Level Up (5 page)

"What happened?" Kyla asked.

"The usual. Guy made a pass at me, thought because I was working the casino that I must be a 'working girl.' Was
so 
tempted to kick his ass," Hailey said, her cat's-eye liner-framed gaze looking positively ferocious. "But then I remembered: we're already behind on bills and we haven't been having the Christmas business that we'd hoped for here at the bookstore..." She sighed. "And Rache told me that Weatherby was talking about raising the rent by February. Today just sucked."

"Where is Rachel, anyway?" Kyla asked.

Who was Rachel? And what was going on here? Tessa felt horribly invasive, invited to this...this "crew," which she had no background with, only to hear all their personal problems. She'd come to watch some TV, hang out a bit. This seemed like the opposite of casually hanging out.

"Rachel's at the U-Dub library," Hailey said. "Said she wanted to get a jump before the next round of classes, and the university has better resources than her online school."

"She's working so hard," Kyla murmured.

Stacy sighed. "I'm sorry, Tessa. I forgot--you don't really know any of us. Rachel, Hailey, and Cressida are sisters. They own this bookstore together, and live upstairs. Hailey's a blackjack dealer at the Blue Moon Casino. Rachel works there, too, as an event planner. She takes business classes online. Cressida just works here." She glanced at the staircase, then whispered, "Cress is agoraphobic. She doesn't leave the house."

"Oh," Tessa said. She pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. Maybe she could have Ani text her...find some excuse.

You're going to have to deal with people in engineering
, she reminded herself.
People who have a shared history, people who not only don't like you, they're actively looking to shake you up
. Adam was right--this probably was good training.

She cleared her throat. They all looked so defeated. What would help turn things around a bit?

"I'd say this calls for a hot chocolate," Kyla said, patting Hailey's arm comfortingly.

"Screw that. I need a drink," Hailey said, rubbing at her eyes, smudging some of her makeup.

A light bulb went off in Tessa's head. She still had the Oaxacan chocolate Ani had sent for her birthday, tucked in her purse. "You have a kitchen here?"

Hailey glanced over at her. "Well, yeah."

"And tequila?"

Hailey grinned. "I think I like you."

"I know how to make hot chocolate with a kick," Tessa said. "Sounds like we could all use it."

Stacy smiled. "That sounds like just what we need."

Within half an hour, she had them set up, complete with sprayed whipped cream over the top. Hailey took a sip and her eyes went wide. "Holy shit, this is phenomenal," she said. "What is this stuff?"

"Oaxaca Chaka Hot Chocolate," she said. "My
abuelita
 showed me how to make it, strangely enough. The grownups would drink it around the holidays. It should have heavy cream, but this does in a pinch. It's also got Oaxacan chocolate, cinnamon, chili powder, and tequila."

"This is so yummy," Kyla said, then laughed as she got some whipped cream on the end of her nose.

"All this, and a
Mystics
 fan too," Stacy mused, chuckling. "I knew it. You are so one of us!"

Taking a sip, Tessa felt her chest warm--not just from the tequila.

"Which reminds me...did you know that they're having the first Mystics Con in Issaquah?" Hailey grinned.

"Man, wouldn't that be amazing?" Kyla said. "Speaking of yummy...my God, how hot are those guys?"

From there, the conversation was off and running. As Tessa slowly worked her way through her hot chocolate, she found herself in the middle of the conversation, and to her surprise, enjoying herself. They segued easily from
Mystics
 to 
Mystics
 to
 Arrow
. Somehow, they shifted to anime--
Attack on Titan
,
Full Metal Alchemist
,
Bleach
. From there, it was an easy jump to comic books, then video games, movies, novels, and back to TV.

She was shocked to see that an hour and a half had gone by. Now that the ice had finally broken for her, they were as easy to talk to as Ani. She hadn't had that happen in...well, ever.

"You guys are great," she thought, then realized she'd actually said it out loud.

"What's your story, anyway?" Hailey said, taking down her elaborate rolled curls and removing her boots.

"I'm a programmer," Tessa answered. "I make video games.""

