Level Up (4 page)

She heard his voice over her cube wall. "Um, Stacy?"

Her cube was close to the reception desk. He was apparently chatting up the pretty new hire. Well, "pretty" was probably an understatement. Stacy was beautiful--and very polished, an abnormality in their hoodie-and-jeans wearing set. She usually dressed like someone out of
Scandal
 or something, very high end.

"Hi. You're Adam, right?"

Tessa didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it wasn't like she was doing anything else. And it really wasn't her fault that sound naturally carried from the reception desk to her cube.

"Yeah. Um...how are you doing?" He sounded nervous.

"I'm settling in," Stacy said, her voice friendly and bright. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Just wanted to see how you're doing," he said.

Oh, hell,
Tessa realized with a start.
He's trying to ask her out!

It wasn't a surprise, considering. In the few weeks that Stacy had been here, Tessa had heard several of the guys asking her out. José asked her out regularly at this point, every single day. Stacy had kept a good attitude about it, laughing and saying "Still no, José," but it was obvious the woman was getting a little tired of the attention.

She hadn't even known that Adam was interested in Stacy. She felt a little twinge of something, but couldn't quite get what. Why should she care? He could date whoever he wanted. Of course, that might mean him bringing women home, she thought, and her stomach knotted a little. She hoped there wasn't headboard-banging sex. She'd had more than enough of blasting her headphones, trying to drown out that sort of noise, in her last living situation. Ugh.

"Are you from around here?" Adam continued.

"I'm from Snoqualmie," Stacy replied, and Tessa could hear her voice go from friendly to slightly wary. "Grew up there, actually."

"Really? I bought a house in Snoqualmie three years ago. It's a great place." His voice was warm and genuine.

Tessa peeked over the cube wall. He was leaning slightly against the wide cherry reception desk, his reddish-brown hair ruffled, wearing a green sweatshirt and jeans with a black pair of chucks. It was quite the contrast to Stacy's white cashmere sweater and diamond earrings.

"You're a regular, then. What are your favorite places to eat?"

Stacy sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry if I'm overstepping, but are you trying to ask me out?"

He choked. "What?"

"Because I have to say, I get asked out like three times a day at least," she said. Her smile was still friendly, but her gaze was firm. "I mean, I'm sure you're a great guy, but..."

"Um, no. No! God, no. I mean, not God no," he quickly amended. "It's just...I mean, I was just..."

"Did you need something then?" Stacy asked gently.

"Yes. Need. Umm..."

The guy was going down in flames, Tessa thought, squirming in empathetic discomfort. He needed help.

He'd helped her at lunch. The least she could do was return the favor.

Before she could think about it too much, she got up and strode over. "Coffee," she said.

The two of them looked at her, surprised. "I'm sorry?" Stacy asked.

"He wanted to tell you that we're out of coffee," Tessa said, looking at Adam and mentally willing him to play along. "He really likes those K-cups, the French roast ones, and we're completely out down in the Pit. You do the ordering, right? Supplies, lunches and stuff?"

"Yes, I do," Stacy said, looking curiously from Tessa to Adam. "Is that what you wanted?"

"Absolutely," Adam said, flashing Tessa a grateful smile. "Sorry. I get really unfocused when I'm low on caffeine."

Stacy quirked a skeptical eyebrow at him. "Is that so?"

"It's no joke. You should see how much coffee he goes through at home," Tessa said, backing him up.

Now both of Stacy's eyebrows jumped toward her hairline. "You two
live
 together?"

"Yes," Tessa answered, then suddenly realized what Stacy was really asking. "I mean,
no
. Not that way."

"We're roommates," Adam added, just as quickly. "Have been for the past year or so."

Stacy looked like she was going to say something, then stopped, looking over Tessa. "Love your sweatshirt."

Tessa looked down. She had a picture of the three main actors from one of her favorite TV shows,
Mystics
. They were smiling sexy smiles under the words ALL KNIGHT LONG. "Thanks. My best friend got it for me after I got her hooked on the show. You watch
Mystics
?"

"Hell, yeah," Stacy said, surprising her. "Did you know they're thinking of replacing Jake Windlass?"

