Chapter Thirty-One

“Sloane?” Mark asks.

Sloane frantically messes with something on the laptop and lets out a strangled scream. Then they step away from the table and start pacing, hands wrapped around the back of their neck.

“Are we not playing, then?” I ask gently.

“Yeah, no, that’s canceled. Like, for sure.”

We look to each other in confusion. Sloane is canceling the game? How much weirder can today get?

“ Please don’t kill me,” Sloane repeats, and turns to face the table. “But you know how we were having issues with the livestream earlier? And how we were troubleshooting before you all came barreling in and started fighting and declaring your undying love for each other?” Sloane’s eyes flicker to Logan and me apologetically. “Yeah, so…I kind of forgot to shut down the livestream when the mayhem began.”

“Wait. Do you mean…?” Logan glances at the camera set up in front of him.

Horror creeps through me at the possible implications of what Sloane is saying. It isn’t possible.

“The livestream is off now,” Sloane reassures us. “But, um, I just turned it off.”

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” I sink down into my chair and begin rocking like I’m possessed.

“Tell me that conversation wasn’t public for the entire internet to witness,” Logan says.

“I can tell you that or I can tell you the truth, but I can’t tell you both.”

The room fills with cussing and moaning, and I clap my hands over my face. Did I just tell Logan I love him for the first time in front of a live audience?

Kashvi holds up her phone. “Yeaaaaah, FYI, Andrew watched the whole thing. He texted to tell me what was happening, but I was too caught up to notice it.”

My mortification ramps up another notch, and I feel like I might be sick. My little brother heard everything? I guess I’m moving out of the house because he is never ever letting me live this down. I’ll be at my eightieth birthday party, and he’ll still be telling this story with gleeful abandon.

Kashvi hurries over to the laptop. “It’s okay, don’t freak out! He’s just one person, and he had a reason to stay logged in. I bet no one else saw it. They probably logged out as soon as they saw we weren’t playing.” Her voice is overly chipper. Sloane pulls up the session stats and I drag myself from my chair to look over their shoulder.

“Am I reading this wrong?” I whisper. “Does that say five hundred viewers?”

“Hey, that’s some good news, Logan! You finally got the five hundred viewers you were hoping for when we started the new campaign!” Sanjiv says with a laugh.

Logan drops his head into his hands.

“We more than quadrupled our usual viewership,” Sloane says. “And the chat blew up too.” They scroll through the chat and then freeze.

“Um, yeah, so one other thing…”

“Sloane, I can take no other things!” I practically screech.

“Remember how I mentioned that we invited Stephanie…”

“Noooooooo!”

Sloane leans forward and quickly skims the chat. “If it’s any consolation, it looks like she ships you two. And she says congratulations.”

I moan again and a hand touches my waist. Logan stands behind me, and I lean back against his chest without thinking.

“Whoa, the chat is insane, ” Kashvi says. She keeps scrolling but never gets to the bottom. There are so many comments. Memories of the last time I was standing here, reading the chat, are way too vivid in my mind.

Logan wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes. “I know this is basically the most embarrassing thing that could possibly happen, but I don’t regret what I said,” he whispers in my ear.

I look back at him, his voice instantly tamping down my anxiety. “I don’t either.”

“Then it doesn’t matter what anyone else says. Don’t let the comments get to you.”

“Actually,” Kashvi interrupts with a chuckle. “The chat is pretty cute. They like you two together.” She scrolls more. “There are a few trolls and some snarky comments asking why we replaced the game with a soap opera, but overall…yeah, really positive.”

I glance up at Logan, a question in my eyes. “Do we dare to look?”

“I’m not sure we have much to lose, but it’s up to you. I don’t care what a single person has to say about us.” He looks to the others. “No offense.”

Kashvi and Sloane move out of the way so Logan and I can read the comments. Most of them are just as Kashvi described—nice or at least neutral. However, one username sticks out to me. Their comments are dispersed among the others, but I see them as if they were neon yellow.

@64CMscores: She’s ruining another one

@64CMscores: I TOLD YOU

@64CMscores: trainwreck

My stomach sinks. It’s Caden—he streamed the entire thing. He changed his username from last time, probably because he got blocked, but his initials and number are the same, so there’s no question it’s him.

Then I notice a reply to one of his comments.

@SmilingDM: Hey @64CMscores, go back to your cave with the rest of the trolls. No one wants you here.

I chuckle and point out the comment to Logan. “I think I might be loving the chat now. Is that actually the Smiling DM telling off Caden?”

Mark and Sanjiv come closer so all six of us hover around the screen to read.

“Yesss, I’m so glad you invited Stephanie.” Kashvi high-fives Sloane and Mark. “Wait! Quinn, oh my god, do you remember what we said at the end?” She grabs my arm and shakes it wildly.

I glance around in confusion. Everything is a blur. Then I remember and slap my hand over my mouth.

And the guy’s a horrible kisser, from what you said.

It was like he was trying to suction my lips off with his mouth.

Kashvi repeats it, laughing so hard she can barely stand. “I can’t believe he heard that!”

“Not just him,” I reply. “ Everyone heard that.”

