Page 48 of Bro Amazing

"Everything." I grin. This feels a lot like winning.

"Fine, but for every fact, you have to take off a piece of clothing."

"Deal." I'm not feeling spicy right now, but I don't put it past Helix to get me there at some point in this conversation. "But the facts better be good."

"I make everything good." He gives me a stern look, and I laugh. "My family lives on a cattle farm, and my siblings still live in this small town."

"Yet you moved to Chicago and got into gaming." I unhook my bra and slip it off through one of my sleeves, holding it up to show him before dropping it on the floor next to the bed.

"I got into computers in middle school and gaming in junior high. Which was a challenge, because the internet connection out here isn't great."

"That's when you joined the team and started taking gaming seriously?" I hold up my shorts, then drop them over the side of the bed too.

"There were a couple of kids at school who played, but not nearly as much as me." Helix's hand slips below his blanket again. "I didn't hook up with our team until halfway through high school. We'd met through the chat and played together well."

They still play together well from all the commentary I've listened to on their games. In the bedroom too, from my own personal experience.

"When did you decide to all move in together?" I drop the phone to yank off my t-shirt and pull the covers up to my shoulders again before picking it up again.

"I saved up all of my money and our senior year, we met up for a competition." Helix bites his lip and there's a slowrhythmic movement under his blanket. The tendons in his arm flex, emphasizing his veins. "We used all of the winnings to move to the city after we graduated."

"When did you start sharing your girlfriends?" I drop my panties on the floor so I'm completely naked in Helix's bed. I wish he were here. Or that any of my boyfriends was.

"You're our first," says Helix. "Now throw off those blankets so I can see you naked and spread out on my sheets."

Sleeping in Helix's bed last night and talking to him was exactly what I needed. I'd been so used to living alone before this, but it's nice to have others around. It's clearly doing great things for my writing. Yesterday I couldn't write at all and today I've already completed two chapters.

Hearing about Helix growing up in a rural town and how he met his teammates makes me feel closer to him. Not necessarily in a physical way, but a mental one. I'm not the only one who grew up in a small town and dreamed of moving to a big city to be around people who share my own artistic values.

We'd gotten so distracted once I threw off the comforter though, and then Helix told me more about visiting his family, and I'd fallen asleep without asking again if I'm allowed to open his present.

My phone rings and it's a group video call.

I answer right away, glad I'm not in an embarrassing situation this time.

"You're finally out of bed," teases Helix.

"I've been writing all morning." I roll my eyes as Helix tells the others about our escapades last night in his bed.

"Did you give her your present, Hel?" asks Miles.

"Yeah, I want to see what it is," says Lionel.

The gamers are all sitting against different colored walls. Lionel and Miles are both dressed and look wide awake, but Ethan and Quintin both look like they just woke up. If they're all at home, the time difference probably makes it harder for them to call me as a group. But they're used to keeping odd hours for work.

"Clarissa," says Helix, "why don't you open the box so they can see?"

I'd been excited, but now I'm nervous. I have a vague idea of what it could be, but it feels more serious with all of them watching me. There are random voices far away in the background and I wonder if one of them doesn't have complete privacy for this call.

A wash of jealousy rips through my stomach, and I squash it down. I'm just curious about who my boyfriends are spending time with after hearing about Helix's family last night, that's all. Taking deep breaths as I grab the present off my bed, I remind myself that they're visiting their families, so realistically, it's a family member they're staying with. They're not cheating on me. It's not actually jealousy that I'm feeling.

"Clarissa, use your phone holder so you can use both hands to open the gift," says Quintin.

"I don't have one." What would I need a phone holder for?

"I don't want her to move any ours because our positioning is perfect," says Lionel.

"Set your phone against a stack of books," says Ethan. "It's not ideal, but should work for this short call."

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