Jameson

I spent my lunch break at a goddamn dress shop. Again. That was not my idea of fun. Like most of my man-of-honor duties, they require me to do things outside my comfort zone. It’s weird seeing Charlie so into this wedding shit. Charlie has always been a tomboy, the girl who would rather rub dirt on her face than wear makeup. Now, she’s in bride mode.

I wasn’t surprised when she had suggested to Alex that they order McDonald’s and have their reception at her apartment. That’s the Charlie I know. Not the girly girl who wants some elaborate reception with hundreds of guests and a dress fit for a queen. She’s doing this for Alex. I know it. Alex wants the big wedding with all of his friends, even though he has very little family.

With our hectic schedules, Charlie and I both had to go into the office on a Saturday, which interrupted Sydney’s plans to visit another boutique. As usual, Charlie didn’t like anything in the store. She would curl her lip upward in disgust at almost everything she’d tried on. I think it’s the idea of wearing a dress that freaks her out. The last time I saw her in one was…never.

I hate working weekends. Anymore, that’s all I do is work. Most days, I grab a sandwich for lunch, and play the new video game I’m working on with my team, testing the kinks before we send out the beta version. We only have a few more weeks before the beta team gets their hands on the latest first-person shooter game our client had contracted us to design. I landed my company the deal after I’d impressed their Chief Technology Officer with my latest algorithm. It also means working around the clock.

Between the demands of my job and Charlie’s appointments, I somehow allowed her to rope me into going to a charity event the Flyers are hosting at the Wells Fargo Center. They do it every year. All the players and their families come out for the day and sign autographs and hang out with the fans. Charlie had to peel herself away from Mickey and the whale of a client they’re close to landing. And I had to promise my boss that I’d work the rest of the weekend just to get away for a few hours.

On our way through the city, the cab driver blasts rap music, taking the turns as if he were on a racetrack, barely missing the people who step out into the street. They jump back and onto the pavement as we pass, startled.

“Can you watch where you’re going?” Charlie yells at the driver, holding onto the headrest in front of her, as she leans forward. “You almost ran them over. I’d like to make it there in one piece and without you killing anyone, thank you very much.”

“Sorry, miss,” the man says, his eyes trained on the road. “We’re almost there. Just a few minutes.”

Charlie sits back in the seat and sighs, irritated. She straightens her shirt and combs her fingers through her long, caramel hair. She glances at me, shaking her head, but doesn’t speak another word.

My phone dings with a message, and I pull it out of my pocket. Staring down at my cell phone, I tap the keypad at a feverish pace.

My team has been texting and emailing me non-stop since I picked Charlie up at DMG. They are decent engineers, but most of them rely on me so much that I never get a break. I’m also their boss, so there’s that. Trying to scan through the lines of code my lead engineer sent over, requiring an immediate response, it’s hard to focus because of the shitty driving.

When the car comes to a stop, the driver announces we’re at the Wells Fargo Center. I pull out my wallet, hand him a twenty-dollar bill, and tell him to keep the change before we exit the death trap.

“That was an experience,” Charlie says, slamming the door, as she looks across the roof at me.

The cab driver peels out, almost taking Charlie’s arm off in the process. She screams obscenities at the man, raising her fist in anger. With a crowded parking lot full of families making their way toward the building, he could have hit someone. This day just keeps getting worse by the minute.

My morning had started with a migraine brought on by my alarm clock, blaring in my ear at five o’clock. After staying up most of the night to test code, I dragged my tired ass from the bed. I still hadn’t worked out the bugs by the time I’d passed out sometime in the early morning. Dress shopping with the girls and that car ride only added to my weekend from hell. I’ve had about all I can take for the day.

“Are you okay, Jamie?” Charlie nudges me in the side as we walk through the parking lot.

I shrug and slide my hands into my pockets. “Yeah, I'm all right.”

“You don’t look good. Every since you picked me up to go to the shop, you’ve been distracted, so unlike you. What’s going on?”

“All I can think about is work and how behind I will be if I don’t figure out how to debug this game. The test cases I setup have all failed.”

