Beta Test (#gaymers) (27 page)

Ravi’s stern-faced older sister Lakshmi?

Oh crap.

“Aarav? What are you doing with this man?”

Oh hell. Tristan should have known this was coming. She’d been civil to them earlier in the week, coolly welcoming them to her suburban home, but warm she definitely wasn’t. And like most of Ravi’s relatives, she had yet to use Tristan’s first name. “I wasn’t doing anything. Just trying to help him find his animal.”

“Aarav. You must not trouble people with Mister Fluffy. We have talked about this.” She took the stuffed animal from Tristan and handed it to the child. “Now go on.”

“I’m sorry,” Tristan tried again. “I didn’t mean—”

“You are
fine
,” Lakshmi said firmly. To his surprise, she offered him a hand up. She was sturdy—nearly as tall as Ravi and a broad woman with long features. Her pink-and-gold sari softened her presentation, but only slightly. “You’ve eaten?”

“Yes. And I think Ravi is bringing me more food now.”

“Ah.” She cracked a rare smile. “And here I was going to offer to take you through the dessert line. Show you which
halva
you might like.”

“You...you were?”

“I am not my mother.” She sighed like the words themselves pierced her. “Avani tells me that Ravi is very happy with you.”

“I hope so,” Tristan said, all his hope leaching into his voice.

“You care about him?”

“I do. With all my heart.” Maybe it was a bit much to say, but he’d been dying to say it to someone all week, to tell
someone
in this family how much Ravi meant to him.

“I want Ravikar to come home more often. I want my children to have a real uncle. And if it takes me being more...
accommodating
, I have agreed with Avani on this matter that I should try.”

“That will mean a great deal to him,” Tristan said thickly.

“What will?” Ravi arrived with two plates loaded with sweets.

“That I am pleased with your choice of friend.” Lakshmi nodded at her brother. “Or should I say boyfriend? Maa keeps saying ‘friend,’ but that’s not accurate, right?”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Ravi said, and for the first time all week, he put an arm around Tristan in public. “And thank you for...approving?” His voice said he was almost scared to hope for that.

And God, didn’t Tristan know that feeling well. He shot Lakshmi a look. She better not hurt Ravi.

“I approve of someone making you this happy.” Lakshmi nodded. “I know that our parents do not agree, Ravi, but I miss you. A lot.”

“I miss you too.” Ravi gave her a pat on the arm with his free hand. “Thank you.”

“Now I better find Aarav and my other kids.” She offered them a stiff smile as she left. “Oh and Tristan? I expect to see you both dancing later.”

Still not warm, but somehow the frosty air that had surrounded them all week seemed to have thawed, just a bit. It was surprising the difference simply hearing his name made. Maybe it could be enough for right now to have Avani and Balan and Lakshmi supporting them.

“Thank you for coming.” Instead of dropping his arm, Ravi squeezed Tristan closer. “Have I said that enough this week?”

“
Yes.
” Tristan smiled indulgently up at his boyfriend. “And I love you for it. But you don’t have to thank me. I
want
to be here for you. I’m happy to come again too. Lakshmi says she wants you to see her kids more often. And I think you should.”

“You’d agree to come back for the holidays? Bring the kids presents?” Ravi’s voice said he was warming up to the idea.

“You planning to keep me around that long?” Tristan dropped the tease, really needing to know.

“Absolutely. I love you, Tris. I love you because you’ve seen me at my most frazzled this week and it hasn’t fazed you at all. I love you because I know you, and you’ll have spreadsheets and lists ready for our next trip before we even head home.”

“Guilty.” And even as awkward as this week had been, his mind immediately sped to planning the next trip, latching on to the good moments that would sustain them—the cuteness of Lakshmi’s kids, Tristan’s surprising love of
dal
, and being together. Always together.

Epilogue

Five Months Later

“Hey! I can’t see.” Tristan nudged Ravi out of the way so he could quickly shave in the mirror. Ravi’s house had two baths, which was part of why they kept ending up over here so often, but Tristan had just finished cleaning the downstairs bathroom in advance of the hordes descending on them.

“You know you’re the only person in the history of ever to deep clean a bathroom before a gaming party,” Ravi teased as Tristan toweled off.

“Hey, I’m not going to apologize for wanting everything to be perfect for our friends.”

“Babe. You had an action list and color-coded to-dos. We’re
fine.
I promise.” Ravi waited until Tristan set the razor down to give him a quick kiss.

They were hosting their first LAN gaming party, but it was also a beta test for Tristan’s
other
list: Project Apartment Decision. They were hosting something together for the first time, and Tristan wanted everything to go well, and hopefully tip the scales in favor of living together. So far, they hadn’t been able to decide whether to go with Tristan’s quieter neighborhood, Ravi’s more social complex or get something in between the two styles. They split their time about fifty-fifty between the two places, but Ravi wanted to get a cat, so they needed to cut the nomadic crosstown trips down.

“You sure you want a cat?” Tristan asked, watching Ravi complete his grooming routine. He was doing something to his hair that Tristan still didn’t understand—blow-drying it upside down with a brush that looked more suitable for being a wheel on a space vehicle. “She’s going to think that brush is a cat toy.”

“Avani and Balan have cats now. I’m jealous.” Ravi made a pleading face. “And you liked the dog at Lakshmi’s house, right? You’ll like having a pet.”

