Page 12 of Level Me Up

"Chicago," I reply and notice the look of shock on his face.

"Really? We’re in Chicago too! That's so crazy," he replies.

Wow. How does that happen—meeting someone for the first time miles and miles away from home to find out you live in the same city? It is a small world.

We continue chatting. He asks me about work and what I like to do for fun. I find out that he has a business degree and has been professionally gaming for almost five years. At some point, Simon comes back to the table with beers for the guys and two newsex on the beachesfor Ruby and me. As he distributes drinks, Ruby catches my eye and gives me a knowing look. Yeah, she knows I'm into him. How could I not be? Even though I don't know a lot about him yet, he went out of his way to invite us and has been entirely focused on talking to me since he got here.

"So Dex, you have a girlfriend?" Ruby asks out of nowhere. I fight back the urge to shoot her a look. Instead, I busy myself with the napkin under my drink. I'm really interested to know, so I'm going to let her bluntness slide.

"I do not. I wouldn't have invited you guys out tonight if I did," he replies assuredly.

I look up at him then and realize that he's staring at me, and I didn't realize how close his body was to mine. I can feel heat radiating off him, and I'm so glad he's single because I didn't want to have to force more space between us.

"Good!" Ruby replies. For a split second, I think she's going to say something more, like something that will probably embarrass me, but she doesn’t and takes a sip of her drink instead.

But then Link says, "Well since you asked, I’m single too. I assume you ladies are unattached?"

I giggle because Link is so cocky, but I can tell it's only for show. He is actually quite charming, and I can tell this is why he is getting under Ruby's skin.

Ruby rolls her eyes and says, "I didn't ask, but yes. We are both unattached."

"So, do you guys all live together…the whole team?" I ask with uncertainty, trying to give the tension a little slack.

Dex replies, "No, Link, Simon, and I are roommates. Ben and Chuck room together but are in the same building, and Bernie lives by herself down the hall."

"I'm not on the team," Link replies.

"Oh yeah?" Ruby chimes.

"Yeah, I'm more of a jack-of-all-trades," he says. Simon and Dex laugh at this

"More like a jackass of all trades." Dex mutters, and Simon starts to laugh even harder.

Link only rolls his eyes and keeps on going. "I compete professionally sometimes, but my main focus is my YouTube channel. I do strategy videos and gaming news and all sorts of fun stuff. I also dabble in some strategy guide writing in my spare time. Like I said, I have my hand in a lot of things, and I'm good at all of them."

I can see the wheels turning in Ruby's eyes. She can't stand cocky guys, and I'm pretty sure she is about to rip into him, but she doesn’t. Instead, she asks, "How many followers do you have?" Her reaction surprises me.

"More than two million," he says with a cocky grin. Ruby just looks thoughtful. Hmmm.

"Surely your mom created two million accounts and followed you with all of them. She sounds sweet," she replies. Simon and Dex start laughing again, and Link is just about to defend his impressive following when three more people walk up to the table.

There is a brief moment as the guys welcome the newcomers and then Dex introduces us to the rest of his team; Ben, Chuck, and Bernadette.

Bernadette, or Bernie as Dex called her, is still wearing the large glasses, and her hair is up in a high bun. Dressed in a rose-colored dress that hangs just past her knees and longer in the back makes her rock the nerdy-chic look even more. But both Ben and Chuck stand out from the group because of their less dressy attire. Ben is the more attractive of the two, having put slightly more effort into his pressed jeans and tucked-in polo—and a pocket protector. Chuck looks uncomfortable to be out in public. His shirt looks rumpled and might even be dirty.

As a group, we continue to chat for a while. Dex's team seems like a pretty tight-knit group. They are all easy to be around, and it’s obvious that they have all been working together for a while, but what makes the group even cooler is the fact that they treat Ruby and me as part of it, too.

After tonight, I know three things for sure: one, there is definitely a spark between Ruby and Link. They laugh one second and then get into an argument the next. Two, I wish I could have been part of a group of people like this in college. And three, I really, really want to see Dex again once we are back in Chicago.

While we're not getting a lot of one-on-one time, we're laughing together a lot. Every time his hand brushes against my arm or his thigh bumps against mine, a jolt of heat courses through me. I find myself hoping that it will happen again so I can feel the jolt. Maybe I should be worried that I’m already craving his touch.

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