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“Um, sure!” Emma smiled.
While she was exchanging information with Lisa, I was ambushed by Nina, who bumped into me from the side.
“Alex. Have you finally brought a girlfriend home?” She teased.
“First of all, hi Nina, nice to see you’re doing well. Second of all, not a girlfriend but a friend who is a girl, yes,” I lied and tried to brush her off but she stopped me with a glare.
“We aren’t blind and you’ve always been a horrible liar. She isn’t much better at it either,” she said before joining Emma and Lisa.
I guess I couldn’t really hide this from the people who have known me the longest. Nina has known me for nearly as long as Lauren and those two loved poking where it hurt.
Shortly after Ryan walked up to me and we watched as the girls talked amongst themselves.
“She’s in good hands with them,” Ryan said, nudging my arm. “Come along, I saw some old friends are attending. I haven’t talked to them in a while.”
I texted Emma I would be back in a bit and followed Ryan through the convention.
While we were making our way to them, Emma replied that she was going to see a panel with Lisa and Nina and that she would be back at the Team Solid booth in an hour and a half.
Looking up from my phone, I immediately spotted Michael, Brian and Ethan, wearing their NLA jerseys near one of the currently empty stages.
“Alex! Ryan! Long time no see!” Michael called out before shaking my hand.
“Hey, it’s been a while,” I replied, grinning.
We chatted for a bit. These guys had never gone pro, but they were still pillars of the community even if they didn’t compete or stream. At some point the conversation turned to me and my injury. Then that eventually turned to Emma.
“So, I heard you brought that girl here with you. OracleMyth, was it? Where did you catch that stray from?”
I felt a knot form in my stomach. Michael was fine most of the time but had a reputation for being weird around women who played NLA. From what I’ve heard, it wasn’t a pleasant experience from the girl’s side.
“She’s actually pretty great,” I said, trying to keep my tone casual.
“Would you introduce me, then? If she’s such a catch?”
I felt Ryan stiffen beside me as Michael’s expression shifted to one of annoyance.
“You can introduce yourself when you see her later.”
“Come on, man. Just a quick intro. What’s the big deal?”
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Look, Michael, we’re here for the convention and I don’t want any unnecessary drama. If you run into her, feel free to say hi, but I’m not going to play matchmaker. Especially for you.”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “You’re such an asshole, Alex. Whatever, man.”
Ryan gave Michael a weird look and soon after we went our separate ways.
I was walking back with Ryan in silence, contemplating starting a conversation. “Didn’t you hit it off with Emma’s friend, Casey? I’m surprised you didn’t invite her here,” I said, it had been the only thing that came to mind. “Could’ve been another double date type of a thing.”
“I don’t know man, I thought we hit it off too, but the thing is she gave me a fake number. Maybe it was just me feeling the connection and she just felt like a one night stand,” Ryan said, defeat in his voice.
“At least you can distract yourself with someone new. I’m sure you can find someone here of all places,” I nudged him.
“I had the same thought when I agreed to come here, but honestly I’m not ready for another potential let down,” he said, his voice rawer somehow. “I’m still kinda hung up on Casey.”
“If you want I can talk to Emma, it could’ve been a mistake on her part,” I tried to offer. “Casey doesn’t seem like the ghosting type?”
“Nah, man. I don’t think it’s meant to be, I don’t want to be pushy or seem creepy and obsessed. You and Emma seem serious and I want extra awkwardness if Casey and I end up around each other down the line,” he said, before we were ambushed by some fans for autographs.