"That's so cool," Kyla said. "I used to play a ton of Warcraft, but I just don't have time like I used to anymore."

"Also, she got a little obsessive," Stacy teased.

"I've loved video games forever," Tessa said. "My brothers used to get them when we were kids, then they'd get pissed when I beat them. I was planning out games from the time I was ten. I told my mother that instead of a fancy dress, I wanted to spend the money on a new computer for my
quinceañera
." She smiled ruefully. "That didn't go over so well."

"But here you are," Kyla said warmly. "They must be so proud."

Tessa took another sip of the hot chocolate. "Not exactly," she said. "They''re proud that I graduated college and got a good job, but they don't understand what that is. They don't know why I'm so far away from family. And they don't know why I'm not settling down and getting married."

"Why aren't you settling down and getting married?" Hailey asked, with a wicked smile.

"Because I haven't accomplished what I set out to do," Tessa answered. "I told myself I'd make it as a game architect, somebody who designs the engines, not just some lackey. I'm not there yet. And I'm not just making it in because of quotas----plenty of people accused me of that. They said I got my job was because I was Latina, or because I was female. Well, I'm going to show all of them. I'm one of the best, and I''m going to prove it."

The girls cheered, surprising her...both that she'd actually spilled out all that, and that they were so genuinely supportive.

"Man, you've got some drive," Kyla said, with a sigh. ""I wish I had that."

"Why don't you?" Stacy said. "Why don't you just tell your brother that you want to make costume design a full time thing?"

"Because I like to eat," Kyla said. "And pay rent. The costumes are fun, and I'm making a little money, but nowhere near what I'd need to. Besides, my brother needs me to keep the business running. He can't be the only mechanic."

Hailey sighed heavily. "I know what you mean. We're not even breaking even on the bookstore. We need lots of things...better signage, for one, and some promotion. We just don't have enough customers."

Stacy's blue eyes filled with concern. "You know, I could always..."

"Don't go there," Hailey said, but there wasn't any bite in her words. ""We want to make it on our own, Stacy. And you've still got your family pissed off about your money issues. Let's not make it worse."

Stacy sighed.

"So that's it?" Tessa said. "You're just going to give up?"

Hailey's full lips pursed. "Easy for you to say..."

"Well, it wasn't easy for me to do," Tessa shot back. "I like this place, and I like you guys. I have social anxiety out the wazoo, and I still made it here. I want to help. What kind of promotion are you talking about?"

Stacy grinned. "Told you I had a good feeling about her," she said off-handedly to her friends.

"Well, there is one thing," Hailey mused. "
Mystics
. They''re running a contest, before Mystics Con. They're looking for fan-created artwork and stories and whatever. The winner gets a special appearance by one of the boys."

Kyla squealed, jumping up and down in her seat a little. "How cool would that be?"

"How does that help?" Tessa asked, confused.

"I think we could bring in more of a fangirl base," Hailey said. "I''d love to shift this from being just a generic used bookstore to being a real fandom haven. So if we had one of the
 Mystics
 guys appear here, and publicized it..."

"You could publicize it, and bring in lots of potential customers," Tessa finished. "That's brilliant!"

"Yeah. Now the only trick is winning that contest," Hailey groaned.

"Kyla, how about your artwork?" Stacy said.

Kyla blushed. "Oh, no," she stammered. "Those are just sketches, costumes. Not anything that would win a contest. They're going to have lots of comic strips, and fan fiction, and God knows what else."

"True." Hailey frowned. "Besides, the deadline is in a month."

"That's not enough time to do something kick ass enough to win," Kyla said, shaking her head.

Tessa's mind was racing. She liked these girls. She wanted to help them. "You know what? They probably won't have video games."

They stared at her.

"Do a
Mystics
 video game. They haven't come out with one yet. I''ll bet nobody's going to do one."

"Just one problem," Hailey drawled. "None of us know how to code, sweetie."

Tessa didn't even think of her next statement.

"I do," she blurted out. "I'll help you. I'll make the video game."

