Fake Game (The System #3)

Chapter Five

FIVE

DEER

“ T he haunted house went up in flames and multiple dead bodies were found inside. All the deceased were graduated students from the local high school. However, upon closer inspection, it was found that the deceased did not die of smoke inhalation but instead murder.”

“That’s kind of a smart idea,” Lee pipes up, “using the fire to hide your tracks.” She tilts her head at the TV screen, causing her black French braids to sway as she scrutinizes the scene before us.

“Yeah, it’s a pity it didn’t work,” Stevie laments, taking a large sip of her rosé.

“A bystander did note that three motorcycles were seen leaving the scene of the crime, and it was even believed that they were wearing Halloween masks not unlike those of popular horror movie villains.”

“You know, those Ghostface masks are pretty hot,” I chime in, reaching forward to grab a cookie from the table.

“Right,” Lee hums in agreement, holding out an empty hand and twinkling her fingers.

I plop the cookie in her hand before going back to grab another.

“That’s the same thought I had when I met Aleks the first time,” Stevie nods.

“There’s something incredibly wrong with all of you,” a posh British voice scoffs.

All three of us girls turn to glare at the man camped out in the egg-shaped armchair in the corner.

“I can’t believe you invited him.” Lee shoots eye daggers at Sydney as she enters the room carrying a fresh bowl of popcorn.

“For the fifth time, I didn’t invite him,” the blonde huffs as she drops the bowl on the coffee table. “He invited himself.”

“It’s against the rules.”

Lee, Sydney, and I have been meeting for a weekly Crime Night for two years now, and a few months ago we brought Stevie into the fold after she started dating Aleks. We alternate between watching true crime and haunted house investigations while snacking on baked goods, sipping on alcoholic concoctions, and sprinkling in a healthy dose of gossip. We rarely miss a week unless it’s a holiday or there’s some sort of gaming or work conflict.

There are only two rules when it comes to Crime Night. The first, no phones; we have to leave them in a bowl at the door. The second, no outsiders.

“Why would Parker voluntarily invite himself to Crime Night?” Stevie narrows her catlike eyes. “He hates scary shit.”

“Maybe we’re his only friends,” I shrug.

“Or maybe it’s co-dependency. He’s too obsessed with his girlfriend,” Lee nods.

“ He can hear you.” Parker rolls his baby blues dramatically. “And he expects you to be nicer to him because he brought expensive champagne as a peace offering.”

“Babe, we talked about this. You need to stop with the third-person stuff,” Sydney sighs as he pulls her onto his lap.

“The bubbles are pretty good,” I hum, taking a sip of my champagne. I’d finished my watermelon drink an episode earlier.

“Thank you,” he grins with a wink.

Parker Covington is an attractive man. He has a killer jawline and cheekbones that make everyone jealous, and paired with his dyed white-blond hair and impish grins, he looks like a sexy angel. It’s no wonder Sydney fell for him even though she’s his publicist.

“Champagne isn’t enough to join the girl’s club, sorry, English.” I wrinkle my nose in feigned apology. “If we start making exceptions for you, we have to make exceptions for everyone.”

As much as I try to remember to call Parker by his name, it still isn’t second nature to me. I met him online through streaming videogames and tend to default to his gamertag even when we are in person. I have the same habit with all The System even though their identities are no longer a secret from the world.

“Oh, come on, don’t kick me out,” he pouts, flashing us all puppy dog eyes.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think you have anything useful to add to Crime Night,” Stevie shrugs, flicking her brown hair over her shoulder.

“My devilish good looks?”

Sydney throws a piece of popcorn at her boyfriend.

“Fine, fine,” he huffs, bringing his hand up to fiddle with his cartilage piercings. “What if I offered you some gossip?”

Lee and I perk up.

“Gossip?” She grins.

“Do spill.” I dramatically clasp my hands under my chin.

“Jackson’s grandmother has been setting him up on blind dates.”

“Wait, seriously?”

I couldn’t imagine Jackson going on blind dates. He seemed like the kind of guy who only did what he wanted to do and not what someone forced on him.

“Tsk.” Stevie rolls her eyes. “I knew this already.”

“Yikes, I feel bad for him.” Lee’s eyes round with pity.

“Are they going well?” I don’t know why I ask, but the question leaves my mouth before I have a chance to think twice. I don’t really know that much about Jackson, and some part of me is drawn to the news like a magnet.

“No,” Sydney scoffs. “But he is putting on a good act for the cameras at least. I’m just worried his patience is going to snap at some point. He’s been in a foul mood all week because of them.”

“How many has it been?”

“Only two so far, but there’s definitely more on the horizon.”

“Ugh.” Lee wriggles her body in a feigned shiver. “That’s my worst nightmare. I totally get how he must feel. Even my parents are putting the pressure on me. The perfect daughter should be getting married before thirty.”

“I feel bad for those poor girls,” Stevie sighs as she pours more wine.

“Yeah, he isn’t invested at all,” Sydney agrees.

“Negative percent interested. He’s still sneaking out to see his hookups. I caught him coming back at like four a.m. the other day. I didn’t even know the Club was open that late.”

