Page 23 of Game Over

Charlie wasn’tmyalpha, at least not in that way. But he was an alpha, a fact that when I stood close to him like this was difficult to forget. The black OVWatch T-shirt he wore stretched tight over his broad shoulders as he towered over me, potent alpha pheromones sinking into my clothes and hair sure to make Tara turn up her nose later.

“You know that it’s not the same, that’s online,” I complained. “Face-to-face time is where it’s at.”

“You’re only saying that because I keep fucking trouncing you in 1v1,” Charlie quipped, his eyes finding mine with some difficulty. “At least here you have a shot at winning.”

“…Maybe a little guilty,” I muttered, remembering why we were in the barcade in the first place and wanting to avoid making my girlfriend feel like a third wheel, I stepped back, wrapping an arm around her to pull her forward. “Charmander, this is Tara.”

“H-H-hi, nice to, um, meet y-you,” she stammered, face going red as she held out her hand for him to shake, trembling with her nerves.

Poor girl, she was never nervous like this. She must really want to make a good impression.

I gave her a reassuring squeeze as Charlie’s gaze found her.

His expression shifted. Became… different. Not hard or unkind, but intrigued almost. A kind of unreadable scrutiny between curiosity and concern.

It sort of made sense. Charlie had always been protective of me, and this was the first partner I’d ever introduced him to.

A bit of skepticism was warranted… I guess.

Charlie’s scent became more potent as he reached to take Tara’s hand in a firm shake, buttery pie crust and deep baked blueberries coming together in a sweet and lightly savory combination that’d always been a comfort to me.

“You’re… Taller than I remem—thought you’d be,” Tara commented, stuttering on her words. “Sorry, I uh—whew, I haven’t been out in a while. I’m a little nervous.”

She really was nervous, her hand scraping through her long, dark hair as she tried to collect herself.

I couldn’t blame her. Hewastall. Even for an alpha, Charlie was large, with big muscles and pretty skin and…

Woah.

“I mean… I didn’tmean…” Tara muttered, shrinking back into my side.

Where did that come from? It must’ve been my nerves. Or Tara’s nerves rubbing off on me. Maybe all that talk of craving alpha cock I’d listened to while she edited clips somehowsubliminally affected my mind and rewrote my brain chemistry until I couldn’t stop staring at the little dimple on the left side of Charlie’s face as he laughed.

The robust sound was deep as it rattled through me, warm and relaxing and so veryhomeI couldn’t help but love it.

“Don’t worry, Iampretty tall, even for an alpha.”

“Every year the basketball team tried to recruit him,” I said helpfully.

“And every year they were deeply disappointed when I went to the tryout to trip over the ball I was supposed to be dribbling.” He shrugged, raising an eyebrow to her, voice lowering playfully like he was sharing some big secret. “I’m a bit of a klutz, you know.”

Tara laughed, but it was high and awkward, not the cute melodic giggle I was used to from her.

“Should I get us some drinks?” I offered, pressing a kiss to her temple as I continued into an undertone. “Maybe help you relax a little, baby?”

“Please,” she said at the same time as Charlie’s, “Yeah, man.”

They glanced at each other and something… strange passed between them, a kind of undeterminable tension that I couldn’t exactly place but was positive would be solved with a little social lubricant.

“Do you need help?” Tara offered, keeping herself pressed to my side.

I shook my head, my hair bouncing in front of my face a bit as I did. It probably needed a trim before it really started to get in the way, but I’d spent enough time enjoying Tara running her fingers through it while we cuddled that I didn’t really want to. “I got it babe, you just focus on getting to know each other. Maybe pick something for us to play?”

“Jesse—”

“We can handle it, don’t you think ba—Tara?” Charlie offered, along with his arm as he motioned for the game floor. “C’mon, let’s find something you can wreck me at. I know your response time is good at least.”

She looked over the alpha skeptically, nerves beginning to thaw at the mention of competition.

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