"What? No!" Tessa answered. "Why? He's sort of quiet, and they're not doing a lot with his part, but I think that he could do more than they give him credit for. He's funny as hell, too."

"He is?"

"He was in a few smaller parts on some TV shows, and he had his own YouTube channel for a while," Tessa said. "He's low key, but he can be really hilarious."

"Mmmm. There is nothing like a guy with a sense of humor."

"I know, right?" Tessa replied, and the two of them laughed. "Like Jensen and Jared..."

"Ooh,
Supernatural
. Such a great show. I have to assume you like
Doctor Who
 as well?"

"Total Superwholock fangirl," Tessa said, grinning broadly. "Also, I'm Team Sherlolly, all the way."

Adam's confused gaze went from one woman to the other, like he was watching a tennis match. "I swear, it sounds like you're speaking English, but none of that makes any sense."

"Muggle," Stacy said, and Tessa burst out laughing. "You know your fandoms."

"It's my life," Tessa admitted.

"You know, I'll bet you'd fit in with my crew," Stacy said.

Her crew? What, did she have a gang of car thieves or something? Before she could ask, Stacy was writing something down.

"A few of us were going to hang out for coffee and watch the
Doctor Who
 Special again over at the Frost bookstore. You live in Snoqualmie, right? You know where that is?"

Tessa frowned. "I don't quite..."

Adam glanced at the address. "Sure! That's actually just around the corner from us. That Victorian house?"

"I didn't know that was a bookstore."

Stacy sighed. "That doesn't surprise me," she muttered. "Anyway, Hailey gets off work at 7:00 or so, and we were going to start it up. I'd love it if you could stop by, hang out. Sound good?"

Tessa stared. She'd just come over here to do Adam a solid. Now...

"Um...I guess," she said weakly.

"Great! I'll keep an eye out for you," Stacy said, and she sounded genuinely enthused about the prospect. "And don't worry, Adam. I'll get that coffee order in right now."

"Thanks," Adam said, pushing off from the desk, then motioning to Tessa. "Say, Tess, would you mind coming to my office for a second? I wanted to talk to you about that new game coming down the pipeline."

Tessa nodded, still in a haze. She just wanted to get home, throw on flannel jammies, and eat some mac and cheese, not go out and hang out with strangers, even if they were going to watch one of her favorite shows. What the hell had she been thinking, saying
I guess
?

She followed him in, then he closed the door behind her. "Oh, man. Thanks for the save, there," he said.

She grinned. "No problem, really."

"I've been out of the dating pool longer than I thought," he said. "I really should've warmed up a bit more, let her get to know me a bit better. Of course the guys have been ganging up on her. She's got to feel cornered. They do that with every woman that works here, seems like."

Tessa frowned. "They didn't do that to me."

Adam rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm sure they wanted to."

"Well, José did ask me out once," she said, remembering.

Adam dropped his hands, scowling. "He did? When was that?"

"When I started," she said. "I said no, and I guess I made it very clear that I was not interested."

"You do tend to be very emphatic, I notice," he said. "Seriously, though, I owe you."

"What, the Stacy thing? No problem. Really." She shifted her weight. "So what did you want to talk about, with the game?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I just wanted to thank you." He put out his arms. "C'mon. Hug it out, bitch."

"
I beg your pardon
?" She gasped, just before he crushed her in a hug.

"You know about every TV show under the sun, and you've never watched
Entourage
?" he asked, his voice close to her ear.

She felt an involuntary shiver and gasp. It had been a while since she'd hugged a guy, admittedly. She took a deep breath, and was temporarily intrigued by his scent--something clean and wintery, like forest and spice.

It was sort of delicious, actually.

She nudged away. "No, I've never seen
Entourage
," she said. "Call me bitch again, and I'll kick your ass between your ears."

"See? Emphatic. I'll bet you would, too," he said, and his voice had admiration as well as humor. "Want me to drop you off tonight? It's just around the corner, but it's still going to be cold out."

"Drop me off?" she asked. "To what?"

"Coffee and hanging out with Stacy and her friends," he reminded her. "You said you'd go, remember?"

