Round 40

M y phone blared from somewhere inside the apartment. Opening my eyes, I moved to answer it but found myself weighted down by a warm, heavy leg draped across my hips. I wiggled under William until I faced him and then kissed him until he stirred.

He cracked his eyes open partway, a smile already on his face. “Mmm. Now this is how I like to be woken up.” Propping himself on one elbow, he furrowed his brows. “What’s that sound?”

“My alarm. I forgot to turn it off now that I’m unemployed and all.”

His frown gathered, and I smoothed it out with a kiss. He tilted his head and caught my lips with his.

When I eventually peeled myself away, I threw on the T-shirt he’d been wearing, enjoying his lingering scent as if I hadn’t inhaled him all night long.

I ran to the living room, where I found my phone. I turned the alarm off, and my attention caught on his laptop. It was still open and laying sideways on the couch where he’d tossed it. I lifted it, thinking I’d take it to him, and the screen lit up with a spreadsheet titled Life Goals . My heart stilled.

It wasn’t my Life Goals .

“I forgot about that.” William towered behind me, pressing his bare chest against me while peeking over my shoulder.

My body fluttered at his nearness. “Will you tell me about this?”

“I was serious when I said that I want to be good enough for you.” He lifted my chin and gazed down into my eyes. “I want to think about my future with you in it. I want Life Goals with you. I’m stepping up at work and have employed some of the other developers to help me with a game I’ve been working on for ages, and especially over the last few days.” He swallowed, and his already flushed cheeks darkened. “Remember I said I had a presentation?”

I nodded, my focus turning to the spreadsheet. He’d created goals for himself, for me, and for us .

“I told you.” Moving my dark hair to one side, he kissed my neck. “I’m going to be the best for you, because you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Taking the laptop, he dragged me back to bed, grabbing his mouse on the way. I snuggled as close to him as possible, dipping one of my hands in between his thighs to continue feeling his skin, his heat, and knowing I could do this because he wanted me to.

My cheek pressed against his side, I could feel his racing heart as he clicked through a file called Overpower . Confusion stirred within me as the program loaded.

It took a few minutes to start up, and William looked down at me with dark, furrowed brows. “It’s not done. This is the most basic idea of it, but I wanted to show you first and get your input because… if you don’t like it, then it won’t make sense. It won’t exist.” His words left him in short, jagged bursts.

The screen lit up with the word “Overpower,” and my breathing became very, very shallow.

William stared at me as I watched the game start. The opening screen showed the instructions, which were almost identical to the rule sheet we’d come up with. The next screen allowed us to choose a character.

“It’s single player or multiplayer,” he said, his voice thick. “Online or off-line.” He cleared his throat as the game began, and I couldn’t do anything except watch it unfold.

“We can change an-any-anything,” he rambled. “I kinda ran with it because I was inspired.” He caught my eyes with his own. “Rose, I love Overpower. I wasn’t just saying that to impress you or whatever. I loved it when we first met all those years ago, and I love it even more now.”

He wet his lips and focused his eyes on the screen as he played through some of the game with speech bubbles popping up to guide the character he’d chosen. “Stacey dropped off some demos I’d left at her place. I needed to reference one of them for the character design—which, you know, we never covered. I tried going from the things I knew you loved, so the enchanter is Gandalf-inspired, but not exactly—obviously. It also allows for original character creation, like in The Sims , which I know you stress-play at least once a year.”

Lines crept onto his forehead as he focused on the screen. “It’s got elements to maintain the board game feel, but I wanted it to be accessible as a video game, especially for gamers who don’t have access to a rowdy group of friends who come by weekly.”

I bit down on my lip, allowing my silent tears to fall. I didn’t want to interrupt him. I didn’t want him to stop playing. I saw elements that looked like they were inspired by Lady of War and even Haunted Thrones .

“I hope you don’t mind—and I’m not trying to toot my own horn here—but I used some things from Walk of Death because you said it’s one of your favorites.”

“It is my absolute favorite,” I squeaked out, my voice cracking.

William’s gaze snapped down, and his hand flew up to wipe the wetness from my cheeks. He placed his lips at the corner of each eye, kissing away my tears. “Like I said, if you never want it to see the light of day, that’s okay. I didn’t make this with the intention of selling it. I made it for you. So that you could play your game whenever you wanted, wherever you wanted, and with whoever you wanted… or even on your own.”

The pressure inside my chest grew with love, threatening to tear me apart. “William, I love it. I love you .” Sniffling, I wiped away the fresh tears. “I want to play it with you. I want to play my entire life with you, but for now”—I swallowed the lump stuck in my throat—“will you play this for a while longer?”

“Do you want to try?”

I shook my head. “I like watching you play.” I giggled. “Which is kind of how we got into this in the first place.”

His frown fell away as he burst out laughing with a depth that both shook me and warmed me up. “You really like it? It’s not very good right now. I know.”

I pressed against him harder, and he swung one arm around me.

“I really like it,” I assured him. “Do you?”

“I can’t get enough of it. I’ve had to remind myself to pause and think and eat and like… text you.”

I giggled. I’d accept his awful texting habits for this. “And… do you think other people would?” I let my hands trail across his chest, memorizing every part of him.

“Because I promised myself I would never disappoint you again, I’ve already spoken to the CEO of Thunderstruck. He said they’d be happy to produce it and keep me as the main developer, and you and I would have complete creative control—provided we give them a cut of the profits.”

A jolt of electricity struck through me, and I sat upright. “Are you serious?”

“Rarely, but in this case, I am.” He turned to face me, setting the laptop aside, and I wanted to reach for it. I wasn’t done watching him play. “Rose, again, I don’t want to pressure you into this. I don’t want any financial gain from this.”

His dark brows hugged, and I reached across him and grabbed the laptop. I wiggled into his arms and opened his Life Goals spreadsheet before adding another entry:

Rose and William develop the video game for Overpower together.

“I want Overpower to be played. I want it to be enjoyed. I spent a lifetime creating these characters, their goals, and this world.” I handed the laptop back to him. “I guess video games win after all.”

“Hold on, I’m not done with my presentation.”

“There’s more?”

“With Thunderstruck’s interest, Fun&Games said they would be willing to invest in the production of a board game after the release of the video game. But they want to meet with you.”

My mouth fell open. “When did you get time to do all this?”

“When I asked you for it.” He kissed me. “Did you honestly think there was anything else in the world that would keep me from telling you that I love you, Rose? I loved you back then, and I love you now. I loved you when you weren’t mine to love.”

I slid my hand behind his head and into his hair, tugging him down to my mouth.

“I was always yours to love.”