“Not a competition,” I reminded him, ruffling his damp hair. “The whole not-getting-into-medical-school thing sucked for you. I get it.”
“Anyway, I thought the game could be my new direction, but as it turned out, what I really needed was the courage to stand up for myself, to go after my own dreams.”
“Like us?” I couldn’t resist fishing a little.
“Like us.” He gave me an indulgent smile. “But not just that. I told the moms this afternoon that I’m not going on to the master’s in health administration program. Or doing a PhD. I want to get my teaching certificate. Work with kids.”
“Hold that thought. I mean, that’s a great plan. And a fabulous goal because you really are awesome with kids, but maybe I’ve got a better offer. For both of us.”
“Oh?” He frowned. “I don’t think I could go with you on tour—”
“Not that.” I smiled at him. “Working at Odyssey headquarters in NYC. That’s what my lunch with Imelda Sanchez was about. Turns out she’s a big fan of Gamer Grandpa. And apparently she’s been watching me play the whole tournament. They say I can do the pro tour if I want, but they’ve got a job for me in game development if I’d rather work with them directly.”
“Even without your degree?”
“Even without my degree.” I’d had to ask, of course, but they hadn’t seem to care at all, waving those concerns off, saying they were more interested in how I played the game than any credentials. “And they have tuition assistance. I could probably finish my last two years part-time. Might take a while, but I’ll get there. And they have health insurance, which the pro tour doesn’t. I could stop paying out-of-pocket for my meds.”
“Oh, that would be awesome.” He bit his lip. “And it’s what? An hour-and-a-half train ride? Hour drive? I could maybe come visit you sometimes…”
“Sometimes.” I shoved his arm. “More like you could come too. They’ve got job offers for all four of us. And they want to bring Professor Tuttle on as a consultant. They’re developing a new top-secret product—introductory decks and game play packages aimed at younger players. Kids. So you’d still be working with kids, just maybe more indirectly than a classroom. But they’re going to have play test groups and stuff. They’ll need someone to teach the kids the rules.”
“Wow.” He swallowed hard, fingers twisting the bed covers. “Is it an all-or-nothing offer? Like you need all of us to say yes so you get the job?”
Some of my giddiness fled. He wasn’t as over-the-moon as I’d hoped. “No. I’m going to accept, and not just because of health insurance. Not gonna lie, the proximity to you and Gracehaven helps, but also it’s Odyssey. And I remember playing as a kid, first falling in love with the game. It would be awesome to get more kids into the game. And yeah, I want to work with you, but if you want to do the teaching certificate, you’re right, it’s not that far. I’d still see you—way more than sometimes too.”
“Good.” He nodded, and I could almost see all the gears whirring in his impressive brain, weighing all the variables and possibilities. “Jasper’s probably going to want to wait for graduation. Payton…who knows.”
“But you?” I tried to tell him with my eyes how important this was to me. To us. “I don’t care as much about them and what they decide, but you…you matter.”
“Really? You’d really want to work with me every day? You don’t think you’d get tired of me?”
“Never.” I got what he was really asking, and I pulled him in for a fast kiss. “Like I said, teach if you want to, but I think that playing Odyssey together all day and then doing that-which-Alden-can’t-name all night sounds pretty perfect. I’m not going to get sick of you.”
“Hmm.” He licked his lips.
“Just think about it?” I wasn’t above begging. I had a vision of a tiny place in the city, bigger bed than kitchen, him in it, endless string of days and nights together, and I wanted it so bad it hurt.
“Yeah.” He nodded solemnly. “I can do that. I can think.”
“And you’re good at thinking.” I gave him another quick kiss. “The Odyssey folks want to have breakfast with us in the morning before we hit the road. And I might have already promised to bring you. Keep an open mind, okay?”
His eyes went adorably wide. “We’re having breakfast with Imelda Sanchez? For real?”
“For real. They’ve been watching you too. All the bigwigs had great things to say about us. My enthusiasm. Your strategy. We’d be an unstoppable team.”
“Well, we haven’t killed each other yet. I suppose that’s a good sign. And if we make it back to Gracehaven in one piece, maybe that’s a good sign too.”