WICKED GAMES | COMPLETE

SIXTEEN

Miles

Andie. He recited the name in his mind. Her name is Andie Craven.

They dug into fish and chips at a vintage-styled diner across the convention centre. The place was packed; it was by pure luck that they even managed to get a seat at that hour.

Well, luck and a dollop of charm. The manager, a red-haired woman dressed in a pin-up style waitress uniform, had run her eyes all over Miles before opening up a reserved table for them.

"Everything peachy here? Can I getcha anything else?" She was back at their table for the tenth time that hour to check in on their meal - but her attention was only directed at Miles.

"These fries are fantastic, Darla," Miles commented, reading the name tag that dangled from her precariously low collar.

"Andie. Dessert?" He directed his gaze to Andie, but the manager kept her eyes on him, and was now stroking his arm.

"If you've got a sweet tooth, I can getcha some sugar," she drawled into his ear.

Seeing Andie look away and slowly shake her head, Miles flashed a quick smile at Darla and pulled his arm away. "We're good, Darla. Thank you."

As she stalked off in a huff, he turned back to Andie. "What?"

Andie shook her head again, this time smirking. "How do you live like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like that."

Miles grimaced, wondering if this was what Liam felt like when trying to pry something out of him.

"It has its perks," he remarked, pondering over the treatment that he received from women. He didn't like when they got heavy-handed like Carly, but he didn't mind a little harmless flirting. It did come with many benefits, like getting an unavailable seat in a crowded diner – however, it could be terribly inconvenient when he had other concerns in mind.

Like how to talk to this girl before she ghosted him again. He decided to return to their first conversation, eager to lap up the fiery passion that she had displayed before.

"So what brings you here? Hunting for mediocre games to play?"

Andie glared at him, stabbing the fish on her plate. "For a womaniser, you really know how to make a woman feel good."

"Woah. Where did that come from?" Miles chuckled and raised his hands in surrender.

"Just because you're some big-shot game dev doesn't mean you can talk down to me." She sliced furiously at the meat. "I didn't appreciate the way you assumed I wouldn't be good at games. You don't know what I do."

He gazed at Andie in guilt. He hadn't been able to open up to anyone in a while, and now that he'd finally run into this passionate girl, he'd gone and shot his mouth off.

He sighed. "I'm sorry. It wasn't cool of me to do you dirty like that. So... what do you do?"

"I run a games cafe in my city."

He was taken aback that she willingly answered, and it only opened up more questions.

"But - and I genuinely want to know - why did you want that game?" he asked, more carefully this time. "It doesn't offer any element of discovery, or even a complex storyline."

"Because, Miles, my customers are just looking for a fun, straightforward and easy game to enjoy over a couple of pints with their friends. They're not looking for hours of exploration and collection. Open-world games are for quiet days when the rain is pelting on the roof, you've got one last good scoop of chocolate mix left, and you feel like you've got more than twenty-four hours for the day."

As Andie painted the dreamlike picture, Miles found himself transported beside her on a warm futon, huddling and enjoying an endless afternoon. His mind fogged by this hypnotic vision, he was barely able to bring his focus back to her words.

"I'm not an idiot, I know that open world games have their place in the classics too. I myself have to uncover every hidden artefact in Tomb Raider and every diary entry in Resident Evil. But the folks who play and drink by the hour aren't looking for depth, they're looking for bursts of fun."

His mind still frozen at the image of them snuggling beneath warm sheets, Miles did nothing but nod. Andie paused, then snickered.

He snapped back to reality. "What?"

"Nothing, you just looked so dreamy and dazed. I take that as an admission of defeat."

He chuckled in response and lifted a fry to his mouth. "It wasn't a competition."

"Oh? Then why are you so hard on Straight To Dawn?"

He chewed absent-mindedly, memories swimming through his mind. He contemplated how much he should reveal to this inquisitive girl he'd just met for the second first time.

An idea flickered in his mind and a smirk pulled at the corner of his lips.

"How about I show you?"