Crap. She had, hadn't she?

"Consider it socializing," he added.

"Shut up," she said, and walked out, his laugh following in her wake.

CHAPTER 3

Tessa swallowed hard as she walked up the stairs to the converted three-story Victorian that was, allegedly, the bookstore Stacy had talked about. It had a sign in the window, neatly printed, but hard to see if you weren't walking by. The house's paint was a bit dingy, and while the lights in the lower level were on, it sounded very quiet.

She thought about knocking, but it was a place of business...or at least, it was supposed to be. Tentatively, she opened the door. Heat poured out, a welcome respite from the slashing wind. "Um, hello?" she called out.

"Oh, good! You made it!" Stacy was there, true to her word. She was still wearing her work clothes, the crisp slacks and fuzzy sweater still looking stylish. Her blonde hair was out of its high ponytail, though, so she looked a bit more relaxed. "I was wondering if you'd bail."

"Of course not." She'd considered it only twenty times, and that was just on the short walk from Adam's car to the doorway. "Um...how long is the club meeting, generally?"

What she really wanted to say was, "How long do I have to stay before I can go back home and get into pajamas?" But despite her recent dearth of socialization, even she wasn't that gauche.

"It's not really a club. It's just a few friends," Stacy said. "Here, I've got some cookies. Cressida baked some earlier." She settled into one of the welcoming, if slightly worn, couches, an overstuffed gray monstrosity that seemed like it'd be really comfy. "Have a seat. I'm sure they'll all show up soon."

Tessa did as instructed, taking in her surroundings. There were books everywhere, in cunning built-ins that framed doorways and archways and every wall, it seemed, except for the one with the wood-burning stove that was pumping out heat. "Isn't it dangerous to have a fire with all these books?" she asked, curious.

"They're careful," Stacy said, but her eyes did look nervously around her for a second.

The door opened again with a cheerful jangle of the jingle bells hung on the doorknob. "Whoo! It's freezing out there!"

The woman who stepped in was short and rounded, wearing a puffy jacket and a Seahawks knit cap, as well as thick boots. She quickly peeled off her coat and hat, hanging them as if she lived here. "Stace, have you...oh!"

Without the outerwear, she looked a bit like Marilyn Monroe, except without the birthmark--white blonde hair and a big, friendly, almost innocent smile, as well as curves for days. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know...are you a customer?"

"Stacy invited me," Tessa said, feeling awkward.

"You must be Tessa, then." The woman held out a hand and Tessa shook it automatically. "I'm Kyla. I work over at Snoqualmie Auto Repair. I live right over it, too."

Before Tessa could respond, the door opened again. "Son of a bitch, it's cold," the new woman said. This one was taller than Kyla--taller than herself--and it was emphasized by  her towering black hair. rolled up artistically in ornate, 40's styled rockabilly curls. She had pale skin, a generous mouth painted blood red, a black leather jacket straight out of
The Wild Ones
, black jeans, and motorcycle boots that looked like something from 
Mad Max
. "Who are you?"

Tessa swallowed, panicking, intimidated.
Can I go home yet?

"This is the girl from work I texted you about," Stacy said, rolling her eyes as the woman took off her jacket and hung it by Kyla's.

"Didn't look at my phone. They had me work a double shift today," the woman replied, then stuck her hand out, much as Kyla had. Her nails were painted the same crimson as her lips. "I'm Hailey, Hailey Frost. I live here."

"I...see." Actually, she didn't know anybody lived here.

"I'm sorry. I'm not normally this rude--" she glared when Kyla snickered, "well, not immediately anyway, but it's been a shitacular day." She turned away from Tessa, glancing around. "Where's Cress?"

Stacy's face fell. "Cressida...um, wasn't up for company." She looked at Tessa.

Now Tessa definitely felt terrible. What the hell was she doing here?

Hailey sighed. "It's okay. I'll talk to her later."

Kyla sighed, then sat up brightly. "So, are we going to watch this, or what?"

"You know, I don't think I'm up for timey-wimey tonight," Hailey said, sinking into an armchair and putting her boots up on a coffee table.