So he picked up his phone again on Friday and tried again.
It went to voice mail three times and each time he hung up. No texts, because texts were too easy to ignore. He’d been texting her all week and now he wanted to talk to her and not give her the chance to brush him off.
On the fourth try, it went through. Her light voice came on the line. “Tech Support level two, how can I help?”
“Yes,” he said. “I can’t figure out how to turn my computer on.”
There was a long pause, then a giggle that made his cock ache. “Loch?”
“Hi there.”
“I’m working, sorry. I didn’t realize it was a personal call.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “How are you?”
“Bored witless. You?”
She gave a little sigh. “Busy. Work has been a nightmare this week. I picked up an extra shift because my boss was pressing on me hard, but it’s eating up all my time.” The happiness in her voice was gone, replaced by stress.
“You should go out to lunch with me, then.”
“I can’t. I’m on call. I have to stay here and work.”
“Dinner, then?”
“I’m on call until midnight.”
“I can be over there at midnight,” he said, keeping his voice smooth. “Then we can grab a bite to eat somewhere. Someone’s got to be open that late, right? This is a big city.”
Her little sigh was unhappy. “I wish I could, but I’m just going to go to sleep at that point. I’m sorry, I’m not a very fun girl. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t have time for much of anything.”
“I know, but you can’t blame me for trying. Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow night’s the raid, and after last week, I truly can’t miss it.”
“Mmm, well, that’s a shame.” She was blowing him off for a computer game. It stung his ego. “Want to hook up for some filthy, no-strings-attached sex after your raid? I can come over there.”
She giggled again. “I’d better not. I do appreciate the offer, though.”
Damn, there was no breaking down her defenses. “All right, then. Well, if you want to get together, you have my number.”
“I do,” she said cheerfully. “I’m sorry, Loch. My life is just crazy hectic right now. You understand, right?”
“Of course.” He mumbled something about her having a good day and then hung up, frustrated. Normally women fell into his lap. The one time he was the one pursuing? He couldn’t get her to leave her damned apartment.
He stared down at his phone, thinking. Actually, she did leave her apartment at least once a week—for the party thing she mentioned on Saturday nights at the pub. Odds were good that if he went there, she’d be there.
Looked like he had plans for the weekend after all.
***
Taylor was not looking forward to the LAN party.
Saturday nights were supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be the time where she could unwind after spending a rough week in the tech-support mines. She’d worked two extra shifts, was on call for overnights, and had somehow managed to play her character daily so Sigmund wouldn’t freak out. Now it was the weekend, and instead of being a relief from stress, it was just more stress. She didn’t want to go to the LAN party. If she did, it’d mean socializing for hours on end. They’d run an instanced raid available only on the LAN, and then they’d run a guild raid after the fact. She’d be out until three in the morning, at the very least, when all she wanted to do was sleep.
But if she didn’t go, Sigmund would suspect she was out on a date again, and he’d been on edge all week.
Irony of ironies? She really wanted to go out with Loch again but had to turn him down. She was still thinking about—okay obsessing over—the one-night stand they’d had, and the fact that he’d called and texted her this week to get together again. She’d have loved to say yes, but every time she thought about it, she remembered Sigmund. Sigmund, who threatened to hurt himself on a daily basis.
She felt trapped. All the joy in Excelsior had been sucked out long ago, and now she felt obligated to play, and obligated to spend time with Sigmund, when all she really wanted to do was call Loch and tell him that she wanted him. Hell, she’d even have considered jogging, and she didn’t sweat for just any man.
But as long as Sigmund was pulling the strings on her day-to-day life, just the thought of trying to add another person into her day made her stressed out. Loch would just forever exist as the one-night-stand-of-awesome.
Shame.
She stuffed her hair into her favorite newsboy cap, put on a T-shirt, jeans, her Doctor Who scarf, and grabbed her laptop. She had to go. It won’t be too miserable, Tay-Tay, she told herself. You’ll have fun once you’re there. You can relax when you get home. You love your guild. You enjoy the game.
Funny how the pep talk was getting tougher every time she had to give it.
Taylor slung her laptop bag over her shoulder and headed out the door. The walk to the pub was an easy one, and she stopped to grab herself a bolstering iced coffee before she got there, because she was dragging, both mentally and physically.
She ran into a few of the guys on the street and chatted as they hauled their computer equipment along. “Hey, Taylor,” Nate said, waving at her. He was with Crispin and Geoff. “You excited for the raid?”
Hell no. “Of course!”
Geoff jogged up to her other side, all gangly limbs and excitement. “We’re totally going to down Six-Eleven tonight, aren’t we?”