Four hours after dropping Tessa off at the bookstore, Adam surveyed his work. He'd collected all the Casey-related stuff that was still strewn around the house, which the guys had commented on the last time they were there. He'd boxed up pictures with the intent of sending them off to her months ago, but there were things he simply hadn't thought about, that seemed easier to leave where they were rather than clear them out. The mask he'd won for her at Ren Faire years ago, sitting out on a bookshelf. A vase that never had flowers in it, that stood collecting dust on the mantle. A scented candle. As he boxed that up, he realized he'd never actually liked that particular aroma, but he'd gotten so used to it, it had become sort of a background noise, something he tuned out.

It was surprisingly freeing to tape the box shut and put her address on it. He'd throw it in the mail the next day.

Now, after some restless wandering, a few levels of
Assassin's Creed
 for old time's sake, and some procrastination snacking, he sat down to his laptop. He had three dating websites opened in three different tabs.

Come on, Adam. How hard can it be
? Lots of the guys had online dating profiles. José had a spreadsheet that calculated his odds, in fact. It wasn't brain surgery.

"What are your hobbies?" one site asked. He fidgeted, bouncing his heels restlessly. His hobbies were his job: he loved video games, watching movies, reading books, mostly sci-fi and fantasy. He played the occasional RPG, although it had been ages since the guys had pulled something together. There were probably women who were interested in this stuff, he figured. Just statistically speaking, there had to be. Just because Casey didn''t...

No! Enough with the Casey stuff, dude. Move on!

He typed in his interests, then grabbed his cell phone. Sure, it was eleven o'clock at night, but the guys were night owls. He called José.

"What's up?" José said, without preface. "I was just going to jump on Halo. Up for a mission?"

"Maybe later," Adam said. "Need a favor. You're the pro at online dating. Mind looking over my profile for me?"

"Seriously? You're asking
me
 for dating advice?"

"You've got five different online accounts. You go out on dates every week," Adam responded, gritting his teeth. "So yeah, I defer to your expertise."

"God, that's a first." José was still chuckling. "Sure. Shoot it over, dude."

Adam did, staying on the line. José was silent for a few minutes. Then he sighed. "Boring. You can't put this stuff in."

"What do you mean? I was being honest!"

"First problem, right there," José said.

"Oh, no," Adam growled. "I'm not lying and saying I'm a Navy Seal billionaire or whatever, just to hook up."

"I'm not saying that. What do I seem like, one of those pick up artist douchebags?" José sounded offended. "This is advertising, man. Look--you say your hobbies are video games, comic books, watching Netflix, and playing the occasional Dungeons and Dragons game with friends."

"What's wrong with that?" Adam said, pacing the room with his cell phone.

"Nothing, in theory. But you've got to look at dating as a different language," José explained. "A woman's going to read that, and she's going to think that you either have Peter Pan syndrome, which means you've probably got commitment issues, or you're a socially anxious dweeb who lives in his mother's basement."

"Well, that seems grossly stereotypical and unfair," Adam muttered.

"All's fair in love and online dating. Next: what you're looking for." He muttered under his breath, reading through the section. "Let's see...like someone who's a homebody, too...you're fine if they're not ambitious...okay,
no
. Strike all that."

"Why? What's the problem now?"

José make a tsk-tsk sound. "You want someone who's a homebody and not ambitious? Do you know what that sounds like?"

"Like I want somebody who's okay not going out all the time, somebody who doesn't want to go to the latest clubs and restaurants. Somebody's who's not going to be gung ho about her career at the expense of a relationship."
Somebody who isn't Casey, essentially
, he thought to himself.

"Well, that's what you're thinking. What you're saying is you're looking for someone who wants to settle down and get married and be a housewife."

"
What
?" he roared. "That's not what I'm saying at all!"

"Pair that with the video games stuff, sounds like you're a mama's boy looking for a new mama," José said, chortling. "Man. I am going to win this bet in a cakewalk."

"See, this is why I hate online dating," Adam grumped. "Thanks for nothing, José." He hung up on José's laughter.

The front door opened, and Tessa came in, slamming the door behind her. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes bright. "Good! You're up."

"I was starting to get a little worried, actually," Adam said, noticing the clock said eleven p.m. "I guess you had a good time?"