“You’ll figure it out,” she says, confident. “I have no doubt you will wow everyone.”

I flash a hint of a smile. “I’m not worried about tweaking it in time for our live demo. That part I can bullshit my way through and make it look decent enough for someone to play a few levels. It’s the later parts of the game that are giving me shit. I’m having trouble with the multi-player artificial intelligence.”

“But you nailed that with your other games.” She seems shocked. “I’m sure a stroke of genius will come to you in no time. You’re the smartest person I know, Jamie.”

“You’re not too shabby,” I say, laughing.

“For two kids from the projects, we clean up pretty good, huh? Who would’ve thought back then that I’d be a sports agent, marrying a professional hockey player, and you would be making video games? You had always liked playing them and were good on the computer, but this is all so surreal. Sometimes, I have to pinch myself because it doesn’t feel real, you know.”

I nod, holding the door open for her as we step inside the building. “Oh, I know. I still can’t believe we made it out of Chicago alive.”

“That’s because we had each other.”

“Don’t get all emotional,” I joke.

Charlie rolls her eyes at me. “It’s this wedding. My emotions are completely out of whack. When I was a little girl, I had dreamed of my father walking me down the aisle in this big, fluffy gown, with everyone admiring me. Then, everything went to shit. I’m trying to find some form of middle ground between the girl I was and the woman I am now, and it’s confusing as fuck. I have Kennedy and Sydney pulling me in ten different directions. But I have you. I always have you. I know you hate doing the girly stuff with us, and I promise I will make up for it, but I love you even more for suffering through all this with me.”

Feeling moved by Charlie’s speech, I reach out, lace my fingers between hers, and give her hand a squeeze. “I don’t mind. It’s really no trouble at all. We’re a team. I have your back. You have mine. That’s how it works.”

“I want you to be the one,” she says, choking out her words. “I’d like you to give me away at the wedding.”

“Really?” I’m not entirely shocked, even though I had prepared myself for the possibility of Mickey taking over the role of her father. “I would be honored.”

“Honored.” She laughs and wipes the corner of her eye with the back of her hand. “I guess that’s why you’re the man-of-honor. Thanks, Jamie, I have no idea what I would do without you.”

When we round the corner, we almost run into Murph…and Regan. She takes my breath away. Dressed in a gray skirt that stops right above her knee, a black blouse with a few buttons open that give me a glimpse of her cleavage spilling out from a black lacy bra, and heels that accentuate her toned legs, I am speechless.

Regan was sexy in a basketball jersey and mesh shorts. But she almost looks like a different person. Same as last time, she’s not wearing any makeup. With hair pulled up and into a tight ponytail on top of her head, I get a better look at her face.

“Coach,” Murph yells into her ear, as he pulls Charlie into a hug. He releases her, running a hand through his hair. “I can take you down to see Alex if you want.”

Murph has a crush on Charlie, or at least I suspect he does. It could also be his obsession with hockey players and the one she’s tethered herself to. But he’s been a fan of Charlie long before she started dating Alex.

“That would be great,” Charlie says.

“Actually, how about I take them, Murph?” Regan offers with a tiny smile in my direction.

I return her expression, thrilled to see her here. For the last week, I have thought of Regan and how I could see her again. But Charlie had warned me to stay away, and I had no other way to see her without asking Charlie for help. Plus, I have been so busy with work that fitting in a date, even if she had said yes, would have been impossible. It’s still impossible with my schedule. But I would make time for Regan.

“I have to drop something off anyway,” Regan continues, now staring at Murph. “I’m sure my dad could use your help with something.”

“He would page or call me if it was urgent.”

“Yeah, but you know how he gets. Why don’t you see if he needs you?”

He narrows his eyes at her. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were trying to get rid of me.”

“You should come and hang out with us, Murph,” Charlie interjects.

“Nah, Regan is right. Boss man might need something. After I stop by his office, I’ll make an appearance.” Murph’s eyes light up in acknowledgment when he locks onto me. “Jamie. How are you? “ He steps away from Regan to stand next to me. “You know, I was telling Regan all about your video games the other day. What are you working on now?”

