The sushi was ocean-fresh and the saki warm. Owen was telling stories punctuated by his friends, and I could not stop smiling. Finally, I excused myself to use the restroom and smiled all the way there. Until I realized Anya had followed me.
She slipped in while I was washing my hands and caught my eyes in the mirror. Anya smiled sympathetically. "It is so nice of Owen to bring you here, get your mind off everything. I know he feels like Sienna's death was his fault. You must be the best way for him to assuage his guilt."
She led the way back to the table, knowing full well she had poisoned my evening more assuredly than a plate full of fugu.
Chapter Nine
Quinn
I had assumed the gamers were night owls, but when we were still playing and it was 3 am, I was barely staying conscious. Owen was going full force, but he noticed and pulled me against him. I fell asleep on his shoulder as the party continued around me.
When I woke up in the morning, I was curled up on the couch under a blanket. Owen was stretched out on the floor beneath me, his arms tucked behind his head as he slept. I looked down and let myself have a long, leisurely study of him. Years of stolen glances were not enough.
Owen's blond hair was thick and he had it cut short enough to be effortless. Whatever happened, it was mussed perfectly. I was surprised by the sculpted contours of his arms. In between playing, he must work out. Then again, Owen had always looked like a quarterback, lean and hard. While he slept, his wide mouth was curled in a small smile, but his square jaw made him look like a warrior. I half-expected him to fly awake and draw his sword.
I squeezed my eyes shut. It was too easy to mix reality with Dark Flag. Especially after spending hours in the game and falling asleep still within its world. I had to remind myself this was the real world, albeit in Vegas, and here, things were different.
There was one similarity, though. In both worlds, I was still an outsider. Owen's friends had spent hours showing me their best moves and giving me all the insider knowledge I needed to navigate Dark Flag, but I was still a newbie. Half of the night, Anya had targeted me and I died countless times. She called it training, but it was obvious she was trying to get me away from Owen.
I slipped out of my covers and climbed over the back of the couch so as not to disturb Owen. The truth was I had come to Vegas to be close to Owen, but the more I saw of the gaming world, the more I knew it was the place for me. In a way, Anya was right – if I wanted to be there, I could not slip in on Owen's good will. I had to earn my place.
I grabbed my bag and changed from the wrinkled black dress into a pair of dark jeans and a black tank top. I threw the layers of beaded necklaces on again because the low-cut tank top was revealing, but it was also my only other piece of black clothing besides my black sandals. Once I was dressed, I headed downstairs to the registration desk.
The smile I got from the young desk clerk was encouraging. "Good morning," he said.
"It is," I smiled. "Good morning to you too. Is there any way there is a room available?"
He typed furiously on his computer, but I had the feeling it was all for show. "Actually, it looks like one just came available. We had a few cancellations last night. Single?"
"Yes," I said.
He grinned again and took my driver's license and credit card to fill in the information. "Is there anything else I can do for you? Anything at all, Ms. Thomas?"
"You can call me Quinn for starters," I said, thinking Sienna would be proud of my easy flirting. "Actually, there is. Do you have the registration forms for the Dark Flag tournament?"
His jaw dropped open in a wider smile. "You play? I play! I mean, I'm just a newbie, my avatar has barely evolved, but I love it. There's actually a side event for newbies this afternoon. You should totally sign up for it."
"Is it that easy to see that I'm a newbie?"
"No, not at all. It's just the pros have all signed up online. Speaking of the professionals, I saw you with Light Slayer last night. Oh my God, I think they must have used some of his DNA when they made the game. Either that or he has a mind meld with it, am I right?" the desk clerk asked.
"Yeah, he is pretty amazing." I collected the room key he gave me.
The desk clerk turned his monitor towards me and handed me his keyboard. Within a minute I was signed up for the event. He gave me a map of the Wynn and marked the location. On the back, he wrote his name and phone number.
"Thanks, Dave," I said.
"Are you going to hear Light Slayer talk? He's on in the LaTour Ballroom in 10 minutes," Dave said. "Take notes for me, please. I need all the help I can get."
I promised I would text him any gems I heard and headed for the LaTour Ballroom. I had just enough time to load up a plate with fruit salad and a bagel and grab a coffee when the tournament organizers began to introduce the weekend's events.
"Welcome, Flaggers! We are so glad to welcome you to the first in a series of Dark Flag tournaments. This weekend is all about fun and games. We want to get to know you and to see you get to know the game better. Some events are qualifying rounds, but mostly, this is just a meet and greet. So we encourage you to mingle and have fun. That said, we know many of you are hungry to know more about how to conquer the world of Dark Flag and we could think of no one better to speak to that than Light Slayer himself!"
Owen had not shaved, but he had changed into a dove gray suit and white shirt. I felt a sizzle in my stomach as I saw the top buttons still undone and the hint of dark chest hair in the opening. Even from across the ballroom, his presence was like a fire.
I was not the only one to feel that way. The crowd greeted him like a rock star and his wide smile was crooked, a sure sign he was happy but uncomfortable with the attention. It only made people love him more. He cleared his throat a few times as the crowd quieted down, and I wondered if he was nervous to speak. Then, his agate-blue eyes caught mine. He started to talk and it felt like it was just the two of us in the room.
After he finished to thunderous applause, Owen made his way around the outskirts of the room and found me. "Thank God you were here. I forgot to tell you I had to speak and when I didn't see you this morning, I got nervous."