It Was Always You
A Gaming the System Short
By Brenna Aubrey
Friends discover their feelings are more than that but timing has never been on their side.
When Jeremy, her brother's best friend, came back into her life, Michaela cursed the fact that she was in a relationship with someone else. But now that she's free, he's dating her roommate.
This is a contemporary romance novella with a happy ending. The characters exist in the same world as Brenna Aubrey's bestselling Gaming The System series, but you don't need to have read any of those books to enjoy this story.
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Chapter One
Michaela
The nausea from the twists and turns up this mountain road was nothing compared to the pukey feeling I was getting from the couple in the front seat of the car. They were going at each other. Again.
"I'm not saying I'm not happy for them but do they really have to drag us up this godforsaken mountain just for a party?" my roommate, Tiffani, said to Jeremy, her boyfriend of six months, who was also my friend.
"They didn't drag us anywhere, Tiff. We all agreed that it would be fun to rent a cabin and have a whole weekend-long last hurrah instead of stupid bachelor and bachelorette parties."
"I dunno. I could have hired her an awesome male stripper and then we all could have had some fun."
"Yeah, because Donna really wants some oiled-up beefy dude wagging his junk in her face," I quipped.
I should really have stayed out of it. I knew better. When these two were bickering--which was often--it was always best to keep my mouth shut and leave the room. But as I was a captive audience during this two-hour drive from Orange County to Big Bear, I had no choice and I was a bit bitter about that fact.
Jeremy was cracking up but clamped his mouth shut when Tiffani jerked a glare at him through narrowed eyes. "I had better things to do this weekend," she said with an affected sniff and a toss of shiny, raven-colored hair.
"It's not like our friends get married every day. This is their time. Let's let them enjoy it. It's not about us. It's about them," Jeremy said.
But Tiffani wasn't buying it. She folded her arms tightly against her chest and turned her head to stare out the window.
They hadn't been getting along lately and though I worried, I couldn't help but hope that they might decide to call it quits. It wasn't entirely for selfless reasons, like wishing them to be happy with someone who better suited them.
No, part of it was the fact that Jeremy had been a longtime crush and the day he'd asked out Tiffani and they became a couple had been a difficult one for me. But what could I have said about it? At the time, I'd been in a relationship with Sean. What a mess, I thought. By the time Sean and I had called things off, Tiff and Jeremy had gotten more serious. And then...I'd had no idea if Jeremy would ever see me as anything besides his best friend's kid sister.
My eyes met Jeremy's large green ones in the rearview mirror and he gave a slight eye roll. I shrugged helplessly at him. It wasn't uncommon for him to send me unspoken pleas for help when it came to Tiffani, but I was in no mood to save his ass right now. I was barely managing to keep lunch down.
"Can you either go a bit slower or maybe crack the window or something? I'm dying back here."
Tiffani sniffed. "It's freezing out there. I'm not opening the window."
"It's not freezing." We might've been in the mountains, but this was Southern California and the sun was shining. There was snow on the ground, in patches, but as far as mountain weather went, the temperature was not intolerable. But Tiffani didn't budge. "Oh well. You're the one who's going to be wearing a vomit shirt in a minute..."
With an explosive exhalation of air, she hit the window control, barely cracking it enough to let a tiny stream of air in on her side, though I could feel nothing. The only way you could tell that it was open was the flagging sound of air rushing in. I leaned back with a groan.
"Sip some ginger ale or something, Michaela. God. Stop whining so much."
My eyebrows shot up and I glared at her. Tiffani had been a good friend, had been there for me through the worst of my grief when I'd lost my dad last year. At that time, I had felt like she'd do anything for me. But lately, pretty much since she'd begun seeing Jeremy, she'd changed. There was distance between us now and I had no idea why. I had always been extra careful to hide my feelings for her boyfriend. Perhaps I hadn't been as good as I'd thought I was.
I caught Jeremy's gaze again in the rearview mirror. His eyes were crinkled in the corners as if he was trying to suppress his laughter. I stuck my tongue out at him and shot him the bird. His eyes widened and his gaze flew back to the road.
