Page 4 of Summer Kisses

"What could work?" I asked, more agitated by the second. We needed to retract this story fast if we had any hope of it being stopped.

"Our engagement."

My eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

He gazed thoughtfully at the fire. "I need a girlfriend, but a fiancée will do."

I placed a hand on my hip. "You need a girlfriend, but you'll settle for a fiancée?"

His gaze lifted to meet mine. "You know I love video games."

"A lot of people do."

"And my dad hates that I waste my time on it."

I frowned. "Why do you care what he thinks about what you do in your spare time?"

His brow creased. "It's a little more than playing video games."

"What are you talking about?"

"I record shows about me playing video games. I have a channel, and it's picking up viewers. I want to get the designation as a kids' channel so that I can gain even more traction. When I applied, the streaming platform said it would help if I were dating someone who appeared with me on the shows."

I held up my hand. "You lost me. You have a show where you play video games, and kids watch it?"

He nodded. "It's getting popular, and I want to take things to the next level."

"Does anyone know about this? Your brothers, parents?" I was his best friend, and I had no idea.

"I don't want to tell them. At least not until it's successful."

"Why is that?"

"He's proud of Marshall. Hudson is the responsible one who'll take over the business. Shep and Coop get a free pass,Dalton is busy with his personal life at the moment, and Luna’s running a successful business. I'm the one who can't be trusted with any responsibility."

"I thought you were content with your role at the business."

"I'm not saying I want to take on more work, at least not now that my show is taking off. But I want my father to respect what I do."

I sat next to him. "He loves you."

"But does he respect me? Sometimes it feels like I don't have a connection with him at all. He's annoyed that I play video games, and he'll never respect my work unless I can show him that I'm making money from it."

"You can make money from playing video games?" I felt so lost. How had I missed something that was so important to my friend?

Brady shook his head. "You can't even imagine how much."

"The kids at the library are always talking about these shows, but I had no idea they were so lucrative."

Brady nodded. "It's kind of crazy."

"And this is what you want to do?"

"It's an outlet for me. For a few hours, I can forget about responsibilities and my family stuff."

I sighed. I didn't have the family issues he did. My parents died when I was little, and my grandparents raised me. They were unconventional, not always doing the same things as other parents who were younger, but I loved them fiercely. Since Grandpa died a few years ago, Grandma was my only family left.

"If we stay engaged, it will give me the narrative I need for my shows. The streaming platform will be happy. I get what I want."

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