Fezza grumbled.

"Well, I felt like celebrating a little," Adam said. More to the point, after hanging out with his parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews for the past five days, he felt like crawling out of his own skin. Nothing like drinking and gaming with the guys to distract himself.

"Ohhhhh, right," José said, nodding as he drank his own shot. "This is D-day, huh?"

"What?"

"The day you got dumped by your ex," José continued. "Just last year, right?"

It was, he hated to admit. To the day. Instead, he shrugged.

"No wonder you want to get plastered," José said. "Jeez. You were a wreck."

Fezza came over and smacked José on the back of the head, causing José to yelp.

"What? He was!"

"It's not that," Adam said quickly. "I just wanted to blow off some steam. Spent a whole week with my family up in a ski chalet they rented, up in Cle Elum. That much family time got on my nerves."

"Thought you were cool with your family?" Fezza said.

"I am. I mean, generally," he said, settling down on the couch and watching as the guys set up the systems and turned the game on, their characters prowling around a dark forest, searching for enemies. "But they just kept hassling me this time around."

"About what? Not the job. Thought they were over you not going into medicine or business or whatever."

"They're fine with that. My brother actually said he wished he'd gotten into coding--said that his son and daughter alone would keep video games in business." That had made him smile. "Nah, they just think I need to be in a relationship."

The guys made raspberry noises. "What, and give up all this?" Fezza said, tongue in cheek.

Rodney winced. "I feel for you, mate. My mother is on my case, constantly."

"Yeah, yeah." Adam felt better--whether that was from the solidarity, or the Expelliarmus shot, he wasn't sure. "They actually said I was afraid to get back on the horse, can you believe it?"

"They said it like that?" José yelped. "Like, son, you're obviously afraid of getting laid?"

"Well, not those exact words," he admitted. "They said that I'm avoiding relationships, that I'm not even trying. Whatever, right?"

Instead of backing him up, they shrugged.

"What?"

"Dude. You're hanging out here with us," Fezza said. "Even I know that's not going to get you a girl."

Adam frowned. "What, you guys are telling me I shouldn't be gaming? Seriously?"

"No. But it's pretty obvious you're still hung up on your ex."

Fezza's practical, no-nonsense way of saying it made it seem obvious. The fact that all the guys seemed to agree with him only made it worse. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Fezza didn't even look away from the screen, tapping the controller and maneuvering with ease. "I'm not saying you've got a shrine or anything, but you've still got her girly crap all over," he said. "And let's face it, it's not like you're out there looking for anyone."

"Sorry. I've been meaning to stop by Girlfriends R' Us and pick up a new one," Adam said caustically. "Which reminds me, why haven't you guys got girlfriends, if you're on my case?"

"Not for want of trying," Fezza said.

"I have plenty of dates," José bragged. Rodney threw a gummy bear at him.

"Yeah, but you can't keep any of them," Rodney shot back.

"I'm playing the numbers," José said, his tone insulted.

Adam sighed. "I am not hung up on Casey."

Oh, really? Then why are you here, with these guys, just to avoid remembering what happened on this same night last year?

He'd been considering proposing. She'd said she had a big announcement that night. She'd said that she hadn't wanted to get serious about a relationship until her job was more settled. So he thought she'd been finally getting promoted, and she'd be open to marrying him. But instead, she'd said that she'd gotten a job in New York----and then, to make matters worse, had said that they should break up so she could focus on her career.

He wasn't hung up on her. He was gun shy. There was a difference.

"I just haven't met the right girl," he said.

"I don't care one way or another, but I gotta call bullshit on this," Fezza said. "Where were you planning on finding a new girlfriend, dude? You either hang out with us, or you go to work. Not exactly target rich environments."

Adam frowned. That was true, actually.

"Are you going to clubs or meet ups? Got a dating profile? Anything like that?"

"No." Adam hadn't considered going the online dating route. The thought made him wither a bit inside. "I mean, I met Casey by chance. If the right person comes along, I'll know."

"We're forgetting he lives with a girl," José said.

"No, he lives with Tessa," Fezza said. "There's a difference."

"Hey, not one word. She's a great roommate," Adam said quickly. "She pays her half of the rent on time, totally helps out with her part of the chores--" which was more than he could say about Casey, in the year they'd lived together, "--and she's quiet."

"That's how most serial killers are described," Fezza muttered.

"She's awesome."

"Then why don't you date her?"

Adam burst into surprised laughter. "Me? Date Tessa?" He shook his head. "No way."

"Dude, face it: unless you ask out a pizza delivery girl who comes by Fezza's house, there's no way in hell you're going to start dating any time in the near future," José said.

Adam felt anger and self-righteousness--okay, maybe just the booze--burn in his stomach. "Trust me. I can get a girlfriend."

The guys looked at him, grinning. "Bet on it?" José said.

"You're on," Adam said. "I'll bet that I can get a girlfriend before we replace Mac on the engineering team."

"Deal," Fezza said as they shook on it. "You sure it's not going to be Tessa? Because that might be cheating."

"Not in a million years," Adam said. "Never going to..."

He stopped abruptly when he heard her clear her throat. He glanced over, only to see Tessa standing in the doorway.

He felt a blush flood his cheeks. Oh, God.

"Tessa," he said, feeling like a total asshole. "Sorry. Um...didn't know you were going to...uh..."

"Can I get you a drink, milady?" José said, swooping to her side. She quickly took a step back. She'd known José for years, after all. Give the guy an inch, and he'd take your underwear.

"I just wanted to stop by and, um, hang out." She seemed to be blushing a bit, too.

"We've got some food in the kitchen," Adam said, bounding up. "I can get you a drink that isn't going to melt your face off, too."

He ushered her into the kitchen. Her expression was pensive. He wasn't sure what to say. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "I didn't...I mean, we were just talking..."

