Page 26 of All Yours

‘Do you really like my game?’ he asked, as they started to clear the table.

‘I’ve always loved computer games. I’m an only child, so they were a lifeline for me.’

‘I didn’t know that,’ Fox said, as she passed him a plate.

‘It meant I could play with other kids without even leaving my bedroom.’

‘God, I used to dream of having a bedroom to myself. My sister and I had to share until I was ten and then I finally got my own space when we moved house.’

‘I would have loved the company,’ Robyn replied. ‘I had an imaginary friend until I was seven!’

She shook her head at herself and Fox laughed.

‘I have to play the game this weekend actually,’ he said. ‘Trying to work out a stage in the sequel. I think it needs to connect to the original.’

‘Doesn’t sound much like work to me,’ Robyn said. ‘I’ll probably be online for a bit too. I saw there was a console in the pool house. Might see you on there.’ She flicked the tea towel at him. ‘And kick your arse.’

Somehow, the way she said that, it sounded quite pleasurable.

Hours later, Fox lounged in joggers and a T-shirt on a giant bean bag in front of the TV in the games room. He’d been playing since the boys had gone to bed, working his way through the levels. He loved the absolute attention he had to give a game, the way it swallowed up everything else. He’d played a lot after Meg died. It had been an escape, something that took him far away from her empty side of the bed and her favourite coffee cup that would never be used again. Nowadays, he played to be sociable sometimes with his friend Walker, or just to chill out. For a few hours, he didn’t have to think about Reggie’s homework or George’s thumb sucking when he was beating baddies in a virtual world. He realised he was almost at the same place where he’d played alongside Robyn at the games convention. Lifting his beer bottle to his lips, he found it empty. He tapped it thoughtfully, remembering Robyn saying she might be online. He could just see how she was doing, whether she’d discovered any of the shortcuts.

He searched for her gaming name, Red777. There was nothing wrong with looking, was there? But when her icon popped up, his stomach flipped over. So, she was there.

To talk to her, though, he had to invite her to play a game. Again, nothing wrong with that, was there? He pressed the invitation button and held his breath.

A second later, her icon popped up next to his in the online waiting room. She had accepted his request. He adjusted his headphones so that his microphone was closer to his lips.

‘How’s it going?’ Fox asked.

She sighed, and it sounded like she was right behind him. He could almost imagine the tickle of her breath on his neck.

‘Not good?’

‘My controller is glitching,’ she said. ‘I can’t really join.’

He checked his watch. Ten o’clock. He spoke without thinking, just as he would to anyone: one gamer to another. Or that’s what he told himself later.

‘Come on over here and play?’

‘Willow’s asleep,’ she said.

‘I can bring my set to you. I’ll put the baby monitor on, and bring the receiver so I can hear the boys if they wake?’ he suggested.

There was a pause, and he realised he was holding his breath. But it was just a game, wasn’t it? Nothing more. He could almost hear her thinking as she made up her mind.

‘Sure,’ she said.

‘See you in a few minutes. I’ll grab a couple of beers from the kitchen on my way,’ Fox said and her throaty laugh made him grin.

When he arrived, Robyn was wearing pyjama trousers and an oversized hoodie, but she still looked seriously good. Not that he was looking, of course. It was probably just what she normally wore to bed. Great, and now he was thinking about what she wore to bed – or what she might not wear in bed. He handed her a beer, cold enough to have condensation running down the outside, and popped one himself, hoping it might cool him down, because suddenly he was feeling rather hot. He connected the controller and she pulled a massive bean bag in front of the screen. When everything was sorted, she plumped down beside him and he made himself concentrate on the game as he passed her the spare console. As she settled back, saying, ‘Let’s do this,’ Fox couldn’t help but smile.

Three hours later, way later than he’d meant to stay, they were still side by side on the bean bag, just as they had been at the games convention. And just as they had been the night they met, they made a good team. Robyn was a smart player, and knew the game almost as well as him. At some point during the night, she’d discarded her oversized hoodie and she was now wearing just a vest top with her PJ trousers. Somehow, she made it look like lingerie in the light of the screen. When she leaned over him to reach for another beer, the brush of her skin on his bicep felt smooth and soft against his hard muscle. Robyn hadn’t seemed to notice, but as she moved away, he wanted to pull her back.

Fox kept talking as they played – it helped to keep his mind off her body in the darkened room. He found it easier to talk to her when she wasn’t looking straight at him, when he was watching the screen ahead. He’d started off by asking her things about the boys, how they’d behaved that week, whether everything was working out. But quickly the conversation had changed to her travels, his work, and the imminent meatball meet-up where she would meet his friends.

‘You’ll love Walker,’ he said. ‘He’s the everyday hero of Honeybridge – he’s even got an award for it. He set a world record for climbing the fireman’s pole.’

Robyn laughed out loud at that, which immediately made him want to make her laugh again.