Page 141 of Next Level Up
I take the wheel this time, letting Carter sink back beside me in the passenger seat. Haven’s apartment fades behind us in a blur of streetlights.
We don’t talk. Bass thumping through the speakers fills the space between us and I’m cool with that. Carter taps his fingers along the dash, watching the road, but not saying a word. I catch him glancing at me once, but I ignore it, keep my eyes on the street, let the vibration of the music and the tires on the asphalt eat away at the quiet tension in my chest.
Carter shifts beside me and leans back, trusting me to keep this long stretch of road safe. We’re both tuned into the same dark frequency.
The second we walk into our house, it feels too quiet. Too fucking empty.
I don’t even make it to my room before I drop my bag, toss my keys, and stalk toward my desk in my room. My headset’s in my hand when my phone buzzes.
Carter:She just texted me and said she’s setting up now.
I swipe open Discord and load in.
Ghost:Lobby’s open. Get your ass in here.
Carter joins before I even hit enter. “Haven,” he sighs, like her name alone could make this place feel less fucking empty.
Then she’s there, suddenly, I’m not in this dark, empty room anymore—I’mwithher again.
Her camera flickers to life on my second monitor. She’s got her headset on, and one knee up in her chair like the chaotic menace she is. I can see the smirk forming before she even opens her mouth.
“All right, let’s wreck the leader board.”
She might not be in my bed tonight, wrapped around me, wrecked from everything I haven’t stopped thinking about since the second we left. But she’s ours, and I’ll burn this whole fucking server to the ground if anyone forgets that.
37
Carter
The call connects before the second ring.
And there she is, blinking up at me through the camera like she hasn’t been awake long enough to fake being unaffected. Her voice is wrecked with sleep when she murmurs, “Miss me already?”
God, yes.
But I play it cool, barely. “Nah,” I say, leaning back in my chair, arm stretching behind my head like I haven’t been watching the clock all day just waiting to hear her voice. “Just checking to make sure my future co-streamer isn’t slacking.”
She snorts. “You mean your boss?”
“I mean my everything,” I say without thinking—and then immediately freeze.
“Say it again,” she whispers.
I swallow hard. “You’re everything to me, Haven.”
“So… this call isn’t just about raid timing and who’s hosting Friday night?”
“Nope.” I smile, my heart doing flips. “It’s about what happens after.”
“After the stream?”
“After all of it,” I say, voice softer now. “I want a future with you. I want to build something. Collab content. Late-night gaming marathons. Sharing a desk setup. You stealing all the hotkeys I configure.”
Her laugh is soft. “So domestic.”
“Dangerously,” I agree, grinning. “But I’m serious. I want you here.”
“Carter Hart… are you asking me to move in with you?”