The next twenty minutes, thankfully, were silent. Jeremy had slowed his speed, mostly because he was stuck behind a truck for much of the way and Tiffani was still pouting, but she soon got bored of that and tried to find a station on the radio that wasn't ear-blasting static. When that failed, she decided--exasperatingly--to turn to one of her favorite subjects. My love life...or lack thereof.
"So when are we going to get you back in the game? It's been six months since Sean."
I fell back against the seat, my face heating. I hated when she brought this up, especially in front of Jeremy. I'd asked her repeatedly not to, but like always, she ignored me.
"I'm enjoying being single. Don't harsh my mellow."
"Nope. Sorry. I'm on a mission to match you up with someone. There are some single guys coming up to the cabin, part of Nathan's wedding party. Hey--what about Lucas?"
"I don't even remember which one that is," I said, my eyes flying to the driver's seat, focusing on Jeremy's knuckles, which whitened where he gripped the wheel.
"You know...sandy hair, big brown eyes. Broad shoulders. He's a cutie."
Jeremy's head turned, cocking a brow at her. Tiffani placed a placating hand on his shoulder. "Not as cute as you, sweetie, of course. Doesn't he work with you at Draco?"
He cleared his throat. "Yeah. He's an okay guy."
"What's he do there? Does he work on the development team like you?"
"No, he's head of playtesting."
"Oh really, a department head? I bet he makes some good money!" Tiffani said, turning to give me a pointed look over her shoulder. Money was one of her top requirements in a boyfriend. She hadn't even gone out with Jeremy until he'd been promoted. Not that Jeremy had ever figured out that was the reason for her sudden change of heart. Even though his promotion meant that he worked long hours on the newest expansion of Dragon Epoch, Draco's top video game product. Tiffani didn't mind as long as he was showering her with expensive gifts and taking her to fancy restaurants. "Did he get in at the company early?"
Jeremy shrugged. "He's been there a while, yeah."
"Oooh hm. I bet that means stock options! I'm hearing that there are sudden millionaires springing up from having opted to get paid in stock early on." Then she turned back to Jeremy. "Too bad you didn't get in on any of that!"
"I was still in college when the company formed."
Tiffani shrugged. "Well the CEO never finished college and look where he is now."
Jeremy stared at her like she was a lunatic--and really, when Tiffani started going on about money, she did get a bit of the crazy going on. "Well Adam Drake is pretty much one of a kind."
"He's in the genius uber-rich club along with Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs. None of those guys finished college either."
"Well, I'm sorry that I was a slacker and stayed in school instead of making my millions," Jeremy quipped.
Tiffani laid a hand on his shoulder. "There still time, dear."
I almost breathed a sigh of relief that the topic had strayed t
o one of Tiffani's favorite subjects--until she turned her laser focus back on me. "So, Michaela, how about it? You should go for Lucas. He drives a Beemer."
"Oh for God's sake," I sighed.
"I'll make sure and introduce you when we get there. I think he'd be perfect for you."
"How do you know? You barely know him," Jeremy said.
She shrugged. "I know enough. He's cute. He's established. He's single and Michaela is adorable. They'd be cute together. They're both blond."
"Ah, love match by hair coloring. Perfect," Jeremy said.
"Shush, you. What the heck do guys know about it, anyway?" Tiffani was saying, but I could only meet Jeremy's intense gaze in the rearview mirror. I swallowed, trying to ignore that tingly feeling I got whenever I stared into his beautiful eyes. He seemed to want to communicate something to me without speaking. I shrugged and shook my head to indicate I had no idea what he wanted. He blew out a breath and rolled his eyes. Hey, it wasn't my fault his girlfriend was getting on his nerves! She was getting on my nerves, too.
Chapter Two
Jeremy
As usual, Tiff grabbed her personal bag and hightailed it up the stairs to the cabin we had rented for the weekend, indicating that she would "supervise" the food supply. She left Mic and me to unpack the cases of beer, groceries, and gifts from the back of the car.
