Chapter 1
Cast:
Dezmond Brown.
Deziree Bryant.
Garrett Sullivan.
Lance Daniels.
Kennedy Goldman.
…
Houston, Texas:
The only sounds in the room were the rhythmic click of buttons and the soft hum of the console.Deziree Bryantleaned back in her chair, eyes locked on the screen as she guided her character through the latest level. It was late, but she wasn’t ready to call it a night, not with Dezmond on the other end of the headset.
“You’re slippin’, Dez,” Dezmond’s voice came through loud and clear, teasing with that familiar playful edge. “You’re lucky I’m not the type to rub it in.”
She rolled her eyes, even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “You’ve been rubbin’ it in since day one. I don’t need to hear it again.”
“Oh, I’ll remind you all night, especially now that you’re struggling.” Dezmond chuckled, the low, smooth sound making her pause. They’d been friends for years, but lately, there was something about his voice, the way he said her name, that hit differently.
Deziree pushed the thought aside, refocusing. She was good at shutting down distractions, but something about their late-night gaming sessions always brought out that playful flirtation. And tonight, it felt heavier than usual.
“Yeah, well, don’t get too comfortable,” she shot back, her fingers moving expertly over the controller, the familiar rush of competition flooding her veins. “I’m about to take this round.”
They’d been gaming together since middle school, sharing laughs and victories over countless late-night sessions. But it wasn’t just the games that kept her coming back. Dezmond had a way of making her feel seen in a way no one else did.
Dezmond’s voice broke through her thoughts again. “Hey, don’t forget, you promised me a real-life gaming sesh when you get to LA. You still down for that, or you too Hollywood now with them 60 million followers?”
Deziree paused mid-game, her character running aimlessly across the screen. The reminder hit harder than she expected. Tomorrow, she’d be leaving for UCLA. Tomorrow, everything would change. And Garrett? Her boyfriend of three years? He wasn’t coming with her he hadn’t got accepted. She didn’t know how loyal she could be to someone who lived hours away, she was 18 but she didn’t want to hurt Garrett or make him feel left behind. She had loved him, just not enough to stay.
“I didn’t forget,” she replied, trying to keep her tone light, but there was a weight to her words she couldn’t shake. “We’ll see who really dominates when it’s face to face.”
Dezmond laughed, a little too easily. “You really think you’re gonna show me up in person? We’ll see if you’re still talkin’ that big game when I’m right there.”
Her chest tightened at the thought of meeting him in person. She could already picture it, the teasing, the way he’d look at her like he knew exactly what to say to make her blush, even though they both pretended they didn’t feel that way, well maybe she pretended more than he did. He’d always made it clear he didn’t care about her boyfriend, his favorite line being:we on the game girl it’s just flirting, ain’t like we gaming in person then I would give him a reason to worry.
But Deziree had bigger things to think about. “I’m still figuring things out,” she said, brushing it off. “But I won’t forget. Promise.”
“Good. I don’t like being forgotten.”
There it was again, something unspoken between them, a tension that had always been there but now felt sharper, harder to ignore. Deziree swallowed, trying to focus on the game, but it was like the words hung in the air, waiting for her to say something.
“I don’t forget people,” she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Dezmond was silent for a beat. “You sure about that?”
Before she could respond, he hit her character with a perfect shot, taking the round.
“See?” Dezmond laughed again, the cockiness in his voice matched by a smile she could almost hear. “Told you. You’re slippin’.”
Deziree smirked, determined not to let him see how his words, how he affected her. “Alright, I’m coming for you next round.” She wondered how their gaming sessions would be when they were in the same place, same state. After all their talk about meeting in person at UCLA, she was finally going to get that chance.
“Yeah, that’s what she said.” Dezmond joked, making Deziree throw her head back and laugh.
“Whatever, boy,” she said, her laughter still echoing in her words as it died down. “Keep talking.”
“You like my voice? It turn you on?” Dezmond mocked, making Deziree laugh harder. He loved hearing her laugh. He could listen to it all night, and truth be told, he had listened to it almost every night for the past five and a half years.
As the night quickly turned into morning, the two gamed and laughed, the hours slipping by unnoticed. They’d even planned out their first day at school. Deziree had completely forgotten that she’d told Garrett to be at her place at 6 AM so they could get an early start on the road. When 6 AM rolled around, Garrett was right on time, she had just lost track of time.
“Your ugly self supposed to have my back!” Deziree shouted, still laughing.
“Tell me I’m cute, or I’ll let them jump you again, cause callin’ me ugly ain’t cool.” Dezmond joked. “I might help, this GTA, you know anything’s possible.”
“Okay, you’re cute.” She replied quickly, causing Dezmond to bite his bottom lip.
“Nah, I think I want you to tell me I’m sexy.” He said, matter-of-factly.
“Dez.”
“What, Dez?” He smirked. “They coming back, I’ll let them shoot you up, no help.”
“Okay, okay, you’re sexy,” she replied, and she had no issue saying it. “Now help me, nigga,” she said, imitating Kevin Hart, which made Dezmond laugh even harder.
“Who you talking to?” Garrett’s voice came from behind her, immediately killing their laughter. Garrett never knew who was on the other end of the headset. He just knew that person occupied a lot of her time. If Deziree wasn’t streaming for her millions of fans, she was gaming privately.
“Just a gamer friend,” she replied quickly, her voice casual.
“I’ll see you later today, Dez,” Dezmond said from the other side of the screen. “I can’t wait.”
Deziree pulled off her headset and smiled, the sound of Dezmond logging out still hanging in the air. “Y’all tell each other how sexy you are all the time like that?”
“I lost the game. It was a bet.” Deziree lied, standing up and brushing it off.
“Bae, you’re not even ready,” Garrett said, his tone a mix of amusement and frustration. “You said we need to leave at 6, and you’re still in the clothes you wore yesterday. You’ve been on that game this whole time?”
“Maybe,” she admitted with a shrug. “But hey, it’s all good. I’ll take a quick shower, my dad already packed up all my stuff, so all we have to do is drive. You have your rental scheduled for the drive back?”
“Yeah, bae. Go get ready so we can go,” Garrett said, a little exasperated but still trying to keep it light.
Deziree nodded and headed for the bathroom. Once she was inside, Garrett waited for a few minutes, wondering if she’d come back. When he didn’t hear any movement, he picked up the controller to her PS5. Deziree played on all consoles PC, Xbox, Nintendo she was a gaming freak. All of her consoles were packed up except for this one, since she owned two PS5s. One was staying behind, and the other was coming with her to school.
Garrett closed out the game and went to her friend list, curious. The moment he clicked on the last person she gamed with, it asked for a PIN to open their messages. He sighed. The game told him they’d been playing together for 16 hours straight. Usually, he wouldn’t worry, but this time, something felt different. For the first time in three years, they were about to be apart. His high school sweetheart was moving away, and he hadn’t made the cut for UCLA. He wasn’t good enough. He was crushed but tried to convince himself that he should be happy for her. He wanted to make it work, but part of him felt like Deziree was already ready to live her life without him. He wasn’t ready to completely lose her, but he had a feeling he would. He just knew he wouldn’t go down without a fight.