“I liked the dog.” Truthfully, the dog had been nice, neutral company on their last trip to New Jersey for the twins’ birthday. Playing with the dog in the yard had been a good excuse to escape the house. But as much as it had been a bit tense, it had also been wonderful, and Tristan wouldn’t trade their latest visit there for anything. Slowly building a working relationship with Ravi’s family was worth it. “I’ve never had a pet before. We were never allowed growing up. Derek wanted a dog something awful.”

“How about a cat this year and a dog next?”

“Boy, are you sure you’re not the planner in this relationship?” Tristan teased as he pulled on a pair of boxers.

“Nope. I’m the impulsive one.” Ravi pushed Tristan down onto the bed, then straddled his hips, pinning him in place.

“Or we could get your parents a cat when we get ours. Like a two-for-one deal.” Ravi laughed. “Your mom
needs
a pet. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

Ravi had, in fact, met Tristan’s mother in a meeting that went about as well as expected—lots of tense small talk, but no overt hostility. After not talking for several weeks, his mother had reached out to him, and not for media reasons. She’d said she missed him. Tristan had agreed to dinner on the condition that he got to bring Ravi.

Things were still frosty, but she was far down in the polls and Tristan expected more of a thaw post-election in a few weeks. Surprisingly, there had been no work fallout from her campaign, even from the uber-liberal Robert. People seemed willing to take Tristan on his own merits, and after a lifetime of the opposite, being accepted for himself was heady stuff.

“I don’t know if we have time.” Tristan tried to fend off Ravi’s wandering hands. “Our friends should be here soon.”

“Like Adrian hasn’t answered the door all out of breath before.” Ravi laughed. “And I know Frank and Javier have too.”

“Frank and Javier would
never.
” Tristan laughed, a weird joy bubbling out that Ravi’s friends were becoming his friends too. And thanks to Ravi and Frank’s urging, Tristan now had a place in the choral group, which was both the best and most terrifying part of his week. “Oh and speaking of friends, did Josiah text you if he’s bringing someone?”

“You mean other than your
War Elf
fan club?”

“Yeah, I knew about them. No, like a date someone. I told him he could.”

Ravi laughed. “I’m trying to picture Josiah with a boyfriend...man, he’s going to be a
project
for someone.”

“Be nice.” Tristan reached up and tickled Ravi’s sides.

“I am nice.” Ravi winked at him, leaning down to tweak one of Tristan’s nipples. “Very nice.” And okay, yeah, despite having just showered and having T-minus thirty minutes until people started arriving, Tristan was totally hard. And totally taking advantage of the naked guy sitting on him. He blinked, trying to memorize the sight.

I
love you.
I
love you so much.
How did I get so lucky?

“How fast can you be?” he asked instead, swallowing around the lump of emotion in his throat.

“Fast.” Ravi bent forward, lips at Tristan’s ear. “Love you. Love you so much.”

Like always, he knew exactly what Tristan needed, sometimes even before he realized it. Almost as if he had a manual.

Laughing, Tristan captured Ravi’s mouth in a deep kiss. Let their friends wait. This came first. This would
always
come first.

* * * * *

Author’s Note

Space Villager
is a fictional game, created solely for the purposes of this series. Many thanks to the developers of
Star Citizen
,
Hero-U
,
Kingdom Come
,
World of Warcraft
and other MMORPGs for their blogs, comic con presentations, videos and other resources.

The many small towns along Interstate Five between California and Seattle are well worth a visit. I couldn’t resist including Weed, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t also report that the town is filled with helpful people—the rude clerk is entirely fictional.

If you are interested in the charities Ravi supports in the book, I suggest checking out the AIDS Project Los Angeles and the many great works they do throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

Acknowledgments

Huge thanks to my beta readers for their assistance with this book, especially Tara Pammi, who offered invaluable insights. My critique partners, Wendy Qualls and Edie Danford, help me grow my craft with each and every project. Also thanks to my fan group on Facebook, Annabeth’s Angels (come join us!), for supporting this series and cheering it on! Thank you to all the book bloggers, reviewers and readers who have supported this series in so many ways.

Many thanks to my amazing agent, Saritza Hernandez, whose love of this series lifts me up. I’m so grateful to the entire team at Carina Press for giving the #gaymers series a home and for their help in launching this series. Special thanks to my editor, Deb Nemeth, for seeing what I wanted to do with Tristan and Ravi and helping me bring my vision to life. The efforts of the marketing team and art department behind the scenes are also very much appreciated.

Thank you to the vendors at Portland and Seattle comic and gaming conventions this year who answered my many questions as I sought to bring authenticity to the expo Tristan and Ravi travel to.

Thank you also to those who answered questions for me about Ravi’s cultural background and about wedding traditions. I very much appreciated all the help I received with researching this book!

Finally, thank you to my family, especially to my lovely gamer geek spouse, who puts up with a lot, including middle-of-the-night research questions.

Also available from Annabeth Albert
and Carina Press in the #gaymers series

Status Update

And coming Fall 2016

Connection Error

About the Author

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bedcovers. Now she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multipublished Pacific Northwest romance writer. The #gaymers series joins her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite LGBT romance #PortlandHeat and #PerfectHarmony series. To find out what she’s working on next and for freebies and other fun extras, check out her website,
www.annabethalbert.com
, or connect with Annabeth on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google Plus and Spotify!

Emotionally complex, sexy and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two active children.

Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency

Newsletter:
eepurl.com/Nb9yv

In
A
.
M
.
Arthur’s
male
/
male
romances
,
friends
learn
that
there’s
more
to
life
and
love
than
just
sex
—
no
matter
how
steamy
it
is
!