Beauty and the Billionaire

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just couldn't help myself. Remember that time in high school when you pretended to be the killer from that scary movie?" she asked. "Yeah, maybe a little payback was in order."

"Stopping my heart and choking the breath out of me? Is that what you call payback?" I asked.

Quinn wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. I felt her smile against my lips. "Now I feel bad. Maybe I should make it up to you?"

I swung her farther into the apartment and shut the door behind us. "Did you see anyone outside? A weasel with glasses and a digital recorder? Did he see you?"

Her smile slipped and her arms tightened. "Are you okay? I checked out some of the forums. You can't let it get to you."

"No, it’s just my manager and I took your advice. I just got interviewed, but he was more interested in gossip about Light Slayer and Arrowa," I said.

"Oooh, people suspect our avatars are having a steamy affair? How sexy."

"It’s not good, Quinn. Sorry, but I can't handle any more gossip right now," I said. "And you've got me worried with this whole mysterious new plan thing. If you want to take a serious shot at professional gaming, then you need to be worried about the chatroom gossip too. This is all coming dangerous close to affecting my career."

She dropped her arms and pulled me to the couch. "I know. I'm sorry. And if it would help, Arrowa can disappear from Dark Flag."

"Wait, what? You don't have to do that. I know you love it and you're getting really good," I said.

"That's just it," Quinn said. She grabbed my hands. "Can we take a break for just one second and talk about some good news?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright. So, that last tournament when I managed to get the Green Witch on the run got me noticed by a lot of players. It also got me noticed by some game creators," she said. "To be honest, I was hoping to use that to leverage myself into the Dark Flag tournaments that pay money. But now that you mention the whole problem with the gossip, I'm glad I took a different offer."

"What offer? Are you sure it’s good?"

Quinn crossed her arms. "I've been asked to test out a new game. I get paid per hours logged and there are bonuses for the levels I crack. I told them it would be more fun if I could play with a friend and they agreed. I have two new log-ins all ready to go."

My shoulders relaxed, then melted as Quinn reached over and rubbed my neck.

"See? I'm not as helpless as everyone thinks I am. I'm not encroaching on your territory or messing up your career. We can have a little fun," she said.

"Is that all this is?"

She tipped her head and looked away. "This is complicated, but only if we talk about it. How about we play instead?"

I handed over my computer and the game console controllers. Quinn brushed her wavy hair out of the way and set everything up.

"What's the game about?" I asked.

"I'm not going to lie, it’s a lot like Dark Flag, except set on Mars. The colony is expanding and there is potential for players to influence the world, just like in Dark Flag. And there are aliens, meteorites, and all sorts of complicated space dangers."

She made my avatar a pock-faced engineer and herself a middle-aged doctorate in astrophysics. "What, no glamorous astronauts or super-sexy scientists?" I asked.

"That's another thing. In this game, your only choice is to be human. Sure, you can augment your avatar, but they keep the choices plain. It’s all about survival and humanity," Quinn said.

"And starting over," I said. "I like that."

"Exactly," Quinn handed me a controller. "Here, we can start over and no one knows us."

We explored the Mars landscape. I had almost forgotten what it felt like. Video games were supposed to be an escape. Now, as Quinn and I worked together, tried and failed, and fought our way through surprising problems, it all came back to me. The whole reason I loved my job was that I could show people how to be who they really wanted, even if the real world kept telling them no.

"This is good, right?" she asked.

"The best," I said. "I really needed this. Thank you."

She moved closer on the couch and curled up against me. "Is it wrong that I always really wanted this?"