"I know," she said. "I had no idea."

He wished the ground would just swallow him up. "It didn't mean anything," he said. "I just...well, I didn't think that you were interested. You're not interested, are you?"

"Are you kidding?" Her eyes went round. "I'm completely interested."

Now it was his turn. He felt his eyes pop wide as he stared at her, speechless for a second. "You...are?"

"I've wanted this for a long time now," she said.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Oh, God, what was he supposed to do with this?

She shrugged, and her amber skin heated with a dusky blush. "I guess we just don't talk that much," she murmured. "Why would you know?"

"So, since..." He did the math. "February? When you moved in? You were interested then?"

"Even before then."

He ran his fingers through his hair, utterly distracted. This could be really, really bad.

"What?" Her chin went up, and her brown eyes sparkled with anger. "Do you not think I'm good enough?"

"No! Absolutely not," he said. "I think you're amazing."

She smiled, a little smile. Kinda a cute smile, he thought, before shoving the thought aside.

"But I didn't...I mean, I just..." He was slaughtering this. "I didn't know you were interested in me that way."

She blinked at him. "What?"

"I mean, I didn't even think you wanted to be my girlfriend."

Her mouth dropped open. Oh, God.
Red alert! Red alert! Danger!

Then, suddenly, she started laughing.

"I don't want to be your girlfriend, you idiot," she said, around a chuckle.

"You don't?"

"No." She rolled her eyes. "I want Mac's job. I want to be on the engineering team."

CHAPTER
2

Tessa slowly walked over to Adam's beat up Subaru Outback, sipping at her to-go-cup of coffee thoughtfully. They hadn't really talked since she'd found out about Mac leaving and the engineering position opening up. He'd had a wicked, if unsurprising, hangover the next day, and had spent most of it in bed with an ice pack, groaning. Once he was ambulatory, he hung out in his room with the door shut. She suspected he hadn't grabbed food unless she was in the bathroom and he'd been "sleeping" most of the day.

If she didn't know better, she would've thought he was deliberately avoiding her.

But this was Monday morning and they had a good twenty-minute ride into work together. He was a captive audience. If it meant persuading, pleading, or threatening him with a lug wrench, she was going to get an inside track on this job.

She'd been waiting for them to notice her work. Adam was a producer, a project manager, but he'd started as a coder and shifted over. He knew that she had the skills, and she'd hoped he would put in a good word for her, since he was tight with the engineers. She hadn't gotten the room with Adam for that, naturally; that had just been a convenient and lucky coincidence. She'd never asked him explicitly for help, hadn't pressured, had honestly barely talked to him about anything besides work.

It was going to be a new year. A new birthday. It looked like new tactics were in order.

He grunted a good morning and started the car, letting it warm up. She decided a little conversational warming up was necessary, as well.

"Um. Looks like snow, huh?"

He glanced at her, then shrugged, and she wondered if he was really awake enough for this conversation--as she recalled, he wasn't really a morning person. The problem was, if she waited until he was up and running, or God forbid until they drove home that night, then everybody else would have had a crack at him all day long. This was her window.

"Probably no snow for another few days, maybe a week," he finally said, as they pulled out of the driveway.

Success! Conversation! She took heart. Then, without preamble, she said, "I want that engineering position once Mac's gone
.
"

Unfortunately, at that very moment he was also sipping from a to-go-cup and did a spit-take on the steering wheel. "Whoops. Sorry. Really hot," he apologized, wiping at it with the sleeve of his jacket.

"I think I'm ready," she said. "You know how hard I work. And I think that I could use a promotion. I've been with MPG for four years, since I graduated from U-Dub."

"I know."

"So why not?"

He took a deep breath. "Listen, I'm not firing on all cylinders. Can't this wait till tonight?"

"No," she said, surprising herself. She put her cup in the holder and turned a little. "This isn't because I'm a woman, is it?"

"God, no," he said.

"Because I know it's a boys' club," she said doggedly. "It's hard to be respected as a female coder. I don't expect it to be handed to me, but if I'm being passed over or ignored just because......"

"I swear, it isn't because you're a woman," Adam interrupted quickly. "Hell, most of us don't even think of you as a woman."

That took her aback. He glanced at her, looking aghast.

"And I totally didn't mean it that way," he said. "I think of you as a woman, trust me."

Now a little, wayward hormonal burst erupted, surprising her.
This is Ani's fault,
 she thought, scowling.

"And I mean that in as non-sexually-harassing a way as possible," he quickly added. "I just mean I think of you as a programmer. Who happens to be a woman. Whom I totally respect. Who is probably more than capable of handling the job." He groaned. "Who I also wish would just shoot me and put me out of my misery because eight o'damned clock in the morning is too early to be having this conversation which I seem to be totally butchering."

She couldn't help it. She let out a chuckle. "All right. But I'm serious. I really, really want this."

There were a few minutes of silence, the only noise the rolling of the tires on the freeway. Finally, Adam spoke.

"Not to dig myself deeper, but...why now?" He didn't look at her, stayed fixated on the road, but she could practically feel his curiosity filling the car. "You're young. There will be other opportunities.""

"Why not now?" She felt her heart sink, and she gritted her teeth. "It's easy to say there will be other opportunities, but you're a project manager who came from coding. You know what the engineers are like. What
Abraham
 is like. So do you really think I've got another shot at it at MPG?"

They sat silently for a long few minutes as he pulled onto the freeway.

"I'll see what I can do about talking to Abraham and the higher ups," he said. "But I can't promise anything. The engineers can be...tough to break into."

She nodded. That was something, at least.

"Sooooooo..." He drawled, taking a deep breath. "Other than binge watching
Sherlock
, do anything fun this weekend?"