Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“What was the fight about?” I asked.
He took a big gulp of beer. His emerald eyes drifted over to the television hanging in the corner. It played a mix of music videos from the early 2000s. “I love the Gorillaz,” he said.
Damn.
So he wasn’t going to open up to me. I stuffed away the sting of disappointment. That was fine. He didn’t owe me any kind of information, whether we’d been dating for a few hours or a few years. I was happy to give him his space.
“So did I,” I said, looking at the music video. “They’re a great band.”
“You know them?”
“Duh,” I said. “I’m a theater gay. I know almost every band in existence.”
Ryan chuckled at that. “They had a song in one of the first video games I was ever obsessed with. It’s what got me into gaming, actually. Made me really love video games as an art form. I thought it was so impressive how you can blend so many different aspects of art using code in a computer. There’s so much storytelling involved.”
There was that smile of his. It lured me in like a moth to a campfire. I leaned closer to him, fascinated by this side of him.
“Why didn’t you go into game development?”
“That’s what the fight was about. He wanted to bring me onto the—onto a project he’s working on. I told him no. And I told him how I didn’t want to follow in his footsteps. I wanted to follow my passion instead. He basically called me a failure and told me to get out.”
The split of emotions I was hit with was severe.
On the one hand, I was proud as hell to hear Ryan trying to forge his own path, and on the other, I felt sad for the pain it clearly caused him. “I’m so sorry,” I said, reaching out for him. He looped a thumb around mine. “That’s so shitty. You don’t deserve that kind of treatment, and I know it hurts so much more coming from your own father.”
“It does. It sucks. And it doesn’t help that I’ve been stuck on the same concept for a game since last year. I feel like I’m failing my dad and myself, and that shit sucks.”
“You’re not failing anyone. Are you kidding me? You’re doing great in all your classes, even though you hate them, you kick ass as a rower, and you’re a decent karaoke singer. You’re winning at everything.” I leaned in and kissed him, holding the back of his head. His hair felt so soft. “Plus, you’ve got a huge dick, and you know how to use it.”
“Damn, you know exactly what to say to make me feel better.”
“Obviously.” I kissed him again, my tongue finding his and my legs nearly buckling. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll figure things out with your dad, but don’t lose the spark following what you love. There were plenty of people that told me not to follow my passions, but I had to listen to myself first.”
“You’re right,” he said. His gaze dropped down to my lips. His curled in a mischievous kind of way. “How can you be so cute and so smart at the same time?”
“It’s a gift,” I said. “Why don’t you switch majors? I know it’s a little late, but it’s better than never.”
“I actually don’t think I’d need to. I’ve been taking classes in my schedule that line up with computer science, mixed with my finance classes. Some worked for both, others I had to double up some semesters. But it was worth it. The adviser said I’d be graduating as a double major.”
“Oh, wow, that’s huge,” I said. My admiration of him only grew. I couldn’t believe I was so bristly toward him when we first met. Fuck, I felt like such an asshole. “Cheers to that, then.”
“To following your dreams,” he said, tapping his beer against the rim of my cup.
“And to putting in the work that makes them happen.” The sweet tang of pineapple mixed with a heavy smack of vodka hit the back of my throat. I swallowed it down, taking a few more sips before looking around the space.
For still being early, the club was already packed. And we were only near the entrance. This place had different floors, each serving a different vibe. The first floor was full of dark corners and secret crannies you could get lost in, with an entire dark room toward the back. The second floor was where all the dancing happened, with four rooms dedicated to different types of music.
And then there was the third floor. “Want to go to the third floor?” I asked.
“What’s on the third floor?”
“Gay gasp.” I flung a dramatic hand to my chest. “I didn’t know you were a Passions virgin.” I grinned and cocked my head. “That makes tonight so much more fun.”