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about Jackson’s active sex life, and like every time before, I find myself straining to hear more. He seems to be secretive about it but not enough that the rest of us don’t know what he gets up to. I’ve never been one to shy away from good sex, but it’s hard to find a partner when you’ve turned into a slightly paranoid recluse whose entire life is online. I haven’t touched a dating app since the Deer Hunter stuff started up, which means I’ve been married to my vibrators the last few months—and as amazing as the Pleasure Core 3000 is, it doesn’t exactly replace the kinkier desires I harbor that only a person can fulfill.

“He must be a good lay,” I muse.

“Yeah. I mean, he is massive,” Stevie agrees.

“Ohmigods, you’ve seen his dick?”

“What? No, I meant his body is massive.” Then her eyes narrow, and a sly smile spreads over her perfect face. “Interesting that your mind went there.”

Shit.

I scramble to backtrack.

“I’m just saying. It would make sense. He is tall.”

Stevie cocks her head in thought. “You make a good point. He’s only a little shorter than Aleks.”

“Exactly, we could assume a correlation.”

“Isn’t Parker shorter than them both?” Stevie smirks, her eyes sliding to the blond.

“Hang on, I’ll have you know I measure—”

“Parker,” Sydney shrieks, cutting him off.

“What? I was just going to point out that I’m taller than Jackson.” Honestly, all three of the men in The System were well over six feet tall, so by our assumptions they should all have pretty solid cocks. “So, does this mean I can stay?”

“Fine,” Lee caves. “Just this once.”

“Sweet.” Parker pumps his fist in the air at the win.

“Now, hush up and let us get back to the murder at hand.”

***

Four drinks, two dead bodies, and one screaming Parker later (turns out the visualization of a finger getting cut off didn’t sit well with him), we’re calling it a night.

“Can I get a ride from somebody?” I grab the empty bowls from the table and bring them into the kitchen to wash in the sink.

“You didn’t drive?” Lee furrows her brows as she puts the spare cookies into a Tupperware container.

“No?” I give her a look. “Shield picked me up.”

“Really? Why?”

I pause mid plate scrub. “Didn’t you ask him?”

She shakes her head.

That’s weird.

“I can give you a ride.” Stevie smiles as she comes up next to me to wash her wine glass.

I shoot a desperate glance back at Sydney. I love Stevie, but she really isn’t the best driver. Neither am I, but Stevie is arguably worse. She hits objects that aren’t even moving.

“We can give you a ride back to yours,” Parker offers, sensing my distress.

“Thanks.” I turn to give Lee a big hug before saying goodbye.

“We still on for tomorrow?” she asks.

My stomach drops at the mention of tomorrow’s horror stream we’d previously planned, pre-swat, and it must show on my face because she gives my hand a squeeze.

“We don’t have to if you aren’t ready yet.”

I shake my head. “No. If I put it off, I’ll just keep doing that. Plus, Blade said he would join.”

“Okay, love you.”

“Love you.”

I grab my phone from the bowl in the hallway and rush to catch up to Syd and Parker, who are waiting by the elevator.

“You good?” Sydney gives me a once over as we descend to the lobby.

“Of course.” I smile, unlocking my phone and checking for any notifications. My eyes snag on a Discord message from Jackson.

SHIELD: lmk if you need a ride

I check the timestamp to see he sent it a little over an hour ago and gnaw on my lower lip, contemplating whether or not to text him back.

We exit into the lobby and head out into the chilly night air. The valet brings Parker’s blue Porsche around, and I stare at it with knowing dread.

“I’m going in the back, aren’t I?”

Parker places a hand on my shoulder and gives me a wry smile. “You are the shortest.”

I let out a deep sigh as he shifts the passenger seat forward so I can crawl into the obscenely small backseat. Honestly, I don’t understand why these cars even bother having back seats.

The passenger seat locks back into place, and Parker and Syd get into the car.

“Comfy?”

I give Parker a sugary-sweet smile. “Positively cozy.”

Parker takes off, revving the engine as he races through the streets. Sydney lets out a hiss at his speed, but he just reaches over and rests his hand on her knee.

I look down at my phone again, at Jackson’s message. He’d said he drove me because Lee asked him to, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. So, why was he there? Maybe he really had been in the area. But that still didn’t totally explain everything.

My brain spins, like it’s trying to solve a Rubix cube but half the colors are missing.

Parker swings out at the front of my apartment complex and comes to a stop.

He scowls looking up at the building. “I really wish you would move.”

“I’m a big girl.”

“You’re five foot.”

“Technically, I’m five four with these heels. Now, let me out of this car.” I tap on his headrest.

“Fine,” he grumbles, getting out and folding his seat forward. I take his offered hand and try to gracefully crawl out of the car.

“Thanks.”

“Text us when you get upstairs,” Syd calls from the passenger seat.

I roll my eyes. “Okay, Mom and Dad.”

I give them a wave as I walk backward from the car before spinning around. The darkness looming around has me uneasy, but knowing that Syd and Parker are watching settles the anxiety that threatens to bubble up. Once I’m in the brightly lit lobby of my complex, I let out a small sigh.

I’d successfully left my apartment and come back in one piece. I was safe, and honestly, I really didn’t need to be that worried about the outside world. I’m just creating monsters in my mind.

My body moves on autopilot until I arrive at my front door. I drop down to pick up a little brown package perched on my rug and tuck it under my arm as I fish out my key and unlock my door.

I toss the package onto my island before grabbing a pair of scissors to slice the box open.

A shiny pink taser sparkles back at me.

Then again, you can never be too safe.