And Mic, as usual, had rolled up her sleeves and dug in, hopping up the stairs two at a time, her bright blonde ponytail swinging behind her. I followed, trying to ignore how amazing her ass looked in those faded jeans and the curve of her body under her sweater. I swallowed, forced myself to look away and ignore it. I'd been good at doing this for the past year. Why stop now?
She was on her third trip and the car was almost empty, so I turned before shutting the back hatch on my SUV. "For what it's worth, I think it's a bad idea."
Mic turned to me, one six-pack gripped in each hand, her pale blue eyes focused on mine. I looked away, suddenly uncomfortable.
"What's a bad idea? Beer?"
I rolled my eyes. "No. Lucas."
She cocked her head at me. "Lucas is a bad idea?"
I shifted my stance, adjusting the keg resting easily on my shoulder. "You know what I mean."
She narrowed her gaze and cocked her chin at me. "No, I'm quite sure I have no idea what you mean. Is he a criminal or something?"
I shook my head. "I just mean that he's not the guy for you. You--"
But her eyebrows shot up. "Oh, so you are making calls on my love life now, too? You've been hanging around your girlfriend too long."
"Mic--don't be like that. It's just...I don't think that you two would be a good fit."
She threw me a toothy grin and pivoted to walk away before turning and throwing over her shoulder, "And you would know all about that, wouldn't you...considering what a great fit you and Tiffani are."
I winced. She hung around us a lot. She knew exactly how much the two of us argued. I fell into step next to her on the path back to the house. "I'm sorry. That didn't come out right."
"Apology accepted," she said between stiff lips. "As long as you drop the subject."
"Okay. How about I buy you a beer to make it up to you?"
She shot me a sidelong glance. "Brought my own. Thanks!"
"Mic, wait," I said on the doorstep before we went through the doorway.
She hesitated and turned to me. "What?"
"I just mean...I just meant that I don't think he's good enough for you." My throat closed up. There was so much more I wanted to say. In fact, I didn't think any guy was good enough for her. And the thought of her hooking up again with someone like Sean or just anyone... I clenched my jaw and fought the frustration of that thought.
Her mouth tightened. "Okay. That's nice. But maybe you should leave me to find that out for myself? Maybe,"--she glanced away and coughed--"maybe that's something we all have to figure out for ourselves, ya know?" Then she caught my gaze again and her beautiful baby blues were so intense that I gulped.
"Yeah...yeah maybe..."
We held that stare for a while longer and something sizzled between us. Or at least it did on my part. I had tried to avoid looking her in the eyes lately for exactly that reason.
I was suddenly reminded of when we were kids, playing on the same block. Growing up, I was friends with her big brother. Michaela had been, at various times, the nuisance who tagged along when his mom insisted. Or sometimes, she'd been the interesting playmate--when we'd permitted ourselves to reluctantly admit it. She and I had reunited when I'd finished college and came down to OC to work at Draco. I didn't live far from where she attended UCI. By the time we'd reconnected, however, she'd been in a relationship with her boyfriend and was roommates with Tiffani.
For the past year, we'd hung out regularly. At the beginning, I would have tried to muster the courage to ask Mic out. But she'd had a boyfriend then. Eventually, I'd asked out Tiff instead and she'd said no...a lot. Until one day she gave in and we just kind of fell into a relationship.
Tiff poked her head out of the doorway as we were standing there, staring at each other. "What's so interesting out here on the stoop?" she said, using a word that revealed her East Coast origins. She'd lived in California for four years for college and still hadn't got the hang of how we talk.
"Uh, nothing. We were just arguing over who should go through the doorway first," Mic said. As usual she was quick on her feet. Thank goodness because I really hadn't wanted to answer that question with, Staring into your roommate's beautiful blue eyes yet again. I heaved a sigh and waved her inside.
With a nod she acknowledged my gesture, walked through the door and I followed her.