“Oh, really?” I’m surprised they were talking about me. “I wish I could tell you more, but it’s another first-person shooter.”

He flashes an impish grin. “Your last one blew Call of Duty out of the water. I can’t wait to play it.”

“If you want, I can see about adding you to the test team.”

His mouth opens wide in shock. “No way! You would do that for me?”

“Sure. Why not?” I shrug. “We can always use more testers. People from the outside tend to find more of the kinks than the programmers do. We’re so close to the game that sometimes we don’t see the flaws.”

“How about me?” Regan’s singsong voice cuts through the conversation. “Would I make a good candidate?”

Confused, I cock an eyebrow at her. “You want to test video games?”

“Yeah, are girls not allowed or something? I like video games.”

She pushes her hands onto her hips, making me slightly nervous. There’s something authoritative in the way she’s standing that reminds me of someone. It takes me second, as I glance at Charlie, to realize who she reminds me of. And she’s standing right next to her.

“Of course, girls can test and play video games. I just wasn’t expecting you to want to get in on the action.”

“I assume that means spending more time with you,” she says, lowering her voice.

I nod and move closer to her. Given her height, Regan’s nose just about touches my pecks. She’s so small I could tuck her under my arm or throw her over my shoulder. But she has balls on her. I’ll give her that. The way she speaks and moves has such a demanding effect on people. I see the way Murph sways along with her, almost in sync with each of her movements.

“Yes, that would mean spending a lot more time with me.” I smile at the thought of playing video games with Regan. “Will that be a problem?”

It turns me on more than it should. A hot chick who likes sports and video games is better than hitting the lottery.

She shakes her head. “Nope. Looking forward to it.”

I want to touch her, grab her face in my hands, and kiss her. Until Charlie snaps me back to reality by clearing her throat.

“Do you think you guys can continue this some other time? Alex is texting me, wondering why I’m not here yet.”

I steel a glance at Charlie and nod. “Yeah, no problem. Let’s get a move on.”

Murph waves to us, promising to catch up with us later.

“I’ll fill in for Murph today,” Regan says, falling in line between Charlie and me. “You guys get the VIP treatment.”

Excited by the prospect of more time with Regan, my stomach fills with nervous energy. I can’t remember the last time I liked a woman this much. She has the kind of personality that causes people to gravitate toward her.

Once we reach the main floor where the entire team, their families, and all of their fans are gathered, the noise is so loud I can barely hear over the chatter. Charlie finds Alex almost the minute she places a foot on the event floor, leaving us without another word.

“Were you serious about wanting to test video games?” I ask Regan, strolling through the crowd at her side.

“I don’t joke about video games,” she says, laughing. “Murph tells me your games are amazing. You know, I actually played a few of them.”

“You did? Which ones?”

I thought she was joking until she starts rambling off the games I designed and what she liked about each one. Even Charlie has never been this interested in video games or my work. Sports are her real passion. Mine has always been technology and creating fictional characters, stories, and worlds with a keystroke.

We walk around the event, checking out each of the booths where you can meet the players, get autographs, and buy memorabilia, with all the proceeds going to charity. Every year, the Flyers host the same fundraiser, and the fans go wild over it. Regan introduces me to the players I had yet to meet through Charlie. Some of the guys are taking pictures with kids, dressed in full uniform.

Over the screaming fans and bustling crowd, I can hardly hear Regan when she says, “So, when do we get started?”

“On the testing? We already started. I’d say tonight, but I’m sure you need more notice.”

“After this is over,” she says, holding her arms out at her sides, “I’m all yours, Jameson O’Connor.”

Under normal circumstances, I would hate someone calling me by my full name. Only Charlie can get away with that without pissing me off. But hearing Regan say my name aloud excites me. Everything about her makes me break down my walls. There’s a sense of calm in her demeanor that puts me at ease.

I smile at her words. She’s all mine. If only I can make that a reality without getting on Charlie’s bad side. After all, Regan and her father are part of her business. Anything I do could negatively affect her. But she didn’t object to Regan offering her help with the game. At least I can use the testing as an excuse to get to know Regan. And I can’t wait to begin.