Sanjiv whistles low. “That’ll shut him up.”

“He’s a coward coming into our chat like that,” Logan says. He tugs me closer and kisses the top of my head. “He deserves whatever he gets.”

I can’t argue with that, but also…I realize I don’t care either way. It doesn’t matter what Caden thinks or what snarky comment Paige has. It doesn’t matter if I run into them next week or if I never see them again for as long as I live. They’re in my past, and that’s where I’m going to keep them.

“Can we close the chat now?” I ask. “I’m good for a lifetime.”

“Good call,” Sloane says. “Some of these comments are moving into borderline creepy.”

Logan steps closer to read. Sanjiv scrolls and points out a few. “There’s one viewer who is weirdly adamant that you kiss.”

Logan freezes and then bursts out laughing. “Quinn, you’ve got to come see this.”

Hesitantly, I read the username and immediately shriek-laugh.

@Barbara.Clarice.Norton: Will you two get on with it and kiss already! Not all of us have the entire day to wait around.

“That’s your grandma, right?” he asks.

I put my face in my hands. Of course Grandma would use her complete legal name as her username. I pull out my phone to see multiple messages from her, all saying some version of “I told you so” or “kiss him before I get bored.”

I can’t stop laughing at this point. I think I’m getting a little punchy from this whirlwind of insanity.

“I guess that’s slightly less weird if the comments are from your grandma?” Sanjiv asks, though he doesn’t look convinced.

Logan kisses me on the temple. It feels amazing to have him do that in front of all our friends, but it’s also weird after all the hiding we’ve been doing. I look around to the group, who have dazed expressions. This was not how any of us thought this afternoon would go.

“So…I guess this is the type of thing you were hoping to avoid when you made that rule, huh?” I ask with a smirk.

“We couldn’t have even imagined this,” Sloane whispers.

“I don’t know, with viewer numbers like that, I think you two are on to something. Maybe we should brainstorm a fight for next week?” Sanjiv asks. “Quinn, you can tell Logan how annoying the voice is that he uses for Adris and—”

“What?” Logan interrupts.

“Someone had to say it.” Sanjiv gestures to Sloane. “Get the stream back up, this should be good.”

I put up a hand. “That’s very helpful, but we’re good on livestreaming drama for a while. And I think I can speak for Logan when I say we both want to get back to our regular gaming. All together.”

The group all nods in agreement, and I never want this feeling to go away.

“And we’re cool, Kashvi?” Logan asks. “No weirdness?”

“None, I swear. I can’t think of you like that after seeing how insanely adorable you two are together. In fact, since this session is clearly over, why don’t we give you a few minutes of privacy?” Kashvi winks at me and ushers the others toward the door. A moment later it closes, and Logan and I are finally, blissfully, alone.

He puts his hands out in defense. “Okay, listen, I know I shouldn’t have come here early like that, but I—”

I take him by the shoulders and kiss him, hard. Logan stills for a second, like he’s in shock, and then his hands are on me, fingers combing into my hair and wrapping around my back. Kissing him without the sting of guilt feels incredible.

I smile into his lips, and he pulls back just enough to say, “You’re smiling.” His voice is ragged.

“There’s a lot to smile about.”

He kisses me again. I could live forever in the electric buzz vibrating through my skin.

“Hold on.” His smile is mischievous, and it makes my heart stumble. “Before they come back, I need to get a few things straight. You’re telling me I’m allowed to kiss you like this?” He brushes kisses over my freckles.

“Mmm, yes.”

“And here?” His mouth moves to mine, and I about collapse at the feel of his tongue against my own.

“Absolutely yes. All the time.”

“How about this?” He takes my face in both his hands and gazes into my eyes. “Am I allowed to tell you how much I’ve fallen for you?”

I’m having a hard time breathing, but I manage to nod. “Only if I’m allowed to say it back.”

He smiles, his eyes shining. “I like this new world with no rules.”

Pounding on the door makes us freeze. “We know better than to come in there,” Mark calls, “but don’t go messing up our gaming table and desecrating the dice. I think my latest set might finally be perfect.”

“ Anyway, we’re going for pancakes,” Kashvi yells. “You should come with us…or not. But fair warning, Andrew is meeting us there and he has some opinions about what just went down.”

There’s a moment of silence as Logan and I look at each other before their steps thump back up the stairs. He cocks his head at me when the sounds fade. “Do you want to go?”

“Maybe in a few minutes?” I kiss him on his jawline.

He gives me a heated look. “No promises.”

Significantly more than a few minutes later, we head for my car. We beam at each other so brightly we probably look out of our minds.

“Actually, let’s stop at my work first,” he says as I pull onto the road.

I frown. “Why?”

“We need to get a few gallons of orange sherbet for your grandmother. I owe her one for asking me to take your picture.”

“How about pancakes first, sherbet delivery second, and then we go back to your farm so you can show me around your shed in much more detail?”

His hand squeezes my knee. “The best plan I’ve ever heard.”

I accelerate down the street. It’s hard to slow down when I’ve got the D&D campaign, good friends, and delicious pancakes waiting in my future.

And, most importantly, Logan.