"Michaela," Tiff grabbed her arm as soon as she set the beer down on the counter. "Come here, there's someone I want you to meet!" Tiff talked loud enough that the entire house could hear her. It was a spacious cabin with lots of bedrooms and a wide loft overhead. Opening off the main room was a large game room complete with billiards table. Nathan, the groom-to-be, Lucas, and our other friend Tyler all stood around the table with pool sticks in their hands.
The bride and our other friends hadn't arrived yet. Mic stiffened and trailed her roommate like a dog getting dragged to his bath, trying to wrench her arm out of Tiff's grip.
This could be funny, actually... so I followed closely behind. Lucas wasn't a bad guy but he couldn't have been more wrong for Mic. I figured she'd politely set him down if he was interested. And why wouldn't he be? Mic was gorgeous, tall, curvy, blonde, with the face of an angel. But she was also stubborn, and the mere fact that Tiff was shoving some guy in her face would be enough for her to get her back up. All I'd have to do would be to sit back and hope she didn't humiliate Lucas too badly.
"Lucas, this is my roommate Michaela. Michaela, Lucas works with Jeremy."
Tiff flashed Lucas her almost too-bright smile and I could see he was being reeled in. It had that effect on most guys. And I had to admit that it was somewhat edifying at work to be known as the geek with the hot girlfriend.
Michaela leaned forward, with a lopsided smile. I recognized immediately that it meant that she was feeling awkward. "Hey Lucas--think we met once, actually...at that picnic?"
Lucas turned to Mic, his grin widening. "I do remember, actually." His eyes floated over her sweater and jeans and I immediately felt hot under the collar from irritation. "How could I forget?"
Mic gave a little laugh and looked at me sidelong. I clenched my jaw and tried to ignore the annoyance I felt. I wondered, too, if she would even be bothering with this charade had I not tried to warn her off Lucas in the first place. She was just being contrary.
"Did anyone bring a toboggan? I feel like sledding and Donna told me there's a nice hill on the next lot over from this one!" I interrupted, trying to draw their attention away from each other, but they still seemed to be checking each other out--and Mic had a smile on her face that was the furthest thing from lopsided.
Nathan answered that
he had brought a sled. "Wait a second," Tiff said, coming up beside me and hooking her arm in mine. "You forgot that I volunteered to wrap the shower gifts."
I frowned. "I didn't forget that."
"Did you forget that you are helping me? We need to get them wrapped before the bride shows up!" She turned to Nathan. "No peeking, you! They're for you, too!"
"Hopefully you've got something pretty from Victoria's Secret in there. That would be my ideal gift." Nathan laughed.
"Oh really, Nathan? You were hoping you could wear a lacey little thong number for your wedding night?" Lucas said.
"Fuck you," Nathan replied with a cheesy grin. But what I focused on was Mic's reaction. She was doubled over laughing at Lucas's dumbass joke. Lucas had noticed, his grin widening, his eyes sliding over Mic's form once again with more than a little interest.
My fist clenched.
"Well, shall we get to it?" Tiff was asking, tugging at my arm.
"Um, what?"
"The gift wrapping..." Her eyes widened and she was pulling me toward the kitchen.
"But...but...sledding. There's snow."
"Pfft. You Californians and your fascination with snow! I grew up with this stuff all over the ground every winter for months. It's not a big deal."
I rolled me eyes when she wasn't looking but let her pull me into the other room. Tossing another glance over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Lucas and Mic continuing to talk while he grabbed his coat and scarf, picking up her bag and lugging it upstairs to the loft.
Shit. Why was this bugging me so badly?
I tried to get my mind off of it as I watched Tiff whip out the wrapping paper, the tape, and the ribbon for the gift-wrapping. Inwardly I groaned. I'd promised to spend more time with her over the weekend, since I finally had the time off. I'd been slaving away at work doing twelve-hour days as we tried to get the new Dragon Epoch expansion ready for release. The time off was long overdue--for all of us.
Tiff unrolled a length of wrapping paper along the table and asked me to bring her a box. For the next forty-five minutes as a hostage, I managed to not die of boredom while helping her wrap the gifts. I was sure it would be much more exciting that night when they opened them, all of us tanked on the beer and teasing the hell out of Donna and Nathan.